Backyard Adventures
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/130432
indiana military museum 1 Hobby makes 2 The Indiana Military Museum started as a young boy's hobby and has turned into the one of the finest and most extensive collections of military memorabilia in the country. 3 The museum now fills more than 20,000 square feet of the former Blackford Window Glass Factory at 715 S. Sixth St., Vincennes, and several acres are filled with military planes including an F-4 fighter jet, a C-147 cargo plane, a B26 bomber and a MACE cruise missile, just to name a few. 1. An F-4 fighter jet, named the City of Dayton, is on display. "I started collecting when I was 15 years old," said Jim Osborne of Vincennes. "After WWII a lot of things were available. Guys were coming home with knives and helmets and uniforms and bayonets and they were glad to give them away." 2. A Huey helicopter can be viewed up close. 3. A C-147 is one of several WWII planes on display. Osborne would agree it is an obsession for him. After high school he went to college and became a history teacher. He later went back to law school, and is now a Superior Court Judge in Knox County. 4. Dwight Eisenhower's D-Day uniform is on display. The Indiana War Museum is one of only three places this can be viewed. Through the years he has gone from collecting helmets and insignias to uniforms, and on to big ticket items, adding things like an F-16 fighter jet, tanks and even a building with multiple rooms to show a typical military base setting. 5. Jim Osborne, founder of the Indiana War Museum, stands next to three tanks on display inside the museum. Several more are displayed outside the museum. 28 Pike Publishing backyard adventures 2013 The Indiana Military Museum has a long list of items that can only be seen there or in one or two other places. The exterior of the display hall is lined with glass cases that tell a long and distinguished story of bravery, service and sacrifice by our military personnel. It has a great mix of items from well-known military heroes like Patton and Eisenhower. 4 They have a display of Patton's leather jacket and uniform. "You can (only) see that here and at the Patton