Backyard Adventures

By Andy Heuring Museum," said Osborne. Patton's grandson is on the board of the museum. They also have Eisenhower's D-Day uniform. "It can only be seen in Vincennes, West Point and at his Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas," said Osborne. They even have an afghan sewn by George Custer's wife, as well as memorabilia from a soldier under Custer's command at Little Big Horn. These are combined with numerous items from local soldiers. One is from a Vincennes Navy pilot who, it was just recently discovered, was younger than President George Bush. Bush was commonly known as the youngest Navy pilot in WWII. "We had always thought President George Bush was the youngest pilot in WWII. But we just learned a few years ago that a Vincennes pilot was the youngest," said Osborne. The display even includes a hand-written letter from President Bush acknowledging the local pilot was the youngest pilot of the war. Another local connection is a display of Haubstadt pilot Larry Stolz. Stolz was killed on December 26, 1971, while on a mission over North Vietnam. Just recently, his family found out about the Indiana Military Museum and brought his flight jacket and other items they had. An F-4 fighter is also on display. When you see these planes on television or in pictures they are impressive. But when you see them up close, and can touch them, it is awesome on a completely different scale. A great thing about the Indiana Military Museum is they let you touch most of the things like the tanks and artillery pieces. The sign reads, "You can touch, but please don't climb." How many other places let you do that? Inside the display hall they have a small Japanese tank, an American M3 tank and a Sherman tank. Outside the building, there are numerous planes on display, as well as a series of tanks and armored personnel carriers. Some of the most interesting stuff is yet to come. Osborne's voice raises and his eyes brighten as he talks about a recently-acquired Higgins Boat. It was used as a personnel and vehicle landing craft in WWII. While more than 20,000 boats were made, only 12 are known to still exist. One of them sits on the Vincennes lot, waiting to be refurbished and put on display. They also have an F-16 fighter jet due to arrive later this year. A 50,000 square foot warehouse is packed with all types of vehicles, a building and a 76-foot tall movie scene backdrop brought in from Hollywood by semi-truck. They have a WWI French Military field ambulance waiting to be refurbished, as well as the front half of a CR147 fuselage. Osborne said they hope to set that up so people can walk through it and see the inside of the plane. They have lots of small things as well, from a French machine gun to John Wayne's lighter. The French machine gun isn't noteworthy for its success; rather just the opposite. "It is widely recognized as the worst machine gun ever made," said Osborne. Wayne's cigarette lighter on the side says, "I stole this from John Wayne." Osborne said it was just a gimmick by Wayne. He would give away his lighters or leave them wherever he went and they all had the stolen message on them. Osborne said he has been able to find and continue to get great items to display because of "tenacity"–a tenacity that helped get the first building going for the museum in 1985 on Bruceville Road. Because of its out-of-the-way location, few people knew about the Indiana Military Museum. But last September, the museum moved to Sixth St. Anytime someone goes to Good Samaritan Hospital, they can see a C147 plane as they turn into the hospital parking lot. It's a sight that gets a lot of people's attention. "Our visitation has picked up a lot since we moved here," said Osborne Donations have also increased. "We have gotten to the point where people bring us things almost everyday," said Osborne. Sometimes they are fairly insignificant, but others are really good. They have a room in the museum filled with items donated by family members. "It takes time to go through all of that, but it is a good problem to have. "The whole idea in a museum is just to bring recognition to service men and women and what they have done to preserve our freedoms and country. We have remembered our US military history," said Osborn. The museum does a great job of this. As you walk through, you can get a great insight into the military history of the United States. Often, it's by learning one soldier's story at a time. The Indiana Military Museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day during the spring, summer and fall months and 11-4 p.m. in the winter. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for veterans and seniors, $3 for kids ages 6 to 18 and children under 6 are free. BACKYARD ADVENTURES 2013 Pike Publishing 29

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