Indiana Military Museum – Vincennes, IN

From a horse drawn canon, Patton’s jacket, a M16A1, bunkers, original “Jeep”, fighter jets, “Huey” UH-1H, tanks, trucks, and even an astronaut’s jumpsuit, the Indiana Military Museum in Vincennes, IN was much more that we anticipated.“Have you been to the military museum?” This question was asked of us over and over as we visited places in Vincennes. Our answer was always, no we have not been yet but it is on our list. We had driven past the museum many times and noticed it was very nondescript, nothing fancy. There were many types of aircraft on the property and a small museum building.

Our visit to the museum was more than we expected. Yes, there are many, many aircrafts, tanks and other equipment in the yard, yet it is the museum building which is jam packed with various items from the Civil War to the present. The mission of the museum is “to foster the memory, understanding and appreciation of U.S. military history”. This is accomplished with displays, vintage vehicles, weapons, uniforms and other artifacts. We viewed flags, items captured from our enemy, toys, items used on the Home Front and many other pieces of history.

One of the more interesting outside exhibits is the USS Grayback – SS-208 Memorial. During WWII, the US lost fifty-two submarines including the USS Grayback. To honor the men and memorialize the subs, each state was assigned a “Submarine Memorial”. Indiana was given the USS Grayback. The USS Grayback was commissioned in 1941 as a Tambor class submarine. This class of submarines was used mainly during WWII and formed the core of the Pacific submarine fleet. The Grayback completed ten patrols before being attacked and sunk by Japanese aircraft near Okinawa on February 27, 1944.

Another exhibit honoring the USS Vincennes CG-49 was interesting because of the local connection. She was commissioned in 1985 as a Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser. She was one of five of her class equipped with MK26 Guided Missile Launching System. During her service during the Iran-Iraq War, the cruiser shot down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf. This caused an international issue between Iran and the US. The Vincennes later returned to the Pacific until her decommissioning in 2005. Attempts were made to retrofit the cruiser but in 2010 the USS Vincennes was towed to Texas and scrapped.

Even more interesting was the exhibit honoring the USS Vincennes CA-44. She was a New Orleans class heavy cruiser launched in May 1936 and commissioned February 24, 1937. The Vincennes took part in the Neutrality Patrol, Doolittle raid, the Battle of Midway and the invasion of Guadalcanal. She was sunk August 9, 1942 during the battle of Savo Island. The USS Vincennes CA-44 was awarded two battle stars. The New Orleans Class consisted of seven heavy cruisers built in the 1930s.

 

Walking out into the cool autumn air offered more interesting discoveries. There were aircraft, equipment and vehicles from various periods of military history. We were able to be up close and personal with so much equipment used in defending our country.

For a walk through military history both from a personnel perspective and the equipment used in different eras, this is a great place to immerse yourself. Some exhibits go into great detail, tell stories of the exhibit and there is even a library.

Leaving the museum, we were filled with appreciation and gratitude to all men and women who have defended our freedom over the history of the USA. War is never easy, never good, yet sometimes necessary to defend our freedom and beliefs. Thank you to all who have served and made the US a better place.

 

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