It was a cool Saturday morning in September when a large group of us from our church decided to spend the day together. We boarded three large vans and headed north to the area of Granite Falls, Minnesota. I had traveled this stretch of highway many times, but had not realized that the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum was right there to see and experience. I so wish I had known about it earlier so that I could have taken my dad to see it when he was alive. He could have narrated some parts of it for me in ways that you can’t get from reading or watching a movie clip.
This marvelous place that preserves history is located south of Granite Falls off of highway 23 at the Lenzen-Roe-Fagen Memorial Airport. It is living memorial to a time in history that was most critical to our world and country. It is a larger than life exhibit of aircraft and ground equipment from that well known conflict. More than that, it is a tribute to the men and women of The Greatest Generation. The whole museum gives witness to the incredible sacrifices during that time that shaped our freedom and liberty that we so treasure today.
The mission of the Fagen WWII Museum is to preserve the memory of the heroes of WWII and promote patriotism in us, today’s Americans. And to the younger generation, inspire them to study this time in history and apply the lessons learned from these brave men and women. Futures can and will be inspired by taking time to visit this place and soaking up the information shared there. I came away both amazed and humbled by the things seen and heard.
This amazing collection of our history is much larger than first thought when you turn off the highway. It is housed in three large hangars, along with other structures and exhibits that are worth our time and thought to recollect this somber time in our nation’s history. We spent almost four hours there, and I desire to go back to see what I missed the first time. It would be a great place to take family and friends when they are visiting as it is unique and worthwhile to see.
Upon entering the Trainer Hangar, we had a short introduction to what we would see. (Tours are available…or you can go at your own pace and explore on your own.) This building housed a combat glider, several Trainer planes, a Cushman Model 32 Scooter, an art gallery and gift shop, and even a Harley Davidson WLA Escort Motorcycle.
Moving down the outside path to the Fighter Hangar, we could see that the building was reinforced to protect the valuable exhibits inside from tornado force winds and damage. This place housed several war planes including P-40 Warhawks, P-51D Mustangs, and a P-38 Lightening. General Omar Bradley’s D-Day Willys Jeep and a WC54 Ambulance were in there, plus many wall mural scenes. This place also included my favorite exhibit which depicts Utah Beach, memorial sculptures and the battle scene, including sand that actually came from the original D-Day beach. It is very moving to view and to imagine what happened there.
Across the way is the Bomber Hangar. This building houses various WWII artifacts, an underwater exhibit, voices of Valor Theater, a BT-13 Trainer, a German ME-109, and a WC-55 Tank Buster. A new addition is a Holocaust Boxcar and POW Boxcar exhibits. Using headsets we could listen to actual survivors tell of their experiences first-hand. So very real and sobering.
Toward the end of the large field enclosing the museum is a Quonset Hut that holds authentic equipment from “The Big Day” on January 15, 1945. It is a recreation of the 357th Fighter Group Briefing Quonset. We saw original radios, typewriters and teletype machines. Next to this building is a Control Tower which you can climb up and also a German Gun Emplacement to view.
This place was well worth our time on that brisk Saturday morning. It is open year around except for Sunday, Monday, or National Holidays. There is no charge, but donations are encouraged. Tours can be arranged by advance appointment. There is quite a lot of walking required, but wheel chairs are very easily accessible.
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