GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — A soldier plants his boot in the sand.
The infantryman is a bronze sculpture. The sand, though, is authentic, straight from the beach that the U.S. Army’s 4th Division stormed on D-Day in 1944.
This depiction of the largest seaborne invasion in history isn’t in Normandy, France, but in rural Minnesota.
Within hangars outside of Granite Falls, the Fagen Fighters World War II Museum houses the exhibit, along with military aircraft and ground transport vehicles that have been added over time, as a way to preserve World War II history, said Ron Fagen, who opened it with his wife, Diane Fagen, in 2012.
“We just wanted to show our appreciation for our veterans, especially World War II veterans,” he said.
Ray Fagen, Ron’s father, was in the 4th Infantry Division on D-Day, an operation that enabled the Allied Forces’ liberation of western Europe from Nazi Germany. From storming Utah Beach at Normandy to braving the Battle of the Bulge, Ray came home from the war with three battle stars.
He rarely talked about his service before he died in 2010, Ron Fagen said. The museum is a way to remember him, while connecting the Greatest Generation’s World War II service to the latest generation.
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Students from Yellow Medicine East High School represented the latest generation at the museum’s Veterans Day program Tuesday. World War II Navy veteran Bob Brix, a 101-year-old from Clara City, was there to represent the Greatest Generation.
Out of about 304,500 Minnesotans who served during World War II, Brix is one of 1,224 who was still living as of this year, according to National World War II Museum data. As first-hand experiences in World War II become exceedingly rarer to hear, museums like Fagen Fighters play a role in keeping memories alive.
Fagen Fighters is a valuable learning tool, said Erik Hoklin, a social studies teacher at Yellow Medicine East.
“This is a special asset to the community,” he said. “Most communities don’t get to have this.”
Both of Hoklin’s grandfathers served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II; the Air Force became a separate military branch after the war. He followed in his grandfathers’ and father’s footsteps. He’s currently a master sergeant in the Minnesota Army National Guard who was guest speaker at Tuesday’s event.
Hoklin sees the museum as part of a broader community embrace of veterans in Granite Falls.
“It’s very clear immediately just driving through the town,” he said. “This is a community that values veterans, values our civic duty to our veterans, and with our next generations, values teaching them about what it really means.”
Reverence for military veterans does seem to stand out in this part of western Minnesota. About 40 miles northwest of Fagen Fighters, all of the city streets in Appleton are named after fallen war heroes. Appleton styles itself as the “home of honored veterans.”
Diane Fagen is aware of her museum’s uniqueness, not only because of its location but also its squadron of working World War II aircraft. The museum is located at Granite Falls Municipal Airport, where these “warbirds” take flight to do flyovers.
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A P-51 Mustang named “Sweet Revenge” was Fagen’s first addition to the squadron. From there, the collection has grown to more than 15 aircraft in working order, with names like “Aleutian Tiger,” “Twilight Tear” and “Paper Doll.” Four hangars house them.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Diane said of the museum’s growth over 13 years. “It’s a small world [for museums like this].”
The post In western Minnesota, a fleet of World War II aircraft brings a fading era to life appeared first on MinnPost.
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