A Cobra helicopter was lifted to the roof of the Gold Star Military Museum at Camp Dodge this past week as the work continues to fill the new exhibit area. Museum curator Mike Vogt says one of the most common questions he gets is when they are going to have everything completed.
He says they think if everything goes well it could be completed in a year. The Cobra helicopter from an Iowa National Guard unit in Waterloo is one of the large exhibit pieces, and another is under construction in California.
Vogt says it’s a full-sized scale replica of a Curtis P-40-B Tomahawk fighter plane that will be painted in the colors of an American volunteer group. The plane will represent one flow by Bill Reed of Marion for the Flying Tigers. Other exhibits include a periscope from a cold-war era sub, tanks and other heavy equipment. Vogt says it’s taken some planning to bring things together.
“Managing the project has been an exercise in a three-dimensinal timeline chess game, where we can only place one object, or one exhibit in place before another,” Vogt says. Vogt says they are still taking donations to help fund the exhibits.
He says the overall budget for the exhibits is about two million dollars and anyone can make a donation. To find out how to donate, visit the Iowa National Guard website at:www.iowanationalguard.com, and click on the Goldstar link.