Great Falls Tribune from Great Falls, Montana • Page 31

H) COMMUNITY Thursday, October 3, 1985 Military memorabilia found in museum Just inside the main gate at Malmstrom Air Force Base at the east end of Second Avenue North is a public attraction of historic interest to Montana, an attraction often overlooked not only by visitors to the Great Falls area but also by Great Falls residents themselves. It is the Malmstrom Air Force Base Museum and Air Park. And while it is not an official Air Force operation funded with federal dollars, it has the Air Force's blessing. It operates on donations and private funding and countless volunteer hours by its supporters. Its major displays, in the park surrounding the museum, are on loan from the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

Included in the display is a KC-29 Strato-tanker, EB-57 Canberra, F-I01 Voodoo, F-84F Thunderstreak, and a UH-1F Iroquis helicopter, better known as a Huey. All are aircraft which served, or are serving, Malmstrom or Great Falls Air Force Base before the base name was changed to Malmstrom. Standing tall at the east end of the park is a mock-up of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile like the ones which stand ready in 50 missile launch facilities under the jurisdiction of the 341st Strategic Missile Wing headquartered at Malmstrom. The wing also has 150 Minuteman lis. A Canadian Indian totem pole, symbolic of the affection the Canadian Forces had for their American counterparts while on military duty here, stands in the park, a gift from the Canadian Forces.

While these major displays are owned by the Air Force, all refurbishing and emplacement responsibility rests with the Malmstrom Historical Foundation which achieved successful completion of these projects through donations of materials and mechanical equipment including cranes from the Great Falls civilian sector and voluntary military contributions. It was volunteer effort that brought the air- craft back into display-status condition complete with color markings and aircraft numbers of historic importance. When the base's Education Center was completed, two mobile classroom units no longer were needed. These were moved to the park and joined together to provide the foundation with a museum building. The base also provides some administrative assistance to the program.

According to Gerald C. Hanson, foundation president, volunteers are completing renovation of the building's interior the setting for the displays which preserve the aviation history of central Montana dating from the early days of World War II when Great Falls became a strong link in the chain of supply to the Soviet Union. Hanson, who also serves as curator of the museum, said a diorama of the Malmstrom flightline during World II is being completed. Visitors will be able to view it through a window in the museum's barracks room display. The diorama, against a backdrop of the PRIDE Hangar, will include scale models of the P-39 Aircobra, B-25 Mitchell bomber, A-20 Havoc, P-40 Warhawk, C-47 Sky Train more familiarly known as the a T-6 Texan trainer.

These were the aircraft which were transported to the Soviet Union, via Alaska, from the then Great Falls Air Base during the critical years of World War II, Hanson said, noting this display will be completed by the end of October. Within the museum itself, which is open to the public without charge, Malmstrom's history from the early World War II years is graphically displayed and glass cases of military aircraft and missile models created primarily by Bary Poletto of Great Falls and Tech. Sgt. Dane Donnley of the base portray the history of aircraft from the Wright brothers to today's sophisticated Air Force jets. Hanson said the Malmstrom Museum's mili- tary model collection is one of the best in the United States.

Wall panels describe, and pictorially illustrate, the many Strategic Air Command missions the base has had during its history as well as the history of the 24th North American Aerospace Defense Command Air Division which provided more than 20 years of air defense. In the center of one of the display rooms stands a towering section of the Q-7 computer which the 24th NORAD used here for many years and, affixed to one of the section's faces, is a computer chip less than the size of a postage stamp which replaced the section in newer systems. There is a Prisoner of War-Missing in Action display which includes the names of these Montana heros. The museum recently received a group of neutralized North Vietnamese infantry weapons. Memorabilia of all types flight suits, helmets, flight equipment, instruments all are carefully preserved and displayed.

Hanson said anyone can join the foundation, a non-profit corporation chartered to receive gifts, donations, artifacts and service or materials on behalf of the museum. These donations from businesses or individuals, Hanson said, are tax deductible. The museum is open from noon-3 p.m. Monday through Friday, Hanson said, but during the December-February period, it is open noon-3 p.m., Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The museum has no paid staff, all personnel are volunteers.

The park-museum officially was dedicated on July 3, 1982 by Gen. Bennie L. Davis, then commander in chief of SAC. Canadian Forces Brig. Gen.

J. F. Y. Sorel dedicated the totem pole and Maj. Gen.

John Murphy, then commander of 15th Air Force, was on hand for the ceremonies. One of the future steps being planned for the park-museum complex, is the installation of walkways around the display aircraft to give viewers a closer look. 1 i P'! IT-V-'llZz-t if-" i ur r-I, 5n Tribune Photos by Ronald J. Rice Q-7 computer which provided the "eyes' for the 24th NORAD here for more than 20 years. the history of military aviation in cen- Displays in the Malmstrom Museum tral Montana since the early years of and Park include an aircraft model World War II.

case an( at r'8nt a section of the Framed by the F-84F Thunderstreak displayed in the Malmstrom Park, the Malmstrom Museum preserves.