The Warhawk Air Museum showcases the history of veterans through stories, but they don't have room to include many of the stories from the veterans of the Post 9/11 era.
"We are busting at the seams so the problem that we have when we look at the generations from 9/11 until today there really isn’t a place for them and so we are trying to fix that," said Pat Kilroy of the Warhawk Air Museum.
The museum has come up with an expansion plan that will cost an estimated $1.6 million over the next three years.
The plan includes building a new maintenance hangar so the museum can use its current maintenance hanger for a new exhibit for this latest generation of veterans.
"In 2022 what is going to principally happen is all of the site prep," said Kilroy. "The surveying, architectural and engineering work laying all of the infrastructures so that by the end of 2022 we are prepared to do the construction in 2023."
The Warhawk Air Museum features more than one thousand veterans stories, the showcase how warfighting equipment has changed since the first World War and they make history come alive with some of the events they host throughout the year to make sure we remember the service and sacrifice of our nation's vets.
One of their biggest events is the Warbird Roundup featuring historic planes and the new F-35 made an appearance this year, but they also hold the Kilroy Coffee Klatch on the first Tuesday of every month that brings veterans together and we were just at the museum on Saturday for the annual Army-Navy football game.
"It’s humbling the fact that every day we get to come in and get to be associated with not only the men and women but the technologies and the history that is embedded here," said Kilroy. "it is pretty amazing."
The Warhawk Air Museum will generate funds for the expansion themselves, federal dollars will be made available and the museum is also looking for donors in order to raise enough money to fund the expansion and this new exhibit.
"We would absolutely welcome the community to participate with us," said Kilroy who served in the Army. "That is part of what is so great about the local community is how much they support our mission here. Our mission is to educate the world about the cost of freedom and honor those that paid that price."
