The following is a release from the National Museum of Military Vehicles –
The Museum is a world-class military history museum which opened southeast of Dubois, Wyoming in August 2020. Inside the 140,000 sq. foot Museum, visitors will find nearly 500 fully restored military vehicles, artillery pieces, naval vessels and aircraft dating from 1897 to the present with a current emphasis on the American experience in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
The focus of the museum is to tell the stories of how these vehicles were used and to remember the valor of service members who fought, and sometimes died, in them.
The museum, located eight miles southeast of Dubois, WY, along U.S. Highway 26, also houses a large, historically significant, firearms collection.
“We hope the community can help us honor those who have served our country with valor as we pause to celebrate and say thank you for the tremendous amount of work and support that has brought the Museum to where it is today,” Museum founder and chairman Dan Starks said.
The day begins with a dedication ceremony at 10 a.m. Scheduled speakers include Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon; Alynne Catron, Executive Director of the Museum; LTG Roger Schultz (Ret), President, Army Historical Foundation; and William J. “Doc” Schmitz, National Commander-in-Chief, VFW, 2019 -2020. The ceremony will conclude with comments from Starks and a ribbon cutting.
Afterwards, visitors can tour the Museum for free, climb inside armored vehicles on display and ride in tanks and enjoy tank demonstrations that will include an M48 AVLB (armor vehicle laid bridge) which will deploy its bridge at 11:15 a.m. followed by a demonstration of a Leopard 1 tank. Guests can also fire machine guns on a specially created firing range. Food trucks will be available on the Museum grounds for visitors to enjoy. Special presentations from the national VFW and National Museum of the Army and Army Historical Foundation are also scheduled.
“We are thrilled when tourists from around the world are awestruck at the incredible depth and detail found inside our Museum. We are passionate about excellence and we strive to create a world-class museum experience for every guest that walks through our doors,” Starks said.
Guests are encouraged to use free shuttle busses to and from Dubois to the Museum every 20 minutes throughout the day. Provided by the Wind River Transportation Authority, the shuttle busses will help ease anticipated parking pressure at the Museum. Pickup/dropoff points include the Dubois Town Park, parking lot next to the Country “Jackalope” Store and the parking lot near the Dubois Medical Clinic. Bus service begins from the Dubois parking venues at 9 a.m.
Dan and Cynthia Starks founded the privately funded $100M museum.
