(engine revving) - It's a real feel of World War II, as close as you're gonna get, I guess nowadays.

It's one of the only truly only World War II air shows in the world.

My name is Evan Fagen and I'm chief pilot of the museum.

My folks, Ron and Diane, started the museum in 2012.

The main purpose of the museum is to honor the greatest generation, really in the sacrifices and all of the contributions they made during World War II to defeat the Axis forces really, and with the greatest generation, the 18 year olds to lower twenties, really stopped their lives to fight for the country.

And a lot of people came forward and volunteered and went all over the world wherever they could to help.

So this is here to honor them.

So our air shows, we try to make 'em very unique in the fact that it's World War II only.

So we close the airport down to general aviation traffic.

General aviation is current modern aircraft that are built now.

We close the airfield off to those.

So it's only World War II aircraft that we invite.

It's only World War II aircraft that perform.

We don't have any, there's zero updated modern airplanes on the field.

Ray Fagen was my grandpa.

During World War II he served in the Fourth Infantry and the scene behind us shows the Higgins boats landing on Utah Beach.

That's the depiction of what we're trying to represent here.

And my grandpa is on the landing craft here.

He fought in World War II.

He was a really good guy.

He loved aviation and he's one of the veterans who did not really talk about his experiences.

Unfortunately, my grandpa passed away before this was open but he was a big inspiration for my folks to open this to share their stories and to honor the greatest generation.

My grandpa fought from the Normandy invasion through the liberation of Paris, the Battle of the Bulge, and he had a really rough time.

And after the war, to help counter some of the war fatigue and stress, shell shock is what they called it back then, he got his pilot's license at the recommendation of a military doctor, and he got it through the GI Bill in a Stearman, which is a World War II trainer.

And that was my grandpa's way of coping with shell shock for a lot early part of his life and he carried the love of aviation all the way through over 50 years.

And that got my dad started in aviation, got our whole family started in it.

And in fact, the airplane behind us, a P38, my grandpa did tell a story about how a P38, after the D-Day invasion, I don't remember how many days, but they were pinned down and two P38's came out of the clouds and strafed the entire German group that was advancing on him and wiped them all out and he said that's the only reason he survived that was a P38 so he always had a special place in his heart for that airplane.

So aviation's always been a huge love with my Grandpa Ray.

So it was nice to combine his military service with his passion, which was aviation.

Most air shows have World War II aircraft but not the volume that we have here and also the fact that it's strictly World War II, but it also allows these World War II veterans to come back and kind of get 'em back in their element.

We like to give 'em a feel of the 1940s as much as we can.

We have reenacters here.

We have ground vehicles here, driving around operating.

We have camps set up so people can walk around and see how these camps were set up in World War II, the reenacters there, the tents set up, the field kitchens, all of that stuff.

And then of course, the sound of the day is World War II aircraft whether it's radial engines or Merlin engines, you know, they hear the real sound of these aircraft all day long.

And it's not interrupted with any modern technology or jets.

It's unique in the fact that we feel we give the World War II veterans a peek to their past and they can kinda be in their element and show their families what things were like and how things sounded and operated.

It opens up a lot of these World War II veterans that day to tell their story and share with people and be proud of what they did and be able to relate to areas that they helped contribute to.

- The most memorable day would be when they raised the flag on Iwo Jima.

I wasn't, I was a half a mile from Mount Suribachi and I did not actually see them raise the flag, but there was so much gunfire and so much action.

I turned around and I saw the flag up on the Mount Suribachi and there it was, that is the most memorable.

- For the veterans, we hope during the air show, that it brings them joy in seeing that their generation's contributions are still active and alive today and that people haven't forgot about what they've done.

And they can see pieces of equipment from their war days in front of them still active today, still vibrant.

- I think this is fantastic.

I mean, just being able to see these airplanes and the condition that they're in.

I mean, it's like when you get to go see a Model T Ford that was built before I was born and it's drivable, looks brand new, that people can do that sort of thing because not everybody can do this, not any, you know, these are special people that spend all of these hours putting these things back together, it's incredible.

- A lot of this stuff that is here is preserved so nicely and functions so well and accurately really in that they're just proud that people still pay attention to it and remember it.

And a lot of these folks want history to be remembered and they're seeing that acted out during that day at the air show because you know, a lot of the different battles, a lot of of the different facts are brought out that day.

So it's brought up, it's talked about.

It's not hidden, it's not buried, it's right in front of everyone and I think a lot of these veterans like hearing that because they don't want their efforts to be forgotten.

- [Narrator] Postcards is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the Citizens of Minnesota.

Additional support provided by Margaret A Cargill Philanthropies, Mark and Margaret Yackel-Juleen on behalf of Shalom Hill Farms, a retreat and conference center in a prairie setting near Wyndham, Minnesota.

On the web at shalomhillfarm.org.

Alexandria, Minnesota, a year-round destination with hundreds of lakes, trails, and attractions for memorable vacations and events.

More information at explorealex.com.

The Lake Region Arts Council's Arts calendar, an arts and cultural heritage funded digital calendar showcasing upcoming art events and opportunities for artists in West Central Minnesota.

On the web at lrac4calendar.org.

Playing today's new music plus your favorite hits, 96.7kram.

Online at 967kram.com.

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