Armor Museum

[ratfortman]

Maybe this has been posted before, but it's a great collection, great setting, and great people who run it.

Ropkey Armor Museum

North of crawfordsville

 

[Cameramonkey]

COOL! I remember when they were here in Indy. Lots of cool stuff.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Good people at Ropkey.

And head into Darlington to get some good Broaster Fried Chicken and a diet Dr. Pepper while you're at it...

They had a "fly-in" exhibition last year (perhaps the last few), but cancelled it this year. Guess if no Indy Air Show this year, no Ropkey fly-in either. Bummer.

-J-

 

[Hoosier Cowboy]

First time I've heard about it, I also recently found out that Vincensse has a pretty nice Military Museum.

 

[vitamink]

I visited the Ropkey museum when i was a kid. I think the coolest part of being there was being there with my dad. It's one of those father son memories that you may not have many of, but you cherish more than anything else. He was in Vietnam and couldn't stop remarking on how the old jeeps were true 4x4's and the best vehicle ever. I decided then that i would buy my dad a jeep just like his one day. I started working at a horse stable when i was 14 and saved every penny. Unfortunately that dream never came true as i needed something more reliable to get to school and bought a toyota.

I visited Ropkey museum with some friends about a year or so ago and it reminded me of a promise i made before i was a teenager.

so i bought this.

and now 6 months later it looks like this

Dad will be driving this to his Vietnam veterans reunion in Kokomo.

The moral of the story is this:

Take your kids to the Ropkey museum and in 20 years they may buy you a tank.

 

[ratfortman]

that is an awesome machine!!
well played!
you're a good boy!

 

[vitamink]

Thanks.

I let him know what i was planning after i made a deposit. You would have thought he was 18 again which was more than i had hoped. I'm sure when i get it back it'll be banged up, covered in mud and probably smell funny, but that's what it's for. He loves reconnecting with his friends from Vietnam. I'm honestly waiting for them all to go back and try to win Vietnam and finish what we started in Korea. A great bunch of guys.

Back on the topic of museums, you can't go wrong with Ropkey. It's inspiring to see someone who cares so much about old military relics that most people can't buy given the price or government regulation. It should be noted that the Hmmwv i bought was one of 2,000 accidentally released to the public. They can only sell them now to other governments like Israel, or run them through a giant chipper/shredder. Sad. Even the old Jeeps had to be torch cut into 3 pieces, much like a FA receiver, before they could be sold as scrap. Ropkey became a museum to be able to attain .gov permission for harder to get pieces. You'll be impressed.

Another good one that you may forget about is in the basement of the War Memorial in downtown Indy. They have weapons, and mil vehicles set up into sections based on the conflict they were used in.

A final resource, and one that will be gone by 2036, is our WWII veterans. According to the VA WWII vets are dying at a rate of 680 per day. Find one, talk to them, and thank them before you can't.

The last WW1 veteran died in 2010.

 

[ratfortman]

thank you for the good info. I want to fly in to Ropkey with some friends. It would make a good out and back day trip from Columbus.
Would that WWI vet be Frank Woodruff Buckles?

 

[vitamink]

thank you for the good info. I want to fly in to Ropkey with some friends. It would make a good out and back day trip from Columbus.
Would that WWI vet be Frank Woodruff Buckles?

Call before you go down and set everything up. It's a museum in name alone. Its family owned and operated by about 4 people and they tend to eat or go on vacation together.


You are correct

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Another note about Ropkey:

Almost everything in there runs/works.

From the itty bitty single man WW I era "tank" to the Desert Storm era self-propelled Howitzer.

Granted, not everything does run - but most of it CAN. (repair / maintenance costs keep most things from running in all but special occasions.)

-J-

 

[IndyBeerman]

First time I've heard about it, I also recently found out that Vincensse has a pretty nice Military Museum.

Here's the web site about the Museum in Vincennes
http://www.indymilitary.com/

I need to go to both of these and get some quality in person photos.