With 29 Military Aircraft On Display, This Small Town Museum In Indiana Is A True Hidden Gem
By Tori Jane|Published June 16, 2023
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Tori Jane
Author
Tori Jane is a storm chaser, writer, photographer, and the village idiot - in that order. When she's not out and about dancing with the meanest storms on planet Earth for funsies she can be found wandering, shooting landscapes, writing, editing photos, and otherwise up to no good. Legend has it that she can also be occasionally spotted typing up short bios in the third person, but those rumors are unsubstantiated.
Peru is not an enormous or all that well-known of a place; it’s one of the small towns in Indiana that’s usually visited for one reason – that reason being the breathtaking Seven Pillars of Peru. But there’s another awesome attraction in the town of Peru that I’m fairly certain is overlooked entirely too often: it’s the utterly fascinating Grissom Air Museum, an epic homage to the history of the Air Force and its planes. It’s probably one of the downright best museums in Indiana, and it’s a true hidden gem. Come check it out – I promise you’ll leave with a newfound (or totally recharged) passion for aviation.
Once upon a time, Grissom Air Force Base was called Bunker Hill Air Force Base, but it changed its name to honor the late astronaut and Hoosier Virgil Grissom, who quite tragically passed away in the Apollo I fire in January 1967.
The Grissom Air Museum came much later, as it was founded in 1981 by seven former servicemen. The Heritage Museum Foundation was on a mission: it wanted to preserve old aircraft that were, at that time, still sitting at Grissom Air Force Base.
...and so, the Grissom Air Museum made it so, and today it's an incredible force of awesomeness educating Hoosiers on the long and interesting history of aviation, particularly in the military.
The guides at Grissom Air Museum are a step up from your average docent; each of them is former military who served on-base (or who have been local to the area long enough to have might as well served on-base). You'll learn so much - and it's great for kids, too.
Kids five and under are free, and tickets are very affordable for everyone else. If you do decide to schedule a tour, please do so at least two weeks in advance. Best of all, the tours don't cost extra - they're included (score).
To schedule your tour, shoot an email to director@grissomairmuseum.com, or call (765) 689-8011.
You'd be surprised at just how underrated this place is!
For lots more information, including the most up-to-date hours and admission information, be sure to check out the official Grissom Air Museum website. Have you ever been to this fascinating place? Let me know which plane(s) is/are your favorites!
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