The Weekly 3
I joined the military at 17 years old and was on my way to becoming an officer after a decade of being a crew chief on A10s and C130s, before my military career was medically ended. It’s all good though. I learned a lot, I got to experience a lot, and it led me on the path I’m on today.
I’ve always just wanted to have a military exhibit in the museum I founded, Miles Through Time Automotive Museum. No military vehicles have been donated to the museum yet, but we’ve had some really great military vehicles come and go. Some of them are even foreign military vehicles, which makes them that much more rare for American visitors to see, like a DKW Munga and a Kublewagen.
The military depends on a variety of vehicles to keep their people safe and complete missions. It has been this way since the early 1910s. Military vehicles are their own genre and there is an entire demographic of people that love them. You can search for military-specific museums in the Automotive Museum Guide, under the Specialty drop down and click Military.
In honor of Veterans Day on the 11th, I want to share with you museums with some impressive military vehicles on display.
The Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum, or WAAAM, has one of the largest collections of still flying and driving antique vehicles in the country. The museum has numerous military vehicles on display and the museum is currently completing its 4th major expansion.
The American Heritage Museum is more of a dedicated military museum. The museum features vehicles dating back from WWI to today in a 65,000 square foot facility. There are over 90 tanks!
The last museum I want to share this week was started by Gil and Joanne Mangels in 1981. The Miracle of America Museum is one of the largest collections of American history. There is so much to see at this museum; the military stuff is only one part of it.
There are so many great automotive museums all over the world, each doing what they can to preserve and share automotive history. You may not be able to visit them all, although that would be extremely impressive, you can still help each museum by sharing the Automotive Museum Guide.
Share this email, share the guide on social media, use it often, and encourage others to sign up for this Weekly 3 to discover at least 3 automotive museums every week.
WHICH AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM WILL YOU VISIT NEXT?
Plan your next trip, discover your new favorite, or find the nearest museum
Sean Mathis
Creator of Automotive Museum Guide
Founder of Miles Through Time Automotive Museum
P.S. Make sure you follow AMG on Facebook and join the FB Group to see what’s going on at all the museums.
Explore Automotive Museums in
OREGON
Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum
The Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum (WAAAM Air & Auto Museum) has one of the largest collections of still-flying antique aeroplanes and still-driving antique automobiles in the country.
Explore Automotive Museums in
MASSACHUSETTS
American Heritage Museum
The American Heritage Museum features over 90 rare tanks and military vehicles from WWI through today in over 65,000 sq ft of exhibits.
Explore Automotive Museums in
MONTANA
Miracle of America Museum
The Miracle of America Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of one of the largest collections of American history. Gil & Joanne Mangels founded the museum in 1981.
Check out Past Newsletters
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Roadtrip Time
The Weekly 3I hope you had a fantastic 4th of July weekend. I spent Friday and Saturday at Miles Through Time Automotive Museum and got to talk to all kinds of people from all over the world. The furthest visitor was from Czechia. I spent Sunday driving up to...
Big Car Shows and Museums
Whether it’s a show to raise funds for a specific family in need, a church, a charity, or a museum, the proceeds raised help make a difference, and you have to spend a few hours having a good time.
Incubators for automotive interests
Just about every museum’s mission is some version of preserving and sharing automotive history, which is true and necessary.
Museums that help keep brands alive
Some of the very niche automotive museums you can visit may have it a little more difficult to capture a broader interest. Or perhaps because they are so niche, they have the ability to be hyper-focused on what they specialize in.
History Museum, Art Museum or Car Museum
I would argue that sometimes a car museum is just a car museum, but the best are all 3.
How many wheels do you prefer?
If you need an excuse to ride or drive somewhere, just open up the MAP and find a museum to visit.
This guy bought the entire museum
Visit as many museums as you can. Volunteer if possible. Become an advocate. If you have a collection or even just one car or priceless knowledge, share it.