This piece originally ran in the April 2021 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.
On August 2, 1988, at the height of that year’s EAA fly-in and convention in Oshkosh, EAA broke ground on a major addition to our museum, the Eagle Hangar. The 42,000-square-foot wing was built to pay tribute to the men, women, and machines of World War II, and it has since evolved to honor those who served in Korea and Vietnam. Tom Poberezny, then EAA’s senior vice president and fly-in chairman, wore this hard hat and participated in the ceremonial groundbreaking.