Our Mission for today: River Rat Museum
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The National River Rat Executive Board is thrilled to announce the the next mission for ALL River Rats. We have teamed up with Aviation Heritage Park, located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, for them to be the future "Home of the River Rats".
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The River Rat Museum would be part of a larger aviation museum being built by Aviation Heritage Park. This 11,000 sq. ft. indoor museum will allow the River Rats to collect, preserve, and exhibit artifacts, documents, patches, flight suits, and other items better suited for a controlled environment. Interactive exhibits will captivate visitors with exciting in-depth insight and understanding of the what and who the River Rats are.
Latest Museum Photos
Project Status
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PHASE 1: COMPLETED:
Spring 2019
THE FIRST PHASE OF CONSTRUCTION HAS BEEN FINISHED. ALL UNDERGROUND UTILITIES ARE IN PLACE AND READY FOR THE BUILDING TO BE ERECTED AS SOON AS THE GROUND THAWS.
PHASE 2:
OUTSIDE/SHEEL COMPLETE
MARCH 2022
2
CONSTRUCTION OF THE "OUTSIDE" OF THE BUILDING IS COMPLETE. NEXT UP IS THE INSTALLATION OF ELECTRICAL, PLUMBING, AND HVAC.
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STAY TUNED FOR MORE UPDATES.
CHECK OUT THE LATEST PHOTOS FROM THE OPEN HOUSE HELD ON APRIL, 2022.
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PHASE 3: Building Finished
June 30, 2023
Grand opening was held on October 12, 2024, during the 2024 Reunion, held in Bowling Green, KY.
IT IS STILL A GOOD TIME TO MAKE A DONATION!
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Updated 10 MAR 24
River Rat
MUSEUM
Updated 4 JAN 2023
Completed Museum Photos Coming!
One of the museum committee's primary problems has been to determine to focus of the displays due to Rat members extensive area of operations involvement. We had to narrow the options due to having a much smaller display footprint than the National Museum of the US Air Force and the Naval Aviation Museum. This is both good and bad, good in that we hope to have more specific presentations for our subgroups, but bad in that we cannot possibly display all our collective memorabilia at one time. From a very long list of options, we narrowed the field to eleven, which are:
Naval Ops
Marine Ops
SAC Area of Operations - B-52/Refueling/ Linebacker I & II/Strategic Recon
POW/MIA
F-4 Phantom Ops
F-105 Thunderchief Ops
FAC and related Ops
Wild Weasels Ops
ARRS – Areas included in Rescue Ops
Desert Storm and Beyond
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Let them know if you have items that you think might work in the museum. Items that don't fit into the above groups but can be related to the history and traditions of the River Rats, contact Pontiff at the museum at Pontiff@river-rats.org.
In addition to these displays, there will be other "eye candy" displayed around the museum that will include:
Artwork: areas of involvement, people/places we should all know about.
Unique Artifacts: for example, mission lineup cards, maps, flags, and other collectible items
Helmets and Flight suits: this should be an exciting collection!
Aircraft Models: the goal is to have one of each type flown by the Rat members
Challenge Coins: River Rat-related groups, Packs, and individual members are encouraged to display their challenge coins for all to see.
"No Bucks, No Buck Rogers"
We need your help to fund this museum project to preserve our legacy for future generations. In addition to what we have listed below, stay tuned for future updates on how you can help make this a successful mission.
Ways to Support the Museum
Take Off 2020
Matched Capitol Campaign
Help fund the mission to build the River Rat museum. Make your donation by going through the River Rats direct giving page.
Support the museum by purchasing the museum challenge coin. All proceeds go directly to supporting the museum.