These warbirds – from a legendary British Spitfire MkIXc that flew 74 missions in World War II including over the beaches of Normandy on D-Day to four P-51s, a C-53, a Canadian Harvard Mk IV and an FM-2P Wildcat.

The planes are owned by Bruce Eames of Houston, Texas, and housed at the Dakota Territory Air Museum in Minot. Minot Aero Center does the maintenance on the planes.

Warren Pietsch, Minot, is the chief pilot of the fleet and also a Dakota Territory Air Museum board member.

An Interstate L-6 Cadet “Grasshopper,” a utility transport, liaison and observer plane used during World War II owned by Cindy Beck of Wahpeton, also is at the museum.

Warren Pietsch, pilot, with passenger Brinlee Sisk, Dakota Territory Air Museum staff member, prepare to leave the air museum in “Little Horse,” a P-51 Mustang, for a flight over Minot on May 8. The flight, presented by the air museum, was done in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe (V-E) Day and to honor front-line medical workers and other essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Little Horse” is one of several World War II planes at the air museum.

The collection of warbirds being in Minot got its start when Dr. Hank Reichert of Bismarck, owner of a P-51 Mustang “Dakota Kid II, “ displayed the plane at the Minot museum.

“Dr. Reichert had allowed us to use ‘Dakota Kid’ for a number of years,” said Pietsch.

When Reichert decided to sell his plane, he asked Pietsch to sell it for him. “People from Houston saw the ad and came here with the intent of buying that airplane – only that airplane – and to have me fly it in four air shows a year for two years. At the end of that period they were going to donate the plane back to the air museum,” Pietsch said.

“They came here, we had lunch and they saw what we were doing for kids’ educational programs and for honoring veterans. They thought that was pretty neat,” he said.

Pietsch took the Mustang to Houston to fly the first air show that fall. Ed Bosarge of Houston bought ‘Dakota Kid’ and another plane, a Japanese Zero. Bruce Eames, also of Houston, bought “Little Horse,” another P-51, at the same time.

“They got pretty enthused and we had a museum in Houston that we were in. That went on from 2010 until now,” Pietsch said. He said the hangar in Houston has been sold and Bosarge has decided to direct his interest elsewhere and has sold all of his planes except one which is being sold. The rest of the airplanes belong to Eames.

The Houston group also contributed along with the city of Minot to building the hangar, said Pietsch, referring to the hangar in Minot that houses the warbirds.

“We did a fundraiser and got half a million dollars from the city of Minot. They told me for every dollar I raised they’d give me two so that’s how we built this hangar. They (Houston group) paid for two-thirds of it,” Pietsch said. The hangar was dedicated July 4, 2013.

The planes have participated in air shows all over the country.

“We did a lot of air shows – in the Caribbean, Oshkosh… – all the major air shows in the country for the last seven, eight years,” Pietsch said, adding, “This collection of airplanes is probably the largest collection of World War II aircraft in one spot in the central U.S.”

Along with many air shows, the planes and pilots were in special observances including a 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe (V-E Day) commemoration in Washington, D.C., in May 2015.

When people visit the museum in Minot, Pietsch said they are quite surprised what they see there.

“People are amazed when they come in here – people in the industry and others just never expect to see what they see when they come to Minot and see this museum,” Pietsch said. He said the warbirds are part of it. “But the facility is beautiful, the people here – the volunteers and the workers here – do a great job in keeping the place nice and that has helped us maintain this fleet and have the people from Houston willing to leave their airplanes here plus we don’t have hurricanes.”

All of the World War II planes at the museum are flyable.

“Some of them have actual war history,” Pietsch said. “The Spitfire flew 74 missions in World War II. It was flown by the Polish Volunteers in the RAF, and then transferred to the Free French and flew over Normandy Beach during the invasion. It’s an extremely historic airplane,” he said.

He said “Lope’s Hope 3rd” is not the original “Lope’s Hope” but is painted the colors of the China- Burma-India Theater as is another plane, “Miss Kitty.”

“Miss Kitty” honors the World War II service of the late John Rosenbaum, a native of Illinois who flew 75 combat missions. “Lope’s Hope 3rd” honors the late Donald Lopez Sr., World War II ace pilot who flew 101 combat missions and later was deputy director of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

The C-53 “The Duchess of Dakota,” was painted to honor the late Murray Lawler, a native of Emmons County who flew C-47s and C-53s during World War II. His wife, Margaret, was the first war bride to arrive in North Dakota in 1946.

The planes are from the years 1939 to 1945.

Pilots for the planes are from all over the country. They include

– Warren Pietsch of Minot

– Casey Odegaard of Kindred

– Bernie Vasquez of Vacaville, California

– U.S. Congressman Sam Graves of Tarkio, Missouri

– Walt Bowe of Sonoma, California

– Alan Miller of Atlanta, Georgia

– Doug Rozendaal of Mason City, Iowa

– Dr. Hank Reichert of Bismarck

– Mike Schiffer of Alma, Mich.

– Mark Murphy of Amsterdam, New York

“I was very fortunate I started doing this in 1992,” Pietsch said. “A lot of the World War II vets were still relatively young and they had great stories. Obviously, now we don’t have very many left.”

“What a great period of time for me to learn from them and for me to have a chance to honor them, to let them sit in the planes and reminisce. It really did a good job of bringing some peace to those guys,” he said.

He noted one of the veterans who visited the Minot air museum four years ago especially to see the Spitfire.

“Barry Needham flew two tours in Europe in Spitfires and he got to sit in this airplane and have all his kids around. It was a pretty special deal,” Pietsch said. Needham died about three years ago.

“Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome wasn’t named but all those guys had PTSD and these planes helped them a lot. It allowed them to open up to somebody about what they’d seen. So many held it in their whole life – their entire life. Time after time they would be talking to me and afterwards their kids or wife would come over to me and say, ‘we never knew, we’d never heard that story.’ I think it was a good thing for them and obviously a good thing for us to learn,” he said.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pietsch said events that the warbirds normally would have participated in were canceled this year. But hopes are events again will be held.

Of the Minot museum, Pietsch said, “It’s an amazing addition to the community. I wish more people would take the time and come and see it because it is a really, really good facility with really good displays and not just the airplanes.” He said the museum has many show cases with extensive information.

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