The new Saur-King Jet Plaza is
dedicated to two Very Special Men.
The jet display bears the names of the two WWII veterans and Air Force retirees who carried out the mission to get the retired T-33 Shooting Star from Wisconsin to its permanent site in Oelwein more than 68 years ago. Brig. Gen. Walt Saur and Lt. Col. Royce King were told of the retired aircraft, a T-33 that had been converted to a training jet and changed from a single pilot to two seats and sets of controls. They decided it would make a nice display at City Park to replace an old cannon that had occupied the spot until it was turned into scrap metal for the WWII effort. The fighter jet has been on loan to the American Legion Ross Reid Post 9 of Oelwein since 1962.
A project to make the historic fighter jet designed during World War II and put to use in Korea more prominent in display was the brainchild of Oelwein resident and Vietnam veteran Jake Blitsch. He has been charged with filing the annual report to the USAF national museum for the past 15 years. This year, he decided to put his ideas for the display into motion. A successful fundraising campaign ensued. In addition to the many businesses, industries and individuals who donated funding, an equally long list of in-kind contributors was also read as Blitsch thanked everyone who had a hand in making the display a success. “This is your legacy, too. No one person did all of this. There were many hands, many ideas, and you helped make this a beautiful site. I hope you take that away with you today and be proud of it.
To get credit for this cache, message me with the answer.
Who presented the flagpole and planter that sits just North of the Jet Plaza to the City Park?
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.
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