World War II Museums Show Way to VJ Day-- Part 3:The Ernie Pyle World War II Museum in Indiana

It is in tiny Dana, Indiana and volunteer Phil Hess believes that war stories should be preserved, "History is fragile."

He is one of the people who keep the Ernie Pyle World War II museum going..

Ernie Pyle was a very famous war correspondent who grew up in Dana, actually in a farmhouse that is now part of the museum.  He is one of the most famous war correspondents of all time.

"He had about 40 million daily readers.  He was in 700 newspapers," Hess explained.  "He spent his time with the enlisted guys.  He'd go to the front lines.  He'd go up to the repair shops He'd go with truck drivers.  ...People who read (his columns) felt like they were reading a letter from their servicemen."

The museum features dioramas from various places from where he wrote his columns-- North Africa; Normandy; France; and the Pa Near the end of the museum tour, visitors see a mural depicting the ditch in which Ernie Pyle was killed by Japanese gunfire on April 18, 1945.

--GreGen