“What a man does for himself, dies with him. What a man does for his community lives long after he's gone.”
- President Theodore Roosevelt
Roosevelt’s words surely addressed the efforts of Wyoming resident Dan Starks' creation of the National Museum of Military Vehicles in DuBois, Wyoming. Nestled near the Grand Teton Mountains in the northwestern part of this state, it is an immense private collection that is housed within a 140,000 square foot facility. The National Veterans of Foreign Wars and Starks recently sponsored a trip for educators from different parts of this nation to visit this sprawling military educational museum.
As one of the teachers that fortunately was able to attend this trip, the participants were chosen by their local Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts that later was selected by senior members of this organization to win their states. In March, emails were sent to the top five educators that were picked by the National Veterans of Foreign Wars from Kansas City, Missouri. These teachers traveled from Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia.
All of these participants had prior military veterans, immediately bonded together, and were thrilled to meet at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to represent their school districts and VFWs.
After eating breakfast together and speaking about their teaching responsibilities and military experiences, we all met Starks. An extremely successful business leader and a well-known figure in Wyoming, he was an extremely approachable and likable figure. He looked, sounded, acted, like the group, answered all questions, and you quickly noticed the genuine personality of this special leader. A native of Buffalo, New York, Starks is an interesting person, as he left high school in the tenth grade and matriculated in a liberal arts college, where he studied the humanities. In 1979, Starks enrolled into the University of Minnesota Law School and later became a partner in a prestigious law firm. Starks was later presented with the challenge of rebuilding a bankrupt medical device business. Running Daig, Starks was an executive and later a president who returned it back to profitability and to provide a vast monetary return to the shareholders. Twenty-eight years ago, Daig was purchased by St. Jude
Medical, and while Starks expected to retire, he later became a CEO of this failing company. Like with Daig, he again added to the profits for the shareholders, and earned additional money towards his net worth.
Running a Fortune 500 business was a high-stress job, as Starks and his wife wanted to retire somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. They were intrigued by the beautiful landscape of this part of Wyoming that bordered the Shoshone National Forest’s Absaroka Range. Using local construction crews, his home took several years to build, as he and his wife were pleased to live in a double-wide trailer amongst the beauty of this land and the
community of Dubois that has only 911 residents. Pretty soon, Starks, who has a brilliant mind towards collecting and speaking about military history, purchased and restored tanks and military vehicles. Buying his first tank for $50,000, he quickly engrossed himself in buying a vast array of tanks, trucks, jeeps, weapons, and swords. Being semiretired and moving to Dubois full time, he continued to purchase a large amount of military hardware. At home, Starks gave tours of his growing vehicle collection. In 2018, the major process of privately building this museum began, as Starks never asked the state government of Wyoming for any funds. Spending over $100,000 of
his own money, by Memorial Day, 2022, this museum was opened, and it has emerged into one of the finest collections in the world.
Heading northwards towards Dubois, the beauty of Wyoming was astounding, as these teachers were treated to a truly notable trip. Driving, Starks was also a tour guide, as he answered multiple questions about the Teton Mountains, the viewing of the bison, and the scenery of the Continental Divide. Reaching Dubois, Starks was proud of this small town that welcomed his family and in return, he was generous towards the people and businesses of this area. Once a powerful business leader who surely traveled to many highly populated cities across this nation and enjoyed different types of cuisine, Starks was pleased with the small Americana restaurants in this town.
Leaving Highway 26, Starks was asked about a Soviet MIG Fighter plane that was on his property, as he quickly stated that he had three of these aircraft. Walking towards this museum, Starks built masonry walls with etchings in black granite from major leaders like president’s George Washington, Harry S. Truman, Ronald Reagan, and General Douglas MacArthur.
Near the main entrance, Starks built a vault that could handle the gold that is stored in New York City’s Federal Reserve Bank. Inside this secured room was a musket that originated from the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, that could have started the Revolutionary War. There were an abundant number of weapons, bayonets, and armaments that were utilized by our military within every major American war. Next, there was a mini theater to show the mission of this museum that had a “Taking Chance” movie poster of Chance Phelps that was signed by President Geoge W. Bush. This movie depicts the military escort duty of a deceased combat soldier who was killed in battle and brought back to Dubois, Wyoming.
Reaching this museum, you will quickly see the tastefully completed number of exhibits, vehicles, tanks, helicopters, PT-Boats, Higgins Landing Craft, and mannequins of military forces from both sides of a conflict. There were huge informational boards, pictures, leaders, quotes, and statistics from American
conflicts of World War I/ II, the Korean and Vietnam War. Starks has plans of expanding this museum to cover the most recent American military history. Every step of the way, Starks presented numerous details, stories of leaders and equipment. He allowed these older teachers, who acted like young kids, to jump up on a tank, and were able to climb into this impressive piece of armor. Observing the energy of Starks, all the educators were impressed with his knowledge of these fighting armaments. Accompanying us was the National VFW Program Directory Lynn W. Rolf III, who stated that this unique trip presents the “VFW’s sponsored involvement in citizenship education is paramount in shaping the positive future of this nation.” There was a look at the Civil Rights Movement, the Internment of Japanese Americans, the Holocaust, and the Tuskegee Airmen. There was a unique presentation of television during the late 1960s and the views that stated the inability of President Lyndon B. Johnson to win the Vietnam War.
In front of the “Unknown Soldier Weapons Vault,” we all thanked Starks for his time and support in bringing us from several different states to Dubois, Wyoming. We took a group picture and began the trip back to Jackson Hole, where we stopped on the road to see a moose and to take pictures of the beautiful scenery of the red sun setting off the mountains. Sitting down for dinner in the hotel, Starks was at home with this group, he made us all laugh, and in turn, we brought a smile to his face. These educators from different states all fully believed in the importance of this museum, and we all vowed to visit Starks' creation in the very near future. In the early Twentieth Century, wealthy Americans like Andrew Carnegie, began using their wealth for the betterment of this nation. Starks accepts these vital beliefs that the wealthy should give back to their communities. If you’re ever in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, drive your vehicle northward, and once you make it through the Grand Tetons, you will encounter a wonder of the world through this military learning center.!!!!!