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Martin County Veterans Memorial lands a major find

FAIRMONT — The clock is ticking for the Martin County Veterans Memorial committee to get the recently acquired Vietnam-era Cobra helicopter restored and on display at its commemorative site at 507 Winnebago Ave. in Fairmont.

“The government contract says it must be on public display in one year, or it goes back to one of the other applicants. It could very easily go somewhere else,” said Steve Chase, who used his myriad of connections to acquire the helicopter.

Chase, a Fairmont native who now lives in the Twin Cities area, had offered to help the memorial committee obtain a helicopter.

Jim Miller, chairman of the memorial committee, said they had not planned on getting the aircraft so soon, since it would be located at the back of the site, but when one became available, they seized the opportunity.

“Once we found out that we got it, we had 14 days to pick it up, or it would go to other applicants,” Chase said. “There were four other states that wanted it: California, Texas, Wyoming and Indiana.”

Chase believes Martin County was selected as the recipient when the government saw the progress on the memorial, with the installation of the granite slabs and support from local government and residents.

“It’s been a big, big local effort to make this happen. That was projected with the number of veterans names already on the that wall,” he said.

After being notified that Martin County would get the Cobra, there was a narrow window of time to pick it up. Chase immediately flew to California on June 18 to make arrangements.

“I flew out that evening, rented a car, drove four hours across the desert, slept a couple of hours, got up and put together a team out there to recover this thing,” he said. “We had to put it on a trailer that Larry Baarts had arranged that was out in Stockton, California.”

The crew that disassembled the Cobra worked eight hours in the desert heat, using only hand tools.

“There was no electric power where we were at. We were out in the weeds,” Chase said. “We went to pick up some parts, and one of the local guys that was helping us started yelling, ‘Get away from there. That’s where the rattlesnakes like to hide.’ Well, how should I know that? I’m from Minnesota.”

The crew dismantled the side wings from the helicopter’s body so the machine could fit on a flatbed trailer. Baarts, owner of a Truman trucking company, had arranged for a driver to pilot the semi from California to Minnesota.

The Cobra arrived in Martin County on Monday and is temporarily being stored at the Fairmont Municipal Airport. It’s accompanying paperwork showed the helicopter carried a $334,000 price tag when it was manufactured in 1966, equivalent to about $2.6 million today.

“We’re putting out an appeal to find a new building,” Miller said. “It would have to be secured, lockable, a place big enough to accommodate a crew. We also will be looking for qualified mechanics.”

And to continue the forward progress at the Veterans Memorial, fundraising is ongoing. The project recently received a $100,000 Minnesota Legacy grant and has other grant requests under consideration.

Miller points out that even though the helicopter is a government-to-government transfer, thereby considered free, it cost the committee about $10,000 in administration and transportation costs to get it to Martin County.

The history of the Cobra has not yet been revealed, but Chase did say that it saw action in Vietnam and most recently was used by firefighters in Kern County, California.

“I can’t say anything more right now, but you will definitely want to hear the provenance of this helicopter,” said Chase, adding that the aircraft’s story will be revealed at an upcoming meeting of the memorial committee. “I felt they deserved to know the history first because they put so much work into it.”

For more information about the Martin County Veterans Memorial project, contact Miller at (507) 236-1026.

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