Editor's note: This is part of an occasional series about World War II veterans.

"It's very important that people never forget the World War II combat soldiers, the maintenance people, the people working on the home front,'' says Henry Venetta, founder and curator of the World War II Vehicle Museum and Learning Center. "The sacrifices that were made by all of these people must never be forgotten.''

To keep the memories alive, Venetta has spent 30 years building a collection of World War II vehicles and memorabilia that, since 1998, has been housed in a building at 5959 W. Liberty St., Hubbard.

"I realized that people don't know about World War II,'' he said. "They don't know the sacrifices that were made. It is not being taught in schools sufficiently. And then I took the notion that we need a museum to keep the equipment that was used. We can't preserve the veterans, but we can preserve their equipment. And by preserving their equipment we could keep their stories alive, and their sacrifices alive so that it's not forgotten.''