Our museum is located in the lobby of the

Hilton Hotel
10 Center Street
Rochester, MN 55904

The Veterans & Emergency Services Museum in Rochester, MN, features several encasements. This free exhibit is open to the public and promotes education on the rich history of those who protect our country and community.

All pieces in the museum are authentic to the time period portrayed.

The Norton Hotel fire in Rochester, MN in 1967

Firefighters were hampered by extremely cold weather, with a high temperature of 12 degrees below zero, and ice that formed over everything. The hotel had no sprinkler system; the fire provided the impetus to install sprinklers in businesses.
This black-and-white, mostly silent, film showcases firefighters battling the blaze that destroyed the 52-year-old Norton Hotel that was located in downtown Rochester on February 6, 1967. Several people were injured as they jumped to escape the flames and three people lost their lives.

  • Our displays were developed with cooperation of the Hilton Hotel management, donations from Titan Development Corp., many construction unions, VESM board members, and Executive Director Richard Krom, who spent hundreds of hours working on the exhibits.

  • Dr. George P. Sayre came to Mayo Clinic in 1939. During his service in WWII, he served at the Papua New Guinea Field Hospital with a group of nurses from the Rochester, Minnesota, Kahler School of Nursing.

  • Sergeant Reckless, a decorated warhorse who held official rank in the United States Marines was a mare of Mongolian horse lineage.

    Recipient of two Purple Hearts, Reckless served in numerous combat actions during the Korean War, carrying supplies and ammunition. She also was used to evacuate wounded soldiers.

  • Major Fred Hargesheimer was an Army Airforce pilot. While he was flying his P-38 Lightning fighter, he was shot down over the island of New Guinea. He survived in the jungle and was rescued by natives of the island. The display at the Hilton Hotel represents Major Hargesheimer while in dress uniform and combat gear in the jungle during WWII.