COSTA MESA, Calif. (KABC) -- In a backlot at the Orange County Fairgrounds, you can find a piece of American history: a barrack built in 1941 when this land was home to the Santa Ana Army Air Base.
Orange County fair board member Nick Berardino said over 50 percent of all American pilots trained for World War II at the former base land.
The barrack was set to be demolished two years ago, but Berardino stepped up. The Vietnam War veteran is now spearheading an effort to build a veterans museum in the space called Heroes Hall.
"It was a way of saying to the men and women who I left behind that I could do something to honor their memories," he said.
The museum, which is scheduled to open Veterans Day 2016, will provide services for the 133,000 veterans living in Orange County.
For more information, visit www.ocfair.com/heroeshall.