When Don Dalquest heard Tom Allen had some license plates to display, the American Legion commander wasn’t quite sure he wanted a bunch of rusted-out metal plates in the Legion’s dining room.

“But when I got to see them, I thought they were great,” Dalquest said. “Just absolutely beautiful.”

Dean Allen admires the military license plate collection dedicated to him by his son, Tim Allen. The collection of about 155 plates is on display at the American Legion, 3408 W. Sixth St., until Aug. 15.

Allen’s collection of about 155 military license plates has been on display since early this month when Allen, of Lecompton, surprised his father, Dean Allen, at a Legion dinner. His father who served in both World War II and the Korean War didn’t know that his son had dedicated the display to him.

“I was surprised,” said Dean Allen, a member of Lawrence’s American Legion. “I didn’t know anything about it. My wife did, but of course she kept me in the dark.”

Tom Allen began collecting military plates about 10 years ago but started collecting license plates when he was just 10 years old.

His license plate collection numbers more than 4,000, including a Kansas plate from every year since 1913. He said he acquired most of his plates through trading, but he has purchased plates for several hundred dollars.

He said he became interested in military plates which used to be attached at the top of civilian license plates for clearance at military bases because of his father’s military experience.

“I thought it would be interesting to find ones from the bases he was stationed at,” he said. “It was an interesting avenue of collecting that I didn’t think anyone else collected.”

Tom Allen said he had military license plates from every division of the military and from 43 states, Washington, D.C., Newfoundland and Puerto Rico.

In June, Tom Allen’s military collection won first place in the “Best of Show” category at the Automobile License Plate Collectors Assn. convention in Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Though his collection has many unique plates, the focus of the display is the dedication to his father. It includes a picture of him from World War II and a recent picture of him with a plane similar to one he flew during the war.

“I just thought it would be nice to honor him and all the other veterans that keep our country safe,” Tom Allen said.

His display will be at the American Legion, 3408 W. Sixth St., until Aug. 15.