Mel has Nazi bicycles, Nazi beer steins, Nazi potato masher grenades. He flicked a switch and our eyes were dazzled by red Swastika flags. "You want to see the Hitler room?" Mel asked. Mel's wife Terry put it bluntly: "You can't shut him up." He seems to know the history, specs, and price that he paid for every item, and he'll tell you about it. Mel knows exactly how many displays he has, how many vehicles, how many guns, how many uniforms. The sounds of gunfire and explosions from Mel's firing ranges filtered through the walls, adding to the atmosphere. Exhibits flew by: a complete field hospital from the Gulf War a pyramid of 500-pound bombs from the Vietnam War 70-year-old sticks of dynamite in the "booby traps" exhibit gas masks for babies. Mel has every Army Jeep, every German belt buckle, every land mine from World Wars I and II. His museum is vast, but he moved us through it faster than Patton across France, flicking lights on and off as we advanced from room to room. "I had some people who came back from the World War II Museum in Louisiana," Mel said. Its name and exterior give no hint of its wonders. We were at Mel's compound to see another of his projects, the Colorado Springs Historical Military Museum, entered through a small door in a nondescript building.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |