Over 85 Vintage Military Vehicles on Display!
The Best Kept Secret in Colorado Springs
Maybe all of Colorado – Just Maybe. . . the Whole World

by Tedd Adamovich

A hand-full of miles east of Colorado Springs, taking up 48,000 square feet of floor space is what has to be the most complete military museum in the world. It has been said by those who have seen it that the Smithsonian is lacking when comparing the two.

Mel "Dragon Man" Bernstein, has, in his spare time acquired, fully restored, and now displays an amazing array of military vehicles, guns, guns, guns, equipment, uniforms, memorabilia, and artifacts dating from World War I to the present – American, British, Russian, German, Japanese, Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnamese.

I know Mel, and his wife Terry and how busy they stay with their motorcycle restoration, gun sales, and paint-ball businesses, so I can hardly believe Mel has put together such an amazing museum. His name should be changed to Mel "Super Man" Bernstein. Besides rows and rows of vehicles (over 90 of them, including a 1917 Dodge truck, half-tracks, and a tank) there are dozens of showcases displaying such items as a one of only 100 serial-numbered SS belt buckle gun worn by Hitler's personal SS Guards.

Other pieces of equipment are set up and hanging everywhere. Mel has even built a sandbag bunker and filled it with mannequins dressed in authentic uniforms sitting behind armaments of the day; sleeping in authentic tents and sleeping bags, eating and cooking authentic packaged foods on authentic stoves, having their wounds dressed from authentic medical kits, with authentic pictures on the walls, right on down to authentic cigarettes, match books and incidentals in their pockets. The key word here is "authentic".

You foundations and non-profits out there looking for a really worthwhile project to drop a few bucks on, somewhere with real American history written all over it, somewhere where your contribution can preserve the American heritage that has been fought and bled for, consider sending some to Mel Bernstein’s Colorado Springs Historical Military Museum (a 501.3C organization). He could use your help installing hard-surfaced walkways and heat to make it officially commercial. The world needs to see this!

We are making a few changes to our military museum tour procedure.  There will be ONE guided tour given every Sunday at 10 am, providing that at least 12 people show up.  We are now requiring a reservation during the week as well as a follow up call on Friday to make sure enough people have signed up. The cost is still $10 a person. We do allow children, however those who cry or are distracting to others will be asked to leave, out of respect for the others on the tour.

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