A Collection that Inspired The Great Escape - Heritage Minute

HERITAGE MINUTE

Displayed along the spiral staircase of USAFA’s McDermott Library is an impressive collection of rifles used by U.S. troops throughout the ages. ----more----

The collection of 31 military shoulder arms dates from 1763 to the 1970s. Donated by Lieutenant General Albert P. Clark, sixth superintendent of the Academy and a prisoner of war during World War II, the rifle collection tracks the evolution of arms through the decades — from the early single-shot muzzleloader to fully automatic weapons. Some of the earliest firearms on display are a French Charleville Musket and a British “Brown Bess” musket — used during the Revolutionary War. The Clark collection also includes various types of bayonets and fighting knives used by the combat soldier over the past two hundred years. The rifle collection was donated on March 14, 1973, and has been on display for cadets and visitors to study ever since. A West Point graduate, Clark became well known for helping to organize a massive escape attempt from a German POW camp. Those events were the inspiration for the 1963 film, “The Great Escape.”

DOWNLOAD THE CLARK COLLECTION CATALOG

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