Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Las Vegan’s museum houses military artifacts

Bill Schott's home looks much like any other in a well-kept older neighborhood in southeast Las Vegas, but inside a specially sealed room in the garage, Schott's passion for military history comes alive.

Firearms dating to the 1700s, Civil War medals, helmets and uniforms are neatly arranged in an air-conditioned room that is recognized by the Nevada Museums Association.

Each piece, from the first firearm produced by the U.S. Army in 1795 in Harpers Ferry, W.Va., to one of 38 current Army-issue M9 Baretta pistols owned by civilians, has a story, Schott said.

"Sometimes I come out here and just think about where each of these things has been," Schott said. "There is something about knowing that a World War II compass was on the back of an American soldier as he made his way through North Africa and Italy."

Schott, 71, a former Army sergeant major, police officer and federal accident investigator for the Energy Department, uses his investigative skills to decipher the past of the items in his care.

"It's like a chase, and you have to follow it to the end," Schott said.

Schott's collection has been valued at more than $1 million, and he has been told it is among the dozen largest and most comprehensive private military collections in the country.

Boy Scouts, U.S. Army recruits, collectors and others have visited the collection, and a guest book shows that Schott has had visitors from across the country and the world, with visitors from Russia, France and Australia.

Army 1st Sgt. Anthony Stoneburg has taken Army recruits to see Schott's collection.

"The biggest challenge for us as recruiters is that we're selling something that's intangible that can't be touched by the recruits," Stoneburg said. "By going to the sergeant major's (house), they get to see the history of the Army up close and know what they are a part of.

"There is so much history there, that you just want to reach out and touch it, so you can be a part of it. It's incredible to think about where those items were and the impact that those events had on our country and our freedoms."

Civil War rifles scarred by ball ammunition and helmets with bullet holes in them help bring home the dangers that recruits may face.

One of the highlights of the collection is a metal insignia that was worn on the hats of members of the 7th Calvary in 1876, the same year that the unit and its commander, Gen. George Custer, were killed at the Battle of Little Big Horn.

"The ironic thing is that I was part of the 7th Calvary when I served in the Army," Schott said.

World War I aviator goggles, Vietnam-era radio equipment, Civil War medals and a World War II anti-tank mine are some of the items in the collection.

Lining the walls of the makeshift museum are examples of nearly every U.S. Army handgun and rifle ever made. There are a half dozen that Schott is still looking for. The guns in the collection include everything from flintlock pistols to a World War II era M1 "Tommy Gun" Thompson sub-machine gun.

With enough items to fill several rooms at a museum, and enough weapons to qualify as an armory, Schott takes no chances with the collection. Walls 7 1/2 inches thick line the room that is 9 feet wide and 16 feet long.

A layer of steel and fire retardant wood are inside the wall. Opening the first door leads to a second door, and both have multiple locks.

"If there was a fire in my house and it burned down, this would still be standing," Schott said. "I don't want to get into the security measures that I have in place, but I'll just say if someone tried to take something out of here they'd be in trouble."

Metro Police treat Schott's museum as if it were a gun store, and would respond accordingly if there were ever a problem, he said. Schott is also licensed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to keep the weaponry in his home as a collector of curios and relics.

The security serves to keep the guns from falling into the wrong hands, as well as protecting a sizable investment by Schott.

"I've lost track of how many things I have and how much they've cost me," Schott said. "The machine guns are usually the highest priced items.

"The Thompson cost me about $5,000, but it has gained in value since then."

Schott cleans all of the guns and other artifacts himself, and even takes some of the guns to the shooting range from time to time.

"The M3 grease gun is one of my favorites, and I still shoot it fairly often," Schott said of the gun that replaced the Thompson and resembles a grease gun found in a mechanic's shop.

Living in Las Vegas for the last 28 years has been a boon to Schott's collecting because of the major gun shows and conventions that come through town. Still the best resources Schott has are other collectors and his telephone.

"When I was working for the government I traveled quite a bit, so I got to know a lot of other collectors," Schott said. "You spend a lot of time tracking things down, and then you try to track down the history of the item.

"I also frequent garage sales because you never know what you'll find."

Schott said he'd like to find a museum in Las Vegas where he could put his collection on display, but hasn't been approached with a suitable spot.

Mark Hall-Patton, administrator of the Cannon Museum of Aviation at McCarran International Airport, said that there really isn't a place in Southern Nevada to display a collection like Schott's.

"The problem is that there are few public museums that can take a collection the size of Bill's and display it all together, and for the collector the focus is on the story that the complete collection tells," Hall-Patton said.

Schott agreed that the story is what's important to him, as he looked at a nurse's uniform from World War II.

"The uniform belonged to a major who served 36 months overseas and was awarded a Bronze Star," Schott said as he studied the patches, markings and medals on the uniform. "We're still working on identifying who this belonged to, but you don't see a lot of nurses with bronze stars.

"I do this for the history, and I'm always going to be collecting."

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