You’ll find the truly exceptional
DISCOVER
AMERICA’S
MOST
DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST...
NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
BRINGING AMERICA’S
EXCEPTIONALISM TO LIFE
As an NRA member, you appreciate all that makes America
that shining beacon of freedom and liberty for all the world to
envy. As Americans, we not only strive to be exceptional in all
our endeavors, we succeed. And sometimes, we even take it
to the extremes.
This eBook highlights just a few of America’s examples of
exceptionalism and extremes. Hey, it’s what we Americans
do! You’ll learn where to feast your eyes on the largest private
gun collection in the world … and about the bloodiest battles
ever fought. And you’ll beam with good ole’ American pride
when you read about the heroics of our wartime patriots.
Love big accomplishments? Wild creativity? American
entrepreneurial spirit? Passionate about firearms? (only
kidding, we know the answer to that question!) You’ll find it
all in the following pages. Americans express their freedom
in many different forms. From the ice hotel in Alaska to the
high-octane Iowa 80 truckstop…from the Shanghai tunnels of
the Northwest to the underground Ninja restaurant below the
streets of the Big Apple…or from natural limestone caverns
in New Mexico to the most expensive hotel suite in Las
Vegas…America offers the MOST!
Sincerely.
Your Member Benefits Team
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DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST...
NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
I. AMERICA’S MOST...
MASSIVE GUN COLLECTION
PAGE 3
NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST... MASSIVE GUN COLLECTION
J.M. DAVIS ARMS &
HISTORICAL MUSEUM
Fulfill your passion for firearms history
Love guns? Intrigued by the history of firearms? Does a tall
cold one do it for you? Well, the largest private gun collection
in the world is located right in the heart of America, where
it belongs. And right alongside the collection of firearm
artifacts, you’ll find a world-class collection of German beer
steins and other Americana! Next to hunting or hitting the
range with your buddies, this is as good as it gets!
Over 100 years in the making
Thanks to a seven-year-old boy’s fascination with guns that
never stopped after he got his first muzzle-loading shotgun
from his Dad in 1894, this massive firearm collection was
born. In fact, you can still find that first gun in the collection.
In 1916, J.M. Davis (James Monroe Davis) traded 2,000
acres of Arkansas timberland for a hotel in Claremore,
Oklahoma where he decided to display his guns and other
collectibles. With the hotel smack in the middle of America’s
famous Route 66, more and more gun enthusiasts came
from all over the world to see the collection, buy, sell, trade,
or just talk guns. Today’s new modern museum facility
boasts over 40,000 square feet of floor space with gun
displays alone capturing over one mile in length.
You gotta love this incomparable gun collection
You can view more than 13,000 firearms, including over
11,000 that were part of Mr. Davis’ original collection.
From a Chinese hand canon of the 1350s to modern machine
guns and concealable defensive handguns, you’ll discover
an incomparable history of firearms. And it doesn’t end with
just firearms.
You’ll experience over 50,000 items including saddles,
spurs, local ranching brands, World War I posters, military
weapons, John Rogers statuary, Native American artifacts,
horns and animal heads, and a lot more. And you’ll find
hundreds of German drinking steins dating from 1850
through the early 1900s.
If you’re an American gun enthusiast—and you love history-you can’t miss the J.M. Davis Arms & Historical Museum.
thegunmuseum.com
330 N. J.M. Davis Blvd.
Claremore, OK 74017
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DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST...
NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
II. AMERICA’S MOST...
LETHAL BATTLES
PAGE 5
NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST...LETHAL BATTLES
Ruined medieval church in Montfaucon,
France. Meuse-Argonne Offensive in
WWI. Sept. 26, 1918 to Nov. 11, 1918.
MEUSE-ARGONNE OFFENSE
Americans believe freedom is worth fighting--and dying-for, whether it’s in defense of our own liberties or our allies.
It’s been woven into the fabric of our beings since Patrick
Henry proclaimed in 1775, “Give me liberty, or give me
death.” It’s one of the many reasons America is the greatest
nation on earth. And less than two months before the end of
World War I, we sacrificed 26,277 lives when we answered
freedom’s call in the deadliest battle of our history.
Pershing leads the way
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive began before dawn,
September 26, 1918. General John J. Pershing led 37
French and American divisions against German positions in
the Argonne Forest and along the Meuse River. Pershing’s
troops bombarded the enemy with some 800 mustard gas
and phosgene shells. The next morning, our ground troops,
supported by a battery of tanks and 500 aircraft from the
U.S. Air Service, intensified the attack. It would be the
largest American-run offensive of World War I—and the
most lethal.
Armistice was declared
Within two days, the Allies had captured more than 33,000
German prisoners. By September 30,1918, Pershing called
off the offensive. But the Germans kept up the fight despite
its early losses and being additionally devastated by an
influenza epidemic. The battle lasted another month before
the enemy began their final retreat. This battle turned the
tide of the war. And the general armistice was announced on
November 11, bringing the First World War to a close.
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NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST...LETHAL BATTLES
BATTLE OF THE BULGE
On December 16, 1944, more than 250,000 German
troops launched the deadliest battle of World War II in the
heavily forested Ardennes. American troops were caught
unprepared for the onslaught that followed but fought
valiantly to hold back the German advance. As the German
armies pounded their way into the Ardennes, the Allied
frontline took on the appearance of a large bulge, the
name by which the battle would forever be known.
Patton outwits the enemy
The 101st Airborne and the less experienced U.S. 106th
Division helped buy time for Brigadier General Bruce
C. Clarke’s brilliant defense of St.-Vith. And, despite
heavy casualties, Lieutenant General George S. Patton’s
brilliant maneuvering of the Third Army proved essential
to the success of the Allied defense as the German
counteroffensive was hamstrung with critical fuel
shortages and eventually stalled in its tracks.
Hitler’s plan is defeated
Hitler’s attempt to split the Allied armies in northwest
Europe ultimately failed against the gallantry of American
troops fighting in the frozen forests of the Ardennes. But
our costs were great.
The Battle of the Bulge proved to be the deadliest battle
of World War II. The U.S. Army suffered over 100,000
casualties and 19,276 American lives were lost.
U.S. soldier pausing in a wooded area during
the first ten days of the Battle of the Bulge.
Dec. 12-22, 1944. Belgium, World War II
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NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST...LETHAL BATTLES
BATTLE OF NORMANDY
Operation Overlord. June 6, 1944. D-day. The day that put
Hitler’s army on its heels and turned the tide of World War II.
A 1,200-plane airborne assault set the stage for an amphibious
assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000
troops crossed the English Channel that day heading toward
the Normandy coast, the site of the invasion. And more than
3 million Allied troops were in France by the end of August.
New technology—both weird and functional—hits the
beaches. Special technology was developed to support
the invasion. Floating harbors, called “Mulberry Harbours,”
were designed to provide port facilities for the invasion. And
specialized tanks called “Hobart’s Funnies” named after their
tank commander, Major General Percy Hobart, were designed
specifically for this beach head invasion.
In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies used both
electronic and visual misinformation to deceive Hitler and his
generals. As a result, Hitler placed Field Marshall Rommel in
charge of fortifying an area hundreds of miles away.
Americans make the ultimate sacrifice for a winning cause
The American troops landed on Utah and Omaha beaches.
Although the Allies failed to reach their goals the first day,
they gradually gained a foothold and continued to expand their
operations capturing ports at Cherborg and the city of Caen.
Next to the Battle of the Bulge, the Normandy invasion was
the deadliest of World War II, costing 16,293 American lives.
World War II, The Battle of Normandy, 1944,
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DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST...
NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
III. AMERICA’S MOST...
DECORATED WAR VETERANS
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DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST...DECORATED WAR VETERANS
NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
AUDIE LEON MURPHY
A true American hero
Audie Leon Murphy was the most decorated American
combat soldier of World War II. He received every
available military combat award for valor from the U.S.
Army, as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism.
At 19-years old, Murphy received the Medal of Honor
after single-handedly holding off an entire company of
German soldiers for an hour, then leading a successful
counterattack while wounded and out of ammunition.
Humble beginnings
Born 1925 in Texas into a large sharecropper family,
Murphy didn’t have it easy. After his father abandoned
the family, he left school in fifth grade to pick cotton
and help support his family. Murphy had to develop his
hunting skills, not for sport, but to put food on the table.
Then his mother died when he was a teenager. After
World War II broke out, he had to falsify documentation
to enlist in the Army, after the Navy and the Marine
Corps turned him down. He saw his first action in the
Allied invasion of Sicily.
U. S. Army publicity photo taken after Murphy’s
1948 trip to Paris to receive the Chevalier légion
d’honneur and Croix de guerre with palm
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NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST...DECORATED WAR VETERANS
Statue of Audie Leon Murphy
located in Greenville, Texas
Hollywood called
After the war, Hollywood called and Murphy embarked
on a 21-year acting career. He played himself in the 1955
autobiographical To Hell and Back based on his 1949
memoirs. In spite of his wartime heroics, most of his films
were Westerns and he occasionally appeared on television,
including a starring role in the series Whispering Smith.
Murphy was also an accomplished songwriter.
peace with sleeping pills. He tragically died in a plane crash
in Virginia in 1971 shortly before his 46th birthday. At the
time of Murphy’s death, during the Vietnam War era, when
ex-servicemen were not always recognized for their valor, his
life was given a combined total of 1 minute and 30 seconds
of coverage by the major television news networks: ABC,
CBS, and NBC. He was interred with full military honors at
Arlington National Cemetery. Audie Murphy should always
be remembered as a true American, willing to honorably
serve this great country.
Tragic end
June 20, 1925 – May 28, 1971
Suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, Murphy slept
with a loaded handgun under his pillow and tried to find
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NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST...DECORATED WAR VETERANS
ROBERT L. HOWARD
Next to Audie Murphy, Colonel Robert Lewis Howard,
Army Special Forces, was the most decorated soldier since
World War II. He was wounded 14 times over 54 months of
combat in Vietnam. And that’s just the beginning.
Let’s talk medals
Colonel Howard was awarded eight Purple Hearts, two
Distinguished Service Crosses, one Silver Star, four Bronze
stars, and was nominated for the Medal of Honor for three
individual actions during a 13-month period from 1967
through 1968. But since they were covert operations, those
nominations were “downgraded” to the two Distinguished
Service Crosses and the one Silver Star. Just think about
that. Downgraded to a Distinguished Service Crosses and
Silver Star. That’s one helluva American hero.
Searching for an American MIA
As a staff sergeant of the highly classified Military
Assistance Command Vietnam-Studies and Observation
Group, Howard risked his life during a rescue mission in
Cambodia in 1968. Often referred to as the real “Rambo,”
Howard was finally awarded the Medal of Honor for that
mission, learning about the award over a two-way radio
while under enemy fire, immediately after being wounded.
He was one tough American soldier.
Serving his country for over 50 years
Howard enlisted in the Army at Montgomery, Alabama in
1956 and proudly served his country until 1992, retiring as a
Colonel, Army Special Forces. During his service, he earned
two Master’s degrees. Howard died of pancreatic cancer in
Waco, Texas on December 23, 2009. He was survived by
four children and four grandchildren.
July 11, 1939 – December 23, 2009
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DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST...
NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
IV. AMERICA’S MOST...
EXTREME UNDERGROUND EXPERIENCES
PAGE 13
NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST...EXTREME UNDERGROUND EXPERIENCES
DISCOVER BEAUTY AND
WONDER—AT EVERY LEVEL
High rising ancient sea ledges, deep rocky canyons, cactus,
grasses and thorny shrubs - who would imagine the hidden
treasures deep beneath this rugged landscape? Secretly tucked
below the desert terrain are more than 119 known caves - all
formed when sulfuric acid dissolved the surrounding limestone.
Located in the Guadalupe Mountains is southeastern New
Mexico, Carlsbad Caverns National Park houses has the fifth
largest natural limestone chamber in North America and the
25th largest in the world. The Big Room measures almost
4,000 feet long, 625 feet wide, and 255 feet high at the highest
point. Approximately two-thirds of the park has been set aside
as a wilderness area, helping to ensure no future changes will
be made to this specular natural habitat.
Pathway through the Big Room,
Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico
Like a bat out of…well, the caverns
First explored by a teenage cowboy in 1898
You’ve probably seen a video or two on the nightly flight of
the bats. Each evening in summer, Mexican free-tailed bats
exit Carlsbad Cavern in search of a smorgasbord of insects for
dinner. The best bat flights normally occur in July and August.
At this time baby bats, born in early summer, join the flight
along with migrating bats from colonies further north. And
what goes out must come back. The daily pre-dawn return of
the bats is different from the evening exit flights but is just as
impressive. If you’re an early riser, you can see the bats
re-enter Carlsbad Cavern with spectacular dives from heights
of hundreds of feet. Individual bats diving in from every
direction may reach speeds of 25 mph (40 km/h) or more.
Did you know? Jim White is the cowboy credited with being
the premier explorer of Carlsbad Cavern. He began to explore
the cave as a teenager in 1898, using a handmade wire ladder
to descend 60 feet into the cave. For more than a decade,
he couldn’t convince many locals that there was much to
Carlsbad Cavern.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park is open every day of the year
except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
Visitors to the cave can hike in through the natural entrance or
take an elevator from the visitor center.
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NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST...EXTREME UNDERGROUND EXPERIENCES
SHANGHAI TUNNELS AKA PORTLAND
UNDERGROUND
The Shanghai Tunnels, also known as the Portland
Underground tunnels, run underneath Old Town/Chinatown.
The tunnels connected the basements of many downtown
hotels and bars to the waterfront of the Willamette River
in Portland, Oregon. They were built to move goods from
the ships to the basement storage areas, which allowed
businesses to avoid streetcar and train traffic.
To Shanghai or Not to Shanghai
Fact or Fiction
Portland was unique because trap doors (known as
“deadfalls”) were used to drop the unsuspecting victims
into the Shanghai Tunnels, where they were forcibly held
in cells until the ship was ready to set sail. From 1850 to
1941, the so-called Victorian-refined Portland was known
as the “Unheavenly City” or the “Forbidden City”, due
to this supposed practice. And, during Prohibition, the
saloons literally went underground, creating an even greater
opportunity for men to find themselves aboard a ship bound
for the Orient. Well, anyway, that’s the rumor!
It’s rumored these catacombs created a unique network
of passages and thoroughfares that were used by
unscrupulous individuals called “Shanghaiiers” or “crimps”,
in addition to “white slavers” that grabbed women and sold
them into prostitution.
Historians have stated that although the tunnels exist
and the practice of Shanghaiing was sometimes reported
in Portland and elsewhere, there’s no direct evidence to
support that the tunnels were used for
this purpose.
Shanghaiing was an illegal maritime practice where sailors,
loggers, cowboys, sheepherders, ranch hands, construction
workers, and others were kidnapped and sold to sea
captains who forced them to work aboard their ships for
no pay.
Portland, Oregon’s Shanghai Tunnels
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DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST...
NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
V. AMERICA’S MOST...
MIND-BLOWING TRAVEL SPOTS
PAGE 16
NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST...MIND-BLOWING TRAVEL SPOTS
AURORA ICE HOTEL
Ice could be the Hottest New Thing
The Aurora Ice Hotel, also called the Aurora Ice Museum,
is located on the grounds of the Chena Hot Springs Resort
northeast of Fairbanks. It’s the only ice hotel in the U.S. Icecarving champion Steve Brice designed the property earlier
this decade.
While long daylight hours and summer temperatures in the
90ºF range melted the first Aurora Ice Hotel in July 2004,
the project was not abandoned. The second version was
completed in January 2005, with the ambitious goal of
making it the only primarily ice structure in the world to stay
up on a year round basis.
No worries. Snow pants are provided.
In this hotel, everything is made of ice: the beds, the chairs,
the counters, the glasses and more. Visitors don’t even have
to spend the night; at the hotel’s ice bar, guests can down
a chilled martini before heading back to Fairbanks for the
day. For those who do opt to spend the night, a parka, snow
pants and boots are provided, and guests also have access
to a private room in the regular hotel—just in case.
Perhaps the hotel’s most remarkable features are its ice
sculptures. The artwork changes every year—one year a
piece depicted a knight in shining armor; another year, there
was a sculpture of a giant humpback salmon. The sculptures
are larger than life, and each sits on an ice pedestal in the
lodge’s main room. The overhead chandeliers are made of
individually carved ice crystals which change color every six
seconds mimicking the Northern Lights.
Experience the Northern Lights
Elsewhere in Chena, the resort offers a snow coach service
that consists of large track vehicles that climb the ridge for
better viewing of the Northern Lights. This spot is a favorite
among hotel workers and lay people alike. On a clear night,
the aurora borealis shift and creak like glaciers up above.
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NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST...MIND-BLOWING TRAVEL SPOTS
IOWA 80 TRUCKSTOP
Celebrating America’s Truckers and Travelers Every Day
Iowa 80 currently serves 5,000 customers each day
and has parking spaces for 900 tractor-trailers, 250 cars
and 20 buses. Each year in July, the Iowa 80 hosts the
Walcott Truckers Jamboree, a three-day event dedicated to
Celebrating America’s Truckers. Last year’s attendance hit a
record 42,000 people.
Home Sweet Home On the Road
Over the years, American drivers have seen a lot of changes
in truck stops and the amenities they offer. Iowa 80 Truckstop
has been a home away from home for drivers, as they’ve
watched it transform from a small facility into the largest,
most respected truck stop in the world.
High-Octane American Entrepreneurial Spirit
Iowa 80 Truckstop began serving truckers out of a small
white enamel building in 1964 before Interstate 80 was
completely built. Bill Moon, Iowa 80 founder, located the
spot, at what is now Exit 284, for Standard Oil. In 1984,
Standard Oil (now Amoco) decided to sell the facility. Bill
Moon, who had been managing the place for nearly 20
years, jumped at the chance.
Today, after 28 expansions and remodels, Iowa 80 includes
the Iowa 80 Kitchen, a 300-seat restaurant, gift store,
the Super Truck Showroom, a dentist, a barber shop, a
chiropractor, a workout room, laundry facilities, a 60-seat
movie theatre, a trucker’s TV lounge, a Verizon store kiosk,
24 private showers, a food court featuring Wendy’s, Dairy
Queen, Orange Julius, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Caribou
Coffee; a convenience store, a custom embroidery and vinyl
shop, 10 gas islands, 16 diesel lanes, a fuel center, a sevenbay truck service center, a three-bay Truckomat truck wash,
a CAT Scale, a Dogomat Pet Wash, and the Iowa 80 Trucking
Museum. Wow!
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NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST..MIND-BLOWING TRAVEL SPOTS
THE TWO STORY SKY VILLA
Got an Extra $40,000 a Night for a Hotel Suite?
Then here’s a suite for you! The Two Story Sky Villa, high
in the Palms’ Fantasy Tower in Las Vegas, is fitted out with
everything; 24-hour butler service, private terraces, a huge,
rotating circular bed and an indoor pool, leading to a hairraising cantilevered spa bath high above the Strip.
The World’s Fifth Most Expensive Hotel Suite
Las Vegas boats eight out of the 10 largest hotels in the
world. And the The Two Story Sky Villa offers the fifth most
expensive night. But, hey, for that kind of money, you do
have choices and more than a few unique perks. You can
choose either a one-story or a two-story sky villa. Everything
you could ever want in a hotel room comes standard in the
Sky Villas. These suites are extravagant beyond belief. The
Sky Villas get their names primarily because of the way
they are open to the outside. Glass walls, balconies in every
room, and a jacuzzi that literally stretches out over the edge
of the hotel and end in a glass well, makes these suites feel
like you’re sleeping in the sky, with spectacular views of
the Strip.
Lay Back and Float Above It All
The Two Story Sky Villa has a glass elevator to travel
between floors and it comes with a super-sized bathtub,
private massage rooms, revolving beds, steam rooms,
saunas, exercise rooms, poker table, pantry, full bar, indoor
waterfall, fireplace, and three bedrooms. But sorry, the price
doesn’t include breakfast.
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DISCOVER AMERICA’S MOST...
NRA ENDORSED MEMBER BENEFITS
NEVER TRAVEL ALONE
No matter where your adventures take you — whether your
out of town or around the globe — carry the NRA Endorsed
Emergency Assistance Plus Card with you.
And if you ever need medical assistance, help is just a phone
call away. If you suffer a heart attack while in Shanghai,
China or lose a prescription in Shanghai City, Illinois, you can
count on NRA Endorsed Emergency Assistance for help.
That could be arranging emergency medical evacuation
from a facility that can’t treat you to the nearest facility
that provides the care you need … or bringing a loved one
from miles away to your bedside if you’re alone and will be
hospitalized for seven days or more. We’ll even arrange to
bring your vehicle back home, if you’ve been hospitalized and
are unable to drive it home from anywhere around the U.S.*.
Even the best health and travel insurance plans may not pay
for the help you need in a medical emergency. For less than
$8 a day, you can count on Emergency Assistance Plus to
handle almost any crisis away from home. View a full list of
our more than 20 travel benefits.
*This is only an outline of the plan’s features. Please read your Member
Benefit Guide carefully to understand all of the services available to you,
as well as any terms, conditions, and limitations.
PAGE 20