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| American Legion Summer Show |
Photos & Story by Rick Forys
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In 2023, the Military Vehicle Collector's Club of Michigan
continued its program of pairing with veterans organizations to produce military vehicle events. This time the road show
traveled to the northern suburbs of metro Detroit for the weekend of August 25-18, setting up camp at American Legion Campbell
Richmond Post 63 in Clarkston, MI.
Regardless of the unusually chilly August weather, the vehicle turnout was pretty good, and several members even camped on-site
for the event. Altogether, there were eleven trucks and four trailers on display. This was another successful outing for the club,
and our veteran's group partnership program. The Clarkston post was a nice facility for the show, with adequate space, and good
freeway accessibility. They were happy to host the event, and were pleased with the way everything turned out. Our members enjoyed
bringing the trucks out for the weekend, and we were able to shine some light on our hobby to some new faces, many who didn't even
know it existed.
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| Arsenal of Freedom Festival |
Photos & Story by Rick Forys
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Across June 22-25, a unique pairing of hobbies took place,
as the Military Vehicle Collectors Club of Michigan, (MVCCMI) joined forces with railroad enthusiasts to produce the Arsenal
of Freedom Festival at the home base of the Steam Railroading Institute, (SRI) in Owosso, Mi. With around thirty vehicles
attending, the show was successful and pretty well attended by the public. Considering it was a first time event, everything
as a whole went pretty well.
Unfortunately, the rebuild of the famed 1225 locomotive was not complete by show time, but the engine mounted on supports, and
all its parts were on display, ready to reassemble. SRI members also offered rides in a couple of its fifties era cabooses. The
cabooses were then hitched to an M998 HUMVEE owned by MVCCMI member Jim T., and visitors cheered as he pulled both cabooses and
a small tow engine across the yard.
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The MVCCMI is saddened to announce the loss of our member and brother,
Ken Alan Reeves, who passed shortly after suffering an apparent cardiac event at the Owosso military vehicle event. Ken joined the club in
2010 and was an active member, participating in many club functions with a number of different military vehicles.
Interestingly, Ken's father James was serving in the U.S. Army occupying Japan after World War II, when Ken was born in Tokyo on October
5, 1947. The family returned stateside when he was two years old, where he grew up and lived. Over time, Ken raised two kids, and created
and ran two different successful businesses, performing rigging and electrical work.
Ken has always been a busy man, but he was also the most laid-back, easy-going person I have ever met. He enjoyed traveling and diving, and
actually crewed on square-rigged sailing ships, crossing the Atlantic many times, which explains his fascination with shipwrecks. (Many
long conversations while traveling to shows!) Ken met the love of his life, Cheryl in May of 2011. They were married in 2014, remaining
inseparable till his death. Ken was a much beloved husband, father, and friend, and he will be missed.
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Photos & Story by Rick Forys
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On January 21 and again on March 18, 2023, MVCCMI members held their annual
Military Vehicle Workshops at Terry Burke's shop in Taylor, MI. Continuing on with last year's Dodge projects, there has been some progress
since our last workshops. The WC51 had received some updates including a new radiator and fuel tank. As for the command car, the stuck
six-cylinder flathead had been removed, but the rest of the drive train remained. In the mean time, the M38 was in a mood, and refused
to start.
The team broke into two groups. One headed by Bill Nutting chased the issue with the M38, while another group driven by Chuck Chapman
set off to remove the gear box from the command car. Both eventually prevailed. By the early afternoon, Chuck was seen off in the
corner cleaning and inspecting the grimy non-synchronized transmission, complete with "New Process" gear stamping, while Bill worked
his magic, finding and replacing a bad wire inside the distributor. After prepping the engine, Terry Burke got behind the wheel, and
with a little coaxing managed to bring the engine back to life once again.
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| Mueller's Orchard Show - Linden, MI |
Photos by Maya Mead, Terry Shelswell, & Doug Lentz
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Over the weekend of September 17-18, 2022, the Military Vehicle Collector's
Club of Michigan, and Muellers Orchard joined together to host the first annual Military Vehicle Display & Swap at the orchard in Linden,
Michigan. Altogether, there were twenty six vehicles, and six trailers, with six vendors on-hand for the inaugural event. Public attendance
was also good with hundreds of spectators visiting the orchard, some coming to attend a Police & First Responder Appreciation Picnic on Saturday.
A big thanks to Ron Fitzpatrick Jeep Parts, Auto Zone and the Mueller's for supporting our show, and a special thanks to Tom Simms and Dan Brewer
for helping supply door prizes. Thanks also to Dan Brewer, Pete Cuz, Tim Cooley, Joel Gardener, Terry Shelswell, Tom Roberts, Jim Tweedie,
and Doug Lentz for bringing their vehicles. The second annual show is scheduled for September 16-17, 2023 with set up on the 15th for convenience.
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| Jackson American Legion Show |
Photos & Story by Rick Forys
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Over the weekend of July 22-24, 2022, the Military Vehicle Collectors Club of
Michigan continued with their project to join forces with local veteran's organizations to produce military vehicle themed events. Encouraged
by the success of their previous show in New Baltimore, MI at VFW Post 7573 Lempke-Blackwell, the group reached out to the far western side of
the Detroit metro area and teamed up with American Legion - Richard F. Smith Post 29, in Jackson, MI.
Despite being the hottest and steamiest weekend of the entire summer, nine vehicles made the trip to Jackson for the event. We also invited
other local MVPA affiliates and welcomed the Michigan Army National Guard's participation. The folks at Richard F. Smith American Legion Post
29 were gracious hosts providing food and facilities for the weekend to the MVCCMI crew. Hot fun in the summertime in Michigan.
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| 2022 Milford Memorial Day Parade |
Photos & Story by Rick Forys
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As the world still endured a bumpy recovery in the first quarter of this year, Military Vehicle Collectors Club of Michigan members were very happy that by May, things had calmed down enough to allow the local
Memorial Day parades to take place. Over the years, the club has taken different approaches to the holiday. For some years, a certain parade
or two were highlighted, and members were encouraged to congregate as a group, but like this year, the club more typically suggests members attend
their local parade. A list of parades is also made available for those without local events.
For many of the parades, this was the return after a two-year break, and it seemed members were eager to get into the swing of things. MVCCMI
members participated in at least twelve Michigan parades including Milford, Plymouth, Marine City, Clarkston, Royal Oak, Allegan, St. Claire
Shores, Lake Orion, Linden, Rochester, Jackson, and Spring Harbor.
Milford, located in Oakland County about an hour's drive from downtown Detroit, has hosted their parade for over 100 years. One of the
things that makes this a popular parade is their "no clowns and no politicians" rule. Club vehicles included Chapman's 1944 Ford GPW, Shelswell's
1952 Willys M38A1, T. Roberts M923 five-ton, and Stern's bright yellow Jeepster. Once again, we were joined by local MV owners who returned with
a 1980 M920, and a 1983 M929 tipper. Plus, a Milford resident brought a super-clean 1972 AM General M35A2. There were a few more MVs, but the
stand-out had to be the M503 Hawk Missile Carrier owned by a retired U.S. Army General. The aircraft flyover headliner however was certainly the
Boeing B-17 bomber, Yankee Lady who made several passes just as the parade started.
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Photos & Story by Rick Forys
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Members in the area were thrilled to finally get our own metro Detroit Mission BBQ
location in Northville, MI. The restaurant is well known for their free sandwich for veterans on Veteran's day program, and they were very happy to
have our vehicles participate in their event and exceedingly accommodating during our visit. In total, we managed to assemble four military vehicles,
all driven in for the 11AM Veteran's day Thursday event. We had two M38A1 Jeeps, along with a 1952 M37CDN, and 1941 WC27.
Club members assembled with the vehicles before the opening and the parking lot was already busy with recruiting units from the Air Force and
Marines, plus a veteran's service dog group. Things kicked into gear when Mission BBQ opened its doors with the singing of the national anthem
by a young Marine sergeant. What followed was a steady stream of veterans of all ages, and with people lined up out the door, the team at Mission
never missed a beat. It really was incredible to see veterans from so many different eras, services and deployments together all at once.
Attendance was strong with the vehicles garnering a lot of attention. Members answered questions, gave vehicle tours, and were honored to have some
vets and active duty troops sit in their trucks. As the MVs were parked just off of a main road, we also heard from many passing motorists who beeped
their horns in support on their way by. One member experienced some engine issues on his short ride to the event. It was quickly determined that
several plugs on the ailing M38A1 were wet and fouled. The group managed to clean the affected plugs and the member later reported a more pleasant
drive home.
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The MVCCMI is saddened to announce the loss of a most cherished member. On
Wednesday, November 10, 2021, Richard Ray Pilon succumbed to a relatively short illness.
Richard was born in Flint, Michigan on April 21, 1927 and was a resident of the Flint area most of his life, graduating from Flint Central
High School in 1945. He served in the US (Army) Air Force during World War II and also participated in the Berlin Airlift in 1948.
A public service person for much of his life, he was employed as a letter carrier for 16 years in the City of Flint, before working at AC
Spark Plug for 25 years to retirement in 1992. Over the time Rich had 4 children, 11 grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren.
Richard was a member of the Berlin Airlift Veterans Association, and an active member of IDPA (International Defense Pistol Association),
and the Linden Sportsman Club. A pilot since 1944, Rich started re-enacting WWII battles in 2009 and joined the MVCCMI shortly after. He
was a very active member, and a welcome addition to any club adventure. I'm certain members will join me in cherishing the memories of
the many happy times we had with Rich at club events. He will be truly missed.
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Photos & Story by Rick Forys
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As we all basically watched our entire military vehicle
season fade before our eyes, Military Vehicle Collectors Club of Michigan Commanding Officer, and MVPA Convoy master Terry
Shelswell perceived that the best and maybe the only way to have any kind of club event at this time was to do what he does
best - run a convoy!
After mapping out a 60 mile route, including a full timeline and logistical considerations, Terry approached the rest of the
board with his plan to try to save some part of the MV season. The plan was approved and the date was set for June 20. To keep
things small, the event was limited to MVCCMI members and family, and as we would spend most of the day driving the vehicles,
personal contact could be kept to a minimum. Members were also encouraged to bring and wear masks when in public situations.
At the Springfield Twp. rally point, the first order of business was to recognize our special guest, 72nd district State Representative
Steve Johnson, who had accepted our invitation to join us. After a brief overview of the mapped out convoy route, drivers fired up and
we were on our way. The route was broken into four segments with some kind of break at the end of each one. About sixty percent of the
roads were dirt or gravel, and we enjoyed a lot of tree covered areas as we passed through the towns of Ortonville, Holly, and Linden
before returning to our starting point and support vehicle parking.
Altogether there were seventeen vehicles on the trip consisting of eight quarter-ton trucks, three three-quarter ton Dodges, and three
five-tons, along with three civi-support vehicles attached for the ride. It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day, but also the hottest
day of the year so far, which was taxing on both the vehicles and riders. We had no real issues, but we did have a couple of break-downs,
one terminal for the day, but both problems were handled by the recovery team with relatively minimal effect on convoy.
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Official News - October 1, 2013 - For Immediate Release:
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Arsenal of Democracy Motor Pool
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The Detroit Arsenal of Democracy Museum (the Museum) and the independent Arsenal of Democracy Motor Pool
(Motor Pool) were formed several years ago with similar mission statements. That is, to educate the public
through exhibits, displays and activities using vintage military vehicles and other equipment to demonstrate the
significant role of the automobile industry in defending our freedoms. In the beginning, the Motor Pool was
known as Alpha Company or Able Company, a branch of the Great Lakes Military Vehicle Preservation Association
(GLMVPA). John Lind, curator of the Museum, was one of the founding members of the Motor Pool and an
officer on the Board of Directors for four years.
A few years after getting started, the Motor Pool was growing and submitted an application to the international
MVPA to become an independent affiliate in its own right and became known as the Arsenal of Democracy Motor Pool.
The Motor Pool was and always has been a separate entity from the Museum.
Recently, Mr. Lind acquired through lease a building for his use as a museum. He is currently focusing his
efforts in developing this museum and is no longer a member of the Motor Pool Board. The Motor Pool Board
wishes Mr. Lind well in his pursuits.
Concurrently, the Board of Directors of the Motor Pool has determined that a greater measure of differentiation
is in order for the organization. This was determined to be necessary due to the similarity of the names
and the resulting confusion over what entity was what and who was governing whom.
Therefore, the Board of Directors of the Motor Pool decided to file legal documents with the State of Michigan
and the international MVPA to do business as the Military Vehicle Collectors Club of Michigan. (MVCC-MI)
This name harkens back to the founding of the MVPA in the 1970s when it was known as the MVCC. The
name change, effective immediately, will not affect in any way the organization's corporate or tax status nor will
the mission statement radically change. Rather, it will be considered a new beginning for the organization
and its members who will continue to proudly display and operate their vehicles and interact with the public in a
fun, safe and educational environment on the history, manufacture and use of vintage military vehicles.
Implementing its five year Strategic Objectives Plan, it will do this through public events, outreach programs
with various community and veterans groups, other museums and non-profit organizations as well as schools and
municipalities.
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