JK Forum Gets Exclusive Tour of Ohio’s Best Kept Military Jeep Secret
It’s been said that there’s always something new to discover. You just have to be up for venturing off the beaten path, something that comes pretty natural for anyone with ties to the world of Jeep.
I was recently reminded of that idea when Ron Szymanski, a Jeep historian in Toledo, Ohio whom I interviewed for an earlier JK Forum post, asked if I’d be interested in doing a story on a friend of his who owns a collection of war Jeeps.
I immediately said yes, not knowing what to expect if I took him up on the offer. But I figured the idea of interviewing someone with a couple of war Jeeps was worth pursuing. I could work out the specific details later, after securing the interview.
A few weeks later, I finally made contact with Szymanski’s friend, Herbert Huddle, who invited me to come visit his collection, located in a rural area on the outskirts of Toledo. Little did I know, what awaited me might easily be considered one of the best kept Jeep secrets in the world.
Far from the typical car collection, Huddle’s stockpile of Jeeps is more of a personal tribute to the SUV’s military heritage. The bulk of his collection is stored in a 30-by-100-foot barn space converted into a museum, which features everything from MBs to rifles from World War Il.
Huddle’s first Jeep was a Pasture Green CJ-2A that he bought with his father and brother, which they used on the family’s farm as a work vehicle.
“I drove it to high school for two years,” recalls the 86-year-old. “It was really a nice vehicle for running around in the fields and in the woods. We had a lot of fun with it.”
Huddle first became interested in collecting Jeeps in 1984 after he and his wife, Betty, took a trip to Europe to retrace all the places his uncle had been while serving in the 101st Airborne Division during World War II.
“We spent three weeks with him and he showed us every place… from England to Utah Beach on D-Day, down through France, into Belgium and Germany and Austria. After that, we decided we wanted an Army Jeep,” says Huddle. “We found one up in Michigan and brought it home and restored it. From then on, we started collecting more.”
Today, Huddle and his wife have a total of 12 restored Jeeps in their collection, including six early civilian models and six military Jeeps. The list includes early MB models, all the way to a Keiser 1965 DJ-3A. Huddle is currently restoring his second 1946 Willys with a column shift, one of the most-coveted older model Jeeps. He also owns a 1948 Empire Tractor equipped with the Go-Devil 4-cylinder engine, one of the many tractors in a historical farm equipment collection he owns as well. His personal favorite in his collection, however, is the World War II 1942 MB.
Huddle still drives his Jeeps in and around town, but makes no bones about the fact that he typically only brings them out when the weather is warm. He especially enjoys taking the Jeeps to annual Memorial Day Parades in the area, where local World War II Veterans often ride along with Huddle and his wife.
“It’s really something for them,” says Huddle. “They’re getting pretty old and not as agile as they used to be getting in and out of a Jeep. But it brings them joy.”
The collector attributes a lot of his deep love for older Jeeps to the same passion that draws people to newer models of the SUV. “The Jeep is very durable and we love the all-wheel-drive out in the fields. It’s very economical to run,” says Huddle.
It’s clear that one of the collector’s biggest fulfillments comes in the time he spends finding and restoring Jeeps, which includes everything from total body replacements to overhauling the engine.
“Since a lot of people know I’m into Jeeps, they’ll tell me that they’ve seen one sitting in a field or in a barn,” says Huddle. “I like the old flat-hoods. They are easy to work on and easy to repair. You can almost put them together blindfolded.”
