In a hanger at Owens Field, a group of about 30 dedicated active military, veterans, and civilians gather every Thursday afternoon to cut, weld, repair, and restore old military vehicles.

These men are part of the Military Vehicle Collectors of South Carolina (MVCSC), a group that collects, restores, and displays military vehicles from the World War II, Korean, and Vietnam War eras.

“Right now, we have about 30 running vehicles,” said Paul Ruh, one of the Columbia members, who is there on most Thursdays. “We’ve got a little of everything from M151 Jeeps of the Vietnam era to modern Humvees (Highly Mobile Multi– Wheeled Vehicle).”

The vehicles are in all stages of repair or ruin, depending on what the guys are working on, what condition the vehicle is in when it is brought into the hanger, and whether or not they can find the parts to repair them.

Having begun about seven years ago, this group of guys loves giving back to the community. Along with the many hours per week they spend restoring the vehicles, they also volunteer much of their time to various events and organizations. Recently, the guys spent three days at the Air & Ground Expo at McEntire Joint National Guard Base where they had several of their vehicles displayed. And with a warm “Welcome home,” they thoroughly enjoy talking with the veterans who come by to check out their work.

“They are the ones we really do this for; the vets,” said John Peck, treasurer and command sergeant major for the group. “It means a lot to us when a vet comes up and says ‘Thanks’ to us.”

The group has also been involved with functions at the State Museum, St. Patrick’s Day in Five Points, the Crawfish Festival, Veteran’s Day in Charleston, and Armed Forces Day at Fort Jackson.

“The Fort Jackson event was probably one of our most difficult tasks,” said Peck. “We set up a fire base there, which took an entire week. We had four tractor trailers full of equipment.”

The fire base is a representation of a fire support area for the infantry. Most had several artillery, mortar, M–16 firing points, and claymore setups. The MVCSC also complete the display with numerous tents including medical, mess hall, latrine, and an operations center. They filled all of these with knowledgeable people and equipment of the era.

They also spent an entire day replacing every tire on the display vehicles on Fort Jackson.

“That was a tough day,” said Peck. “You wouldn’t believe what we had to do to get some of those tires off. But like everything we do, all the hard work pays off because it’s greatly appreciated.”

Along with setting up static displays and demonstrations, the team also has the ability to take care of other volunteers. At one of the last Armed Forces Day events, they brought a Mobile Kitchen Trailer (MKT) and fed all of the volunteers.

Their next event is the upcoming Veteran’s Day Parade, Nov. 11 in Columbia.

This tight knit group of guys really knows how to work things out. MVCSC is a non–profit group and all of the money for the restoration of vehicles comes from the members or from donations.

“We purchase the vehicles (usually with personal money) and then we ‘beg, borrow and steal’ to restore them. If someone needed something, we would work together to get it,” said Ruh.

Along with personal funds, the group has also been fortunate to have received a few large donations. One church member donated $150 after the group responded to a request to bring several vehicles to their church for a Veteran’s Day celebration.

“We just love being able to save these vehicles and let people see them,” said Ruh. “Some of the kids have never even seen a Jeep like this up close. All they know about are the Hummers. But it’s great when the older guys come up and tell stories about how they remember these Jeeps and haven’t seen one in years. They make it all worth it.”

They are also a part of B–Troop of the Celebrate Freedom Foundation, a group involved in the education of youngsters about the military’s past, present, and future. They are also concerned with recruiting new enlistees into the military ranks. This larger foundation brings together groups like MVCSC and others where the collection dramatically increases from solely vehicles to aircraft, uniforms, and other military memorabilia and collectables.

In addition to everything else, they are also only one of five groups to have a five–star rating from the MVPA (Military Vehicle Preservation Association). In order to receive this rating, the group must have at least 90% of its team as members of MVPA and be covered by MVPA’s insurance.

Most of the group’s vehicles are restored, painted, and numbered like they would have been if they were part of an Army unit, but there is one vehicle in their collection that stands out from the rest. Unlike the others that are painted in camouflage or olive drab green, this Jeep is grey.

“This Jeep was actually won in a raffle by one of our members,” said Peck. “It was originally painted olive drab, but the owner decided he wanted to do something different with it.”

So in preparation for the November 11, 2006 Veteran’s Day parade, the team spent 36 hours fixing, repairing, and repainting the Jeep a Navy grey.

“I just love the camaraderie we have with our group,” said Peck, who spent 24 years as a mechanic in the Army.

If someone were interested in getting involved with the group, there is always space available.

“We have some guys who are there every Thursday and spend hours working and don’t miss an event,” said Ruh. “Others come when they can and help out as much as they are able. Some work full time and others are retired, so their availability from one week to the next changes.”

And if you’re worried about how much this is going to cost you, in many cases, nothing more than a few hours of time. But if you are interested in purchasing and restoring a vehicle for yourself, you could spend anywhere from a little to a lot.

“If you came in with an old Jeep, it could take about a year to restore,” said Peck. “After the cost of the vehicle, it could take anywhere from a few hundred to get it to drivable condition to a few thousand to fully restore it. It really just depends on what condition it’s in when you get it.”

For more information on the MVCSC, contact John Peck at 803-414- 7059 or Dave Cartledge at 803-556-1437. They also have a website with pictures and additional information at http:// mvpa.org/affiliates/s.htm.