Jeeps and

fellowship... is there a connection?

There is if

you belong to His House Community Church in Fayetteville.

Pastor the Rev. Knox Herndon and church member Bill Jones

found they shared a history in the military, Herndon as a

retired lieutenant colonel chaplain, and Jones as a

retired sergeant major.

They also

found a common interest - restoring World War ll

Jeeps. As members of the Military Vehicle Preservation

Association, the two, joined by Bo Daniel of B & D

Auto Repair and Restoration in Fayetteville, are

restoring a 1943 Jeep used by Britain's Long Range Desert

Group to fight the Germans in North Africa.

According

to Herndon, this type of Jeep is quite rare. "I

don't know of another in America," he said. What

makes this vehicle unique are the intact modifications

made by the British on the American-made Jeep during the

war, and the full-compliment of weapons it carries.

"This

was shipped to Britain during Lend Lease; you can see

where the speedometer has been changed from miles per

hour to kilometers," Herndon pointed out. "The

British would put 10 or 15 of these Jeeps together and go

out in the desert to find Nazi airstrips. A memo written

by [German Gen. Edwin] Rommel stated that the SAS

(Special Air Service) downed more aircraft on the ground

than the RAF (Royal Air Force) downed from the air,"

Herndon said.

The Jeep

carried at least five gas cans and plenty of ammunition,

with machine guns mounted high over the seats. Herndon

hastened to add that all the weapons carried on his Jeep

are inert and will not fire.

Authenticity

is key to transforming an old relic into a beautifully

restored piece of history. Herndon and his buddies, who

both happen to be master mechanics, have toyed with the

Jeep for about three years. And they are still a long way

from having it in top notch 1943 condition. While its

engine runs, and its body will receive a desert

camouflage paint job for show purposes, Herndon said he

intends to strip it down to the chassis and start all

over again.

Details

mean everything to hobbyists like Herndon, right down to

the Jeep's original data plates and mounted gas cans. He

went as far as asking an old Army pal in Kuwait to send

him a couple of Arab head dresses to wear when driving

the Jeep in parades. Herndon also has the British uniform

to wear along with it. "The soldiers wanted to look

like Arabs, but had to wear their uniforms as well, or

they could be shot as spies," Herndon explained.

This

particular Jeep came from Richard Grace of Palmetto, whom

Herndon and Jones refers to as the "Southeastern

Jeep guru." There are still plenty of WW ll Jeeps

around. Herndon noted that veterans could buy them after

the war for about $650 and used them to drive, plow

fields or use them as "deer hunter specials."

Under the

hood, these vehicles sport four-cylinders, 153-cubic-inch

engines with one-barrel carburetors. They have four-wheel

drive and Herndon's desert special even has black out

lights.

While these

vehicles have an impressive history, to Herndon, they

also represent one of the greatest periods in our

country. "This is the time we saved the world for

democracy... this is a return to some of that,"

Herndon said. For information about the Military Vehicle

Preservation Association, phone Herndon at 770-719-2365.

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