William Gasser has long been fascinated by all things military. At age 12, when most of his friends were collecting baseball cards or comic books, Gasser was collecting German military uniforms.
In fact, by the time he was 17, Gasser owned the largest collection of authentic German uniforms in New York state. Gasser, who now lives in Danville, Va., sold his uniform collection when he got
married, but he didn’t lose the urge to collect.

In 1978, he purchased his first piece of armor—a British Daimler Dingo assault vehicle that drew startled stares when he drove it around town. A few years later he bought an American World War II tank at an auction in Florida; within three years his tank collection had grown to 30.

Today, Gasser is curator of one of the nation’s largest privately owned collections of international military vehicles, weapons, and other artifacts, a collection so vast that in 1981 he established the American Armoured Foundation Inc. Tank and Ordnance War Memorial Museum
to house and display it.

“The museum currently has 113 tanks and artillery exhibits,” says Gasser. “Besides tanks we have armored personnel carriers, self-propelled guns, armored cars, and half-tracks.” Gasser’s biggest crowd-pleasers include an extremely rare World War II German Panzer MkIV tank; a World War I American Six-Ton Special (one of only six American World War I tanks in private hands); and two Iraqi tanks, with a third on order. Gasser estimates the value of his entire collection at more than $17 million.
“Many collectors of military vehicles start by playing with toy soldiers when they’re young,” Gasser says with a chuckle. “My collection is the result of what happens when you don’t put your soldiers away—the armies get bigger and more expensive.”

A popular pastime

While Gasser’s collection is impressive, he’s hardly alone in his hobby. The Military Vehicle Preservation Association, established in 1976, boasts more than 10,000 members worldwide, reports association President Charles Varner of Grandview, Texas, whose own collection of vehicles includes a restored World War II Dodge ambulance, a World War II Dodge Command Car, a World War II GMC CCKW 6x6, a 1942 Buick Roadmaster, and a World War II Ford GPW jeep.

As with any popular hobby, there is no typical collector of military vehicles; enthusiasts come from all backgrounds and all walks of life, says Varner. There are, however, some common threads. “I conducted an unofficial poll of our membership and found that many were in the Boy Scouts, as I was,” Varner says. “You’ll also find a lot of model builders in the group. I learned about the World War II vehicles growing up in the 1950s and 1960s by building the models of various trucks and tanks.”

Varner estimates that less than half of today’s military vehicle collectors served in the military. “You’d think there would be more people with a military background in the hobby than there are,” he notes. “We do have some veterans, including World War II veterans who own vehicles and still participate, but they are not the majority by any stretch.

A lot of veterans I’ve talked to say they’ve done their time with that stuff and they don’t want to have anything more to do with it. I think perhaps that’s why a lot of people who did not serve in the military become involved in collecting—they come to it from a different perspective. To them, it’s just a hobby.”

Collectors of military vehicles often focus on a specific historical period. World War II-era vehicles are popular right now, says Patrick Eagan, owner of Khaki Corps Imports in Tulsa, Okla. Other collectors favor a specific type of vehicle, such as jeeps or, if they’re wealthier, armored vehicles.

Many aficionados purchase surplus military vehicles for their utility rather than their collectibility. “We have four different classes of customers,” notes Bill Crisp, co-owner with Col. Curtis Crews, USMC-Ret., of Ocala, Fla.-based American Growler, which specializes in customized M151A2s, a popular military vehicle that preceded the Humvee. “We sell to military buffs who are into restoration, sportsmen who want them for hunting and fishing, and kit-car buffs looking for a fun project. But the biggest percentage of our sales are to foreign military. Our last large order was to the Dominican Republic.”

Most collectors, however, are into the thrill and prestige of owning a unique piece of military hardware— the more unique, the better. David Sutton, president of Red Star Aviation in Hackettstown, N.J., specializes in the acquisition of surplus military aircraft. A civilian pilot who often contracts with DoD, Sutton divides his clientele into two groups: nonprofessional aviation enthusiasts and professional aviators.

“The first group are successful entrepreneurs who have typically been flying high-performance planes for a while and are looking for something different, such as a French Fouga Magister, which can be acquired for around $100,000, or a MiG-15, which can cost between $100,000 and $200,000,” Sutton says. “The second group are often what I call have-beens or never-weres in military aviation. Have-beens are ex-fighter pilots looking to re-create their lost youth, and never-weres are ex-military pilots who were somehow cheated out of flying fighters and now want to fulfill that fantasy.”

Military planes are far more expensive and difficult to acquire than many land vehicles, but that hasn’t stopped collectors with money from making their aviation dreams come true. Sutton, who currently owns a MiG-15, four Fouga Magisters, and a Bucker Jungmann, estimates that there are about 250 registered, flyable surplus military jets now in civilian hands.

Thrill of the hunt

Finding surplus military vehicles worthy of collecting can be difficult. World War II-, Korea-, and Vietnam-era vehicles in good condition have become rare, and DoD has strict guidelines regarding the sale of surplus military vehicles to civilians.

“DoD will not sell as surplus any aircraft that has been issued an attack, fighter, or bomber designation, or anything that has ever carried or been able to carry any sort of ordnance on board,” says Sutton. “Those are totally unavailable to the private collector.”

As a result, collectors and dealers often turn to foreign countries, which tend to be more flexible when it comes to selling surplus vehicles. Varner, for example, acquired one of his World War II-era cargo trucks from the Norwegian army. “A lot of American World War II vehicles wound up in Norway after the war, and five or six years ago the Norwegian army began releasing one of its last big stocks,” he says. “It was a real boon to the hobby and for World War II collectors in particular because vehicles like command cars and Dodge ambulances and a lot of GMC and Studebaker trucks were released through auction to the public. The Norwegians took very good care of the vehicles and kept them indoors. The truck I purchased was original right down to the wiring, and it runs very well. I drove it all over England and France before I brought it home.”

Canada has proved a popular source for military vehicles, including DeHavilland Vampires, Lockheed T-33s, and North American F-86s, notes Sutton. The United Kingdom also has accommodated collectors, providing such eclectic planes as English Electric Canberra jet bombers, Hawker Hunters, DeHavilland Vampires, English Electric Lightning fighters, and British Aerospace Jet Provost training aircraft. Few countries, however, have treated collectors as well as Switzerland.

“Switzerland actually gave away its collection of Hawker Hunters to collectors and museums,” Sutton says. “It’s a neutral nation and wouldn’t sell its surplus military materiel, but it delivered the aircraft free to American collectors who expressed interest in operating them. In addition, France has sold a large number of Fouga Magisters — I’ve owned 13 and still have four.”

Sutton is quick to point out that foreign military aircraft can be imported into the United States only if DoD does not have ownership. “Many foreign-operated, U.S.-designed and -manufactured aircraft were supplied to those governments under various military assistance programs through which the U.S. government still has a say in what happens to them,” he explains. “You may be able to buy the airplane from a foreign government, but you probably will not be able to get it past U.S. Customs. One guy tried to smuggle an A-37 purchased from the Vietnamese government across the Canadian border, and as far as I know, he’s still in a federal prison.”

Indeed, collecting high-end military vehicles can be a daunting experience. Dealers must possess special government licenses to import them and complete an overwhelming amount of paperwork for an international sale. “Such deals can be difficult from the acquisition side because we have to have several levels of clearance, not only for the U.S. government but [also for] the government we’re dealing with,” says Patrick Robb, president of Cold War Remarketing in Littleton, Colo. “At any corner of the triangle, any flunky at bureaucratic level can decide, ‘This is too dangerous to be in civilian hands,’ and say no. Sometimes we have to drag them into court to tell us why.”

A few years ago Robb acquired for a client an eight-vehicle SCUD missile system complete with guidance package from the former Yugoslavia. However, the system, which cost nearly $1 million, was seized at the port of entry. “All of our permits were in line, everything was ready to go,” says Robb. “So we walked into court [and] made [the government] give it back to us and eat all the storage charges.”

The fact that someone would pay $1 million for a SCUD missile system illustrates the obsessive mind-set of the hardcore collector. A wide array of military vehicles and other equipment can be purchased if you have enough money and the right contacts. But rest assured, all military vehicles that legally find their way into private hands are demilitarized.

“Vehicles that have weapon systems, such as tanks, are required to be demilitarized per Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm specs,” stresses Eagan. “The ‘demil’ process turns the weapon system into a nongun.”

Passionate patriots

Collectors of military vehicles tend to be extremely patriotic, and most of them enjoy showing off their toys at military parades and other events. “We do public displays, gun shows, military shows—our local affiliate has even supported the local symphony and ballet,” says Varner. “The symphony recently did a tribute to band leader Glenn Miller, and they wanted World War II jeeps and trucks, so we supplied them.”

Lt. Col. Robert Shawn, USAF-Ret., of Herndon, Va., is a passionate collector who enjoys showing his World War II-era American Command Car and Ford jeep at parades and other events. “When I take the vehicles to a show, I put on all the accessories,” Shawn says. “This draws a lot of attention from people. They’re very interested in seeing what these items looked like back in the 1940s, because almost everything has changed today.”

One of the largest events attended by members of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association was the 60th anniversary of D-Day held last June in Normandy, France. “We joined thousands of enthusiasts from around the world and spent two weeks covering the countryside of Normandy,” notes Varner. “There were times when you could see more than 100 World War II vehicles in a column moving up and down the streets, and all of them were collectors. If an American GI had magically appeared from 1944, he would have felt at home with that group.”