The M151 Utility Truck “Jeep” produced from 1959-1982 had a longer run of service than the previous Korean War period M38 Light Utility Vehicles and the WWII Willys MBs combined. Some M151A2s were still in service as late as 1999.
This jeep was gifted to the museum by LTC Hunt Downer in 1983. After serious damage from Hurricane Katrina flooding it had been re-painted and was on display in the courtyard of the new museum from 2012-2015 when a new project was undertaken to repair major rust damage and restore the M2 Machine Gun mounted in the back. The engine was removed, cleaned, re-painted and re-installed. Major holes in the side and floor panels were patched and repaired and the whole vehicle given a new coat of paint. The replica M2 Browning Machine Gun mounted in the rear was re-built – new part fabricated from scratch and a new coat of paint applied.
