Relics of war

EVANSVILLE — A World War II Jeep, a 1954 Dodge M37 transport truck, an M3A1 half-track, a G-506 1.5-ton Chevrolet truck and numerous trailers have found their way to Minnesota and are now stationed among the corn and soybean fields near Brent Johnson’s farm near Evansville. An enthusiastic collector of military vehicles, Johnson has accumulated many historical gems over the years.

Johnson said he has an unwavering appreciation for our nation’s history and what it can teach, and his admiration, knowledge and collection continue to grow with each addition.

“Since I was a little kid, I have been enamored with it,” Johnson said of military history and vehicles. “Some collectors (of military memorabilia) have served, but a lot of us were never in the service … yet we enjoy preserving history and all that it has to teach.”

For Johnson, conversations with people about his military fleet are half the fun. Summer parades and festivals near his hometown provide that opportunity. Johnson, Greg Smedsrud, and Ron and Diane Fagen, who own and operate Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls, brought vehicles to the summer event Wings Over Alexandria. The airshow drew fans and spectators to the Alexandria Regional Airport for an aerial performance and a day of fun and appreciation with many military planes and vehicles on display.

“If you have never been to Fagen’s Fighter Museum, it is a must-see,” Johnson said. “The Fagen family has done such a wonderful job with the museum, and there are many impressive things on the grounds — … sand from Normandy Beach and many WWII planes and vehicles.”

Johnson shares his military appreciation by driving a select few of his vehicles in local events such as the Memorial Day parade in Alexandria and the Fourth of July parade in his hometown.

“The Civil War was the last time any of my ancestors were involved in war,” Johnson said. “I was too young for the Vietnam War, and my dad was too young for World War II. …(During) Korea, Dad was farming. Grandpa was too young for WWI; even though it never hit home, I have always had that interest.”

In the 1960s, the Johnson family began a career in custom harvesting. Johnson; his father, Arlynn; and his two younger brothers, Shawn and Lance, were the original members, and as their operation grew, so did their crew.

“I’ve seen a lot of country traveling with the custom harvest business,” Johnson said. “We’ve traveled to Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, Montana, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota and Canada.”

For over 45 years, Johnson was working on the road. Each year in May, the crew headed south and west, where the winters and terrain were more forgiving. Johnson recalls the fields were scattered with used-up half-tracks.

M3A1 half-tracks are armored personnel vehicles mass-produced during WWII. They were designed with wheels in the front and tracks in the back to navigate rough terrain while also keeping up with the military’s tanks. The M3A1 half-track is among the most unique vehicles in Johnson’s collection, he said.

“When I was younger, traveling and working the fields, I remember seeing them (half-tracks) everywhere; …  they lay in scrap piles and forgotten in pastures,” Johnson said. “During WWII, there were virtually no civilian cars, trucks or tractors being built. Meanwhile, White Motor Co. had built over 40,000 half-tracks with the assistance of Diamond T Motor Car Co. and International Harvester. For six years during the war, nobody had gotten a new tractor, so following the war, the army sold hundreds of surplus half-tracks that made their way out to the High Plains.”

Farmers used them as tractors for hauling and spreading fertilizer. Potato farmers in Idaho and Michigan put boxes on the back and used them for harvest, while construction companies used them for moving houses. Power line companies used them for setting utility poles, and lumber companies used them to haul trees, Johnson said.

“Out West, the land was flatter, and you didn’t need hydraulics in your farm equipment,” Johnson said. “So, they cut the armor off, and they still had good quad tracks on them … just like today’s equipment. They worked well.”

Half-tracks were used for a lot of other things, too, Johnson said. They were shipped to Israel, where local garages were often contracted by the British Royal Army Service Corps to service military vehicles, trucks and ambulances deployed in the Middle East. In Israel, the M3A1 engines were often rebuilt and converted to diesel, and new tracks were installed. A few thousand were eventually sold to the Israeli Defense Forces.

Twenty years ago, Johnson said he started looking for a half-track to add to his fleet of army vehicles. With only three or four known to be in Minnesota and in operating condition, he set out on an extensive search and located one for sale in Connecticut.

“The engine came out of a half-track that would have gone through the battles in Europe during WWII,” Johnson said. “Instead, it was sent to Israel, where it was pulled out, fixed up, shipped to the U.S. and then ended up in Douglas County.”

Although Johnson has been retired from custom farming since 2007, his family’s legacy and his admiration for history remain a large part of his story. Today, his younger brothers are running the family’s custom harvesting company.

“At the strong point of my career, we ran 11 combines, plus the trucks, the campers, 15 guys on our crew,” Johnson said. “Leaving everything behind, … the farm, the family, the responsibility, it (harvest season) would get a little emotional.”

Traveling with his wife, Debra, and spending quality time with the next generation is high on Johnson’s priority list now that the pace of harvest season has slowed down. Johnson farms 3,500 acres with his stepson, Donald, and his daughter, Leah. His stepdaughter, Jana, and a handful of part-time employees work with them primarily during harvest. Johnson’s great-grandfather’s homestead is one of the farms that he and his family still farm today.

“We’ve been farming and picking rocks on that land for 150 years, … and we’re not done yet,” Johnson said. “I guess what we lack in efficiency, we make up for in perseverance.”