Readers of this site know that the Farm Jeep story officially began in July 1945 with the introduction of the “peace” or “civilian” Jeep. We also know that testing of the Army’s new Willys MB 1/4 ton truck as a possible tractor replacement began as early as 1942. So why are we talking about a 1941 Willys MA jeep? The simple answer is family and friends connections.
Connections
We can thank George and Bernadette Hollins of Palos Park, Illinois, for retaining the MA78621 in their private collection. The Hollins’ records indicate the Willys was delivered to the U.S. Army on July 5, 1941, from the old Willys-Overland plant in Toledo, Ohio. They believe it was one of four sent to the 15th Infantry in Fort Lewis. So wrote MotorTrend in the spring of 2011 of the upcoming 70 Years of Jeep celebration at the Walter P. Chrysler Museum. 1
Other publications noted that the MA was the focus of the celebration. 2 We aren’t sure how we missed this important Jeep anniversary, but we did. We had, however, been aware of the Hollins’ jeep collection.
George’s sister, Carolyn, has been a dear family friend for decades. She had been trying to get us together to “talk Jeeps” for years. Finally, in the summer of 2025, we were able to meet. While the news of the MA in the museum celebration might be old to some, it was fun and exciting for us.
Fort Lewis
The MA had started its military service at Fort Lewis, Washington. Barry had spent the majority of his Army service at Fort Lewis, and Evan was born at the nearby McCord Air Force Base hospital. Another connection.
George wrote us: “Fort Lewis, in 1941, received each of the pre-standardized jeeps, Willys MA, Ford GP, Bantam BRC. Attached is a copy of the Fort Lewis magazine from Christmas 1941. It is possible that one of the jeeps in the magazine photos could be our MA.”
There are more famous military jeeps in the collection. We plan to include them in the future.
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