Fort Smith, Arkansas, Chapter 467:
The 467 Jeep Team

BY MICHAEL KEATING

It started years ago when Chapter 467 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, purchased four salvage military Jeeps. When it wasn’t too hot or too cold, chapter members would work on the old vehicles, cannibalizing parts and selling off salvage. They brought differing interests and skill levels to the project. Dennis Morgan, for example, built stock cars.

But it really started many years ago in Vietnam. They had all worked on Jeeps in the service, and that’s what brought them together to form the 467 Jeep Team. Joe Gibbs heads the team, joined by Morgan, Mike Gibbs, Larry Mars, Stanley Kilgore, Skip Kelley, Garland Stafford, Delmar Long, and Mike Silvia.

Chapter 467 President Richard Meers says he’s “just along for the ride,” but he was the one who pushed the team’s efforts into high gear. He had retired due to Agent Orange health complications and had a 3,000-square-foot building he was trying to sell without success. So Meers invited team members to move their work from scattered backyards and back lots and into his building where they could seriously address their labor of love.

The four original Jeeps eventually yielded one restoration of a 1946 Willys CJ2A1. The work was intensive. The body was sandblasted. There was “cut and paste” as damaged sections were replaced. The brake lines had to be completely redone. Everything, in fact, had to be cleaned and refurbished.

In October 2016 the family of chapter member Larry Joe Bellmyer donated his 1955 Jeep (an M38A1) to the chapter. The donation stipulated that the 467 Jeep Team would restore the vehicle, then display it in Bellmyer’s memory. That restoration was completed in time to be shown off at the chapter’s first golf tournament last May.

Local businessman and Vietnam veteran Lonnie Turner collects Jeeps and admired the chapter’s skill and dedication. “You’ve done great work,” he said, “and I want you to have a true Vietnam Era Jeep.” In the fall of 2017 he donated a complete M151A1 Jeep for restoration. Last Veterans Day Meers presented Turner with the Chapter 467 Patriot’s Award, which comes with a handsome plaque.

Two fully restored Jeeps have been displayed twice and have been driven in ten parades. This year the chapter plans to show off its handiwork more often.

But Meers’ building “still has a for sale sign out front,” he said. So thechapter is in the planning stage of building a replica 24x24-foot 467 Motor Pool. In addition to housing the Jeeps, there will be workbenches for transmission and rear-end overhauls. On the walls will be in-country photos of Jeeps from personal collections. Anyone interested in donating tools or Jeep-related memorabilia should contact Mike Sulina at 479-652-3608.

The motor pool will be located next to Chapter 467’s Museum and Chapter Hall. The museum houses a modest collection of Vietnam War artifacts, most of them donated by chapter members. The chapter, with more than a hundred members, is the state’s largest. The building also serves as the chapter’s meeting house and as a meeting place for other local veterans groups. Its signage was replaced several years ago. University of Arkansas sculpture art professor Matthew T. Meers (the son of the chapter president) produced the oversized artwork based on the Vietnam Service Medal.

In front of the building is a Cobra Helicopter Bell AH/A1-G&F #67-15469, which flew in the Vietnam War and during the first Gulf War. Chapter members are eager to learn more about the bird’s war history. On display nearby is an Armored Motor Carrier, for which the chapter has no in-country information.

Other chapter members were involved with refurbishing the Vietnam Veteran Casualty Monument at the Fort Smith National Cemetery. The reconstruction included adding a faux black granite panel that lists all of Arkansas’ 597 confirmed KIAs.

If you have questions about the 467 Jeep Team or information about the chapter’s Cobra, contact Chapter President Richard Meers at r.lmeers@yahoo.com or 479-459-4234.