DARKE COUNTY — A rare 1963 Willys M170 military ambulance jeep offered visitors a look at Vietnam-era transportation during Saturday’s Darke County Airport Fly-In & Cruise-In.
The vehicle belongs to Ben Zoldak, a Logan County native who now lives on his family’s farm outside Greenville. His grandfather grew up in the farmhouse where Zoldak currently resides.
“It’s an M170, made by Willys Jeep,” Zoldak said. “It’s based on the M38A1 platform, and they stretched it 20 inches.”
The M170 was designed primarily as a front-line ambulance, although some were adapted for use as radio command vehicles. Zoldak said approximately 4,000 M170S were manufactured, with comparatively few placed into the ambulance configuration.
“A MASH unit had to prove they had a use for it and needed it,” he said.
Although its classic appearance may remind some people of the military jeeps used during World War II, Zoldak said his vehicle belongs to a later generation.
“This would be more Vietnam,” he said. “It’s a 1963.”
The M38A1 platform was among the last military jeep designs Willys produced before corporate changes shifted military vehicle production to AM General.
Zoldak grew up near Bellefontaine and attended Benjamin Logan schools. He also attended Culver Military Academy in Indiana before eventually moving to the Greenville area.
He regularly displays his restored military vehicles at veterans programs and other community events. His M170 and military deuce-and-a-half truck were among the vehicles representing Troops in Town at the airport gathering.
Troops in Town participates in community events with the mission of “Honoring our veterans and educating our youth.”
Zoldak has owned his deuce-and-a-half for approximately five years. Together with the M170, the vehicles provide younger generations with a tangible connection to the equipment used by American service members.
For veterans, the familiar vehicles also preserve an important piece of the nation’s military history.
