Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles

Some of the cornhusker state’s best military relics

- Peter Suciu

There are plenty of museums that are truly off the beaten path, but the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles (HMMV) in Lexington, Nebraska, isn’t exactly one of those — at least not if you’re driving on I-80 through America’s heartland. While not perhaps as well known as Fort Bennett or West Point, this museum is absolutely worth the trek for anyone with an interest in military vehicles, anti-tank weapons, or just happens to be a fan of M*A*S*H*.

Run by a nonprofit organization, staffed by volunteers, and funded entirely by donations and grants, the HMMV isn’t the largest military history museum in the country, nor does it have the most extensive collection of military vehicles. However, this free-to-visit museum, which is open year-round (except for Christmas and New Year’s Day) is home to around 100 vehicles that date from the first half of the 20th century to the modern day. Unlike many other history museums where the old vehicles are essentially props that need to be towed out of the way, the goal of HMMV is to restore each vehicle to working order.

Currently the museum’s collection ranges from tanks and half-tracks to a full-size helicopter. HMMV is also home to one of the largest collections of military ambulances in the world, and has jeeps from every branch of the service. “We currently have vehicles and other military equipment from the First World War to the modern day,” said Gary Gifford, the director of the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles.

HUMBLE ORIGINS