Jump to content

R.I.P Jacques Littlefield


Its me

Recommended Posts

I have just been informed about the sad passing of Jacques Littlefield, For those that dont know who he was,he was the owner of the worlds biggest privately owned military vehicle collection with all sorts of vehicles and im sure you will agree this is a terribly sad passing for the MV world and the saddest thing of all is the fact that he didnt even get to see the completion of his panther tank restoration.

Kyle

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm stunned at this news. This quote from the MVTF website (http://www.milvehtechfound.com/index.html) seems appropriate:

 

Littlefield's major objective for the Foundation is to preserve the collection for the future:

 

“For me, the important part of the tanks is understanding the industrial know-how that allowed them to be built, and then document those findings. There may not be much appreciation for them now, but hopefully after I'm gone people will look back and say, 'Thank God he saved these historical vehicles instead of just letting them rust away and disappear forever.”

 

Amen to that and to Jacques.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is sad news. I met him several times, he was a very unassuming man. He visited my workshop once and took great interest in the vehicles there at the time. He was very enthusiastic in the engineering side of military vehicles.

 

I would imagine the collection will be assured as it was set up as a foundation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...he was very enthusiastic in the engineering side of military vehicles.

 

I would imagine the collection will be assured as it was set up as a foundation.

 

It was certainly the technology that drove his passion. Here are a couple of articles about Jacques from 2001 and 2003:

 

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2001/1224/074.html

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE2DB173AF93BA15752C1A9659C8B63

 

It would appear the future of the collection had been considered.

 

He was only 60: http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_dreams/2009/01/jacques-littlefield-19492009.html

Edited by Runflat
Link to comment
Share on other sites

He made plans , I see from the articles, I hope that the collection will be protected and used as he hoped they would be .

Sadly another Military historian and collector enthusiast has been taken too soon , I wonder how many like him will ever be .

My condolences to his Family .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very sad.

 

I fear as the years pass more well known people will sadly leave us.

 

As the hobby grows the people who started are getting older, similar to the Vets.

 

The best way to remember them are to remember the people who started this hobby of ours and look after their legacy, be it vehicles, books or other items associated with MV's.

 

Markheliops

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Letter from the President

Military Vehicle Technology Foundation

January 20, 2009

 

Portola Valley, Ca

 

Dear Friends of the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation,

 

I am sad to announce that our long-time friend, the Foundation's founder, Jacques Littlefield, passed away on January 7, 2009. Shortly before his final hours he indicated satisfaction with the status and accomplishments of the Foundation and its most recent project, the just completed German Panther.

 

Jacques acquired his first full-sized military vehicle, an M3A1 wheeled scout car, in 1975. By the late 1990s as the collection became more significant, he started to plan for its longer term preservation. In 1998, he created the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation (MVTF) as a non-profit corporation. The mission of the MVTF is to collect, preserve, restore, document and display armored fighting vehicles and their associated equipment. The MVTF serves the interests of authors, historians, educators, the defense industry, veterans groups, model makers and the entertainment industry.

 

Over the last few years, Jacques and the board of directors had many discussions about the future of the MVTF. He made it clear that he wanted the Foundation and its activities to continue after his death. Last week, his children agreed that the Foundation should continue to develop, preserve and display the vehicles and the current items will be named the Jacques M. Littlefield Collection. Jacques' family, the staff of the MVTF, and the board were all greatly heartened by the expressions of interest in the future of the MVTF following the announcement of his death.

 

The Board of Directors of the MVTF met following Jacques' death and elected new officers to continue his work. With the agreement and support of Jacques' children, the MVTF will continue to be housed at its current location in the hills above Portola Valley. Access to the collection by interested researchers and groups remains a critical element to continuing to fulfill the MVTF charter and mission. Therefore, many restoration projects, display enhancements and the tours will continue.

 

In his will, Jacques created an endowment for the MVTF that will allow us time to transition to a self sustaining organization. The Board and the friends of the MVTF now have the opportunity and substantial responsibility to increase the endowment and manage the operating costs to ensure that Jacques' legacy collection continues to be available to provide its unique contributions.

 

If you would like to make a donation to the MVTF in Jacques' memory and help preserve, display and have access to the Jacques M. Littlefield Collection, please consider sending a contribution to:

 

MVTF

P.O. Box 7390

Menlo Park, CA 94026

 

The MVTF is recognized by the (USA) IRS as a 501©3 corporation. Donations are considered fully tax-deductible as allowed by law.

 

I hope you will join us in preserving and advancing Jacques' legacy.

 

Sincerely,

 

William A. (Bill) Boller

President

Military Vehicle Technology Foundation

 

Sent by

-----------

Liz Ditz

Outreach Director, Military Vehicle Technology Foundation (MVTF)

 

MVTF website:

http://www.milvehtechfound.com/

 

MVTF mailing address:

P.O. Box 7390

Menlo Park, CA 94026

 

To make arrangements for tours:

tours.mvtf@gmail.com

 

To arrange access to the collection for commercial purposes:

permissions.mvtf@gmali.com

 

For any other issues:

inquiries.mvtf@gmail.com

 

The MVTF is recognized by the (USA) IRS as a 501©3 corporations. Donations are considered fully tax-deductible as allowed by law.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...