Russell Deese built a career around restoring historic military vehicles, yet he frames the work less as mechanics and more as preserving memory. As the founder of Russell's Military Vehicles, Deese has spent more than four decades restoring historic military vehicles, with projects ranging from World War II Jeeps to larger transport trucks and heritage vehicles preserved for collectors, museums, film productions, and military families.
Raised on a cattle ranch in Florida, Deese says his path into restoration began with an old Jeep he rebuilt at 16 years old. After selling it, more requests followed. What started as a hobby eventually became a full-time business in the early 1990s. According to Deese, he spent years balancing ranch work during the day while restoring Jeeps at night before realizing the restorations had become his life's work.
