Stan Byers, a museum volunteer and retired collections manager for the Field Artillery Museum, grimaces as a War of 1812 Soldier, holding a Model 1795 musket. Byers and other re-enactors brought history to life, June 18, 2016, at the Army Field Artil...

Correy Twilley, Fort Sill National Historic Landmark and Museum collections manager, holds a Model 1842 musket while representing a Mexican-American War Soldier. Twilley brought history to life, June 18, 2016, at the Army Field Artillery Museum at Fo...

Aaron Siltman, a museum volunteer, fires his Model 1873 Trapdoor Rifle during a military timeline June 18, 2016, at Fort Sill, Okla. The event depicted the Army's 241 years service to the United States with period uniforms, vehicles and weaponry. Sil...

Rank indeed had its privileges in this 1941 Plymouth P11 Deluxe Sedan with a red two-star placard signifying it as the staff car for a major general. A living history event at the Army Field Artillery Museum brought history to life, June 18, 2016, at...

FORT SILL, Okla., June 23, 2016 -- A demonstration of weaponry, equipment and uniforms spanning the 241 years of the Army's existence was on display at the Army Field Artillery Museum June 18.

Despite the tropical heat, visitors turned out to witness the firing of weapons ranging from muskets to machine guns, and to talk to volunteers who exhibited military collections inside and outside the museum.

Museum staff and volunteers, as well as members of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association (MVPA) based in Gainesville, Texas, donned period uniforms and fired replicas or authentic small arms and artillery.

Beginning with the British "Brown Bess" musket from the Revolutionary War, to machine guns of the Vietnam War, re-enactors described the technological changes in weaponry. The M1919 .30-caliber machine gun and the M2A1 .50-caliber "Ma Deuce" machine gun were fired from a M1A1 1941 Scout Car by Ben Locke of Ponder, Texas, and Kody Mohler of Lawton.

The Scout Car they brought was used in North Africa in 1942, as well as in Italy. After the war's end it was given to Greece, and in the 1980s a collector brought it back to America and restored it.

For the finale, the FA Museum gun detachment: Clive Siegle, William Velharticky, Sam Davis and Jeff Nester, garbed in Civil War uniforms fired the Model 1841 Field Gun backdropped by missiles on the grounds of the museum.

Frank Siltman, director of museums and military history at Fort Sill, said this event began four years ago and was part of the Army's 241st birthday celebration.

"We help the public understand what the Army has done in its service to our republic," said Siltman. "They can touch and feel Army history, see men in uniform operating the equipment. It's a learning experience that imprints on people more when they're able to have hands-on history."

Siltman also shared a collection of Civil War era memorabilia inside the museum, including an old family tintype photograph, a packet of toilet paper, and wool uniforms and blankets. He showed visitors the wool and flannel shirts that were standard issue for Union Soldiers, and pointed out that he wore a more comfortable modern shirt underneath the wool uniform.

Vietnam War uniforms, weapons, and equipment including a searchlight Jeep were exhibited by the post's Air Defense Artillery Museum.

"We have a living history team that complements the Field Artillery Museum's 1841 six-pounder (field gun) and 75mm pack howitzer," said Jonathan Bernstein, ADA Museum director. He said there were four batteries of searchlights in Vietnam. "They searched perimeter of fire bases with the infrared mode and if they saw somebody attempting to infiltrate they turned on the visible light and engaged."

Jeeps were taken out of service in the mid-1980s, although a few were used in Desert Storm in 1991 before being replaced by Humvees, said Bernstein.

Zane Moyler, exhibits specialist at the Field Artillery Museum, brought his restored 1942 Willys Jeep with "Logan's Jeep Buddy" painted on the side. According to the display next to the Jeep, it was manufactured by the Willys-Overland company, and Bantam Car Company and Ford also made prototypes. The name "Jeep" is believed to have come from either the "GP" designator on the Ford model, or Popeye's sidekick Eugene the "jeep" in the popular comic strip of the day.

Moyler's Jeep served in World War II, then was sold to the French Army for service in Libya and Algiers, and returned to the U. S. in 1989. After 11 months of extensive repairs, it is now fully serviceable.

A 75mm M1A1 pack howitzer was also on display. The informational sign said it was towed by one mule, or broken down and packed on the backs of six mules. Nearly 5,000 Pack 75s were produced during World War II, and the gun saw the end of its service in the 1960s. It serves as a salute gun on some posts.

Kenny Bezner brought his fully restored 1941 Plymouth P11 Deluxe Sedan with the red two-star front plate signifying it was the staff car for a major general.

"My father and brother both served and retired, so I wanted to do something to honor the military," said Bezner.