that's where the 23-year old littlefield meets his new boss, bill boller, who becomes a lifelong friendhe shares with bill his latest passion -- tanks. where did it begin? >> he checked a book out of the library called "american tanks and tank destroyers." and that book attracted his attention so much that he said it all started there. >> jacques' first military purchase -- in 1976, for $3,500 -- is this m3a1 world war ii wheeled scout car, which saw combat both in north africa and the invasion of sicily. i find it ironic that he collected tanks even when people were anti-war. would he have shown up at a protest? >> jacques was conservative in his politics, so no. he would definitely not have shown up at a protest and probably would have pretty much ignored it. >> 1976 is also the year jacques' father sells the family business empire to general electric, in what was then the biggest merger in u.s. history. his dad's now a billionaire, and son jacques leaves h-p to manage his personal fortune. he takes up residence here, at pony tracks ranch, gets married, and starts a family. scott, wha