(NECN/NBC News: Audrey Washington) - To say George King III is proud of his 1916 Model T Ford World War I ambulance is an understatement.
"This is the most accurate and most interesting project I’ve ever been a part of,” King said.
The ambulance is only one of 63 vehicles selected to be a part of the procession in President Barack Obama's inauguration parade on Jan. 21.
"President Obama will be sworn in at the Capitol, then he will go down to the White House in the parade procession, and we will all follow [him] and Michelle,” King said.
King said that to make the ambulance took not only a lot of hard work, but also years of research -- right down to the kind of wood used.
"We constructed the body out of the exact same materials that were used by the Kellner Carriage Works, including importing $4,000 worth of mahogany from the ivory coast of Africa,” King said. “It's important to do the job right. This is the only ambulance of its kind in the country."
King said he hopes the ambulance recreation will send a message about the importance of volunteerism, a mission that caught the attention of the first lady.
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"Michelle Obama gave a number of commencement addresses stressing volunteerism, and at that time, we were building the ambulance, so I wrote her a letter applauding her,” King said. “So last week, I was able to write her that we had been selected and we'd be there."
There in Washington, D.C., proudly representing American volunteer ambulance drivers around the world.
