My Dad Driving a Jeep during WW2

[timekeeper]

Hi, I'm new to the forums. My dad was in the Navy during the last part of the war. He was stationed in Oregon along the coast at a direction finding location. They helped direct airplanes coming in from the Pacific. He has a camera and took some photos. Here are a couple of jeeps.

[70th Division]

Hello Timekeeper !!

Welcome to the G !!
Thanks for sharing those great pictures of your father's jeep during the War.
They are great !!

The Oregon coast is a beautiful part of America, do you know the location where he was stationed ? It likely would be fun going back there to take a look around.

To let you know, the second jeep is a Ford GPW
You can see the two holes in the front bumper, that only Ford jeeps had

The first jeep may also be a Ford, but it is harder to tell.
But it is an earlier made jeep than the second, as it does not have the driver's
fender mounted black out light installed.
It also looks to have a rubber steering wheel.

Best Regards,
Ray

[Mark Jesic]

Hi Timekeeper, welcome to the "G", and thanks for posting those photos of your Dad. You should be very proud. All those who served are Heroes.

[timekeeper]

Thanks for the welcome. My late dad enlisted 2 weeks before his 18th birthday. He went to training at the Farragut Naval Training Station in Idaho first. He became a radioman. The photos were at the Tillamook air station in Tillamook, OR. They had a direction finding station to help locate where the planes were coming in from the Pacific to help guide them in. They would drive down to were the antenna was to check on it and it was in a swamp. He said that one day he lost control and drove off the wooden track and got stuck in the mud. He served from Jan 1944 to May 1946. He was transferred to Treasure Is. and on a tug boat for about a year. When I was 9 we visited Tillamook, I don't remember much about it other than getting some cheese. Farragut is a state park and Tillamook location is a museum. We plan on visiting both locations when I retire in a couple of years and have time to travel. He wrote home almost every day and my grandmother saved all his letters. In 2000, he scanned them into the computer. I have not read all of them. My 13yo son has been transcribing them in when he has time. I have them online. I'll have to see if he talks about the jeeps in his letters.

It would be neat to find a jeep like the one he drove. I was thinking about getting one that is fixed up or maybe one that needs a little work that my son and I could work on. We have a small farm and it would be nice to drive it in our local parades. My son has taken an interest in WW2 and the jeeps of the times.

[timekeeper]

He typed in a brief description of some of his letters and I found that a jeep ran over his glasses.

[RedArrow2016]

Thanks for sharing this information. I find this amazing and to me what a great story you have about your father. To tell you about myself if it was not for my father I would not have joined the Army, or even would have thought about starting a business with my father. My father to me is my best friend and it took over 40 years to really see what he did for me until now. I know I am a rookie like I have said before in these posts, but coming to the G was a good thing for me in sense that their are good people on here willing to share their stories and passions for what they have when it comes to there vehicles and many other things. For we all have sacrificed a lot of time. And a lot of people on the G have served this great country as well. And with that said, I have a lot of respect for the people that have come before me, and I think the best part of this all is the history of where we all have come from. Without our parents we would not be here today doing what we do. Okay I do not want to sound soft or mushy, but thanks again for posting this and just know in the end you are in great hands with the people on the G...

[twinflyer17]

Great photos and letter! Thanks for sharing If you're thinking about buying a jeep, check the 'For Sale' section on this site daily. Sometimes there are horrible "deals", other times there are steals.

[Lee Bishop]

Great photos!
Note the lack of shovel/axe and the missing blackout light on the first one.

[timekeeper]

Great photos and letter! Thanks for sharing If you're thinking about buying a jeep, check the 'For Sale' section on this site daily. Sometimes there are horrible "deals", other times there are steals.

I have been looking at older posts to get an idea for what jeeps sell for in different conditions. I ordered the WWII Jeep Book also. It would be nice to find something that runs OK and needs some work, maybe not a total restore.

I see you are in MD too.

[timekeeper]

Great photos!
Note the lack of shovel/axe and the missing blackout light on the first one.

It is interesting it is missing. Maybe they got the shovel stuck in the mud when they got the jeep stuck.

[twinflyer17]

I see you are in MD too.

Where in MD are you located? If you're nearby you're always welcome to stop in for a beer and a chat about jeeps It's funny, the same jeep could sell for 10 different prices based on the seller's need to get rid of it and based on what the buyer is willing to pay. Searching on here will definitely give you a good range for different levels of jeep completeness and condition, but don't assume that the price a jeep sells for is its actual worth. Again, some sell for too much and others sell for too little

[timekeeper]

I'm near Hagerstown, MD. It's a bit of a drive to Aberdeen.

Have you seen many in MD/VA/PA for sale over the years?

I see you are in MD too.

Where in MD are you located? If you're nearby you're always welcome to stop in for a beer and a chat about jeeps It's funny, the same jeep could sell for 10 different prices based on the seller's need to get rid of it and based on what the buyer is willing to pay. Searching on here will definitely give you a good range for different levels of jeep completeness and condition, but don't assume that the price a jeep sells for is its actual worth. Again, some sell for too much and others sell for too little

[twinflyer17]

Ah, okay. Well if you every find yourself in my part of the state, let me know! I have seen MD/VA/PA jeeps pop up from time to time. I actually bought mine as an unrestored shell from a gentleman in Richmond, VA back in 2013. Keep checking the 'For Sale' section of this site, as well as ewillys.com. Dave Eilers, who runs eWillys, does a pretty comprehensive search of Craigslist and eBay around the country and will post daily the links to the vehicles he finds (majority is both wartime and post war flat fender Jeeps). Also check out Hanson Mechanical, http://www.classicjeeprestorations.com/. The owner, Merlin Hanson, actually put me in touch with the gentleman I bought my GPW from, as it wasn't originally listed online. Depending on your ideal budget and desire to find/buy one of these, you can definitely find one nearby with the right amount of push

[timekeeper]

Thanks for the links/tips. Merlin is not too far from me being in Westminster, MD.

Someone at work suggested that I find the jeep my dad drove. Seems like it would be impossible due to no numbers on it in the photo.

Ah, okay. Well if you every find yourself in my part of the state, let me know! I have seen MD/VA/PA jeeps pop up from time to time. I actually bought mine as an unrestored shell from a gentleman in Richmond, VA back in 2013. Keep checking the 'For Sale' section of this site, as well as ewillys.com. Dave Eilers, who runs eWillys, does a pretty comprehensive search of Craigslist and eBay around the country and will post daily the links to the vehicles he finds (majority is both wartime and post war flat fender Jeeps). Also check out Hanson Mechanical, http://www.classicjeeprestorations.com/. The owner, Merlin Hanson, actually put me in touch with the gentleman I bought my GPW from, as it wasn't originally listed online. Depending on your ideal budget and desire to find/buy one of these, you can definitely find one nearby with the right amount of push

[timekeeper]

I found another photo of the same jeep with someone else in my dad's unit. I guess my dad took the photo.