IT'S NICE TO THINK BACK-JEEPS DO HAVE HISTORY

Create a thread to track the progress of you MB/GPW restoration progress. Previously a General Discussion board.
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IT'S NICE TO THINK BACK-JEEPS DO HAVE HISTORY

Post by Joe Gopan » Wed Nov 29, 2017 4:28 am

Take for example, my 1944 MB.
It was surplused in the fall of 1946 at DOW FIELD, ME when well known WWII ETO Ace Col. Glenn Eagleston was the Base Commander and former US Army Heavyweight boxing champion Sgt Joe Strang was a Supply Sgt at Dow. The 14th Fighter Group was at Dow awaiting their new F-84 Jets and the 3 squadrons were filled with WWII Aces and even some WW-I pilots. If only it could talk. :wink:
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Re: IT'S NICE TO THINK BACK-JEEPS DO HAVE HISTORY

Post by GI. » Wed Nov 29, 2017 4:32 pm

Thank's Ben,
Very refreshing, always enjoy hearing about JEEP's. :wink:
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Re: IT'S NICE TO THINK BACK-JEEPS DO HAVE HISTORY

Post by twinflyer17 » Thu Nov 30, 2017 5:14 am

This is cool. It's great that you know where your jeep came from and also the history of the base during the time it served! All most of us can do is just try to imagine what our jeeps might have seen during their military service!
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Re: IT'S NICE TO THINK BACK-JEEPS DO HAVE HISTORY

Post by Joe Gopan » Thu Nov 30, 2017 9:03 am

What makes the Dow Field connection nice is that my oldest friend, born 1900, was an old time mechanic who got his start prior to 1920 and worked as a civilian mechanic 41-45 at Dow. Andy, our foreign car specialist in the late 50's was in the 14th at Dow and was trained on the P-84A at MUROC as there P-84 production had not yet begun. Lew Vafiades, was the Group Legal Officer, and a prominent Bangor attorney. I used to have regular telephone conversations with 14th Officers, one was Col Lew Chick, a WWII MTO Ace.. All are gone now, but their names live on in AAF and USAF history and in my memory as if the events were recent. My MB belonged to Sarah Green a legendary female Registered Maine Guide from 46 to 70, I discovered her MB back in 1964 while doing some back woods highway surveying near the Katahdin Iron Works where she lived for over 70 years.
Another very special Army Air Force Officer I used to call and talk Army Air Force History with was Nathan "Rosie" Rosengarten, a flight test engineer on many WWII warbirds including the P-80 Lulu Belle and the P-84. He helped put together a book "Test Flying at Old Wright Field". Colonel Rosengarten sent me a dozen or so unpublished manuscripts about test flying different WWII aircraft.
Last edited by Joe Gopan on Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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LIFE MEMBER AM LEGION-40/8-DAV
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Re: IT'S NICE TO THINK BACK-JEEPS DO HAVE HISTORY

Post by GI. » Thu Nov 30, 2017 9:44 am

Ben,
That's very interesting, look's like you have quite a history yourself. always enjoy your post. :)
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Re: IT'S NICE TO THINK BACK-JEEPS DO HAVE HISTORY

Post by Joe Gopan » Sat Feb 24, 2018 5:02 pm

Also during that time period my MB was active at Dow Field, noted WWII Aces, George Laven, Lew Chick, Ray Wetmore, Raymond Littge, Arvid Olsen, Jon Petrovich, Sgt Joe Strang, Army Heavyweight Champ (who taught me to ride my bicycle) a couple years later, and my long time buddy Pvt Denzil (Soldier Watson) Base Welterweight Boxing Champ.
WWII Ace Glenn Eagleston was Base CO.
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Re: IT'S NICE TO THINK BACK-JEEPS DO HAVE HISTORY

Post by Joe Gopan » Tue Feb 27, 2018 11:53 am

And thinking ahead, my MB was used by General Chuck Yeager, guest of honor at the Bangor ANG Base Air Show in 1996. I watched him do aerobatics in a P-51D that were beyond imagination. He was 73 at the time and a perfect gentleman.
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Re: IT'S NICE TO THINK BACK-JEEPS DO HAVE HISTORY

Post by Joe Gopan » Thu Nov 08, 2018 9:14 pm

One gets to meet a little history here and there in this MV hobby, in addition to spending 3 hours with General Chuck Yeager in my MB at an airshow, I had a few phone conversations with WWII cartoonist Bill Mauldin. First call was on a snowy Christmas Eve to ask permission to paint Willie and Joe on either side of my CCKW cab. Even sold him a few CJ Jeep parts.Bill had a CJ-2 Jeep that he got a deal on from Willys when he had a summer camp here in Maine about 30 miles from here.Bill had a colorful vocabulary.
2011 MVPA PIONEER AWARD - MVPA #1064
HONOR GRAD-WHEELED VEHICLE MECHANIC SCHOOL 1960 - US ARMY ORDNANCE SCHOOL(MACHINIST) ABERDEEN PG 1962 - O-1 BIRD DOG CREWCHIEF - 300,000+TROUBLE FREE M-38A1 MILES
LIFE MEMBER AM LEGION-40/8-DAV
7 MIL SPEC MAINTAINED MV'S
COL. BRUNO BROOKS (ARMY MOTORS) IS MY HERO

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Re: IT'S NICE TO THINK BACK-JEEPS DO HAVE HISTORY

Post by Joe Gopan » Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:37 pm

Time flies, it's been 23 Years since the airshow at Bangor ANG Base (WWII Dow Field), seems like yesterday that I had the honor of meeting General Yeager. Next great event for me at the base was a flight in B-25H "Bad Betty'" a couple years ago., it is owned by the Texas Flying Legends and was a dream come true.
2011 MVPA PIONEER AWARD - MVPA #1064
HONOR GRAD-WHEELED VEHICLE MECHANIC SCHOOL 1960 - US ARMY ORDNANCE SCHOOL(MACHINIST) ABERDEEN PG 1962 - O-1 BIRD DOG CREWCHIEF - 300,000+TROUBLE FREE M-38A1 MILES
LIFE MEMBER AM LEGION-40/8-DAV
7 MIL SPEC MAINTAINED MV'S
COL. BRUNO BROOKS (ARMY MOTORS) IS MY HERO

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Re: IT'S NICE TO THINK BACK-JEEPS DO HAVE HISTORY

Post by 42swing » Wed Aug 14, 2019 6:27 am

My '42 MB was sold under Lend-Lease to the Free French and spent the war years in Montreal. It was bought by a Col. in the French Foreign Legion after the war and knocked around eastern Canada until he sold it to a fellow in Ohio who did the original restoration work on it. We bought it 15 years ago from him.

I still have a French First Aid box and several other reminders of its time in French hands.
Malvern, PA
1942 MB 180635
1943 Willys MBT
1940 Elgin male bicycle
1940 Columbia female bicycle
1943 M3A4 Hand Cart
1943 Harley Davidson WLA with side car

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Re: IT'S NICE TO THINK BACK-JEEPS DO HAVE HISTORY

Post by Lee Bishop » Wed Aug 14, 2019 10:01 am

Great story!
Mine was used by the Navy at Bremerton at the Puget Sound shipyard. I've searched for photos from the fall of 44 on, hoping to see any Navy-marked Jeeps in Bremerton but never have found any. I'd love to see any photos taken from September 44 on, as my Jeep could have been there by then...
Yeah, most of us Jeep owners have no idea where theirs was used, so I'm very lucky in that regard.
Ben Dover wrote:
Thu Nov 08, 2018 9:14 pm
I had a few phone conversations with WWII cartoonist Bill Mauldin. First call was on a snowy Christmas Eve to ask permission to paint Willie and Joe on either side of my CCKW cab. Even sold him a few CJ Jeep parts.Bill had a CJ-2 Jeep that he got a deal on from Willys when he had a summer camp here in Maine about 30 miles from here.Bill had a colorful vocabulary.
Lucky bugger. Many of you know of my collection of Mauldin stuff, but I never got to meet or talk with him. I so wish I had.
Owner, 1944 Willys MB #366014
Former US Army Captain and REMF :mrgreen:

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Re: IT'S NICE TO THINK BACK-JEEPS DO HAVE HISTORY

Post by Joe Gopan » Wed Aug 14, 2019 3:41 pm

I called the newspaper syndicate he worked for and somehow was given his home phone number.
He was having a lonesome Christmas eve. We shot the bull for an hour. I ended up getting a few parts orders for his Jeep.It wasn't long after that that he appeared on TV and was visiting troops mobilized for Desert Storm.
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HONOR GRAD-WHEELED VEHICLE MECHANIC SCHOOL 1960 - US ARMY ORDNANCE SCHOOL(MACHINIST) ABERDEEN PG 1962 - O-1 BIRD DOG CREWCHIEF - 300,000+TROUBLE FREE M-38A1 MILES
LIFE MEMBER AM LEGION-40/8-DAV
7 MIL SPEC MAINTAINED MV'S
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Re: IT'S NICE TO THINK BACK-JEEPS DO HAVE HISTORY

Post by 70th Division » Thu Aug 15, 2019 3:38 pm

Hello Ben, and all,

I rescued a jeep from upstate New York, which is now in Florida, in my Jeep Barn, that turned out to be a 1942 Willys MB that belonged to the famous British Desert Rats.
I know all this incredible history because of 2 data plates.
One data plate says that it belonged to the 5th Armored Detachment, and another says it was
rebuilt by 22 Heavy Workshop. ( 22 Heavy Workshop was located in an old German Seaplane Factory around Hamburg, Germany. The 22 Heavy Armored Brigade Workshop,was the REME unit assigned to the British 7th Armored Division )
The 22 Heavy Armored Brigade, 5th Royal Tank Regiment, was part of the British 7th Armored Division.
They fought all over North Africa, including El Alamein, then to Salerno, Sicily, then to Italy, pulled out to England, and landed on Gold Beach for D-Day, and fought all the way across Normandy and all points along the way, to the heavy fight into Hamburg , Germany which they then occupied.
I got the surplus vehicle record from the British Archives that had this jeep being sold
surplus in 1957. The card also said it was a BAOR vehicle, British Army of the Rhine.
I was able to do this because the jeep had another data plate with its post war British Army vehicle number on it 91YH98. With this I was able to get the WW2 hood number M6078995,
and the British Contract number it was bought under from the USA, SM2275.
As hard as it is to believe ...
a year or more after I bought it, I found what I believe was the original" British Rebuilt Replacement" engine that was in it. It has a rebuild tag on it from a REME unit in Germany on Ebay. The engine came from a Pennsylvania seller, who got it from New York !

The jeep has a tag on the dash stating that the jeep had a replacement engine installed in it in 1952, and that this vehicle belonged to the 5 RTR, which said to take care of the engine and make it last to beat the target mileage for it.

I am restoring this jeep soon, and I am very happy with it, and its incredible history !
:D :D :D


Best Regards,
Ray

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Re: IT'S NICE TO THINK BACK-JEEPS DO HAVE HISTORY

Post by Joe Gopan » Mon Nov 04, 2019 2:04 pm

I only wish that I had thought of contacting famous WWII pilots years earlier, those I contacted enjoyed reminiscing highlights of their exploits. Got to talk to Chuck Baisden (Flying Tigers), Eric Shilling (Flying Tigers), RT Smith's son (Flying Tigers), Merle Olmstead (357th FG), Joe DeShay (357thFG) Lew Chick (325th FG, 14th FG at Dow Field), Punchy Powell (352nd FG), Nathan "Rosie" Rosengarten WWII Flight Test Engineer @ Wright Field and Muroc), David Menard whose USAF photo credits are in aviation books.
I contacted Maxwell AFB that has access to files on retired USAF Officers for the officers listed. Most contacts were initially by phone, they enjoyed talking about their careers and experiences. I always contacted Lew Chick after he came in for the day, his wife always had a Martini ready for him. Punchy Powell would always mention how others from the 352nd were doing. Colonel Rosengarten filled in many blanks about WWII Aircraft history and sent me new unpublished manuscripts about WWII Test Flying at Wright Field. He mentioned flying with Jimmy Doolittle Jr who commited suicide.
I realized way too late that I waited too long to contact these heroes with their amazing first hand WWII Army Air Force stories.

Not much JEEP in the above, but a story worth being told and I'll bet some of the names are familiar to many of you.

Thinking back, I guess one can credit my Jeep to a bit of local Airforce history as it was surplused right across the street in 1946 at Dow Field, and my grand kids can tell others it was once used by General Chuck Yeager and myself at an Air National Guard Air Show at that same former WWII Air Force Base 50 years later.
2011 MVPA PIONEER AWARD - MVPA #1064
HONOR GRAD-WHEELED VEHICLE MECHANIC SCHOOL 1960 - US ARMY ORDNANCE SCHOOL(MACHINIST) ABERDEEN PG 1962 - O-1 BIRD DOG CREWCHIEF - 300,000+TROUBLE FREE M-38A1 MILES
LIFE MEMBER AM LEGION-40/8-DAV
7 MIL SPEC MAINTAINED MV'S
COL. BRUNO BROOKS (ARMY MOTORS) IS MY HERO

Joe Gopan
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Re: IT'S NICE TO THINK BACK-JEEPS DO HAVE HISTORY

Post by Joe Gopan » Sun Sep 27, 2020 4:09 am

Time flies, pardon the pun. :wink:
2011 MVPA PIONEER AWARD - MVPA #1064
HONOR GRAD-WHEELED VEHICLE MECHANIC SCHOOL 1960 - US ARMY ORDNANCE SCHOOL(MACHINIST) ABERDEEN PG 1962 - O-1 BIRD DOG CREWCHIEF - 300,000+TROUBLE FREE M-38A1 MILES
LIFE MEMBER AM LEGION-40/8-DAV
7 MIL SPEC MAINTAINED MV'S
COL. BRUNO BROOKS (ARMY MOTORS) IS MY HERO


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