I hate to stamp columns with a date-sensitive comment, but watching History Channel's America: The Story of Us last night spurred a deeply-buried memory in my brain.
The show was documenting how Pearl Harbor instantly ended the Great Depression, with the mobilizing of the American economy to create a massive war machine.
And one of the developments that was soon churned out by the thousands was the classic Willys Jeep.
The Jeep helped win the war, of course, but afterwards, many of them showed up in private ownership. That's what today's I Remember JFK piece is about.
In my case, it was my grandfather Oran Tinsley who sprang for one and turned it into a hunting machine extraordinaire, its small size, low gearing, and four-wheel-drive being perfect for rainy fall days in Texas' Hill Country.
The non-nonsense Jeep was quite short on creature comforts, but was built tough. Did you ever notice the handles at the four corners that many sported? That was so you could pick it up and turn it over if it ever ended up upside down.
The interior was JUST a bit short on creature comforts. I can't remember if Pop Tinsley's Jeep had a heater. I know that the transmission made a whine that sounded just like a police siren. I recall accompanying my older brothers and Pop to a jackrabbit hunt when I was perhaps five years old. I cried the whole time, I thought the cops were after us!
But I also recall many a pleasant hour spent playing in the Jeep in the huge garage (EVERYTHING's big in Texas ;-). I would drive through imaginary battlefields and periodically stop and blast a few Japs and Krauts.
Now THERE are a couple of words that the PC Police would like to see eradicated!
When the war was over, it put thousands of army surplus stores on the map. There was an astonishing amount of equipment manufactured for American troops. Indeed, the USA had far more supplies to each soldier than did anyone else.
Anything sold as surplus had to be "decommissioned." All implements of warfare would have to be removed. In the case of howitzers or tanks sitting outside courthouses and VFW halls, they may be full of concrete. In the case of Jeeps, such desperate measures were unnecessary. Thus, removal of any radio equipment and/or weapons mounted to the frame would generally suffice.
What was left was a tiny vehicle that could go anywhere, compared to the big standard autos of the post-war era.
Thus, many of us Boomer kids grew up with Jeeps being a common sight, whether parked in garages, if our subdivisions were nice enough, or sitting in the side yard, hopefully with a tarp over the interior.
The vehicles were either street-legal, or could generally be made so with moderate modification. But often, that was done merely to allow the vehicle to be driven to the off-road site where it would be put to work finding a fishing hole, hunting spot, or perhaps a deep-woods getaway perfect for pitching a tent.
Sadly, the numbers of WWII surplus Jeeps have precipitously declined. Pop Tinsley's hunting buggy is long gone, I have no idea where.
But of course, the classic Willys Jeep lives on, for better or worse, in the modern-day SUV. Creature comfort added to four-wheel-drive has proven irresistible to many of us.
However, I have many fond memories of sailing down the road at a brisk 50 MPH (it seemed a LOT faster!) in a surplus Jeep from the war our fathers won. It was much more fun when I finally figured out where that siren sound was coming from.
Comments (5)
Hello Baby Boomer,
I remember these Jeeps well, as my family were great sportsmen/women and many of our friends had these Jeeps as hunting vehicles and they were still going strong. That is more than I can say about today's Jeep products.
The cost of today's Jeep products are high and I am not too impressed with their products.
If Jeep would roll out WWII Jeeps again, I would consider buying one, as I know I would be getting a good solid product, that would last.
Thank you for reading my comment. Try to find any one that knows me, that will say that I am not opinionated.
Thanks for the memories...
Southern smiles and world peace,
Sharon
~The Baby Boomer Queen~
Posted by Sharon/Baby Boomer Queen | May 24, 2010 12:42 PM
Posted on May 24, 2010 12:42
I sure wish I owned a willy jeep these days! They are highly collectible! In my early days in the fire department, we owned a willy jeep which was converted as a brush unit for brush fires! We really used it a lot and ran it into the ground. I remember all the surplus stores way back in the day selling surplus from WW 2 and Korea! They few that are still around sell the Vietnam and modern day surplus, but it is become few and far between! Vietnam era surplus is considered antique now and considered collectable. With the rise in popularity with reenacting, these items are really becoming in demand. You really pay the price! I did a military event last weekend in Carlisle, PA that has photos of the old WWII willy jeeps. I remember as a child collecting military insignas and badges! Trying to find surplus military vehicles is become hard! But it is out their!
Posted by Rivers End | May 24, 2010 11:36 PM
Posted on May 24, 2010 23:36
Its just occurred to me reading this article. We had an army surplus store in Portland once upon a time. Now I know why. WWII was so big in scale and so obsolete as soon as the war was done that there was lots to be liquidated. I don't see many places called war surplus anymore. So war surplus and boomers were very much related, both following the end of WWII.
Just a little off topic, an interesting private personal researcher by the name of John Hutchison and the "Hutchison effect" were created out of WWII electronic and radio and radar equipment long since obsolete. But in many ways, radio has not changed that much in principle.
The progress of technology is a very interesting one that does have its links with boomers at times. What a time, eh?
Posted by Scott Irv | May 25, 2010 1:41 PM
Posted on May 25, 2010 13:41
In 1967, I traded my Honda 90 (top speed 65 MPH downhill) for a 1946 Willys Jeep (top speed 65 MPH downhill.) It had the fold down / removable windshield and removable doors, and the 12 forward speed transmission, (4 on the floor and the Hi range, Low Range, and Std shifter.) It didn’t have a top, the canvas top w/celluloid windows having been destroyed or lost along the way. It did have a heater but without top and doors, driving in the late fall (Nov, Dec) in VT, it got mighty cold with the wind chill even with a down parka and ski gloves and the heat on full bore.
The 4 cylinder flat head engine had a lot of torque and it was perfect for taking girlfriends into the wild on ancient logging roads. One time attempting to impress a female, I drove up a mountain on a logging road that hadn’t been used for years, there were 1-2 inch saplings growing in the middle, and I would motor over them like a tank.
One of the things I hadn’t counted on was the old log & plank bridges which once could support a fully loaded logging rig had deteriorated to the point that the 2nd or 3rd one I encountered crumbled as I drove over it up the road, I was in 4 wheel drive so I was able to continue up the mountain as the bridge collapsed. Now the problem was how to get back down the mountain.
Fortunately the bridge spanned a low draw and I was able to construct a ford (more like a crude dam) out of small trees, rocks and rubble from the broken bridge. It took the rest of the afternoon, and I was afraid the Jeep would get stuck but I was able to cross the brook without further incident and continue back down, I remember speeding across the last bridge and it too broke on the return trip. Needless to say, the girl was less than impressed with this outing.
Another time while driving it back from a hunting camp at night with a friend, the headlights started to dim and the jeep stalled and the starter wouldn’t turn over. I was able to compression start the Jeep with the lights off but as soon as the lights were turned on, the engine would die. We hiked back to the camp and got a Coleman Lantern and we made it down the mountain with my friend riding on the hood of the Jeep holding the lantern. When we got to the main road, we just drove home with no lights in the middle of the night. It turned out to be a bad generator (this was a 6 volt electrical system before alternators.)
The next spring (after December it was too cold to drive) I again took to the woods and shortly thereafter the front wheel drive gears seized and I had it towed but the repairs would have been too much for my meager income (college took almost every cent) so I let the garage keep it in trade for the tow.
It was an exciting vehicle for the summer before college and I hadn’t thought of it in years until this post. Thanks to Ron for reigniting the memories.
Speaking of the Willys Jeep, one of my favorite hot rods was the 1941 Willys coupe. The styling and lines were great aesthetically (is it more aesthetic to spell the word with a leading a or e? – I vote A) and you just don’t see any of the old Willys cars or trucks anymore when I was a motor head in the early 60’s they used to be seen at drag strips and occasionally on the road.
Posted by Burt | May 26, 2010 4:05 PM
Posted on May 26, 2010 16:05
I still have one of those jeeps in my garage; a 1942 Ford. My dad bought it back in 1946. It still runs, but I don't take it up stream beds anymore like my dad did when we went camping when I was a kid. And though Willys is famous for jeeps, Bantam got the contract for manufacturing jeeps, but ended up subcontracting work to both Ford and Willys. By the way, the photo shown at the top is not a WWII jeep; it should have a split windshield and recessed headlights. It's probably a Korean war era jeep.
Posted by Scott | August 16, 2010 5:11 AM
Posted on August 16, 2010 05:11