Old Images Research Archives

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1941 Article with Ford GP

• CATEGORIES: Bantam-FordGP-WillysMA-EarlyJPs, Features, Old Images, Old News Articles This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This photo and article featuring a Ford GP was published June 09, 1941, in the Democrat and Chronicle out of Rochester, New York. It highlighted Major Harry Miller’s jeep modification, which added a 37MM gun to the rear of the vehicle.

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Originally posted February 07, 2015:  This post emphasized the Camp Lewis connection.

This June 9, 1941, article from the Spokane Daily Chronicle notes the Ford GP belongs to a Fort Lewis unit visiting California for maneuvers.

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Shriner Jeep Patrols

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Old News Articles This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Here are a couple 1960s photos of the Shriner Mini Jeep Patrols. These jeep patrols and shiners in all kinds of mini-vehicles still ply the parade routes (This Facebook group includes modern photos and videos of them).

This first photo is from May 12, 1963, and published in the Marshall News Messenger (Marshall, Texas):

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This second photo was published in the Tyler Morning Telegraph (Tyler, Texas) on December 07, 1963:

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And here’s a 2007 video of them in action:

 
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1950s Photos of Shriners in WWII Jeeps

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This article shows a similarly painted WWII jeep, with a “Wrecking Crew” aboard, as the one below. The article is from the April 20, 1950, issue of the Daily Times out of Salisbury, Maryland:

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Originally Published July 22, 2018:

“1966 Press Photo Shriners Ride in Jeep Parade 1960s Downtown Seattle Washington”

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1948 Photo of MB/GPW at Cape Hattaras

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This photo was taken August 8, 1948, at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It was posted to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Facebook page. According to the post, “On August 8, 1948 flags flew from the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, as the United States Coast Guard celebrated the 158th anniversary of its founding. Governor R. Gregg Cherry flew in by helicopter and spoke at the celebration, which also included Coast Guard apparatus demonstrations and a mammoth fish fry.”

The jeep looks to be an MB or GPW with a custom top accented by sliding doors. It’s a pretty nice setup.

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Circa 1945 Photo of Scott’s Grandfather

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Scott just discovered eWillys and is having fun digging through 59,000+ posts. He also shared the pic below and a story about it.

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“This is a picture of my grandfather, Norman Len, in his Jeep. The picture was taken probably in 1945 at NAS Barbers Point, HI where my grandfather was in “Carrier Aircraft Service Unit TWO” (CASU-2).

The interesting backstory is that my grandfather, before going in the Navy in 1944, worked for the Willys Overland Aircraft Division in Toledo manufacturing center wing sections for the Corsair fighter. He used those skills in the Navy as an Aviation Machinists Mate working on a variety of carrier based aircraft.

Also, it’s likely that the jeep he is sitting in was partially assembled by family members – my Great Grandfather (Nickolas Len) and his brother (William “Bill” Len) both worked for Willy’s/Kaiser/Jeep from the late 30’s to the 1960’s.”

 
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1946 Photo of Jeep and New T28 Tank on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

I suppose the jeep is included in this press photo for size reference purposes?

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“1946 Press Photo T28 Army Tank and Military Jeep in Aberdeen, Maryland. This is an original press photo. 100-Ton Tank Unveiled by Army – Aberdeen, Maryland – Jeep is dwarfed by new superheavy T28 tank, one of the new Army weapons showed for the first time at the 28th annual meeting of the Army Ordnance Association before 6,000 industrialists. The tank, said to be the biggest vehicle ever built for the Army, weighs nearly 100-tons and carries a 105mm gun.Photo measures 7 x 10inches. Photo is dated 10-03-1946.”

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1942 Photo of Jeep Stuck in Sand on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: Barney Goodwin wanted to note that jeeps get stuck in duck ponds, too…

He writes, “While in the Navy in Stockton, I bought this 43 GPW from a farmer up in Anderson CA. After a paint using the local USMS detachment’s supply, we did a mechanical refresh, rollbar, and some stuff and took it our to test it at the base duck pond which I managed.

Got stuck in the marsh near it and had to pull it out with a friend’s M151. Fun times! Happy New Year!”

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Yep, apparently this soldier learned the hard way that jeeps can get stuck in sand.

View all the information on eBay

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“ORIGINAL WWII PHOTO – ORIGINAL TO THE TIME – NOT A COPY, SCAN, OR REPRO

QUANTITY: 1 – See the other original WWI & WWII photos that I have listed.
ITEM: Original WWII photo of US Army JEEP in DESERT SAND at Ordnance Desert Proving Ground, Camp Seeley, California, 1942. Photo was taken by GI named D. W. Bonachevski who was stationed at Camp Seeley.

SORRY. I WILL NOT SELL OR SHIP THIS ITEM TO RUSSIA, AFRICA, OR SOUTH AMERICA DUE TO PROBLEMS WITH POSTAL SYSTEMS.
DATE: WWII – photo does not glow under a black light.
SIZE: 3.75″ x 4.75″
CONDITION: Very Good; see scans.
BACK: Has descriptive note written in pencil; See last scan..

SOURCE: From the archives of the World War History & Art Museum (WWHAM) in Alliance, Ohio. WWHAM designs and delivers WWI and WWII exhibits to other museums. Our traveling exhibits include Brushes With War, a world class collection of 325 original paintings and drawings by soldiers of WWI, and Iron Fist, an HO scale model of the German 2nd Panzer Division in 1944 with 4,000 vehicles and 15,000 men.”

 
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Photos of Jeeps at Bauman’s Gas Station Toledo, Ohio on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

A half-cab tow-equipped CJ-2A at Bauman’s Service Station appears in two different photos on eBay. Both pics show the #4 on the doors.

The last photo shows a CJ-3A with the #9 painted onto the side. “DORR & SECOR” was painted on all the Bauman vehicles.

  1. 1961 Photo of Bauman’s during the day:
    1961-02-photo-tow-fleet-baumans-cj2a-0 1961-02-photo-tow-fleet-baumans-cj2a-1 1961-02-photo-tow-fleet-baumans-cj2a-2
  2. This undated photo was taken at night:
    1961-02-photo-tow-fleet-baumans-cj2a-10 1961-02-photo-tow-fleet-baumans-cj2a-11 1961-02-photo-tow-fleet-baumans-cj2a-12
  3. Undated photo of CJ-3A at Bauman’s with Tow Package:
    cj3a-baumans-tow-jeep

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Photo of 4 Bantam BRC-60s

• CATEGORIES: Bantam-FordGP-WillysMA-EarlyJPs, Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Brian spotted this photo showing 4 Bantam BRC-60s rolling down a hill. This was posted to the Butlers Standard Eight Facebook Group. The text on the photo reads: “Bantam BRC 40s”  Four of the 70 prototypes produced between September 1940 and December 1940. Despite what the text indicates, we know those as Bantam BRC-60s, not 40s.

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1957 Park ‘Jeep’ Dealership St. Louis Park, MN

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images • TAGS: , This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: As JoeB points out (and I missed), the van is an Economy 2WD Deliver Chassis with a Montpelier body conversion (vs. the Boyer version).

http://www.ewillys.com/2013/12/02/economy-delivery-van-image-comparison/#more-150114

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Several folks shared this photo with me. It was published by Paul Swanson on Facebook. HIs family used to own the dealership. The fourth vehicle in the row looks to be an unusual model of the economy/package/delivery van. You’ll note it lacks front hubs, suggesting it was 2WD. Some were 2WD and some 4WD vans: http://www.ewillys.com/2020/07/06/photo-of-an-unusual-boyerstown-built-2wd-delivery-van/

Paul dates the photo to 1957, but to me the FC-150 on the left and the first FC-150 in the row of jeeps look like they are not narrow tracks, which would put the photo later than 1957. Moreover, I cannot find any ads for Park Jeep earlier than the summer of 1958.

Paul indicated that he will post better images of the van.

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From the February 02, 1960, issue of the Minneapolis Star. Strangely, I could not locate any ads earlier than the summer of 1958. So, it’s unclear to me when the dealership opened. You’ll note this ad mentions an Economy van; maybe the one in the pic above never sold.

Clipping from The Minneapolis Star - Newspapers.com

 
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1942 Jeep Convoy of Russians

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This photo was published in the November 21, 1942, issue of the Los Angeles Times. It shows the convoy of a Russian antitank outfit.

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1944 Article on Former Decorator’s Japanese Prisoners

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Old News Articles This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This is a fun article about a former decorator turned jeep jockey named Pvt. Hurshal (Peewee) Wilson in New Guinea ‘captured’ 17 prisoners. It appeared in the Medford Mail Tribune (Medford,Oregon). His jeep was named “Helen” after his girlfriend.

Hurshal would survive WWII and leave the Army a Tech 5, but his relationship to Helen did not. Instead, he married Deedra R (Harman) Wilson. He passed away in 1991, his wife passing later in 2006, with both buried at Riverside National Cemetery. There is no evidence they had children.

After finding the article, a search on eBay led to this photo of Hurshal:

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Here’s the article:

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Wrecked Jeep Photos (2 With Wood Bodies)

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Wood bodies This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

These photos appeared on Facebook, though some have made the rounds over the years. The pics that really caught my eye were the wooden test body pics. Kaiser Willys has some history and more pics on these wood-bodied test jeeps: https://blog.kaiserwillys.com/the-wooden-willys-jeep-test.

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The remainder of the wrecked jeeps:

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Continue reading

 
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1945 Photo Dozer Pulling Jeeps in Luzon on eBay

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Note the jeep in the front. It looks like the front clip is sitting sideways. Maybe these were pulled because they didn’t work? Contrary to what the caption indicates, the water doesn’t look too deep for the jeeps.

View all the information on on ebay

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This photo appeared in the January 31, 1945, issue of the Evening Sun out of Baltimore, Maryland. It was accompanied by a jeep-train photo also.

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Photo of “Taking Kathie Home” Jeep on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

I am wondering if this was originally named “Kathie”, but then the solider got permission to bring the jeep home? The photo is dated 11/21/1945, so it is post-war.

View all the information on eBay

“This photo belonged to Lt. Robert J. Dobuski – Serial #33052063. He was with the 3482nd Ordnance MAM Company. WWII US GI Photo – Street View Of 3482nd Ordnance Jeep “Taking Kathie Home” – The photograph measures Roughly 3 1/4″ x 4 1/2″.

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1957 Photo of M-38A1; Merry Christmas!

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This old Christmas photo featuring a decorated M-38A1 and trailer is for sale on eBay. It’s a pretty faded photo, but just seemed perfect for this year’ s pandemic Christmas … things are just a bit off this year!

View all the information on ebay

“Vintage 1957 Christmas Photograph Santa Merry Christmas Jeep Reindeer Funny.”

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Willys MA Photo on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Bantam-FordGP-WillysMA-EarlyJPs, Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Here’s a photo of a Willys MA in action.

View all the information eBay

“Offered is an original WWII time period photograph. It belonged Lt. Salvador Joseph Cuttitta who was enlisted with the 6th Armored Infantry and trained with 1st Armored Division. He was then transferred to serve with the 5th Armored Division. There is some tape on the corners as seen. Picture measures approximately 3 1/4″ x 4 1/2″ inches.”

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Customized WWII Jeep

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Sedan-jeep • TAGS: , This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This photo is part of a collection of photos of the 333rd Engineers. No date is given. It looks like this jeep was nicely updated until a wreck or something else caused damage.

View all the information on eBay

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Jeepsters and the Sunkist Lady

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features, Jeepster, Old Images, Old News Articles This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: This article provides more information about this stunt Jeepster and plane. It was published in the March 20, 1949, issue of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

1949-03-20-fort-worth-star-telegram-jeep-jockey-endurance-jeepster-plane1-lores 1949-03-20-fort-worth-star-telegram-jeep-jockey-endurance-jeepster-plane2-lores

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Originally Published Dec 8, 2012:


The Sunkist Lady was an Aeronca 15AC Sedan airplane flown by Dick Riedel and Bill Barris used to set a world-record for endurance flight.  They spent a total of 1008 hours and 2 minutes aboard the airplane, ending their flight in April of 1949. Unfortunately for them, their record was broken six months later.

What makes this relevant for jeep fans was that to keep the plan in the air, the crew used Jeepsters borrowed from local dealers to race down the airport runway so the crew could hand fuel and food to the two pilots.

Thanks to Colin for forwarding the story!

Here is a link to a story and a video about the flight (124 MB): http://www.cityoffullerton.com/depts/airport/the_sunkist_lady.asp

Here is a second article:  http://vintageairphotos.blogspot.com/2012/03/saga-of-sunkist-lady.html. The picture below is from that article.


 
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1942 Santa w/ Kids in a jeep

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Old News Articles • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This 1944 newspaper photo of Santa in a jeep shows a military jeep with a taller-than-normal windshield, almost 2A like. This was published in the December 28, 1942, in the Bull Horn out of Norman, Oklahoma.

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1947 Press Photo of Japanese Kids in Toy Jeeps on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Old News Articles This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This press photo was taken March 30, 1947, at a Japanese department story where kids got to test out riding jeeps from a Japanese manufacturer who added “Kiroy was Here” to the dash. I don’t think these models of riding jeeps have been documented.

View all the information on ebay

“1947 Press Photo Children playing with toy jeeps at a department store in Japan. This is an original press photo. Japan (General). Japanese children, visiting a Tokyo department store, try out toy jeeps bearing the slogan “Kilroy was here,” placed on them by the Japanese manufacturer.Photo measures 7 x 8.75inches. Photo is dated 3-30-1947. ”

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I was able to locate a corresponding photo in a newspaper. This one appeared in the March 31, 1947, issue of the Des Moines Tribune out of Iowa:

1947-03-31-desmoines-tribune-kilroy-in-japan-toy-jeeps-lores

 
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November 1946 Carl’s Motor Co. Dealer Ad

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features, Old Images, Old News Articles • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This looks like it may have been a full-page ad for Carl’s Motor company, despite the news stories sprinkled within. Note the photo of Bob Hope in a CJ-2A that seems to be promoting Carl’s Motors (I wonder if Bob Hope knew it).

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1946 Photo of Jeep Supplying Rural WV Schools

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Old News Articles This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

As of December 1946, Wyoming County Schools in West Virginia still had 52 one-room schools attended by 1200 students. To serve and maintain those schools throughout the year, the county purchased a CJ-2A.

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More details about the rural schools in this article from the December 27, 1946, issue of the Beckley Post Herald out of West Virginia.

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Philadelphia’s Road Patrol Service

• CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This article in the June 28, 1948, issue of Newsweek covers how the Keystone Automobile Club’s three jeeps were transformed into mobile video units for the 1948 Republican and Democratic Conventions that were being held in Philadelphia.

Six months earlier in January, the same jeeps had been setup with radios to help manage road patrol issues (multiple news articles mentioned this), so adding television service expanded, albeit temporarily, the capabilities of the jeeps.

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Last year we saw a different pic of one of the jeeps that is housed in Philadlephia’s free library:

 
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Old Christmas Photo Card w/CJ-2A on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Postcards This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

The Dolds’ family wishing their friends and family Merry Crhistmas. The windshield and the passenger step have already both been modified on this jeep.

View all the information on eBay

“This Auction is for 1 VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPH TYPE CARD
1950’S-60’S ERA? MIGHT BE BY BROAD RIPPLE, INDIANA?
CHRISTMAS CARD-JEEP-DACHSHUND DOG IN INDIANA

THE PHOTO IS CLEAR 1-2 FEET AWAY, THE PHOTO IS CLEAR UNDER MAGNIFY GLASS, BUT DARK. OPEN FACE CARD, BLANK BACK, WITH CAPTION. THESE CARDS WERE MADE MOST LIKELY FROM A DEPARTMENT STORE AND GIVEN TO NEIGHBOR’S, FAMILY & FRIENDS DURING THE HOLIDAYS.

CAPTION:” THE DOLDS? ”

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