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Welcome to eWillys.com, a website for vintage jeep enthusiasts. I update this website nearly every day with jeep deals, jeep history, interesting reader projects, jeep related info, and more.
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This ad was published in the March 6, 1943, issue of Collier’s. I wish I could locate an online archive for that magazine. Anyone know of one?
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“This is a vintage original ad, not a copy or reproduction. Neatly removed from magazine. Would look beautiful framed. Measures 10 and 1/2 inches by 14 inches.”
UPDATE 3: There are some broken links, so I’ll need to spend some time and clean up this post.
UPDATE 2: Daniel Strohl over at Hemmings provided a solid background update about Wally Cohn.
“Born in 1924 in Germany, his father and stepmother sent him to the Chicago area in 1937 both to live with family and to escape the increasingly anti-Semitic mood in Germany. After Kristallnacht, his older brother Herman, his father Siegfried, and his stepmother joined him in Chicago. Walter flew 30 missions for the U.S. Army Air Corps as a bombardier during the war, earning a Distinguished Flying Cross and a Bronze Star and rising at least to the rank of Sergeant. After the war, he served as a member of the chief justice’s staff during the war crimes trials in Nuremberg, then returned to the United States and founded W&W Foreign Auto Parts in Blue Island, Illinois.”
UPDATE: A reader named Clint just determined what type of vehicle Wally was using — A 1936-1940 Opel Olympia. Here are two links to images: Link 1 & Link 2. Thanks Clint!
ORIGINAL POST published in 2010: I ran across the images shown below and others. I didn’t think much of them until I looked more closely. It appears the builder, who I assume is Wally Cohn, has merged a 1936-1940 Opel Olympia with a MB to create, arguably, the first Jeepster-like vehicle, except it is four wheel drive. The ‘Wally’ appears to use the entire jeep drive train. If you look in back, you’ll even see this car can tow a trailer!
Who is Wally Cohn? I have no idea. I can’t seem to find anything about him, other than his name was Wally Cohn and he was nicknamed the Jeep King by photographer Walter Sanders.
Photographer Walter (Wally) Sanders worked for Life Magazine from 1944 to 1961. After growing up and leaving Germany for the US in 1937, he returned in early 1946 and lived the rest of his life in Europe, mostly in Munich. You can learn more about his biography here.
Because Walter was in Europe during December of 1946, and because these photos were snapped during that month, and because of Wally’s uniform (which Bob noted is an Army Airforce Uniform), I have concluded that Wally Cohn was a member of the armed services trying to merge cars and jeeps into a Wally vehicle of some kind (note the name Wally is displayed prominently on the dash in one of the pics).
This would be a great collector’s item — and a cool jeep too!
UPDATE: I didn’t understand the significance of this ad until purchasing Fred Coldwell’s “Selling the All-American Wonder” (great collection of Willys-Overland WWII ads). It’s the only WWII Willys-Overland ad that I’ve found which doesn’t appear in his book. Titled “They’re getting the stuff and they’re using it, too!”, the ad seems to have been only published in the newspaper.
Originally published January 12, 2019. This Willys Overland Ad appeared in the September 25, 1944 issue of The CIO News.
Mike spotted this 1960s photo on Facebook. It shows some DJ-3A Dispatchers doing pizza delivery work for Volcano Pizzeria, a North New Jersey pizza place in the 1960s. Mike notes there were a lot of pizza jeeps in the area at the time.
Anyone know when this ad was published?
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“This is an original 1942 ad neatly removed from a vintage magazine. Measure 11 by 14 inches.”
Mike shared this pic he found on Facebook. It appears to be a lengthened and modified CJ-2A (based on the windshield). Anyone know what happened to this jeep?
This article tells the story about some POWs who were thrilled to see a jeep after years in captivity. It was published in the May 05, 1945, issue of The Wilmington Morning Star.
Make-shift water crossing. As Race pointed out, “Nectar” should be spelled Neckar River in the text.
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“1945 Press Photo Infantry Support Raft Ferries Men & Jeeps Across Nectar River. This is an original press photo. With bridges blown up by retreating Germans, an infantry support raft ferries men and their jeep across the Nectar River. Part of the famous old university city of Heidelberg, now in American hands, can be see in the background. Photo measures 8 x 6.25 inches. Photo is dated 4-2-1945.”
UPDATE: Peter notes that the trip was cancelled to Covid. He hopes to try again in 2025.
Peter Heyniger is organizing a cross-the-US vintage 4×4 tour along the Trans American Trail for the summer of 2020. He’s looking for participants, sponsors, and helpful folks along the route. The tour welcomes vintage jeeps, landcruisers, broncos, and other older 4x4s. He expects that to complete all 5200 miles will take seven to eight weeks; folks have the option of doing all or part of the route.
You can learn more at his website: https://sites.google.com/view/vintagetransamericatrail2020
UPDATE: Thanks to Tremaine for supplying better pics of the CJ-2 grille guards seen in a couple of these photos.
Original Post March 4, 2019: These photos were published in the July 22, 1945, issue of the Sunday Star Gravure Section of the newspaper. I don’t think I’ve seen a photo of the jeep pulling the trailer from the driver’s side.
It feels dramatic.
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“1950 Press Photo Medical Team Carries Wounded to Jeeps in Masan Sector of Korea.
This is an original press photo. Korean War, United States Wounded Evacuation: Wounded in the desperate battle for the hill in the background, a 25th infantry division soldier was carried to a waiting jeep in Korea by medical department men. The action took place in the Masan sector on the southern front. Mountain heights and other elevations are of prime importance in this area, and some have changed hands several times. Photo measures 8.25 x 8.5 inches. Photo is dated 09-11-1950.”
Mark shared a story about the death of Bertha Durpe, one of the few women who served with the 6888th CPD Battalion, an All-Black WAC unit that went overseas to help the war effort. The photo below doesn’t show the former Master-Sergeant Dupree, but it’s still a neat photo.
You can read a little about Ms. Dupree here: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article226817444.html
More on the 6888th: