JEEP: SHAPED THROUGH WORLDWIDE CRISIS

Perhaps the most surprising yet of the odd repertoire of imaginary characters who show up on my blog is a veteran of World War II. He is soon to celebrate his 100^th birthday, and he speaks to us today about his hunt for a genuine 1942 Willys Jeep MB, the vehicle he drove during his military tour, and the only birthday gift on his wish list. 

JEEP: SHAPED THROUGH WORLDWIDE CRISIS

By Linda Lee Greene, Author & Artist

“I had the good sense to wait until I was forty-two to get married and to marry a great gal twenty years my junior. Fifty-eight years ago, Estelle stood with me before our priest and promised to stick by me no matter what I threw at her. And believe me, I’ve put her through her paces over the years. And I suppose the last decade or so has been the toughest. The situation is that I lost my driving privileges coming on to twelve years ago, and Estelle has been driving me around ever since then. My eyes gave out on me. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles also says I no longer have the mental acuity to drive. I guess the fact that my 100^th birthday is just around the corner factors into it. Estelle said I’m a stubborn old coot and about blew a fuse when I told her the only thing I want for my birthday is a 1942 Willys Jeep MB—a genuine, old dinosaur like me that is battered and wacked, but still ticking.

            “I suppose most of you youngins never heard of Ernie Pyle, and you’re probably wondering what he has to do with anything—but I’m here to tell you about him. Ernie was a legend in his own time, and I was fortunate in that his time was also my time. He was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and war correspondent during World War II, logging in stories about ordinary American soldiers for Scripps-Howard, an Ohio newspaper syndicate. His work was published in 400 daily and 300 weekly newspapers, which earned him millions of adoring readers. There wasn’t any war correspondent more popular than Ernie. He traveled right alongside what he termed the ‘dogface’ infantry soldiers, first in the European Theater of the war and finally in the Pacific Theater. He slept alongside them; ate the crummy C-rations alongside them; came down with the ‘trots’ and the ‘crud’ alongside them; risked enemy fire alongside them. Ernie was killed in action in Okinawa on April 18, 1945, only six days after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, our president. That was the hardest week of my life. FDR’s successor, President Harry S. Truman, said of Ernie upon his death, ‘No man in this war has so well told the story of the American fighting man as American fighting men wanted it told. He deserves the gratitude of all his countrymen.’

“Usually Ernie traveled on foot alongside his fighting comrades. But there were times he was scuffled from place to place in one type of military vehicle or another. And sometimes, it was with me in the Willys Jeep MB I drove during my tour in the Pacific Theater of the war. Ernie and I were buddies. Like me, Ernie was an Indiana farm boy—and also like me, he was the only child of plain people who never made it past the eighth grade. Ernie was a natural-born storyteller who carried his folksy roots into his folksy writing style. He carried his folksy roots into his friendship with me, too. He was 45 when I knew him. I was 25. I guess he was the big brother I never had, and I was the little brother he never had. I called him 'Pop.’ He called me ‘kid.’ Through grit and innate talent, Ernie had earned his college education and his remarkable career. He had dreams of writing the American story into old age, but fate had other plans for him. I miss him to this day.

“Not only did I cart around Ernie Pyle, but on various occasions I also had Generals MacArthur and Marshall and other big-wigs under the roof of my little vehicle. I like Ernie’s description of the Willys Jeep MB: ‘It did everything. It went everywhere. It was as faithful as a dog, as strong as a mule, and as agile as a goat. It constantly carried twice what it was designed for and still kept going.’ It is said of it that it became the GI’s best friend—second only to his rifle. Marshall called it, ‘America’s greatest contribution to modern warfare.’ As with so many World War II veterans, the war set the tone of my life. After the war, I opened a chauffeuring business in Indianapolis. Many types of vehicles have come and gone among my fleet, but I haven’t yet laid my hands on the one of my desire. Estelle understands now the reason I want a genuine Willys Jeep MB before I take my last breath. I want to run my palms along its fenders, to feel the vibration of its engine under its hood, to wrap my hands around its steering wheel, even if I won’t get to drive it. Yeah! I could just sit behind the steering wheel and pretend—I could bring back my days with Ernie, my friend and brother.

“President Roosevelt was always in the background of my early life, as were the struggles we faced because of the Great Depression. I managed to get through high school, but college was not for me. The momentous politics of those times was the last thing on my mind. It was jobs, cars, and girls, in that order for me. 1940 was the year I started paying attention to the world beyond my own narrow head. It was the year I turned twenty. In addition, the United States instituted the first peacetime military draft in its history then. As a result, hundreds of thousands of young men were conscripted to meet the country’s need to build-up its military. Uncle Sam didn’t get me until after I turned twenty-one the following year. FDR won an unprecedented third term as president in 1940. And I didn’t know it until I embarked on the journey to find a Jeep, but 1940 was also the year FDR, through the U.S. Army, solicited bids from 135 automakers to design a ¼ ton ‘light reconnaissance vehicle’ tailored to Army specifications. I was bowled over to learn that there were that many automakers back then, and was surprised that only Bantam, Willys, and Ford stepped up to the challenge. In the end, they worked together and developed the template for it. In a remarkable 75 days, Willys-Overland delivered the first 4x4 prototype, named the ‘1940 Willys Quad.’

“The second model was the 1941 Willys MA, termed as ‘The Lend-Lease Jeep Brand 4x4.’ The Lend-Lease portion of its branding referred to the program in which the United States supplied war materiel to the Allied countries at war in Europe. The Willys MA was shipped across the Atlantic, and for that reason, it was necessary for it to be lighter weight than the original version. In its struggle to meet the new weight specification of 2,160 pounds, Willys-Overland shortened bolts and installed lighter panels and removed some extraneous items.

             “The vehicle I drove, the 1941-1945 Willys Jeep MB, and the one I hope to find, was the third model. I call it the ‘fat lady’ of the line. Removed items on the earlier model were reinstalled, taking it approximately 400 pounds above the specification. The current Jeep automaker describes it best, I think:       

‘FORGED IN BATTLE’

‘It's the stuff of legend; the U.S. Army requested a vehicle—and drove off in a hero. The Willys MB, its spirit forged by the fire of combat and honed in the heat of battle, seared its way into the hearts of warriors fighting for freedom. Fierce emotional bonds often developed between a soldier and his "jeep" 4x4. The faithful MB earned a place in every GI's heart, in every area of combat, in every conceivable role.’[1]

            “The Willys Jeep MB earned a place in my heart. Finding one of them sitting in my driveway on the occasion of my 100^th birthday would be a great big happy blessing on my long life. And even more than that, this vehicle is a symbol to me of the fighting spirit of the American people when put against the ropes. In an example of true leadership of a type I haven’t witnessed since that time, President Roosevelt called upon American manufacturers to modify their product-lines and to get busy engineering war materials under a program called America’s “Arsenal of Democracy.” That undertaking won World War II as much as any other factor. The Jeep reminds me that together, and with the right kind of guidance and inspiration from our leaders, we Americans can do anything we put our hearts and minds to. It is what we do in times of national crisis!”©

Note: The above is a story of historical fiction wrapped around actual historical facts.

Images: A Willys Jeep MB; Ernie Pyle

Multi-award-winning author, Linda Lee Greene’s paperbacks and eBooks are available for purchase worldwide through Amazon.



Message from the author: In a spirit of public service, for a few days during this time of crisis in which the world is fighting an invisible enemy manifesting as Covid-19, I am placing one of my most popular novels on free status. Read with all my love. –Linda Lee Greene



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[1] https://www.jeep.com/history/1940s.html#quad