Joe,
There is no buddy like an old buddy from WWII! Thank you for posting those pictures! This is my second attempt to express my thanks for the latest. The first disappeared into the mire.
The pic of PFC Perrault and me in the jeep was taken during a brief training period after the Anzio Beachhead Campaign in Italy, in preparation for the D Day landing in Southern France on 8/15/44. Driver Perrault is writing a letter home and I am just getting my picture taken to send home to my wife.
I had four of these jeeps in my platoon used for I & R missions. They were terrific! Each jeep had the driver’s name on it and no one else was allowed to drive it. The driver was responsible for all maintenance and care. They had four wheel drive, an optional low range transmission and would go anywhere. Each had a 50 cal. machine gun mounted on a central pedestal. The windshield was kept down and waterproof canvas covered to prevent light reflections, danger of broken glass, and above all to serve as the driver’s foot locker. He kept his belongings in there, usually including a bottle of vino which was sure to crack the glass. Not shown is a large Mercedes Benz emblem, taken from a German truck, and wired to the front of the jeep. Also an angle iron wire cutter welded to the front bumper. Some had ignition keys, on the rest the driver would remove the ignition rotor and carry it in his pocket.
One short story: After the War, while on occupation duty in Germany, we were driving down the Autobahn at about 55 MPH, when we heard the unmistakable sound of a GI 2 ½ ton truck horn behind us, wanting to pass! We were already “flat out†but he kept beeping! He finally passed us slowly on our left. The pilot of a Piper Cub observation plane was waving wildly from an altitude of about 15 feet! To keep himself amused, he had obviously installed a 2 ½ truck horn on his airplane and fought his boredom while waiting to be sent home, by chasing (and passing) vehicles on the Autobahn. Boys will be boys!
Russ