My uncle bought one of those war surplus jeeps. I rode many, many miles in that vehicle. It went anywhere, especially fast when my aunt drove it down through the rows of cherries, apples or pears. Talk about getting slapped in the face with limbs.

Wonder what those cost people when they were new?

Charlott on 14th August 2018 @ 7:07am

After an earlier stint in the infantry, my dad ended up in the combat engineers in the Pacific during WWII. After the war ended, he told me they spent months rounding up any military equipment that was mobile and putting it in gear and sending it off the end of large landing craft into the Pacific Ocean. Didn't want to flood the markets in the US and put manufacturers out of business. They did much the same thing in Alaska after the oil pipeline was built. Contractors were required to return heavy equipment to the lower 48 where it was auctioned off. Moses Lake, Wa. was one place where auctions were held.

Buzz on 14th August 2018 @ 7:42am

I learned to drive in one of those things out in the field. It didn't have brakes.
Remember G.I. Joes in Portland, when it actually was a war surplus store?

I have heard that story also Buzz, about military equipment being dumped into the drink.

L.E. on 14th August 2018 @ 8:33am

Son in law has restored one that he displays and is very proud of.
Hand operated windshield wipers were a problem unless you had a passenger to do the honors ~

Kenn on 14th August 2018 @ 9:27am

Spare tire is on the side in this picture, I had only seen them on the back.

Kenn on 14th August 2018 @ 9:31am

I still have my Grandpa's 1942 Willy's war-surplus jeep. He loved the thing and used it where he lived in the Elkhorn Mountains outside of Baker City.

Bill Seaton on 14th August 2018 @ 11:38am

It was not worthwhile to bring surplus vehicles back to the states, there are still more in Europe than in the US and they were a great help in rebuilding war torn nations.
No jeep left the factory with the spare on the side, this was done post WW ll in order to add a tailgate on the back for loading and unloading misc.

Kenn on 14th August 2018 @ 2:42pm

drove my uncles a lot...fun but one front and one back wheel spinning and I was stuck....yes, had a hand crank windshield wiper....gas tank under the driver's seat...ended up on Ed Vannet's lawn one winter when taking the corner too fast on snow...…...

Arlen Sheldrake on 14th August 2018 @ 3:34pm

I am totally unfamiliar with Davis Lake. Anyone know what the peak is, in the background?

L.E. on 14th August 2018 @ 6:19pm

All good and true stories about the WWII surplus Jeeps and I knew of a few of them. But, this is not a WWII surplus vehicle. It is a standard civilian CJ flat fender model just like the one out in my machine shed. In 1948 this was a new or nearly new Jeep like the dozens of new ones sold down on 12th Street.

And Arlen, the last I knew of your unccle's Jeep it belonged to Dean Dorsey and was running fine.

J.E. on 14th August 2018 @ 8:53pm

Thanks for the correction J.E. I should have taken a trip to WAAAM to learn the finer details of Willy's Jeep model identification.

Arthur on 15th August 2018 @ 9:51am

GI Joe's started as a big tent in North Portland, off of Denver Avenue as I recall. It had lots of canteens, camouflage material and clothes, ammo cases, real surplus military stuff. It was '46 or '47 I believe when I first went there with my dad. There was another competitor over on the near east side of Portland. I don't think it's in business any more either.

Jerry Larsen on 15th August 2018 @ 6:44pm

Oh yes!! Andy and Bax on SE Grand. They are still in business.

L.E. on 18th August 2018 @ 1:28pm