This “long, lost jeep was rediscovered recently in the barn” by my young friend George and me. Imagine our surprise! That’s the photo storyline, anyway. The honest-to-goodness story is that my Dad, who had just been discharged from the Army Air Corps/ USAF in the summer of 1946, purchased this jeep about that same time at a sealed-bid auction in Atlanta. He bid on two, and won the bid on this one. He (and a friend, I suppose), drove ‘to town’, purchased a battery at Sears, and then he drove this jeep all the way home, which is approximately 125 miles. It served as our truck, tractor, and all-around farm & fun vehicle for many years. I learned to drive on it at about age 7. I’ve plowed behind it. We pulled the disk harrow with it. It got us to town when nothing else would make it through the snow. Dad pulled us on a sled through the snowy pastures, and was often called upon to help out the neighbors, including our friendly ‘bootlegger’ who asked Dad to pack down the snow on his long driveway so his ‘customers’ could get in & out!
Dad (with permission of course, having been commander of half a dozen or so camps throughout the ’30’s) hauled enough lumber from the dismantling Whetstone CCC Camp in our nearby mountains to add on two new rooms to our ancestral home, replace the entire roof’s decking, and build a 20′ X 30′ workshop, all on a small Sears trailer pulled behind. He said “sometimes the front end (of the jeep) felt pretty light”. I’ll bet it did! I never realized nor fully appreciated the scope & volume of the lumber hauled until our most recent renovation of our old home, during which more of it was exposed, (and kept for the most part, as it is still excellent wood). Kid’s picnics, hauling sand out of the creek in wash tubs, picking up rocks or limbs in the pasture, learning how to cut firewood with Dad, and bringing it back from the woods in the winter are all some of the happy memories this jeep has provided us. It’s part of the family. It was mentioned in Dad’s funeral, as it and his horse were likely transporting him through heavenly green pastures now, and as recently as a family get-together at which several cousins recalled how they looked so forward to Pop’s letting them drive the jeep around the farm.
She’s been in the barn too long, and deserves a good ‘makeover’ in order to ‘come out’, be seen proudly as she used to look, and to both be admired in parades and historical events, as well as serve as an accurate and loving tribute to this great nation, all veterans, and especially to the one my sisters & I call “World’s Greatest Dad”!
Kaiser Willys Jeep Blog Story – Rex Blanton
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Gotta love that story and the pictures are great, make sure to enlarge and frame them. My Dad bought a 46 2A in the late 50’s, maybe 58 , had his painter redo the whole boy, I learned to drive at 12 years. when I went in service he sold it. Learned to drive it at 12, now have a few Willys,
Great story,
Translating what JOQUIN FLOR posted
That is how all we remember our father , always the presence of a “Willys” is the pearl that dazzles , attracts and goes haywire to all . I could purchase one to my 45 years . My old was in a hacienda that vendimis 45 years ago and still walk … … … … … … … … …… all the stories of
Your grandson will appreciate this willys as his grows older with your direction in restoring
this WW II vehicle that our U.S. ArmForce’s us to win our freedom that we have now
to enjoy with respected. Our 1947 Willys CJ-2A has been a family vehicle that all
enjoy went they visit us here at home. Good Luck Lee
I’ve had my jeep (under conversion) fo 15 +/- years now and am close to done since I have now retired. I will be sending photos after I am finished (no such word) with what I hope is the last stage of rehab. I do drive mine reguraly and hope it becomes part of the family as well with grand-kids arriving. Great story and he now has so many resources to help with the rebuild.
Es asi como todos recordamos a nuestro padre , siempre la presencia de un ” Willys” es la perla que deslumbra , atrae y enloquece a todos . Yo pude adquirir uno a mis 45 años . El de mi viejo se quedo en una hacienda que vendimis hace 45 años y todavía sigue andando ………………………… Todas las historias de familias giran en torno a un Willys ……. Eso es maravilloso.
Back in the 1970’s, we found an old trailer in the mountains of VA that was filled with walnut planks and 2×4’s. The wood had been sawed with a water-powered blade and was very old. I brought part of it back to Atlanta, where my father made a number of nice pieces of furnature with it. That’s a great story about the Jeep and the wood. I hope that the restoration goes well.
A GREAT find, and a wonderful way to start your grandson out with an appreciation for another fading aspect of our history and culture. Hopefully, he will develop a greater bond with you, while picking up the vintage vehicle bug. Good Luck! Lee