Pacific markings.

[armydriver]

It just occured to me that most of the posters on this site tend to utilize markings from the European theater on their trucks. Does anyone use markings from Army units in the Pacific on their restored CCKW's?

[joel gopan]

Army Motors has had pictures of CCKWs in the Pacific, I may have some from USAF Service in Korea. They will be in Color and be the M-27 Bomb service.
Joel

[armydriver]

I was just wondering why few , if any of our posters do their trucks with South Pacific markings rather than the European theater markings. I can understand the AAF marked trucks with the 14th,5th,13th and 7th Air Forces. One never sees any currently restored trucks with U.S.Army markings from the Pacific. I just wondered why.

[bobc]

I have been going over my library lately looking for good CCKW pictures,I found the best source for WW2 pictures is National Geographic,but usually when anyone is doing a story on pacific combat it's all about the island fighting or the aircraft or the boats and ships,vehicles from that theater take a back seat,probably because so much of the fighting was by aircraft, boat or foot,which I think relates to why you don't see many restored vehicles marked for that theater,europe was a vehicle war and you see alot more pictures from that theater with vehicles in them.I have decided that all my vehicles will be 4th armored.

[joel gopan]

All units in Pacific, Army, Navy, Af, or Marines had wheeled vehicles, but just like WWII Aviation Books, the ETO got a little more publicity.
A gentleman that worked on my Survey Crew, Lonnie Tasker was in the ME National Guard 152nd field Artillery when it was Activated in Early 1941. They traveled from Maine to Camp Blanding by train and in GMC 4X4s. They started Island Hopping from New Zealand in 42. Lonnie related to me in 1966 how he witnessed the first aircraft to land on Munda, it was a Marine F4U Corsair that landed before the strip was ready, and sunk in the mud. This was a first hand eyewitness report long before the WWII Aviation writers mentioned this incident in many different Books and magazines. Lonnie got was decorated for rescueing on of the men from his unit who was in an open field that suddenly came under Japanese mortar fire, he drove his CCKW into the impact area while under fire and the other GI hopped on. Lonnie drove the same SWB CCKW for two and one half years and claimed to have driven it 16000 miles in combat. He said that they had to change the rear axle assembleys after it slammed against the side of a ship while it was off loaded. Another man from same the Bangor unit Sgt Joe deRoche, a very good friend of mine, received the Bronze Star with "V" for volunteerng to drive his Jeep with a 75MM Howitzer behind it onto a Landing Craft which went out to fire at a Japanese troopship that was at anchor. He said the Landing Craft nearly swamped each time he fired the howitzer. I learned a lot about CCKWs from Sgt DeRoche who got his start as a Stable Boy in the Maine National guard in 1935, and retired a CWO-4 in 1976 as head of the National Guard Organizational Maintenance Facility in Bangor. He was always picked to fire the 75MM Howitzer in salute to the Governor at his arrival to inspect the MeARNG when he visited Summer Camp to inspect the troops. The Maine Army Guard in Bangorhad CCKWs until March 1952, and the 136 Engineers in Brewer Maine, Commanded by Captain Jacob Serota, (related to me) had a Closed Cab CCKW with LeROI Air Compressor as late as 1959. Captain Serota was in the Amphibious Engineers in the Pacific and made 6 Amphibious Landings. His Unit used DUKWs, and trained at Camp Edwards Massachusetts iduring 1943 with GPAs prior to receiving DUKWS. None of these persons ever bragged about their escapades. I was always told of their heroics and then went to them to confirm it. It was no big thing to them. Captain Serota was one of the partners in the surplus truck business where I learned so much.
Joel

[joel gopan]

One more thing about Private Lonnie Tasker, he was in the Mess section, in the same Artillery unit as Sgt DeRoche, and told me that his truck had to use the Hipkins traction Device many times in soft going.
Joel

[armydriver]

There is a great article on the Quarter Master Museum web site about MacArthur's Red Ball Express in the Phillippines. They used over 500 2 1/2 ton trucks along with truck tractors and semi-trailers to haul supplies there.
This represents only a small portion of how important trucks were to the successes we had in fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. I , for one, feel we never give the Army it's due when it comes to the war in the Pacific. Way too many consider that a Navy/Marine theater and that is far from the truth.