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Which Military Vehicle Are You Grateful For?
Memorial Day recently passed, and yours truly made it another weekend of gently correcting those who say “Happy Memorial Day.” Although I never served, I understand we shouldn’t treat this holiday like the others present on the American calendar. This one should be more about personal moments of reflection and gratitude.
My personal reflections during this time still include thoughts of the automobile. That’s how my brain is wired, and it got me thinking about the stories Hagerty Media readers could share about military vehicles.
There are vehicles that become the engines of advancement in the military, and then there are those that won the day with rugged simplicity. With all the variety over the decades, of course I had to turn this into a question for the According To You series. I will start us off with a more obscure example.
Packard Staff Cars
Me being me, I pondered all the prestigious civilian vehicles that were repurposed for military duty. So let’s go back in time, as Packard vehicles became staff cars for the Armed Forces. Premium automotive brands turn into modes of transport for high-ranking members of any organization, and everyone needed to pitch in to the war effort.
Packard made airplane engines during WWII, but the vehicles it built beforehand likely helped with transport more than we can ever know. And that’s why I would love to know which military vehicles you are grateful for, be it a passenger car, truck, Jeep, tank, airplane, boat, ship, or anything else you have fond memories of.
The comments section is open, so tell us: Which Military Vehicle Are You Grateful For?
When I say “Taxicab”, many folks will envision the iconic Checker, maybe the black London Cab, or a Crown Vic, or even some sort of Waymo contraption. But when I served in the USMC in Vietnam in 1969-70, the “taxi” I took most often was the Bell Huey – with some occasional longer distance commutes in larger eggbeaters like Chinooks. It was the UH-1 that was mostly the “daily driver” for hops into and out of areas of operations for us guys. It took us into some pretty hot areas, but it usually also returned to retrieve us (and I mean walking troops as well as fallen ones). I was surely thankful for those noisy danged “vehicles” in those days! One of my best friends ever was a Huey driver (call sign “Queball”), who chauffeured me around a lot of places, and he and I have remained close still today. I have a feeling that many fellow Vietnam Combat Vets will join me in both cursing and blessing the UH-1 chopper.
On Memorial Day, I make it a point to salute my father, a WWII vet and POW (for 45 months!) and my teammate in Quang Tri Province, PFC “Dickhead Dave”, who died in my arms.
I will second that: the “Huey.”
Mine may be an oddball one, but I’m very grateful for the M116A2 generator trailer (that counts as a vehicle, right?).
Years ago I left my trade and went to college as an adult student. I grew up a military “brat” and have always seemed to have made friends with folks who served, and in college- largely because of our similar age differences from the traditional students- most of my friends were recently discharged vets. Looking for some part time trade I could do to fit my hours as an adult student/new parent, I thought I’d use my truck to start a contractor business cleaning out houses, running scrap metal, etc. But I needed a trailer to make the most of my time. A couple of the guys I hung out with talked about how tough Army trailers were, so when I saw one for sale on Craiglist, I ended up coming home with a M116A2 generator trailer for $200. It’s a pretty basic deckover trailer, sturdy as can be that used the same bolt pattern wheels as my truck. I fixed a few things, took a few things off, and to this day it is still my favorite trailer to use. On its 6 foot by 9 ft deck I’ve loaded everything you can imagine including a convertible Mercedes that needed removed from a creek after a flood.
That $200 trailer has been the basis of a small business that has kept my family afloat for years, after the college degree turned out to be worthless, and after multiple dips in the economy that forced me to rely on myself instead of others for jobs. It’s a business that I’m now able to let my son’s take over, teaching them that they can always do something to earn a living. My son actually looking foward to his driving his first load towing the “Army trailer” behind his square body truck, which looks enough like a 1970’s M1008 (military Chevy K30), because it’s a “natural fit”!
The B-52.
Airplanes for me are the coolest, B-1, SR-71 Blackbird, F-14, F-16, F/A-18, A-10, P-51, etc. I love tanks and vehicles like the classic Jeeps or Hummers but planes just have the edge.
UH-1H, Removed my butt from some precarious locations.
or,
M48 Tank, 90mm canister rounds insured no surprises hidden in foliage.
(Cobra gunships, B52’s and F100’s also are high on my list)
Can only be the UH-1 medivac chopper for getting me from the field to the Mash unit in Vietnam and saving my life.
I am most thankful for the MRAPs built by 4 different manufacturers. When a HUMVEE ran over an IED there was a 95% chance of fatality. That number was reduced to less than 10% in an MRAP. I was an FSR for the MaxxPro for 4 years and respected the capabilities of all others.
B-29. It ended the war.
M113 Armored Personnel Carrier – a platoon of “armor” was often around my base camp in Tuy Hoa – a company of engineers, all by ourselves out there. They provided protection to my troops…and me…during some hairy times after Tet 1969. They were the ones, with their Starlight Scopes, who saw and engaged a VC unit coming through the paddies toward my wire. I’ve always appreciated those guys for being around when we needed some firepower.
It is humbling learning how many veterans are involved in this community. It reminds me just how privileged I am to have the life I live, thanks in large part to all of you who have served. THANK YOU.
I also appreciate your stories and your service. Reminds me of visiting my uncle while tooling around in our CJ2A (civilian jeep). He took one look at my jeep and said “come on in, I have something to show you”. He and his friend hit a mine while serving in Vietnam (1st Army)driving a Jeep which blew them and the jeep into a rice paddy. A passing patrol saw bubbles in the water and pulled my uncle out and saved his life, but his partner died that day. After recovering from his injuries, he received photos of the jeep and the engine was sitting in the driver’s seat. He made a detailed model of the damaged Jeep years later and has it displayed in his home office along with many photos.