bonshawman
New member
- 80
- 0
- 0
- Location
- Venus FL
I found a GPW (42) that went into the service by it's data plate on the day my Dad turned 18 and joined the army air corps (15th AF), October 1942. The same day......
I bought it, remarked it with his bomb group numbers from photos from the airfield in Italy - when I display it, I have his photo (from WWII) and his military history of his bomb group.
He is thrilled - he was 83 when I got her, now he is 88 and in good health. It took him years of "prying" to finally share his military experience, and he did so in a small booklet complete with photos, map of the airfield, and the history of his unit.
When I go out to the garage and run my hand down the fender of the GPW, of course I think of him, and of others (past and present) and marvel at the connection in "service" that they shared - both new and fresh in the autumn of 1942- and that they both survived, and that the 70 some odd years (this coming October) that have passed since.....well, you get the point.
I guess it IS an emotional connection, and like a "WAR HORSE" (the movie) - those that survive are more than just a vehicle - they become intertwined with those to whom they are connected, in a variety of ways, and hopefully, re-connected when possible. Yeah, they are a machine, one of thousands - point taken. But there are so few connections in this world these days, many so fleeting, that when we find them, well, they need to be honored. Fate is far from fickle, and when she beckons.....
I bought it, remarked it with his bomb group numbers from photos from the airfield in Italy - when I display it, I have his photo (from WWII) and his military history of his bomb group.
He is thrilled - he was 83 when I got her, now he is 88 and in good health. It took him years of "prying" to finally share his military experience, and he did so in a small booklet complete with photos, map of the airfield, and the history of his unit.
When I go out to the garage and run my hand down the fender of the GPW, of course I think of him, and of others (past and present) and marvel at the connection in "service" that they shared - both new and fresh in the autumn of 1942- and that they both survived, and that the 70 some odd years (this coming October) that have passed since.....well, you get the point.
I guess it IS an emotional connection, and like a "WAR HORSE" (the movie) - those that survive are more than just a vehicle - they become intertwined with those to whom they are connected, in a variety of ways, and hopefully, re-connected when possible. Yeah, they are a machine, one of thousands - point taken. But there are so few connections in this world these days, many so fleeting, that when we find them, well, they need to be honored. Fate is far from fickle, and when she beckons.....
![[thumbzup]](https://www.steelsoldiers.com/images/smilies/icon_smile_thumzup.gif "Thumbs Up [thumbzup]"){kind=icon}
