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Honoring the Proud American Gun Truck

cucvmule

collector of stuff
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I certainly hope that the Truck gets Back in Action.

This kind of story is why I always advise to start any, all equipment on a regular interval schedule to keep machine lubricated, seals pliable and ready for operation for the intended purpose.

Minor problems can be a warning sign for larger problems later, or a signal saying that more usage is needed or machine will not motivate when needed.

I Hope For the best outcome PB.
 

Another Ahab

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I certainly hope that the Truck gets Back in Action.

I Hope For the best outcome PB.
It NEEDS to get back in action, that's the whole point of Proud American and all of PB's hard and devoted work.

But I read a book once, called the Oxbow Incident:

- Before anybody "strings this guy up and sees him swing", it'd be good to know the whole story.

Right?!

Wonder how to reach the bud...
 

Another Ahab

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Thanks, hndrsonj!

So I checked the website, found a number for the mobile phone.

I called the number, and connected with the principal, Vernon Stout.

I introduced myself, and asked him if he had a moment to chat about Proud American, he said "sure":

- He said he was grateful for the donation of the Gun Truck from PB, and confirmed that Proud American is "alive and well"

- She went out to (2) presentations (school visits) this year, before we all entered the current Time-of-Cholera

- So now, naturally, all activity is postponed and suspended

- He is underway with a plan to purcahse a trailer for Proud American, so he can get her out for presentations to more distant areas (when that time comes)

He said that his son is the actual SS liaison for him, and is out-of-pocket on mission work as a member of the Latter-Day Saints. So himself not being active on SS (and he admitted he leaves the IT work to his son), he did ask me to relate to PB to go ahead and email him (vstout@freedomvehicles.org), and he'd be glad and do his best to fill him in on anything he'd like to know.

That's as far as I got.
 

marchplumber

Well-known member
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Well, at least that "sounds" promising........ I tried listed website, was informed it was temporarily unavailable.

He convinced P.B. to start with, sooooo he knows for sure how to "talk"......now if his speel is honest, it could be different story. Time will tell........
 

Another Ahab

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Well, at least that "sounds" promising........ I tried listed website, was informed it was temporarily unavailable.

He convinced P.B. to start with, sooooo he knows for sure how to "talk"......now if his speel is honest, it could be different story. Time will tell........
The man didn't sound defensive, and didn't sound like he was inventing any story on the spot, he was quick to respond and seemed earnest and forthright.

I know what I CANNOT know: I can't know that the man isn't making up everything that he told me.

But I tell you what: I got the sense that everything he told me was on the up-and-up.

(PS the point that the website is unavailable seems to jibe with the detail he told me that it's his SON who does all the IT for the operation, and his son is out-of-pocket, but yeah who knows?)
 

papabear

GA Mafia Imperial 1SG
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As I said up front, things happen and I'm very glad the son is on a worthwhile mission and wish him the best.

Posting on SS is probably not a priority right now and I can readily accept the father's account of what is happening.

Rome wasn't built in a day and I knew their museum etc., was underway and would take a while to get up and running.

Let's lock and clear all weapons and reorient our efforts toward praying for success in the Christian mission the son is on and eventual success of their attempt to use our vehicles to continue that mission when that is possible.
 

Another Ahab

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Rome wasn't built in a day and I knew their museum etc., was underway and would take a while to get up and running.
I was interested how he said the game plan is all about TAKING the gun truck to schools, going THERE instead of being a static museum where you have to wait for people to come see you.

That's why they're working on a trailer for trailering Proud American out to reach more schools at further distances. Sounded committed to me, it really did, and that's the way I interpreted it.

I might be wrong about that. But I didn't hear it as being any made-up story is what I'm trying to say.

That's it. The End
 

papabear

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That was/is EXACTLY the plan....take the truck to the people as often as possible and make her sort of a key part of the Vietnam era display when the museum is eventually rocking.

The world is kind of at a stand still right now so let's just wait for Proud to make her next mission.
 

Another Ahab

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I did what I did in good faith in hopes Proud American and the crew who fought her would be spread out west as there are still several GunTrucks over here in the east.
Papabear, you generously donated Proud American in good faith, you acted through love in memory of her crew.

That was wonderful, to sell her to anyone would be dealing in blood money. But you acted through love.

If everyone in this world did everything through love, then we wouldn't need Gun Trucks. We wouldn't need standing armies. We wouldn't need military funerals. That would be a good world.

But everyone in this world is NOT acting through love. So we have standing armies, we have wars, and we have military funerals. It's stupid, but that's what we got.

I remember reading a history of D-Day in Normandy, the author was Beevor.

He wrote about the pocket where the German Wehrmacht was getting trapped by the Allied advance and brutally annihilated, the Falaise Pocket.

A German commander of some rank named Meindl was commanding a parachute group during the crisis. He was disgusted by German trrops who thought only about getting themelves out of the trap, instead of working together to get themselves ALL out.

He said something about how the whole experience made him realize for the first time how stupid war was, because the best human beings (the selfless ones who acted for others) were the first ones lost and that the selfish ones (the ones who were all ego, worried only about themselves), survived.

His name was Meindl (sp?). An interesting guy. He wasn't focused on himself. even in the middle of a disaster at that, that's leadership. Like you, Papabear. He focus was on the other.

You want to honor the others, the crew of the Proud American. That's love. You really can't go wrong when whatever you do is done as an act of love. You should sleep easy knowing that.

And don't hesitate to give this guy a call, anytime. He invited that!
 

papabear

GA Mafia Imperial 1SG
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