SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 2017
3 B
Dinner to raise funds for M ILITARY H ERITAGE C HRONICLES —
YYFAP summer programs
The Yachats Ladies Club
is inviting the community to
attend and support a fun
pulled pork fundraiser dinner
to benefit the Yachats Youth
and
Family
Activities
Program (YYFAP) summer
programs.
The YYFAP is well-
known in its community for
providing enriching activi-
ties for the children and fam-
ilies in the Yachats area
while also creating opportu-
nities for children during the
summer months.
The dinner will be served
Saturday, June 17, from 5 to
7 p.m., at the YLC
Clubhouse, 286 W. Third St.
in Yachats.
The benefit dinner will
include: Pulled pork sand-
wiches with coleslaw and a
dill pickle, baked beans,
potato salad, apple-sauce
cake and choice of coffee or
tea.
The cost for the dinner is
$15 at the door. To-go din-
ners will be available as well.
The Yachats Ladies Club
is a service club for South
County women now in its
90th year.
Women interested in creat-
ing fundraisers for the com-
munity while enjoying them-
selves are invited to inquire
about membership by calling
Sandy Dunn at 541-547-
3205.
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Technology advances of WWII
B Y C AL A PPLEBEE
Special to the Siuslaw News
It has been said that some-
times war can be the mother
of necessity. While that can
be said of each and every
military conflict in history,
WWII perhaps has likely
resulted in some of the most
significant advancements of
our society.
Advancements in aviation,
medicine, communication,
tactics and logistics, and
even food came out of
WWII.
And especially transporta-
tion.
Aviation was certainly
advanced from the war
effort. Legendary aircraft
such as the P-51 Mustang,
B-17 Flying Fortress and B-
29 Super Fortress were a
result.
Helicopters were first
developed during WWII but
didn’t really see service until
the Korean War. And jet
powered airplanes also first
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saw action in WWII,
although on the Axis side of
the conflict.
Logistical advances in
warfare resulted from WWII
as well, such as strategic
bombing practices as well as
phenomenal
production
practices that resulted in the
home-front cranking out
munitions, planes, vehicles
and many other items at
record levels. For example,
276,000 airplanes were pro-
duced by the United States
alone.
Having marked the 73rd
anniversary of D-Day just
last week on June 6, I
viewed one of my favorite
movies of that epic effort,
“Ike,” produced by A&E for
television — something i
watch each year (at least
once).
The logistics of the largest
seaborne invasion in history
are a prime example of the
advancements in logistics
that came out of WWII.
Communication advances
included enhancements in
radar; medical advances
included enhancements in
the use of plasma; even food
advances brought us M&Ms
candy.
But possibly one advance-
ment in transportation needs
out of WWII overshadows
all other creations born out
of the war — the birth of the
Jeep.
Seeking a replacement for
the cavalry horse as military
tactics also evolved, the
Army Quartermaster Corps
produced specs which they
thought would result in a
perfect vehicle for recon-
naissance and personal
transportation to replace the
horse. They invited 135 dif-
ferent auto manufacturers to
submit bids and prototypes,
but only two responded:
American
Bantam
Car
Company in Butler, Pa., and
Willys-Overland in Toledo,
Ohio.
American Bantam Car
Company was an upstart
firm coming out of the ashes
of a failed attempt to estab-
lish a small-car market here
in the United States in the
1920s and 1930s.
One of the efforts they
tried for finding a niche mar-
ket for their little car was to
offer some vehicles to the
Pennsylvania
National
Guard in the late 1930s for
consideration as a light
reconnaissance car.
So, they probably had a
leg up on the competition
when they started their pro-
totype — but they also relied
on good ole American inge-
nuity by utilizing off-the-
shelf parts already in stock.
Virtually at the last
minute, or at least on the last
day, the American Bantam
Car Company delivered their
prototype to the Army
Quartermaster Corps at
Camp Holabird, MD, for
intensive testing. As the
process moved forward,
refinements and changes
were made and additional
units were ordered for more
extensive testing.
Eventually, the Army real-
ized that Bantam’s produc-
tion capabilities would not
be able to meet their antici-
pated production volumes.
So Willy’s continued with its
prototype, and the Army
eventually talked Ford
Motor Company into also
participating.
Despite having designed
and produced the original
concept, with the production
constraints of Bantam, they
were eventually dropped
from the contracts after
delivering just shy of 3,000
vehicles, but continued on
with other war effort con-
tracts (such as the “jeep
trailer,” as well as other
armaments for the military.)
Both Willys-Overland and
Ford Motor Company went
on to produce the original
WWII Jeeps for the military
through mid-1945, with
Willys producing approxi-
mately 348,849 units and
Ford producing approxi-
mately 277,878 units.
In later years as the mili-
tary sought to enhance the
original design, both compa-
nies, or at least in Willys-
Overland’s case, successor
companies, would later pro-
duce other jeep vehicles
such as the M38 of Korean
War era and the M151
(Mutt) of Vietnam War era.
After WWII, American
Bantam Car Company went
on to manufacture a variety
of other steel products but
never entered the automo-
tive industry again, and
eventually faded into obliv-
ion in the mid-1950s.
Ford Motor Company
wasn’t interested, at the
time, in continuing Jeep pro-
duction, and went back to
their own passenger car and
truck efforts in post-war
years.
Willys-Overland realized
the importance and potential
of the Jeep vehicle that came
out of the collaborative
efforts of the war, and even
before war’s end had started
re-designing both the vehi-
cle as well as uses for mar-
keting and, in late 1945 and
into 1946, began manufac-
turing the now famous CJ2A
— both for the American
market as well as overseas.
Despite the success of the
little Jeep, Willys-Overland
as a company wasn’t without
troubles and, over the years,
the Jeep brand was owned
by a variety of parents
including
Kaiser,
AMC/Renault,
Chrysler,
Daimler/Chrysler and now
Fiat Chrysler.
Over the years, numerous
models of that original mili-
tary reconnaissance vehicle
have been manufactured by
a number of companies —
right up to today's variant —
the KJ and KJU models,
which includes a four-door
model.
To celebrate both the birth
of the Jeep in WWII as well
as the iconic Jeep it has
become in the 76 years
since, the Oregon Coast
Military Museum is hosting
an event Saturday, June 17,
called “Jeep Junction.”
Sponsored by Banner
Bank and Johnston Motor
Company, come see exam-
ples of military Jeeps from
WWII as well as subsequent
war eras, vintage CJs and up
to
current
production
Wranglers at this “Jeep-
only” show and shine at
Johnston Motor Company.
Kick some tires, visit with
enthusiastic Jeep owners and
learn why we say, “It’s a
Jeep thing.”
And if you’ve watched
“Ike” recently like I did, you
can ask me if the Jeep in the
scene where Patton arrives
at Ike’s European headquar-
ters is a Willys or Ford.
There is a difference!
You can learn more by
visiting the OCMM website
at www .oregoncoastmili-
tarymuseum. com or visit
the museum, which is open
Thursday through Saturday,
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The museum is at 2145
Kingwood St. in Florence.
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