Age concern ?

[Mark Jesic]

Guys, just a thought, what is the average age of our members ? And are any youngsters taking up with our hobby to keep it alive for future decades ?

[Farrell Fox]

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[Joe Gopan]

Older the better.

[chasendeer]

Older the better.

Wrong! Have to have youth in hobby or it will be gone!!

[Mark Jesic]

Great to hear the the youngsters are coming through, good on you guys, and we are keeping an important piece of history alive.

[Joe Gopan]

The youth will never have the exposure to the machines and WWII veterans who operated, maintained, and made history with the vehicles. There is a great difference between being there and squinting at photos through a reading glass. I was fortunate to have lived around and served with old veterans who shared knowledge and experience.

[Ez8]

The youth will never have the exposure to the machines and WWII veterans who operated, maintained, and made history with the vehicles. There is a great difference between being there and squinting at photos through a reading glass.

I'm too young to have squinted at anything through a reading glass.

Young blood contributes in other ways that the greybeards probably don't fully appreciate. For instance, this forum or our benefactor's online shop which have both contributed to all of us an understanding (either consciously or not) of how widespread our hobby is throughout the world. Back in the old days people would have to join a club just to know people in their own city, let alone their state. I'd say that's a huge improvement.

Did you know: you can talk to a dude in FRANCE who loves jeeps just as much as we do here in the US? There's also a couple guys in Australia who like jeeps and are very knowledgeable about them (even though I think their jeeps are upside down compared to ours). You can communicate with these people in a matter of hours! Can you imagine in the old days how much time would be spent trying to communicate with these people, let alone FIND them?

[Joe Gopan]

Find them???? Read the obituaries and discover that your friend, neighbor, parts man, clergyman, shoe salesman, grocery bagger inlaw, was a WWII combat veteran. I hits me real hard. The expression "if only I knew", can hit you hard at times.

[Ian Fawbert]

I started at 19 and am currently 33.
I have 3 jeeps (1 restored,1 under and 1 awaiting), 2 trailers, some parts, a lovely wife who enjoys driving the GPW, 2 kids (1 passionate 4yr boy who is very keen and I hope will carry on, the other 6months- she likes sitting in the drivers seat and holding the wheel so there is hope!).

It has been good to see in the last 10 years or so more younger guys about my age (and younger) coming onto the G- for quite a while there, there weren't many of us under 30 here!

Ian.

[Farrell Fox]

[Post Deleted By Author]

[Boyso]

Bought my jeep at 20 with the relocation package of my first job.

Currently 24.

[Mark Jesic]

Guys lets remember we are one worldwide jeep family, and its great to be a part of it, no matter what age you are.

[Wolfman]

It is called "life".
You start with nothing and as you grow and age, you learn, Hopefully !
What you learn comes in to play as does how fast you learn.
For the younger group, don't be afraid to try new things. If you fail, learn from it and try again and don't be afraid to ask questions. Speeds the whole process up as opposed to blundering along blindly.
As for us old farts, have patients. We have what the younger folks don't but are trying to get. Experience. You can read books and read books but the only way to get experience is get your hands dirty. Stop complaining about the "dumb kids" and help them out. We were "dumb kids" once.
Cooperation and understanding goes a long way.
In the end, all that will be left is our legacy and the younger generation.
What is your legacy going to be ??
Oh, to answer your question, I am 67.
And how long have I been around jeeps. The first one I remember was my dad's jeep pick up. I was about 6 then.

[Fabrizio]

I'm freshly 29yo and working on the GPW I have bought some years ago, and on half dizen of other cars too.....as a hobby only.

Here in France "ww2 interested folks" are surprisingly young, I've met sherman crewmen, weasel drivers and 6x6 dodge owners that were younger than me!


Ben, in Europe people of my age might not be exposed to vets (although we still meet some in Normandy each year), but you have to imagine that we are exposed to the memory of the war, to its marks on every street, every family, every cimetery we can see, almost anywhere in Europe, and maybe even more where I live (around Paris).


We will probably be the last generation that will know vets alive -it might sound hard but that's how life works- and that's not a small responsability, at least fir me.

[Joe Gopan]

WWII history is much more accurate when those who made it are still here to discuss it in detail and emotion. There are many ways to gather WWII vehicle history and knowledge. Each person is different. Many who are still present may have grown up or worked at family surplus equipment businesses from 40's thru present and been exposed to hundreds of WWII truck owners and operators, who also experienced them in their WWII and Korean War service, those were fantastic times as most were proud of their service and had endless stories to tell.
Some youngsters from the post WWII era had family in the GI Truck Business and later served in the Armed Services under WWII officers and NCO's. The Army had excellent service schools with hand picked instructors who also were eager to talk about the "old days". I was fortunate to have all of the above with a WWII Air Force Base across the street that was full of WWII vehicle activity and veterans. Some have had the honor of serving in the Army and being trained to maintain military vehicles by proud WWII, Korean war era instructors with Ordnance background. Been living a little bit of WWII every day since it ended and having fun sharing MV's with all.