42 MB in Wall Street Journal

[OldJeepBob]

One of my favorite columns in the WSJ is A.J. Baime's weekly column "My Ride". In the WSJ today (10/11/17) Baime talks with Dan Foran, 91 yo, of Canyon, Texas. Foran drove Jeeps in WW II and afterward, and when he retired, he found and restored a '42 MB. Great story, and thanks to Foran for his service to our country!
OldJeepBob

[Ed Roberts]

Is there a link to the story? Would like to read it.
Thanks, Ed
42 GPW #5739

[Beers]

Here’s the link Ed, but I think you need a subscription to view it online...

https://www.wsj.com/articles/from-world ... 1507641024

[Boyso]

Here's another source for the same article

http://www.cetusnews.com/life/From-Worl ... cvq3Z.html

A 91-year-old reflects on the Jeep he drove in combat and the 1942 Willys Jeep he rebuilt in his Texas shop.
By

A.J. Baime

Don Foran, 91, a retired civil engineer and World War II veteran from Amarillo, Texas, on his 1942 Willys Jeep, as told to A.J. Baime.

In 1944, I was a soldier assigned to the 687th Field Artillery Battalion. The Army needed Jeep drivers, so I volunteered. The Jeep was first built for World War II. It had four-wheel drive and made our Army mobile in a way it had not been before. As the saying went at the time, “It’s as faithful as a dog, as strong as a mule and as agile as a goat.” Willys built 362,894 Jeeps. Ford built them also, but Willys built the most.

During the collapse of Nazi Germany and after, I drove Jeeps through the country, at times behind enemy lines on scouting missions. The farm villages had no towns left. They were utterly destroyed by bombing from the air, and the cities were even more destroyed. I saw the Dachau prison camp.



Mr. Foran in Germany during World War II.Photo: Don Foran

In December 1945, after the war was over, I drove a Jeep to deliver documents regarding the Nazi war crimes trials for many miles to Munich. The Jeep was an open vehicle and my windshield had been destroyed. It was about zero degrees, and I got lost becau se there were no signs. But I eventually found where I was going.

In 1992, I retired and I needed something to keep me occupied. My nephew Joe Foran spotted a 1942 Willys Jeep for sale in Gladewater, Texas. I contacted the owner and negotiated a price of $1,100. In my shop in Amarillo, I took that Jeep apart and put it back together over the course of about a year and a half. The Army was very good at making training manuals so soldiers were able to fix these Jeeps. I used a training manual to learn how each part of the Jeep worked. I also had it repainted Army green.

I drove this Jeep in local parades in Texas for years. If anyone wanted to go for a ride, I was happy to take him. I am a member of the VFW Post 430 in Canyon, Texas. Recently I signed the title over to the VFW. I have begun to give away my possessions because I am 91 and I realize I am not long for this world. But I still go and see the Jeep. It sure brings back memories.

[Mark Jesic]

Yet another amazing hero that we owe a great debt to.

[Ed Roberts]

Thanks to all. I continue to be inspired by these stories and will endeavor to share. I owe an awful lot to so many I've never met.
Semper Fi, Ed