Military Vehicles Magazine • OCTOBER 2019 43
additions to better meet the mission requirements of the services.
Some basic additions that were common included brush guards,
pintle hooks, trailer hitches, and oversize wheels.
MILITARY VEHICLES COME IN ALL COLORS
There are many of us who served in the military who had
more experience with these administrative vehicles then with
tactical vehicles. As a Marine 0311 (or “Grunt”), I didn’t get to
drive any tactical vehicles. I rode in the occasional M151 or 6x6.
Usually, I walked.
When I came back from Vietnam, I was surprised to be as-
signed to Marine Corp Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North
Carolina. During my leave, I spent most of my time searching for
a good pick-up truck and a camper to buy with the money I had
saved during my time in Vietnam. I fi nally located a 1967 Ford
F100 with 352 engine and three-speed manual transmission with
column shift, (“three on the tree”). Days later, I found an 8-foot
slide-in camper called a “Huntsman” to go on it.
I had no trouble driving this truck. When I was in high
school, my father had bought a 1964 Ford Fairlaine with “three
on the tree.” I learned to drive it and how to unlock the linkage
that would seize up.
Later, the fi rst vehicle I bought myself was a 1953 Jeep pick-
up with a three-speed on the fl oor. So, I used stick shifts all
through high school.
When I arrived at MCAS Cherry Point, I did not know what
I would be doing since I was a Grunt and this was an Air Sta-
tion. When I reported in at the personnel offi ce for assignment, I
overheard that they were short of brig guards and military police.
When I got to the assigning offi cer, he said, “What are we going
to do with you?” I did not want to work in the jail, so I quickly
spoke up and said, “The Major over there said they were short of
MP drivers.” So, I became an MP.
When I reported to the Provost Marshall Offi ce (PMO), the
fi rst thing I noticed were the vehicles parked there. They were not
painted Marine Corps green, but, rather, Navy grey and marked
“U.S. Navy” with the usual “For Offi cial Use Only.” These were
early to mid-sixties pick-ups: one Dodge and a couple of Fords
and Chevys. There were some sedans, but they were for the of-
fi cers. We troops had to use the pick-ups.
After I reported in, I learned I was correct in thinking that
they needed drivers. In those days, you had to have a military-
issued driver’s license to drive even administer vehicles. The fi rst
thing they did was to send me to driver’s training. They fi lled out
some paperwork and gave me a map to the motor pool and told
me not to come back until I had a military drivers license.
I followed the map to the motor pool and entered the old
wooden building there. Inside, there were four civilian workers
who looked at me like I was disturbing them. One asked what I
was doing there, so I showed him my paperwork and told him I
was there to take the drivers training. He kind of shook his head
and groaned and asked “I don’t suppose you can drive a stick
shift?”
I pointed out the window and said “See that Ford with the
Military Vehicles Magazine • OCTOBER 2019 43