Whether he’s driving a “speedy” 40 miles per hour on the freeway or matching the traffic flow as he pulls his vehicle on a trailer, Dave Gaston of Littlerock, Washington, is on the move with his Jeep, a 1945 Willys MB (Military Model “B”).
Gaston’s Jeep is named Old Crow after the P-51 Mustang fighter plane of 101-year-old Colonel Clarence E. "Bud" Anderson, USAF. Anderson, who signed the Jeep, is arguably World War II's greatest living American fighter pilot (WWII). Per the USAF, he was the highest-scoring WWII flying ace and, at 101 years old, is the only triple ace still alive today.
At car shows, community events, or even at the home of WWII veterans, Gaston shares the vehicle and related artifacts, while wearing period-correct uniforms. He thanks any WWII vet he meets and requests that they sign the Jeep. You can see photos and autographs of these honorable veterans on the hood, dashboard, and elsewhere on the body of his Jeep. Do you know a WWII veteran or “Rosie”? Send an email to this writer at JOLT for an introduction to Dave Gaston!
Autographs collected on the Jeep include those from the beginning of the war, such as the USS Arizona survivors, all the way to the end. From Washington and Oregon, you will find 15 signatures: Doris Bier, Grant Burke, Thomas Coles, Charles Cook, Bob Davis, Bob DeBruyn, Harvey Drahos, Betty Dybbro, Arthur Gregg, James Grover, Grover McMichel, Bob Meyers, Dick Nelms, Lester Novy, and Chris Schlegel. Four of these veterans, Harvey Drahos, Betty Dybrro, Dick Nelms, and Doris Bier, were interviewed recently by Rishi Sharma, who documents WWII vets throughout the US and beyond. This was Sharma’s first visit to Thurston County; you can read about it in the JOLT's Surely Goodness column.
Additionally, 12 other WWII vets signed the Jeep: three from Band of brothers (Wild Bill Guarnere, Buck Compton, & Forrest Guth); four survivors of the Arizona; Bud Anderson; Bob Hoover; Captain Slade Cutter; Brigadier General Paul Tibbets; and Richard Cole, who was Jimmy Doolittle’s co-pilot.
The signors of the Jeep have had diverse experiences. Examples include machine gunner, sonar operator, (B-17, B-40, B-29) pilot/co-pilot, medic, ordinance officer, infantry, POW, parachutist, submarine commander, stateside pilot, and a wartime industrial plant “Rosie” worker.
Willys MB is a US World War II 4-wheel drive ¼ ton military utility vehicle. It was manufactured from 1941-1945 by Willys-Overland Motors, an American auto company founded by John North Willys. Willys manufactured various vehicles but was best known for his military and civilian Jeeps. Willys even branded the term 'Jeep’, with a US patent approved in 1943. In his heyday, John Willys was second only to Henry Ford as the largest automobile manufacturer in the USA.
On point, those two companies were awarded the US Government WWII Jeep contracts. Between the Willys Overland Company and the Ford Motor Company, they produced over 640,000 Jeeps for the war effort.
“Jeep” may have come from the phonetic pronunciation of “General Purpose” light utility vehicle or even an acronym from “Just an Engine and Essential Parts.”
But the most appealing notion to this writer is that WWII soldiers loved the vehicle so much that they nicknamed it after the “Snoopy” of their time, Eugene the Jeep. Eugene was Popeye’s pet and Popeye was a popular cartoon of the 1930s-50s era. The Jeep was a strange creature of the 3rd and 4th dimensions, “small, able to move between dimensions, and could solve seemingly impossible problems.”
Gaston recently learned a “new” fact about WWII Jeeps when he attended the recent Doris Bier interview with Rishi Sharma. Despite the widespread contention that Jeeps used overseas in the war never returned to the USA, Bier clearly recalled the rebuilding of Jeeps with bullet holes in them at her Fort Lewis worksite. This fact is of interest to WWII historians and a “Jeep 503” forum participant commented that this fact makes sense in that the military would have needed ballast to return home with the virtually empty ships.
Gaston’s colleague, Peter Lahmann, arranged for Mrs. Bier to ride a Jeep in the 2023 Centralia Independence Day parade.
In 2005, Dave Gaston’s wife Kaye, received a family trunk with her Uncle Bernie’s WWII gear inside. They displayed it in their living room and, after a few years, opened the trunk and looked through it, full of memorabilia and written materials. He tried on Uncle Bernie’s Class 'A' Army Air Corps uniform - it was a perfect fit! That began a new interest that turned into a passion. Gaston sought to find a way to honor WWII veterans and he came across the idea of using a WWII jeep to do so. But he wanted a jeep with a meaningful history.
Gaston found such a Jeep in Pennsylvania and here is his story:
“I had been searching the Willys classified ads for a WWII Jeep and found several, but none stood out until this 1945 Willys MB showed up online. What piqued my interest was the signatures on the Jeep. I called the seller right away and got the story. He had been Brigadier General Paul Tibbets’ manager after Tibbets retired and attended book signings and the Smithsonian’s dedication of the Enola Gay, named after Tibbets’ mother. The previous owner of the Jeep had collected signatures as well at air shows and WWII events.
“He hesitated about the Jeep and said to call back in ten days. On day ten I called back and after further grilling, he said he needed to talk to his wife. Ten minutes later the phone rang and my wife answered. Then he asked her several questions. I passed his test and bought the Jeep. Since then, I have added more signatures and collected the stories of WWII Veterans.
He and his wife Kaye operate a timber farm outside Littlerock, Washington and, between them, have two grown daughters and a grandson due in September.
Gaston retired as a Special Education teacher from the Olympia School District and, before Olympia, taught for three years in Aberdeen.
While not a veteran, he greatly admires those who have served and had relatives in WWII, including an uncle who was, sadly, a victim of friendly fire at sea. Six crew members were killed. His uncle lived, but suffered lifelong PTSD due to the sinking of his ship and sharks in the water.
Dave travels around the region with the Friends of Willy and Joe, a WWII living history group.
One of their upcoming events is a WWII home front day at the Historic Borst Home Museum in Centralia. “World War II: Quilts, Victory Gardens, and Vehicles.” Saturday, September 16, 2023, 1:30-3:30 pm with a 30-minute presentation at 2 PM.
Also, please visit America’s Team Museum, a military museum curated by Peter Lahmann, 622 N. Tower Avenue, downtown Centralia, WA.
Shirley Stirling, of Lacey, writes about good things people in Thurston County are doing. If you’d like to nominate someone to be profiled, contact her at shirley@theJOLTnews.com or comment below.
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Great research and diligence by Shirley. A great way to educate about this "Greatest Generation."
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