Bill Mauldin's Jeep!

[willysmb44]

The passenger is a Stars &Stripes writer, as I'm pretty sure he's wearing the S&S correspondent 'arc' patch on his right sleeve. Mauldin didn't get his "issued" Jeep until after he went over S&S anyway. A buddy of mine has a bad photocopy of this picture from what appears to be a Yank magazine or newspaper. I find the markings interesting. A few things make me wonder if maybe this is a Jeep other than the one he got from 5th Army HQ. It lacks the license plate (which supposedly was on the Jeep when he got it), perhaps the gun rack and appears also to be lacking the strongbox he bolted to the floor. It also has GI seats as well, which were removed early on in the Jeep he mentions in his books. Notice the painted out white spot behind the fender well, that might be the characters painted to the side on his issued Jeep, so maybe this was right after he got it? I ran the hood #s on the photo against those listed in the "Standardized war-time Jeep" book. The hood # from what I could read is: 20482406 (S). If that's accurate, that places the delivery date probably at the end of March, 1944 and it's probably a Willys MB. The hood numbers are done in light blue, which is odd as they usually got over painted in white immediately after getting to a combat zone. Perhaps this was that Jeep but before he started messing around with it. I'm fine with being corrected on the date and hood numbers, as the one hood number in red isn't 100% clear anyway.

Another person recently pointed out to me that there is a picture of Mauldin's Jeep on page 223 of "The Brass Ring," That Jeep has a wire cutter added and the tag, but it has a hood lock like the one in this picture.

I sent my conclusions to Todd DePastino who wrote the recent book on Mauldin. Here's what I got today from him:

...You said before that you thought Mauldin had two different jeeps in Europe, and I think you're right. Could this have been a S&S motor pool jeep that someone customized with the "Up Front" on the bumper? It does appear to be warm, so it's either spring-summer 1944 or spring 1945, I'd guess.

I wonder what the story of the jeep is.

Yeah, me too...

[gunbarrel]

A good copy of that photo sold on eBay a couple of months ago. Originally, the driver was not ID'd, but I knew who it was so I asked the seller if it said aything on the back of the photo. He must have taken a real good look at it, because he responded that no, it did not; then, ended the auction and re-listed it for big bucks identifying Bill Mauldin as the driver. So, either my inquiry tipped him off, or someone else wrote to him and told him who it was

[sgtdorango]

I just snapped this pic from The Brass Ring.....mike

[McManus625]

The passenger worked for "The Stars and Stripes," but he was not a writer. I hope to have his I.D. confirmed soon. By the way, Mauldin never had two Jeeps. The fact any enlisted man was ever assigned ONE is extraordinary.

[willysmb44]

The passenger worked for "The Stars and Stripes," but he was not a writer. I hope to have his I.D. confirmed soon. By the way, Mauldin never had two Jeeps. The fact any enlisted man was ever assigned ONE is extraordinary.

I have to disagree on Mauldin not possibly having more than one Jeep. S&S folks had their own vehicle pool and plenty of them were marked. I know of another S&S person who marked a vehicle with his name, but the photo I have of that vehicle (a weapons carrier) is extremely poor. That being said, I do agree that it is more likely this is the same Jeep than him having more than one. Just keep in mind that by 1944, Mauldin was very popular and well known among the troops. By this point, he enjoyed almost a "rock star" level of popularity.

 

I pretty much know who the passenger is, but I don't want to post his name just yet (I'm pretty sure he was a S&S artist who was killed in Italy) until I can confirm with another source. Todd Depastino (who's written the new biography on Mauldin and is editing the collections of his works for publication) thinks this is the same person I'm thinking it is, as well. Recently Todd and I have been mulling over this photo, and both of us are now wondering if maybe this was his noted "issue" Jeep after all and that much of what's been written about it just isn't correct in order of what was done to it. That would explain a lot of odd things about this photo.

Taking a good look at the details, I'm almost certain this is a Willys MB. It's a real temptation for me to re-paint my 1944 MB to match these markings as my Jeep's date of delivery was just a few months after this one (although it's been argued that the dates associated with this hood number are wrong based on the book I used as that book might have incorrect numbers and it could be as early as February 1944), and has all the details this one has in the photo (except that hood lock). If indeed this is the same Jeep he talks about in "The Brass Ring," then he later had some Ordnance guys build a locker in the back, ripped out the front seats and put in Italian sports car seats. I have not been able to find photos of the Jeep with those seats in place, though. I have other photos of him in the Jeep he mentions from the driver's side. He painted his first wife's name over the rear wheel well.

A good copy of that photo sold on eBay a couple of months ago.

Yeah, I put a lot of coin on it, but it went for a lot more than I could spend at the time. The photo above was lifted from that auction. I've confirmed that no known archive has a print of this photo that people can get a copy of it, darn it!

[gunbarrel]

QUOTE(gunbarrel @ Jul 15 2008, 08:15 PM)

A good copy of that photo sold on eBay a couple of months ago.

 

Yeah, I put a lot of coin on it, but it went for a lot more than I could spend at the time. The photo above was lifted from that auction. I've confirmed that no known archive has a print of this photo that people can get a copy of it, darn it!

 

Just curious...about how much did it go for?

[willysmb44]

Just curious...about how much did it go for?

Almost $200!

[McManus625]

If you believe the passenger is Gregor Duncan, you are probably correct. Again, I am working to confirm this detail. The photo on page 223 of "The Brass Ring" gives you all the clues necessary to make this assertion. Compare the photo of Duncan, his wife and Mauldin published in "The Brass Ring" to the photo that sold on eBay. Both photos were taken at approximately the same time of day. Don't concentrate on the Jeep. Look at the location where it is parked. The shadows on the wall behind the Jeep indicate the vehicle never moved between pictures. Mauldin and Duncan apparently switched their caps for helmets between photos. Also, look closely at Mauldin's rolled-up sleeves. They are rolled up the same way in both photos. If the person in the photo is Gregor Duncan, the photo was taken before Rome fell, but shortly after the Anzio breakout (check "The Brass Ring" for details). Much of what you say about the Jeep is probably correct. It wasn't yet modified with all the extras that Mauldin wanted. But then, he hadn't been driving it that long when the photo was taken. The mystery (although not a big one) is why Willie's image disappeared off the side of the Jeep from one photo to the next. It is clearly visible in "The Brass Ring," but "whited out" in the photo that sold on eBay. The answer is probably quite simple. The photographer "dodged" the image while making the print, or he blotted it out on the negative before making the print. My theory: One photo was for official publication and the other was for personal purposes. The photographer who blanked out Willie may have been worried the Army would frown upon the image on the Jeep.

 

Mauldin drove many vehicles during the war, and I am quite sure he used vehicles from the motor pool for "The Stars and Stripes." However, I will maintain that Mauldin never had more than one Jeep assigned to him. Please feel free to prove me wrong. Also, I would love to have a list of all the vehicles he used during the war.

[willysmb44]

I just dug up a old snapshot of Gregor Duncan and compared that photo in the book again, and I think you're right (then again I strongly suspected it for a while anyway).

I also dug up another photo of Maudlin sitting in what i know to be his issued Jeep and I now think it likely is the one he talked about in the book. It's just that many details must have been changed out of sequence for the timeframe most people would think. It's the only logical thing to assume with the info I have...

[willysmb44]

I also dug up a larger version of the same photo. I think we can put the hood numbers to rest now, even though the one number kinda looks like an eight...

[McManus625]

That latest photo certainly answers the question about the numbers. I'm still trying to verify the passenger.

[hotlead]

Those sure look like circular brushstrokes on the side of the Jeep in that last picture, doesn't look to me like the photographer blotted out poor ol' Willie.

[sgtdorango]

I agree, if the photographer blotted the circle out in the darkroom it would be a pure white circle, that looks like it was painted over on the jeep, maybe it was right before Willie was added or maybe Willie was covered up for some reason?....mike

[McManus625]

You make a good point. But the image of Willie could be "blotted out" without effecting the rough edges of the white circle. Consult your copy of "The Brass Ring" and take another look. Compare it to the closeup photo of Mauldin in a helmet. I'm certain Willie's image had already existed on the side of the Jeep before the picture was taken. A dodging tool, wielded by an experienced darkroom tech, could "erase" the image. I can't believe the two photos (the one posted above and the one in "The Brass Ring") were taken days or months apart. Maybe they were taken by two different photographers, but they appear to be in the same location at the same time of day.

[willysmb44]

GREAT work, Jeremy! I wish I'd known you were going to do this, as there are known photos of the other side of this Jeep taken just after this time and it has his wife's name over the driver's side wheel well. Note also the latches on the rear edge of the hood and the reinforcements to the windshield. http://www.lonesentry.com/features/f30_bill_mauldin.html

[Robart]

If you believe the passenger is Gregor Duncan, you are probably correct. Again, I am working to confirm this detail. The photo on page 223 of "The Brass Ring" gives you all the clues necessary to make this assertion. Compare the photo of Duncan, his wife and Mauldin published in "The Brass Ring" to the photo that sold on eBay. Both photos were taken at approximately the same time of day. Don't concentrate on the Jeep. Look at the location where it is parked. The shadows on the wall behind the Jeep indicate the vehicle never moved between pictures. Mauldin and Duncan apparently switched their caps for helmets between photos. Also, look closely at Mauldin's rolled-up sleeves. They are rolled up the same way in both photos. If the person in the photo is Gregor Duncan, the photo was taken before Rome fell, but shortly after the Anzio breakout (check "The Brass Ring" for details). Much of what you say about the Jeep is probably correct. It wasn't yet modified with all the extras that Mauldin wanted. But then, he hadn't been driving it that long when the photo was taken. The mystery (although not a big one) is why Willie's image disappeared off the side of the Jeep from one photo to the next. It is clearly visible in "The Brass Ring," but "whited out" in the photo that sold on eBay. The answer is probably quite simple. The photographer "dodged" the image while making the print, or he blotted it out on the negative before making the print. My theory: One photo was for official publication and the other was for personal purposes. The photographer who blanked out Willie may have been worried the Army would frown upon the image on the Jeep.

 

Mauldin drove many vehicles during the war, and I am quite sure he used vehicles from the motor pool for "The Stars and Stripes." However, I will maintain that Mauldin never had more than one Jeep assigned to him. Please feel free to prove me wrong. Also, I would love to have a list of all the vehicles he used during the war.

 

 

I'm doing research for an article on Gregor Duncan and wonder if anyone ever confirmed his identity in this photo with Mauldin. Duncan's widow is still alive and very well at 95 years old, and I plan on interviewing her in mid-June. I can certainly bring a print-out of the photo with me to check with her.

 

Rob

[Robart]

I'm doing research for an article on Gregor Duncan and wonder if anyone ever confirmed his identity in this photo with Mauldin. Duncan's widow is still alive and very well at 95 years old, and I plan on interviewing her in mid-June. I can certainly bring a print-out of the photo with me to check with her.

 

Rob

 

Here's a better image from The Brass Ring, and War Stories. Janice was Duncan's wife, who was serving in the American Red Cross, and was stationed in Italy at the time. She saw Duncan about a week before he was killed. Note too that Mauldin has now adorned the side of his jeep with his drawing of Willy (or Joe). I wonder how much time took place between photo #1 and this one.

 

Rob

[willysmb44]

Here's a better image from The Brass Ring, and War Stories. Janice was Duncan's wife, who was serving in the American Red Cross, and was stationed in Italy at the time. She saw Duncan about a week before he was killed. Note too that Mauldin has now adorned the side of his jeep with his drawing of Willy (or Joe). I wonder how much time took place between photo #1 and this one.

Strange, not only is it in the exact same location, it’s almost the same time of day from the shadow to the left background!