C
Chad Adams
Guest
By Edgar Castillo
As World War II began to ravage Europe, the U.S. War Department put out a request for a lightweight and weapon-armed, robust four-wheel-drive vehicle capable of transporting soldiers across various landscapes. Several proposals were submitted, including a design that was drawn up in 18 hours by a freelance auto designer. Feeling that production couldn’t be met, the government awarded the contract to Willys-Overland, who used the original plans as a guidepost to birth the funny-looking ¼-ton Willys Quad in 1941.
Classified as a “General Purpose” vehicle, it was referred to by its phonetic designation of “GP.” Soon, it earned a much simpler nickname of “Jeep” by military personnel. During its service, the drab-green colored jeep was a multi-use vehicle during conflicts, including two additional wars. However, it distinguished itself as a command motorcar. It ferried leadership around through many skirmishes from the frontlines to the rear with the gear.
By the end of WWII, the Jeep brand had transitioned to civilian life stateside. In 1945, the CJ (Civilian Jeep) was introduced. Commercially produced in various models, it became popular among farmers, ranchers, outdoor enthusiasts, and hunters for its versatility and durability. This included distinguished men of state, such as bird hunting U.S. presidents. The jeep went from a combat zone oddity to country lifestyle chariots for the Commanders-in-Chief who needed a compact 4×4 to haul them across various terrains.
Jeep Off-Roading Commanders-in-Chief
President Jimmy Carter didn’t own a jeep but was offered one when he was preparing to leave the White House. He refused. However, the Peanut President did ride around in a few jeeps during his wing shooting pursuits. As an avid wing shooter, Carter scoured the country when time permitted to hunt doves, ruffed grouse, waterfowl, and turkey. He especially favored the South Georgia bird country, with “bird” meaning one thing—bobwhite quail. Carter was known to be skilled shooter and oftentimes killed his limit of quail.
Carter found quail hunting so enjoyable that he flew down to his land on December 31, 1976, prior to his inauguration to shoot some bobs. He rode shotgun in his brother’s jeep with a duo of mean-mugging Secret Service agents in the back providing overwatch for the president-elect. The day Carter hunted, the windshield was folded down onto the hood for an open-air experience. It made for a good place to lay shotguns, including Carter’s 20-gauge. The jeep navigated slowly along red clay trails and through the longleaf pine forest while English pointers worked the hunting grounds. Sometimes Carter and guests would sit in a pair of custom-built seats attached to the jeep’s front bumper and bonnet (hood), safari style.
President Jimmy Carter afield.
President Ronald Reagan.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
President Reagan with his Jeep Scrambler.
To top off his jeep experience, Carter at 89, rode in an old battle-worn Willys while on a partridge hunt in Mongolia. How’s that for epic!
In November 1981, eight months after the assassination attempt on his life, President Ronald Reagan found himself sitting in the front passenger seat of a dingy, red-colored jeep. There, clad in a frogman camo-patterned jacket and pants, he participated in a two-day turkey hunt on a south-central Texas ranch owned by a member of his staff. Seeking a reprieve from Washington pressures and personal troubles, Reagan, along with two White House aides and a closely-sitting, sunglass-wearing Secret Service agent, were whisked around on the property in the open-top jeep. Reagan was dropped off at his designated hunting spot, where he crawled into the blind.
On the first day, armed with a 12-gauge shotgun, loaded with No. 4 shot, he waited for three hours. During that time period, only hens came in, so Reagan was unable to shoot. In his diary, Reagan wrote, “it provided some good nap time.” The second day, the President spent another three hours waiting but saw no turkeys at all. Reagan was picked up in the jeep and taken to the airport where he boarded the 747 Doomsday Plane for DC.
Jeep Legacy Afield
Prior to his uneventful turkey hunt, Reagan was already a fan of jeeps. He was given a burgundy 1962 Willys CJ-6 by his wife, Nancy, in 1963. The jeep was his favorite vehicle and he used it extensively for brush work and hunting on his California ranch. In 1983, he was gifted with yet another jeep by his wife. This time, a sky-blue Jeep CJ-8 with “Rancho del Cielo” inscribed on the rear bench.
Not to be outdone, both President George H.W. Bush and his son, President George W. Bush, frequently utilized jeeps across private Texas hunting ranches for bobwhite and scaled quail. Dubbed “quail rigs,” these custom transport vehicles were built on Jeep Gladiator and Wrangler platforms and included dog boxes and shotgun racks. Specifically designed to navigate the rough, wind-swept brush country, they provided elevated seating in the rear for the father and son presidents to spot running birds.
The rugged, iconic Jeep with its seven-slot grill and round headlights has evolved from a deeply rooted WWII battlefield workhorse and mobile command post, to a choose-your-color 4WD leisure wagon, transporting the most powerful men on earth. It’s not surprising to see that recreational ingenuity transformed the jeep’s ubiquitous symbol of American military might, that once used the Willys hood as a metal map table for uniformed leaders strategizing attacks—to a place to gut and clean birds as well as the vehicle’s capable means of chauffeuring around POTUS without losing its adventurous soul.
The post A History of Commanders-In-Jeep appeared first on Field Ethos.
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