David EilersOctober 18, 2014

10,000 Vets Seek to Buy 1,588 Jeeps

In June of 1946, around 10,000 Veterans appeared at the Benicia armory in the hope of buying one of the 1,588 WWII jeeps for sale. The article was published in the June 25, 1946, issue of the Utica Daily Press (pg3).

1946-06-25-vets-buying-jeeps-utica-daily

5 Comments

Joe in MesaOctober 18, 2014 at 3:35 PM
Wow: great story. Pretty cool to imagine what it would have been like.
SE Pennsylvania SteveOctober 18, 2014 at 11:17 PM
Dave, didn't the poster that you were you were given some time back with the illustration of Uncle Sam driving a jeep advertise this government sale in 1946?
deilersOctober 18, 2014 at 11:32 PM
Steve, The one in the poster was held in San Francisco on May 14th (unless they cancelled it) and only had 180 units for sale. The one above was held in Benecia, 35 miles west of San Francisco. Here's a link to the image of the poster: http://www.ewillys.com/wp-content/uploads2/2013/05/2013-05-20-gettysburg-frank10.jpg - Dave
SE Pennsylvania SteveOctober 19, 2014 at 12:05 AM
Sorry, Dave, my memory is faulty. I guess the government was really starting to unload jeeps in '46. I've read somewhere that referenced some of these sales were held in Texas, Delaware, and North Jersey. I don't remember ever hearing anyone had receipts or paperwork from any of these or any other government jeep sales though. Would be really cool if anyone had them.
Steve E.October 20, 2014 at 6:52 AM
Bencia has a lot of history, and this adds to the things I didn't know about this town. Thanks for finding this great story. The Navy mothball fleet has been stored near Benicia in the Carquinez Strait for as long as I remember passing over the Bencia-Martinez bridge. They are no longer there for some reason. Did the scrap metal go to China??? **Steve E.**