Heartland Military Days

Hello, the Forbes Field public battles are coming along well. It looks as if the battlefield is going to be expanded across the road. The old church is gone. More props are in the works. Some really neat props for the Germans if things work out. Camping Friday night is allowed with the evening meal being provided by the MVPA. There is talk about trying to provide a few blanks free of charge for reenactors. Please review this document and contact me with any questions.

Dave Furnas

1941 Dodge WC-1 1/2 Ton Pickup

Mark Drennon has a 1941 Dodge 1/2 WC-1 pickup for sale for $3850. If you are interested, call him at 314-852-2783. He lives South of St Louis off Highway 30.

The truck is missing the front winch and tailgate. The bed of the truck has a metal plate instead of the normal boards and metal strips. Body is in good shape with a good coating of rust but apparently no rusted out spots. Seats are springs only. Left door glass missing. No plates on the dash and no title. Does not have MVPA sticker on windshield – yet.

The truck is a closed cab model but there is some question as to that being original. Apparently most of the winch model trucks were open cab and it was not unusual in that era to replace truck cabs. This one has some red paint in it and not having the dash plates would kind of reinforce that opinion – unless the dash has holes drilled for the plates.

The truck has a spare tire and all five rims are dated 1941.

The winch would be available from Sam Werner in Ohio and there is an outfit in Minnesota making replacement tailgates and boards – strips for the bed. The star shows faintly on the hood.

While the military tried a plethora of models in the 1/2 ton pickups, all the pictures I can find of pickups show a closed cab and no winch. The WC1, WC12, WC14 and WC40 trucks differed basically in the engine. They were the Dodge L head six cylinder in 217.7 (T207), 217.7 (T211) or 230.2 (T215) cubic inch engines respectively.

The winch model trucks are open cab and are the WC21 and WC22. Those are 4.19 or 4.86 meters (whatever those are) long respectively but both have the T215 engine

Given that these vehicles went through the motor pool and private hands after the war, you can find any Dodge parts in them and it would be difficult to argue what is “right”. Olive drab paint is a great equalizer. All of the pictures I see show the “Dodge” nameplate on each side of the hood and these are expensive but available from Vintage Power Wagons.

Engine runs with new fuel pump and spark plugs. If you are interested, give Mark a call. His email address is mdrennon@earthlink.net.

75th VA Anniversary

If you plan to attend the Veterans 75th Jubilee on May 17th, please email Judy what vehicle you will bring, list any weapon/ammo (must be demilled or fake), and space required if more than just vehicle. Please email Judy by March 28th.

Friday Night Hangar Movie

DATE: MARCH 21, 2008

MOVIE: Destination Tokyo (The old movie poster spelling was DESTINATION TOKIO!)

PLACE: Commemorative Air Force Jayhawk Wing Hangar – 2560 S. Kessler, Wichita, Kansas

TIME: Doors open at 6:00 pm and the movie should start at 7:30 pm.
Come early for pre-movie activity/program.

Admission: FREE with a requested donation to help fund our many programs. Bring your own chair!

Concession: Popcorn, candy bars, bottled water, soda pop, hot coffee. (Popcorn $0.50 a bag and Cokes for $1.00.)

Airplane Rides: World War II airplane ride “GIFT CERTIFICATES” for sale. These rides make great birthday, retirement or “just for the fun of it” gifts. Temperature must be above 60 degrees and subject to weather conditions. Operation Officer must approve all flights. [AIRPLANE RIDE INFORMATION]

MTA Swap Meet

Peabody Parade and Display

Shane Marler of the Peabody Main Street Association in Peabody, Kansas is in need of military vehicles for an event on May 24th. The theme is WWII but they welcome vehicles of any war to help in their event. There will be a meal and other things to do with a display of vehicles and planes afterwards. Please let Judy know if you can bring a vehicle.

Member Needs Help

I am looking for a WWII rifle grenade box. Don’t know exactly what that is. Is it a metal or a wooden box? Are there different sizes? From the picture it appears to be about 18″ long x 7″ wide x 12″ tall. One is supposed to sit on the running board of my weapons carrier. Could you help me out?

Thanks,
Kendall Lundy

Message From the President

Greetings everyone!

Welcome to a new year and a busy one. I’m quickly finding out all the work Richard, Dave, and other past presidents, have put into this job. Beginning my term as president, I hope I can continue running what has and is, an enjoyable and well run organization as our mid-Kansas chapter is. This can only be accomplishded if you have hard working people willing to put forth that extra effort, as we have. A well-deserved pat on the back to all past and present members who have, or still are, active in the organization and those that are serving on the board.

A little bit about me, if anyone is interested. My wife’s name is LInda and we have three boys: Nick, Sean, and Trey. I’ve been an MVPA member since about 1999 and joined the mid-Kansas chapter soon after that. I’ve been to the Kansas City and Dallas annual MVPA meetings and was hooked. I’ve restored a 42 GPW jeep and trailer, 1968 Kaiser, M715 5/4 ton truck and am currently working on a 42 GMC CCKW deuce and a half. Linda and Sean have both helped on events and all have helped me on restorations. Linda’s developed quite an eye for OD items at auctions and rummage sales as she’ll spot things I missed. God bless her!!

I love this hobby. It can spread into so many other realted fields where I can meet other people and learn from them. I’m constantly checking out people’s backyards and field when I travel for that next project or as my wife would say, ODYO (olive drab yard ornaments). All you guys can relate, right?

A few items that we will be addressing this year are: membership recruitment, chapter assets and where to store them, alternative meeting locations, chapter by-laws updates, annnual rally, and which events to participate in this year. Thanks to Marilyn Decker for compiling a calendar list for us to look over. Also, I would like to see to some more involvement with the Augusta Air Museum. Feel free to email me or any board member should you have any ideas or concerns to discuss.

Last, let’s have fun doing what we do best. Keep your oil checked and tires up. The rest will fall apart on its own.

Dave Billings
MKVMPA President