D-Day Jeep Serves GI's, Farmers and The T's

Dateline Normandy -- Most of our readers probably know the story about our 1943 Jeep Willys, our favorite mode of transportation (well, mostly for S and Gaston until P-Man gets bigger) and also our pride and joy if for no other reason than the history behind it.

The Jeep made the voyage overseas from the U.S. then most likely to the U.K. before travelling by barge and debarking on the Normandy beaches during the D-Day operations. After serving the soldiers in Normandy through the liberation, our Jeep then was given to the French government for help in rebuilding the country. There it was distributed to a Normand farmer who used it to pull a trailer that carried crops from the field. The above photo, taken in April 1949, is of the farmers in the Jeep in the field.

The Jeep's engine was later taken out to run farming equipment and the chassis was set aside for many years before being sold to another Normand. Then it was purchased by Mr. Colot, a resident of Elbeuf, Normandy, who survived as a teen-age resistance fighter during the occupation of his town by German soldiers. During the occupation, he saw a lot killing of civilians and soldiers -both American and German, and his life would always be marked by those events and then by the liberation of his town by the American forces. He remains impassioned by the sacrifices made by the Allied Forces and since the war ended, has been an avid collector of military vehicles. A mechanic by trade, he has over the decades restored several Jeeps, a Dodge personnel carrier and a Weasel- a half-track vehicle used to cross difficult areas, much like a tank but without the heavy weaponry. He went on to put another WWII Willys engine in what would become our Jeep and completely restored the rest of it with all authentic parts. It runs like a charm.

When it came time to retire a few years ago, Mr. Colot realized that he needed to supplement his retirement funds and sadly decided he would have to sell the Jeep. That's where we came in. We weren't exactly looking for such a collector's item but more so for a fun jalopy-type vehicle for the country. After running into a Web site of old Jeeps, I found the ad by the Colots, who turned out lived fairly close to our old cottage at the time. S made the call and arranged a visit.

And what a visit. Five or so hours and a test drive later, the T's were sold. Not so much by just the Jeep itself, but by the history, and the passion of the Colots. They told us later that they were equally sold on us, proud to let her go to Americans who had installed themselves in Normandy. It seemed only fitting. We had such a great time listening to their stories and have remained friends still, visiting when we can- Mr. Colot checking on his old girl, offering to help with any maintenance. They have even put in their will that we are to receive some WWII uniforms that he collected.

Super nice people and we're proud to be the 4th owners of the Jeep after the U.S. Army. We think it'll stay with us for a long, long time. ~30~