Bottle openers on jeeps.

Create a thread to track the progress of you MB/GPW restoration progress. Previously a General Discussion board.
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70th Division
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Re: Bottle openers on jeeps.

Post by 70th Division » Thu Sep 07, 2017 12:29 pm

Hello All,

Here are some pics of Coca-Cola bottles deployed to the Troops in US, Europe, and the Pacific.
No opener pics unfortunately, but always a possibility, as are many ideas.
If you look closely, right to the upper left side of that Marine's M1 Garand, you can see the exact bottle opener in question, right there on the cooler.

Coke with Marines.jpg
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A-young-Filipino-boy-and-bulldozer-operator-of-the-64th-Naval-Construction-Battalion-drinking-cokes.-Tubabao-Samar-Philippines-Gift-of-Joseph-Cohen_2003.083.0592-1024x823.jpg (209.15 KiB) Viewed 2522 times

Coke with Marines.jpg
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Coke with Mortar.jpg
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Coke Crates.jpg
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This last picture is of 70th Division Men, getting Coca -Cola, potato chips, Lucky Strike cigs, out of the back of a Dodge 6x6 at Camp Adair, Oregon.
Now, everyone of the Big Metal Coke Coolers had a screwed on, bottle opener, like the ones mounted on the jeeps that were posted.


It in theory is very possible that some troops " liberated " one of those and mounted it on their jeep, truck, etc.
Likely it was done, just no pictures currently available to post.

Many years ago, I did look at a jeep for sale, a GPW Script , that was running perfect but body was a little rough. Floors were shot.
The old timer selling it stated in the ad in the paper that is returned from Okinawa. He also told me in person it came back from there.
It has a old Coca-Cola bottle opener bolted on the drivers side, I thought it looked great !!
Whether it was on it when the jeep came back from Okinawa,
or if it ever was even there, is an unknown, but it was 100% unrestored.

Are actual Pacific Theater return jeeps floating around here in USA, absolutely !!!
My brother has one he found, has Japan Ord rebuild tags on it,
and many parts are Japanese made, including headlight buckets, and smaller items under hood. ( I haven't looked at it in many years.)

A recent poster proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jeeps were sold postwar, on US Army bases, in sealed Wooden Crates, in brand new condition.
The documents that came with his jeep are in my opinion, excellent historical proof of crated jeeps, sold surplus here in the USA just as the often heard stories have always mentioned.

So that crated jeep mystery was recently proven as a fact.

viewtopic.php?f=85&t=289325

So something like a bottle opener on a jeep, go for it, it is a period correct, useful possibility.
Even more possible after occupation of captured territories !


Best Regards,

Ray


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Re: Bottle openers on jeeps.

Post by GI. » Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:01 pm

Thank's 70th Div.
Great info. and the pic's are wonderful, they really tell a story, and what you say is so true, thank you so much for the great pic's.
" it's all about History and the greatest Generation".
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Re: Bottle openers on jeeps.

Post by 70th Division » Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:36 pm

Hello,

You said it GI !!!
It is all about them and our vehicles honor them and will always honor them !!

I will ask some of the 70th Division Troops if they ever had any bottle openers added to their jeeps or CCKW's, especially once into Germany.
Remember also, that most US Troops were behind the lines, as Army HQ , Quartermasters, and and support units.
They would have all sorts of opportunities to customize their jeeps, with mud flap fenders, armor plates, etc.

The US Infantry Divisions had their 3 Infantry regiments up front, all the time.
I don't know what the ratio of rear echelon troops there were, backing up the ones at the front lines, but it was a large number.
I remember a 70th GI showing me his picture with Marlene Dietrich, in Merlebach, France behind the lines, where she so greatly supported the US Troops.
I wish I had a copy of it, because they are standing right there , with his muddy jeep, on the street, with his arm around her.
Just the two of them.

It was one of the nicest pictures I have ever seen of her.

I also want to thank you for your Military Service !!!

I will keep looking for what we are looking for.

Ray

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Re: Bottle openers on jeeps.

Post by 70th Division » Thu Sep 07, 2017 2:52 pm

Here are Japanese Troops firing on the Chinese in 1937 in Shanghai,

Clearly Coca Cola was there as well ,as everywhere the US Troops went, in their Great Crusade as Eisenhower called WW2 in his excellent
book.

Likely similar openers could have been found in China that US Troops/ British/Australian may have decided to put on their vehicle .
Not saying they did, but it was certainly a possibility :D
photo(106).JPG
photo(106).JPG (144.71 KiB) Viewed 2513 times

Ray

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Re: Bottle openers on jeeps.

Post by Chuck Lutz » Thu Sep 07, 2017 3:20 pm

So...you weren't there in WWII and therefore anecdotal evidence isn't relevant. If someone has evidence to the contrary, I'm all ears. The gee goes a long way to help guys restore their jeeps/trucks/etc. correctly...and I am in that group as well that ask, "But how do you KNOW that?" when previously unknown or unproven ideas pop up. Sometimes they pan out and sometimes they don't but the search to just get it RIGHT is the point, not some one-upmanship contest where the point of discussion is practically impossible to prove.

The problem with vehicles in the front where virtually anything goes and they didn't last too long in combat anyway, to those in the Rear With The Gear would be that those in the rear would be more susceptible to having to follow The Rules. Probably OK up front to put your girlfriend or Mommas name on your jeep but maybe not so OK to do so in the rear echelon. Also, as I said, you probably had a better chance of keeping YOUR jeep up front than in the rear where it was signed out and then signed back in again in the motorpool.

Maybe someday a clear picture dated by the Signal Corps will show the elusive Coke bottle opener on a jeep, maybe not. Until then, "it's your jeep".
Chuck Lutz

GPW 17963 4/24/42 Chester, PA. USA 20113473 (USA est./Tom W.)
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Re: Bottle openers on jeeps.

Post by GI. » Thu Sep 07, 2017 3:39 pm

Chuck,
I only wish you could read as well as you write, sad. :roll:
Last edited by GI. on Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bottle openers on jeeps.

Post by 70th Division » Thu Sep 07, 2017 3:55 pm

Hello Chuck,

Yes that is part of the fun :D

Searching for examples of things that were done and that restorers have done, once found are interesting to reveal.

Much like Stretch's paper work about surplus crate jeeps, that 100 percent confirm crated jeeps were sold after the War here in the USA, right from
Army stockpiles, brand new condition. His own jeep was one.
He has very interesting documents he posted here on g503 !

As far as WW2 Infantry Division jeeps that I am familiar with, Heavy Weapons companies for example, with Browning Water Cooled Machine Guns,
dash mounted, each machine gunner and assistant gunner had a jeep, and a jeep driver as part of their squad.
The jeep was assigned to that driver.
If that jeep wasn't shot up, damaged, or captured, it was with that driver and gun crew for the duration, from for example the 70th Division, from
Marseilles, France to the the Alsace- Lorraine Region, and all the way to Germany, and into occupation of German towns and cities.
They also had a jeep trailer assigned and attached to it, used to carry their .30 cal ammo, and water cans.
The 70th also had wire cutters attached to the front bumpers.

The 70th Medics were the same way, they had jeeps assigned to them, along with Dodge WC54's , with drivers all of their unit.
That is how they trained in the USA before going overseas, and how they entered combat .

The rifle companies infantrymen were on foot, and were happy when trucks was able to move them forward, or to the rear for R&R.


Best Regards,

Ray

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Re: Bottle openers on jeeps.

Post by Chuck Lutz » Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:10 pm

G.I.
You need to lay off the attitude and discuss things as adults. I know the internet let's you post stuff that would cause you problems if you said them in person so why go there on the gee....you don't know me anyway.

Your jeeps are nice but that don't make you an expert on Coca-Cola bottle openers by a longshot so getting nasty when it is pointed out by SEVERAL people on this thread that there is no evidence of that being a common occurrence or even a rare one.

So...got any pics of you with a Coke bottle opener mounted on your M-151?
Chuck Lutz

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Re: Bottle openers on jeeps.

Post by Farrell Fox » Fri Sep 08, 2017 6:38 am

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Re: Bottle openers on jeeps.

Post by Mark Jesic » Fri Sep 08, 2017 10:36 am

Some great photos Ray, thanks for posting. :D

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Re: Bottle openers on jeeps.

Post by Chuck Lutz » Fri Sep 08, 2017 10:41 am

I would agree that some units had permanently assigned jeeps, the example of the Cavalry I posted above is one of them. However, with about ten supporting GIs to every combat GI who were in the rear, it probably wasn't possible to assign a particular jeep to a particular driver unless it was a HQ type. If you needed to go someplace in the front lines with parts or spare officers, you drew a jeep and returned it...that would be what Trip Tickets would be for I think.

I would base this on the number of combat GIs vs. the numbers of support troops which would probably indicate that there were actually more jeeps in the rear than in combat units. Likewise, forward combat units would "use up" jeeps in combat conditions faster than rear echelon units would.

I also agree that front line units would not be adhering to the AR-850s as religiously as units subject to more frequent inspections. The closer to the enemy, the less invasive inspections by those interested in following "The Book" on anything including weapons, vehicles, markings or the junk you carried on them. I too think the GIs would "customize" their jeeps to fit the situations and their needs at the front like adding armor plates or dumping tool kits & spares kits or adding wire-cutters for instance.
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Re: Bottle openers on jeeps.

Post by Farrell Fox » Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:28 am

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Re: Bottle openers on jeeps.

Post by GI. » Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:24 pm

Some pic's of my do-dad jeep before the bad weather get's here. and it's all centered around that very rare and most sought after org. model 1943 Coke bottle opener on the dash. some of these pic's you can see the lucky strike's pack on the wind shield, if you look close you can also see the paratrooper compass, and the brass cricket hanging near it, all the rest you already know about, I just like a lot of stuff on the jeep when I take it to show's, the folk's seem to like it also and most of them are Veterans also, the women show just as much intrest as the guy's, and the kid's want to talk about the gun's and did you ever shoot anyone in the war.

I would like to thank Ray for posting all those great pic's and all that info. it's easy to tell he know's what he is talking about.

Mark, I did not think your op would last this long, esp. something as small as a coke bottle opener, I am glad you posted it, and I hope it keep's going as some of it is very funny, and we all need to laugh more. Thank's
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Re: Bottle openers on jeeps.

Post by Mark Jesic » Sat Sep 09, 2017 12:12 am

Thanks for your comments G.I. i didnt think this post would last as long either, we have had some great responses to it, and by the way, your jeep looks awesome, plenty of talking points on it when youre at a show. Now about that bottle opener on it.....!!! :D

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Re: Bottle openers on jeeps.

Post by Stingray » Sat Dec 09, 2017 8:06 am

Posted this pic on another thread and thought we would add it to this one in case anyone missed it. We found this bottle opener mounted on our 42 GPW. Cant confirm exactly when it was put there but it appears to have been there a long time.
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