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Some of my fondest childhood memories involve a WW2 military truck! Our parents would leave me and my brother with my mother's Aunt and Uncle to spend the summer on their ranch near Mt. Shasta in Northern California. This was in the 1960's and at that time 40's vintage military vehicles could frequently be found on farms and ranches where they had been giving their civilian owners reliable service since the close of WW2. Uncle Dana purchased a surplus 1/2 ton Dodge WC 27 Ambulance in 1945 for $500.00 in San Francisco and drove it to his ranch east of Redding California. The ranch was accessible only by a steep winding rocky road and he wanted the ambulance because he knew he could use it to navigate the road in the winter when snow could make it very difficult for most vehicles. Buy the time we were visiting the ranch in the summer the Dodge had already been sitting for years in a spot by the road having been rendered unusable by a careless ranch hand who had damaged the tie rod when he ran over a large rock. When driving into the ranch the old ambulance with its faded olive drab paint and red cross markings was the first thing visible as we neared the ranch house. One summer we took an interest in the old beast. It had become a home for wasps and mice and the inside of the vehicle was dirty and dusty. The seats were just exposed springs and one of the back windows had a bullet hole in it. The exterior still exhibited its original but faded army paint. There was a coffee can upside down over the gas tank spout which served as a replacement for the long missing gas cap. The military tread tires had little wear but were hard and cracked from exposure to the elements. Under the hood the original flathead six cylinder engine lurked beneath a shroud of dusty spider webs. Although we were too young to drive a vehicle my brother and I decided it would be a worthy project to bring the old truck to life again so we spent several days cleaning out the dust and debris from inside of it and after Uncle Dana spent a while installing a battery, adding some gas and tinkering with the engine the old truck sputtered back to life with a cloud of smoke. We all piled inside and with Uncle Dana at the wheel we set out on our first ride in a military vehicle. We were able to take a short tour of the ranch before rust in the gas tank clogged the fuel line and brought us to a stuttering halt. This experience of reviving and playing with a rolling piece of WW2 history kindled an interest in military vehicles which has persisted to this day. Over the years my brother and I have each restored several WW2 vintage military vehicles. My latest venture is the WC 12 Dodge 1/2 ton truck pictured above. If you share an interest in military vehicles or restoring vintage trucks I invite you to browse this site and hope you will find it enjoyable.