The GMC CCKW

From the remote set of Flags of our Fathers

What's the history on the blue truck?Were there trucks like this in the military?
On one of my older post I asked about galvanized rings on my rims.
Do these look to be galvanized?

Most of the Jimmys used in the film where on the UK market not so long back........I will ask the question over here to see if anyone bought one of them.

Great photo , as usual. Wasn't this film shot in Iceland?

Yes you are correct AD, Iceland was the location. As Jack says a number of the Jimmys and Dodge ambulances were for sale at William Galliers here in the UK.

Folks,

The pictures were sent to me by an owner of the truck who lives near the shoot location and was an advisor to Mr. Eastwood.

I have just approved his registration to the board so I am sure he will be posting his personal experience shortly.

Bill

I thought I had seen a CCKW in the background when I watched the film. Nice picture!

VERY NICE TO SEE BOTH TRUCKS RESTORED TO DIFFERENT TIMES IN THEIR LIFES .... JUST PROVES WHAT A WONDERFUL TRUCK THESE ARE

In the movie you may see gmc's because they are avalible,but in 1945 they were not there it was a USMC show and they used International trucks.At least they used period correct vehicles for the making of the movie. Restored Internationals are rare and hard to come by thus the use of the cckw's in the movie would make it more practical.I have a first wave 5th div Iwo survivor in my home town ,he has told me alot about Iwo Jima and even to this day he still tells me he is amazed he walked off the Island alive

JIM 42CCKW

That blue GMC is very cool. It is kind of cool seeing a truck representing the period after the war when so many of these trucks were sold and used by civies.

That is the reason that so few have survived in some sections of the states. They became logging trucks, oilfield work over trucks and farm trucks and when they quit running, they were generally abandoned and eventually scrapped or just rusted away.

You know sometimes I read a post from someone who is not happy about these trucks being turned into logging trucks farm trucks ect.
I grew up with these trucks around the ranch and the mine they helped my family put food on are table.They were some of my familys most prized possesions.
If it snowed we could still get to town. During deer season we allways had one going along with us.If someone got stuck we would use the old truck to pull them out.I can go on all day what we have used these trucks for.

(In my opinion they are tools that have helped out America before and after the war!)

Please answer this one question: If it wasen't for the farmers miners loggers and everybody else that used a post war cckw or chevy were would they be now? (Were did your truck come from?)

What is your point Matt
Nobody is picking on farmers or miners or anyone else, what army said is the truth of what happened to alot of these trucks and that you can't change. After the war they were availiable in large numbers and at cheap prices so the were bought up and used in what ever the manner their owners saw fit, others went on to serve with other countries miliitary forces , thats were my truck came from , And it is from the latter were most of the surviving trucks today have come from.

It's those damn farmers when they are not polluting the earth with chemicals they are destroying CCKWs.... just kidding I love farmers I grew up in an agricultural area and there were literally thousands of these things around this valley being used in agriculture. Most of the trucks that we have saved have all been from farms. If the farmers would not have purchased these trucks after the war they certainly would not have been saved and garaged in pristine condition by the military until some well meaning preservationist decided that they wanted to save them for posterity. If they weren't purchased by civies they would have been destroyed like the hundreds of thousands of aircraft and vehicles. Also if it wasn't for a civy market all of the NOS parts and replacement parts would have been dumped years ago. I for one am glad that the civies got them otherwise none would have survived in this country. If you want to be angry at anyone be angry at Uncle Sam because if it was left up to him there would be nothing left, no trucks, no jeeps and no aircraft. They would rather sink an aircraft carrier to make an artificial reef than keep it for future generations.

There are more of these trucks around than there are people willing to restore or own them, so I think that in the end it worked out ok.

42CCKW Wrote "What is your point Matt"
Well RWDFRESNO answered that for me!(Thanks)
But I must add someting!
Anybody that thinks that the military was easier on these trucks than the civilians is kidding them self.

Great looking trucks!

I especially like the closed cab w/hole in the roof for the M32 MG mount Looks just like mine! (mine has the mount though)

I always hated seeing these trucks torn up for civilian use, but then again that's what got me into them. There's this 85yr old man in NW PA that runs a logging business by himself with several CCKWs. My dad and I saw them in his field (10-12 in various states) and have to have one. So we got a Norway bringback. Funny thing is, we drove it to the Amish lumber mill to buy some wood for the troop seats and several Amish have driven them before in logging. They came up to tell me it was a nice machine and they drove one just like it.
Never thought about it but now I kinda agree that civilians are the only reason these are still around beat up or not. I've seen plenty of CCKWs sitting around in PA, but no jeeps.

Yea the jeeps were there too!!!
But since they fit in a regular 2 car garage they were picked up long ago.


John