Uncle Sam: Postwar junk dealer part II
After WWII Uncle Sam was in the liquidation business, but could you really buy a jeep in a box?
As the end of WWII approached, most Americans in uniform wanted to go home. They had dreams of marrying and starting a family, and for four years they had been saving money to chase those dreams. The number one item desired by veterans after the war an automobile. Few cars had been produced since 1941, and it would take time for Detroit to restore auto assembly lines. Many veterans thought the Army was preparing to sell of hundreds of thousands of jeeps, cars, and trucks. Veterans preferred a nice, low-mileage sedan, although Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Ford and Willys jeeps, and Dodge 6x6 trucks were also high on the list.
A few jeeps came back from overseas, but not many. Most overseas vehicles were sold to overseas governments. Curiously, one government simply declined to pay anything. An enormous base housing 40,000 soldiers, sailors, and marines had been built on Espiritu Santo, an island in the South Pacific. Espiritu Santo was famously home to the Black Sheep squadron. After the war, an attempt was made to sell hundreds of vehicles, building supplies, and equipment, to the local authority, a joint venture of the French and the British. The perception there was that there was no way that the U.S. was going to ship the assets to another market, and they refused to even negotiate a price, thinking they would be given the vehicles for free. Frustrated Navy Seabees built a ramp and dumped the surplus into the ocean at a place is now known as Million-Dollar Point. It’s a popular place for scuba divers, who find bulldozers, cranes, trucks, jeeps, and building materials.
Most vehicles offered for purchase in the U.S.A. had been in motor pools at one of hundreds of bases stateside. They ranged from wrecked hulks dating back to 1940, to jeeps built in 1945 with less than 100 miles on them.
A preference for the sale of surplus military vehicles to ex-servicemen (and women) was established, but servicemen were still low on the hierarchy of the favored. The first claim on vehicle assets was given to federal government agencies, such as the U.S. Postal Service, the Forest Service, and the National Park Service. Many of those government agencies continued to own their surplus vehicles well into the 1960s and beyond.
The second priority claim on assets was for various state and municipal governments and non-profit organizations such as hospitals and schools. Only after their claims were met could veterans have a chance at a vehicle. Below veterans in the hierarchy were private sector companies, such as auto dealers. Some used car dealers usurped the system by paying veterans $10 or $20 to put in a claim for a vehicle. If the veteran was successful, he might own the vehicle for a day. The next day, the vehicle would be on a dealer’s lot.
In 1945, the U.S. government disposed of 150,647 trucks in the U.S. This sounds like a large number, but there were four veterans applying for each vehicle. Some 80,000 servicemen wanted cars, but just 21,000 staff cars, station wagons, jeeps, and panel trucks were available. Many veterans were willing to settle for a jeep, but only 6,555 jeeps were sold in 1945, at prices ranging from $782 for a newer or rebuilt unit, to $75 for a wrecked vehicle. Vehicles were sold at fixed prices based on a physical evaluation of each vehicle by the War Assets Administration. Many veterans were surprised at the poor condition of their purchases. The tires might be bald, and the battery missing, even on new vehicles. Motor pools released their worst vehicles, and made them worse by removing anything they thought they might need.
The process for the purchase of a vehicle by a discharged veteran was as follows:
1. Register with the government agency handling the sales in the appropriate district. The veteran had to provide proof that he had been discharged. Active duty military had no priority.
2. The veteran would be given a Smaller War Products Certificate, which was required to file an order.
3. When suitable items came up for sale, the veteran would be notified and receive a catalog listing all the items in a particular sale. At one sale held in early 1946, veterans were invited to choose between several hundred jeeps, including a 1943-1945 jeep for $782, a 1942 jeep for $695, and a 1941 jeep for $598.
4. The veteran would identify the vehicle he wished to purchase – as to manufacturer, year, and condition, and send his order form and funds to secure the vehicle.
5. At the point of purchase, those prices were adjusted based on a second inspection of the vehicle. If equipment was missing, the price was reduced.
Sales were run fairly efficiently. For one sale with a cutoff of 12/17/45, a vehicle was picked up by a veteran on 2/6/46. The documents from that sale confirm that many new jeeps were in crates, with wheels and steering wheels removed, and that some assembly was required.
What about the story that your father (or uncle or grandfather) told you about how he purchased a jeep in a crate for $50? This story has been repeated thousands of times. But did it happen? It is unlikely. Sale prices were based on the condition of the vehicles. In the years following the war, enterprising businesses advertised that jeeps could be purchased for $50, and they would tell you how for just a few dollars. Those companies didn’t own any vehicles. When someone mailed in a few dollars, they received some documents explaining how the government’s sales of surplus were handled.
A list of vehicles sold in California in June, 1946 provides some insight. Vehicles in this sale were classified by condition. Classifications included:
“N1 = New – Excellent”
“N4 = New- Poor”
“R1 = Used, Repairs required, Excellent”
“S = Scrap or Junk.”
This list includes a mystery. Included were 69 jeeps that had been crated for export, and then submerged in saltwater! It is not known whether this was the result of some shipping accident, or as the result of enemy action. All 69 jeeps were Fords, manufactured in 1941 and all were described as being in “reconditioned, good condition” prior to their submersion. Two had Ford engines, one had a Willys engine, and the rest had “unknown” engines.
Of the jeeps submerged, 11 had been removed from crates and reconditioned by the Army, presumably to remove the effects of saltwater. They were priced at $572. An additional 58 jeeps had been similarly submerged, but had not been reconditioned. They were still in crates, as recovered from the ocean. These were priced at $322.35 each.
Imagine the task faced by the purchaser of a brand new jeep in a crate that had been dropped into the ocean for an undefined period, stored in a warehouse for some months, and then sold. How many of those still in crates are still on the road today?
Sales of WWII surplus by the War Assets Administration continued until June, 1949, when the WAA was succeeded by the General Services Administration, which still handles sales of government surplus.
In summary, yes, it was possible to buy a new jeep in a box, although they weren’t sold for $50.
