Dave Echeverria, a descendant of the family for whom the airstrip was named, presented this 1943 G503 “Peep”, a Ford GPW (Government Pigmy Willy’s) to American Legion Post #12 to be placed on permanent display at the corner of Frontier and Apache streets in Wickenburg as a tribute to veterans and as a reminder of Wickenburg’s World War II history.
Echeverria Field, located near Wickenburg AZ, was used by the Arizona Glider Flight Academy during WWII and the Jeeps (painted yellow for visibility) were used at the airstrip to ferry pilots and other personnel around as they were training the pilots and crews. The Gliders were critical to several operations in Europe, including those deployed on D Day.
Damsel took this photo this week when we were in the downtown area on errands. Click on the image to enlarge.
A “FOLLOW ME” car, how cool!
The shovel and axe strapped on the side are called “Pioneer Tools” in the operating and service manuals.
I used to drive a gray US Navy Jeep when I was an avionics striker at USNAS Pt. Mugu back in the 60’s. Never knew about the “Pioneer” nomenclature.
The yellow one is really cool.