Customer Reviews

Engineers Bridge New Guinea River Under Fire by Sessions. "It was one of those hot, sweaty days in the jungles of New Guinea. Our fighters had driven the Japs back all the day before, through tangled jungle and over rocky escarpments. A force was to cross the river and that meant a bridging job for the engineers, in broad daylight. With our combat guard, our trusty Jeeps from Willys-Overland and bridge equipment, we covered the two miles in nothing flat. The river was depth tested, and a crossing point was selected. Then began the fastest bridge-laying operation I ever expect to see. We had hardly begun when we heard planes overhead and we knew we were in for a job, under fire. The big pontoons were quickly inflated. A Willys-built Jeep hauled them into the water, one by one. Another Jeep nudged them into position and held them against the current. Skilled engineering hands secured the pontoons and laid the flooring. Meanwhile other Jeeps had ploughed across the river and their crews were blasting away at Jap planes that were continually bombing and strafing the operation. With the engineers and their mighty Willys-built Jeeps working as a perfect team, we laid that emergency bridge in record time. The last plank was hardly in place, when our flanking troops came into view. They crossed the bridge and the attack moved forward as planned - to give the Japs another helluva beating." ..... 1943 Willys Jeep War Bond Ad, A5291A. 19430913