Grandpa's War Pony

Perhaps the greatest instrument of war to come out of the Second World War and forged into something still in use today is arguably—the 1/4-ton reconnaissance car or jeep. The jeep during WW2 was a new and speedy little vehicle designed to get in and go where motorcycles couldn’t go. It was the baby of a little company called American Bantam Car Company and the U. S. Army’s Infantry Branch.

Grandpa's War Pony

was originally written for the author's grandchildren and is now being shared with children everywhere.

Robert Notman was born in Indiana, grew up in New Albany, Indiana; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Clinton, Michigan. He entered the US Air Force at 18 and became a Pharmacy Technician. As a tech he met his future wife, Blanca, working in the same hospital. After graduating from Troy State University, he re-entered the USAF as an officer. He has served in Ohio, Florida, North Dakota and Alaska. He retired from the Air Force in 1996. In 1980, Robert purchased his first military jeep. It was a Korean era jeep or M38A1. After leaving the military he sold the jeep. He promptly realized that was a mistake and looked around to found another old jeep. The jeep he found was called a "1941 Willies" jeep by the seller. After getting it home, he learned it was a 1942 Ford GPW. He hadn't even realized that Ford made jeeps! This singular event started a road of discovery that had led Robert into editing or writing several WW2 jeep related books. His works includes: Automotive Trouble Shooting for WW2 Wheeled Vehicles: Volume One and Two; Bantam, Ford and Willys--1/4-Ton Reconnaissance Cars; Military Maintenance for MB/GPW Jeeps 1941-45; WW2 Pilot Model-The Ford Pygmy; Winter and the Willys MB/Ford GPW; and Jeep - Its development and procurement under the Quartermaster Corps, 1940-1942(edited). He has also written articles for Military Vehicles Magazine, Army Motors and others. Robert continues to work on books and articles covering the WW2 jeeps and related subjects.