The convoy traveled from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco in 62 days. Colonel Eisenhower went on note that the variety of vehicles made it difficult to keep the convoy together and none of the vehicles had been properly tested or adjusted before starting out, which along with the raw nature of the troops caused a lot of unnecessary stops and breakdowns. They had to stop a telegram being sent to the War Office reporting an encounter with hostile Indians. Commemorative Program, "A California Dinner in Honor of the Officers and Men Who Made up the First Transcontinental Convoy of the Motor Transport Corps, U.S. Army over the Lincoln Highway, Washington to San Francisco, July 7 - September 7, 1919" [U.S. Army, Transport Corps, Transcontinental Convoy: Records, 1919, Box 1; NAID #12165975], Memorandum from Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower to the Chief, Motor Transport Corps, with attached report on the Trans-Continental Trip, November 3, 1919. The original 1919 convoy was actually designed to test “new” military vehicles and “new” auto roads for the effectiveness of moving troops in America. 9 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., August - May F. Kelley, Reception Comm. The convoy was to test the mobility of the military during wartime conditions. Marilyn Boots reported on her travels with Dennis… [DDE's Records as President, President's Personal File, Box 967, 1075 Greany Maj. William C.; NAID #12005074], Report, from 1st Lt. E.R. The 1919 Motor Transport Corps convoy was a long distance convoy (described as a Motor Truck Trip with a "Truck Train"[1]) carried out by the U.S. Army Motor Transport Corps that drove over 3,000 mi (4,800 km) on the historic Lincoln Highway from Washington, D.C., to Oakland, California and then by ferry over to end in San Francisco. Colonel Eisenhower described the Motor Transport Corps soldiers as raw and undisciplined though Jackson also reported that they were generally well behaved. "Ike and 'The Great Truck Train'--1919" by John E. Wickman, Kansas History, Volume 13, August 1990, Number 3, page 139. Eisenhower. Lt. Jackson, the Ordnance Department Observer, submitted a detailed report on the performance of all of the convoy's vehicles. Lt. Jackson reported that the assignment of a dedicated mess officer in Nebraska greatly improved the food for the second half of the journey. 18th). Moody (Ordnance Department, USA, Tank, Tractor & Trailer Division), "Report on First Transcontinental Motor Convoy," October 31, 1919. [5]:5 Eisenhower later said he joined the convoy partly for a lark, and partly to learn. Lt. Jackson also noted "The maintenance work was considerably hampered by the necessity of carrying spare parts for so many different makes of trucks" and "better tools should be furnished to the mechanics". The MVPA convoy will leave Washington, D.C., on June 13 and plans to … 42, no. 3 ton Class B Standardized Military "Liberty" trucks, "Principal Facts Concerning the First Transcontinental Army Motor Transport Expedition", https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TdslAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZvwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6343,3546033&dq=1919+convoy+gettysburg&hl=en, (also published in Mechanical Eng., vol. The White, GMC, Riker, Packard and Mack trucks also proved satisfactory, though the latter's chain drive rendered them unsuitable for poor roads, and the larger motorcycles would have benefitted from more robust tires. [5]:18,23 Additional vehicle manufacturers included Cadillac, Dodge, F.W.D., Garford, Harley-Davidson & Indian (motorcycles), Liberty (trucks & a 2-wheel kitchen cart), Mack, Packard, Riker, Standardized, Trailmobile (two 4-wheel kitchen trailers), and White. [11] In addition to 230 road incidents[12] (stops for adjustments, extrications, breakdowns, & accidents) resulting in 9 vehicles retiring,[2] the convoy of "24 expeditionary officers, 15 War Department staff observation officers, and 258 enlisted men" had 21 injured en route who did not complete the trip. The officers and men of the Engineer, Medical and Ordinance (maintenance) detachments were described as more experienced and better trained. “In general, the route began at the Ellipse, in Washington, DC and ended at Lincoln Park, in San Francisco, CA – some 3,250 miles and 62 days later.” The expedition consisted of 81 motorized Army vehicles that crossed the United States from Washington, DC, to San Francisco, a venture covering a distance of 3,251 miles in 62 days. The convoy was proceeded by a publicity officer travelling one day ahead by automobile to prepare for the arrival of the main body. Military Convoy Retraces Historic Route through Cedar Rapids On Sunday, June 21, a convoy retracing the 1919 transit of military vehicles on the Lincoln Highway pulled into Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the night. [4] Official observers included those from the Air Service, A.S.A.P.,[specify] Coast and Field Artillery, Medical Corps, Ordnance, Signal Corps and Tank Corps including the then Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Dwight D. The Military Vehicle Preservation Association is retracing the route of the first U.S. Army Transcontinental Motor Convoy along the historical Lincoln Highway in … The expedition consisted of 81 motorized Army vehicles that crossed the United States from Washington, DC, to San Francisco, a venture covering a distance of 3,251 miles in 62 days. [5] The heavy trucks included three examples of each of three wartime commercial models in the 3 to 5-1/2 ton range being considered for continued service (FWD, Mack and Riker) along with eleven 1-1/2 ton trucks from Garford, GMC, Packard and White. Most of the failures that were not caused by operator error (primarily poor lubrication and over-revving on downgrades) were due to the effects of the constant dust, vibration and pounding on the carburetors, ignition systems, bushings, fasteners and bearings. The convoy's daily stopping points will be many of the same locations as the 1919 81-vehicle convoy, which averaged 6 mph and 59 miles a day. Of the transport trucks, the FWD proved the most satisfactory and the Garford the least, the former due to its mechanical reliability and all wheel drive and the latter due to a fragile cooling system, though the Standard B "Liberty" trucks were actually the most towed trucks in the convoy. The convoy travelled up to 32 mph (51 km/h),[11] and the schedule was for 18 mph (29 km/h)[21]:111 to average 15 mph (24 km/h). Sentinels were posted that night, but when Ike and friend exchanged warrior yelps outside the perimeter a young officer on guard discharged his weapon. Six rest days without convoy travel were at East Palestine, Ohio; Chicago Heights, Illinois; Denison, Iowa; North Platte, Nebraska; Laramie, Wyoming; and Carson City, Nevada. “Billion Urged For National Road System.” Oakland Tribune, 7 September 1919, p. 4. In 1919, driving cross-country was a crazy idea - but an Army convoy set out to show it could be done Written By: Washington Post | Jul 7th 2019 - 7pm. The Engineer detachment led the main body with the 5-1/2 ton Mack that carried the Artillery detachment’s Maxwell crawler tractor. [EL MP16 235], 200 SE 4th Street On Wednesday, August 28, 2019 the MVPA will travel through Kearney as they retrace the original 1919 US Army’s First Transcontinental Motor Convoy route, on the famed Lincoln Highway. Despite travelling on 24 August rest day, the convoy fell behind an additional day using 4 travel days instead of the 2 scheduled travel days from Orr's Ranch, Utah, through the Great Salt Lake Desert to Ely, Nevada; where the convoy arrived on the 24th (v. The engineers were responsible for inspecting each bridge as the convoy came to it. The route the convoy would take was mostly along the Lincoln Highway, the first major transcontinental motor route. The soldiers had spent 11 hours on the road that day, traveling from Kimball, Neb., to Cheyenne. In the summer of 1919, a young Lieutenant Colonel named Dwight D. Eisenhower participated in the first Army transcontinental motor convoy. One of … Forgoing a rest day originally scheduled for the day after arriving in Oakland, the convoy instead ferried to San Francisco[26] the next morning 6 days behind schedule and parked at the Presidio of San Francisco.[5]:4. “In 1919 the US Army decided to plan and execute a motor convoy of various military vehicles across the country on the newly formed Lincoln Highway,” the MVPA says. Their goal was 6000 recruits. These early experiences influenced his later decisions concerning the building of the interstate highway system during his presidential administration. Members of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association will drive vintage and modern trucks following the route of the old Lincoln Highway, now U.S. 30, to mark the pioneering trek’s 90th anniversary. Truck fell through them Road System. ” Oakland Tribune, 7 September 1919, a young Lieutenant Colonel named D.. L. 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