Hey Gene Dotson!! VAIW pictures for you..

• VAIW PICTURES

My Grandfather was a Marine in WWII stationed in Hawaii and he worked in the motor pool (after having jobs welding in the shipyards and maintenance jobs on the dive bombers.)

He confirmed what you said- New planes and Jeeps and equipment got pushed over the side of the ships. While the Marines were waiting for troop transport home after the war- he said the government had the guys in the motor pool fixing up every worn out truck and piece of equipment to pass the time.

The old fixed-up stuff was then given to the local residents when they left and the new machines went off the side and into the ocean. He said it was enough to make you cry.

Long story short- he didn't get to bring a Jeep home with him... but he did have a goldfish pond in the backyard made out of the turret gunner bubble of a B-17.

And then there's that I picture I have of the homemade washing machine he made in Hawaii out of a 55 gallon drum and a Jeep transmission... (one of his many "money-making" side operations) [grin]

-Schotte

Mike, my father also made a wind powered washing machine. See upper right corner of the picture. My father is the guy in the black shorts. Picture was taken on the island of Tarawa.

• Wind Washer

Mike, my father also made a wind powered washing machine. See upper right corner of the picture. My father is the guy in the black shorts. Picture was taken on the island of Tarawa.

• Wind Washer

Thank you for sharing that photo. You've gotta love the tinkerers and inventors of the world!

Have you ever heard of the sculptor from Holland, Theo Jansen? He makes these weird and wonderful sculptures that are "skeletons" of plastic tubing. These "beach animals" are powered by the wind and walk around by themselves. Neat machines- check out the photo gallery.

-Schotte

• Theo Jansen's wind powered walking sculptures

- Dave

Everyone at church thought the guy was a blowhard until he died. When his house was cleaned out they found a box full of medals. Yes, they were all his.

Another guy I knew was on a ground crew of a fighter squadron in France. He said they had a jeep that smoked like a freight train. He said no one wanted to drive it around the base, but if they had to go far from home they all wanted it. It laid its own smoke screen!

Take care, Fireman

Of course- he was always getting into non-mechanical mischief, too.

While they were on the troop ship returning home- nobody had very much of anything to do to pass the time. Well, my Grandfather got the bright idea to report to the mess hall every day and act like he worked there! He used to smuggle food out of the kitchens and did quite a brisk business selling ham & cheese sandwiches heated on a radiator or a steam pipe.

I bet if you looked at some of those Navy ships (if they are still in mothballs) - I'd be willing to bet there's still a can of peaches or two hidden up in the piping!

He said that the day they reached port all of the Navy cooks just walked away from the kitchen saying that they weren't cooking for those "damn Marines" any more! He tells of a long grille filled with hamburgers left to burn...

-Schotte