75th Anniversary of the Jeep: One Man Behind the Machine — Karl K. Probst

By Ryan Lee Price

“As to the riding qualities of the Jeep, a chiropractor should be standard for each car.” —Charles “Harry” Payne
The Jeep is ubiquitous as America itself. It has been to battle, to camp, to the highest mountain and the lowest valley. It is a car fit for danger, adventure, and any rough road in between. In a story written by Colonel William F. Lee, the officer in charge of new developments for the U.S. Army, and specifically, the development of the Jeep for World War II, he described it thusly: “Its a quarter-ton runt with a mechanical heart and a steel constitution; it has more speed than a backfield full of All-Americans; it can climb mountains; it can fly; it can swim; it can jitterbug across rough terrain at 50 miles an hour, hauling four armed soldiers and a 37 min gun with the same ease a hound dog carries fleas, and it is the first silk stockingless subject to enter a conversation whenever two or more Army men get together.

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