It’s an honor to be a “Jeep-O!”

 Don’t You Want to be a Jeep-O? inquires the headline from an August, 1943 issue of Barksdale’s Bark, the newspaper of Barksdale Field, now Barksdale Air Force Base. The Barksdale Field “Jeep-O” program was officially sanctioned by Base Commander William B. Wright, Jr. earlier that month. By signing up to be a member of the “Jeep-O” program and affixing to their windshield a yellow sticker designating this membership in Barksdale’s share–a–ride club, even a civilian with no special skills or tools (besides an automobile!) could help the GIs at Barksdale during wartime. This assistance was critical because with World War II raging overseas, the personnel strength had doubled at Barksdale Field, and local public transportation was bursting at the seams.

Every driver who pledged to give a soldier a ride received a Jeep-O sticker for their car windshield. Wherever a Jeep-O driver happened to be headed, if it was in the same general direction of an on-base soldier wanting to get to town, or a married soldier trying to return home from the base during rush hour when there weren’t enough seats on city buses, a mere “civie” or civilian, (as well as other soldiers or official military chauffeurs with empty seats) could do their part and offer a ride. Soldiers were not allowed to hitchhike, but they were allowed to take a ride if offered. The yellow stickers, therefore, were as much for the benefit of the driver as for the passenger. The yellow “Jeep-O” sticker in the windshield reminded the driver to stop and offer their extra seat.

The Jeep-O programs began in Alabama for soldiers at Army Fort McClellan, thanks to the suggestion of some solders and with the organizing efforts of the local Kiwanis Club. Within a year, the idea had spread to 22 states. Starting May 24, 1943, National Jeep-O Week was observed in all 48 states. As for the origin of the name, the “Jeep” in “Jeep-O” appears to be referring to both the soldier and the vehicle in which he could ride. The word "jeep" was used as early as World War I as U.S. Army slang for new uninitiated recruits and by Army mechanics to refer to new unproven vehicles. It wasn’t until 1945 that the first Jeep-branded product launched.

Signs ordered by Commander Wright were placed at the gates to Barksdale, reminding motorists that “a lift is a boost.” Not only would a ride help soldiers get to work or home for supper on time, it would also literally keep them from sweating out the wait in long lines for the bus during the sweltering Louisiana heat. The Barksdale’s Bark on October 30 of 1943 said, “Nothing short of 100 percent participation will give soldiers the break they deserve.”

A “Letter to the Editor” of the Barksdale’s Bark in September of 1943 was not so sanguine. Starting with humor then moving into shaming, a “Brooklyn Jeep,” a fictional GI from Brooklyn, NY, wrote a complaint letter to the editor with exaggerated Brooklyn “speech”. Referring to civilian drivers or “Civies,” he stated, “dose guys and gals could be the real heroes of dis war if dey’d only loosen up and share a little space in their golden chariots…” then moves on to a bit of shaming. “You see, Ed [Editor], if the Southern hospitality was what it’s cracked up to be, a lot of us jeeps could go as far as the gate, be picked up by the Civies, and consequently there would be more room on the busses [sic] for the udder guys.”

The “Brooklyn Jeep” really brought home his point by stating the indisputable tragedy of wartime. “Some of us guys won’t come back once we hit the udder side. The least the Civies can do is to exchange a ride in their chariots for a life that might be lost so that they and their chariots can be safe in the

future.” As the Barksdale Bark had stated at the very beginning of the Jeep-O program, “It’s an honor to be a ‘Jeep-O!’”

If you have any information, stories, or photos about the Jeep-O program at Barksdale or other local efforts to help out servicemembers during WWII, we would love to see them or to copy them, with permission, to add to the History Center’s research collection. Please come to the History Center to do research or see our exhibits at 2206 Beckett St, Bossier City, LA. We are open M-Th 10-8, Fri 10-6, and Sat 10-5. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org

Photo: Clarissa Warren, first civilian  to officially join the “Barksdale Jeep-O” club and is presented with a Jepper badge by Col. William B. Wright Jr.      The Barksdale Bark: 04 Sep 1943

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