Major General William Kepner, boss of the 8th Fighter Command, he got around in style in his P-47.

Before the war, Kepner was more associated with balloons & such rather than fighter aircraft. He held six ratings, most rather quaint: command pilot, combat observer, senior balloon pilot, zeppelin pilot, semirigid pilot, and metal-clad airship pilot.

What? How many pins did he have above his right breast pocket? Huh, only 1. In the Navy, you can wear at least 2 warfare pins

From 1909 to 1913, Kepner served in the US Marine Corps, then the Indiana National Guard. After a short spell in the US cavalry, in 1917 he transferred to the infantry as a captain and commanded a company at the Battle of Chateau-Thierry. He subsequently lead the 3rd Battalion of the 4th US Infantry in the Meuse-Argonne offensive.

In 1920, at the age of 27, he transferred to the US Army Air Corps and trained as a balloon pilot, then subsequently as an airship pilot. 

From 1927 to 1929 he participated very prominently in several US national and international balloon races, most notably winning the prestigious Gordon Bennett Cup with co-pilot William Olmstead Eareckson in June 1928.

In the summer of 1934, Kepner took command of the joint National Geographic Society - US Army Air Corps Stratosphere Flight near Rapid City, South Dakota to make an attempt with the specially constructed balloon Explorer on the manned balloon altitude record.

Prior to leaving for Europe in 1942, Kepner demanded increased fuel capacity in aircraft like the P-38  and P-51. He demanded fuel be put into the wings of the aircraft, only to be told it couldn't be done by Lockheed. When he insisted they comply, complaints by the companies to Material Division (Wright Field) resulted in a threat to have charges laid against him for tampering with aircraft specifications. Fortunately, he was backed by Maj Gen Barney Giles and the modifications went ahead. These later proved critical in enabling the USAAF to introduce fighters with sufficient range to enable escort of bombers on deep penetration missions into Germany.

https://thejivebombers.com/2020/12/19/one-of-the-perks-of-being-a-general-is/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ellsworth_Kepner

https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/106566/lieutenant-general-william-e-kepner/

Anyone wanna bet that Brett Kepner is related to him? 

I never noticed until I got an email from Bruce... but some speedshops had their name on a LOT of famous funnycars and drag super stockers (thanks Bruce!)

Steve was 17 when he and his brother opened a small shop in the basement of their folks home, a small Pennsylvania cattle ranch. Street racing was big at the time; real American Graffiti-type stuff.

His first dragstrip race car was a 54 shop truck running a 283-inch Chevy, it was also their daily driver parts truck. It proceeded to set the D/Gas record in Vineland, N.J., Langhorne Speedway, York, and Lancaster, where Bill Jenkins was the tech inspector. 

Other Kanuika cars included his C/Gas Willys pickup with a 301-inch injected mouse motor. It set the record at 10.80, 127mph and even made the cover of Drag Times.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/steve-kanuika-a-east-coast-legend-moves-on.421006/

“Chow Hound Junior” was in the 345th Bomb Group, 500th Bomb Squadron

 

https://thejivebombers.com/2021/04/28/for-fans-of-the-b-25-mitchell/

the 1950s brought about a cultural obsession with jet planes... but I hadn't seen them on LP album covers until now

https://thejivebombers.com/2023/09/02/lps-and-airplanes/

Anyone not familiar with Calvin and Hobbes should give that series of books a try. Wonderful stuff

 See what I mean? 

In the late 1940s, the USAF ordered a militarized version of the Cessna Model 195 – the LC-126A.

https://thejivebombers.com/2023/12/22/classy-bird/

I love the old helicopters... and bombers

 https://thejivebombers.com/2024/02/28/79th-air-rescue-squadron

loving the nose art, Bat Outta Hell Squadron of B 25s

https://thejivebombers.com/2024/05/13/bats-outta-hell/

How the heck did they get those in the back seat?

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=974099904718285&set=pcb.974099981384944

Ice cream time, Los Angeles, Mines Field, 1943. ... dang it, it's universal, happens everywhere that an ice cream truck driver can get to! Thank you John S!

Notice one has a three-bladed propeller, the other a 4 blade

https://thejivebombers.com/2024/05/14/the-war-can-wait/

Tim Kuniskis is retiring from Stellantis

never seen this ad before

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2194753744202204&set=gm.8176979449014152&idorvanity=1264958710216295

Raymond Motor and Cycle Harley Davidson dealership in Muskegon in 1919. When they added the second floor they broke down the shipping crates the bikes came in and repurposed the wood.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/111664952275098/permalink/7534360800005439

440 71 'Cuda getting some sunlight for the first time in decades, sold for 160k

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1465982964030610&set=pcb.8179191825459581

A Marine truck mechanic received the Meritorious Service Medal for saving the Defense Department more than $140 million through work he began as a teenage lance corporal. He's the 2nd corporal to earn one since 2008

While serving as the Marine Corps’ representative to Oshkosh Defense as it revised its technical manuals for the joint light tactical vehicle, Barbieri pointed out flaws in the manuals, including one issue that could lead to rollovers.

Barbieri’s engineering acumen would save more than 900,000 person-hours of maintenance production time and more than $140 million throughout the entire life cycle of the platform, the Corps calculated.

“This was one hell of a catch by this young Marine,” said Jason Wolfe, Marine Corps production support manager to the vehicle’s program executive officer at Oshkosh, in a Marine Corps news release. “His work on this work package could possibly prevent loss of life.”

At 14, he started drag racing through the International Hot Rod Association. He learned how to check over his car before getting onto the track.

But most of his background in mechanical engineering was theoretical knowledge — about aspects of systems like wiring and resistance — he gleaned from reading technical manuals, he said.

Having skipped fourth grade, Barbieri graduated from high school in 2019 at only 16. He spent two semesters studying mechanical engineering, first at Palm Beach State College in Florida and second at the University of California at Berkeley, but he didn’t love it.

Then a Marine recruiter approached him at a career fair.

When Barbieri was about six months into working at the unit, he faced a problem that didn’t have an easy solution: how to replace hoses that ran from the vehicles’ engine bay to the back end.

It took him two weeks, but he figured it out, he said.

After that, his leaders tasked him with repairing more and more vehicles with thorny problems. Barbieri repaired more than 75 trucks, keeping the battalions’ readiness above 90%, according to the news release.

His leaders took notice.

“He could diagnose issues that most Marines couldn’t find and was able to make the repairs that civilian engineers from external organizations couldn’t,” said Master Sgt. Kenneth Byxbee Jr., Barbieri’s former motor transport maintenance chief, in the news release.

Later in 2021, while Barbieri was still a 19-year-old lance corporal, his command selected him to spend months working with Oshkosh’s tech writing team in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on the technical manuals for the joint light tactical vehicle.

“Anytime I would find something that felt like it was out of order or would mess with the flow of things, we’d write that down,” Barbieri said.

Based on those issues, Barbieri and the rest of the team would pile into a conference room and suggest changes to the technical manuals.

One day, Barbieri noticed a problem with a manual’s instructions for replacing the steering column. Installing the replacement part that way would have stopped the steering wheel from moving, he said.

“If that happened while you were in a turn or on a highway, that could cause a rollover,” he said.

Oshkosh was receptive to what he had to say and worked with him to change the instructions, Barbieri said.

On Friday, Barbieri received the Meritorious Service Medal, which is awarded to service members who distinguish themselves through “outstanding meritorious achievement or service.”

He is set to leave the Marine Corps in June. The next step is college at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, where he plans to study mechanical engineering. He hopes of becoming a tech writer, who writes manuals himself, he said.

https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2024/05/16/marine-corporal-earns-prestigious-medal-for-saving-military-140m/

if you remember my posts on Jack Davis's art, you won't be too surprised that he also did this 1973 brochure for the Volkswagen Sports Bug

https://www.theautopian.com/this-old-1970s-vw-brochure-was-illustrated-by-a-mad-magazine-artist-cold-start/

the previous post on Jack Davis's art:  https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/search?q=jack+davis

Delaware’s vanity licence plate program is unconstitutional because it allows officials to discriminate against certain viewpoints when deciding whether to approve applications, a federal judge has ruled.

Although the lawsuit stemmed from Overington’s feelings about cancer, it exposed how the Division of Motor Vehicles has handled attempts by drivers to express themselves, including those taking aim at President Joe Biden with “Let’s Go Brandon” criticisms.

In ruling for Overington, Judge Gregory Williams rejected the DMV's arguments that the alphanumeric combination of letters and numbers on vanity plates constitutes “government speech” and can be regulated as officials see fit.

“This court agrees with the majority of courts on this issue,” wrote Williams, declaring that Delaware’s regulations permit viewpoint discrimination and are unconstitutionally overbroad and arbitrarily enforced.

https://www.9news.com.au/world/judge-says-delaware-vanity-plate-rules-allow-viewpoint-discrimination-and-are-unconstitutional/c2ff9002-8e21-4225-948e-3c74bb572efc

Fifteen people, including a California Highway Patrol employee selling traffic collision reports, were participating in a scheme of insurance fraud and grand theft

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-05-15/a-smashed-polaris-slingshot-friends-inside-the-chp-how-investigators-unraveled-an-insurance-plot

wow... the nostalgia of matchbook cover art and the diligence of a collector, combined with a perfect display setting... amazing.

 

As you can tell, the art and variety is worth looking at, but Dave Rutan did an incredible job of putting together displays on topics like the trains and matting them so well!

from Don's magazine that evolved into a website, https://garagestylemagazine.com/classic-match/ where he finds terrific garages, and lots of cool things at auctions is this article on Dave's collection

https://www.atomicmatchstudio.store/ for Dave's business where you can get really cool stuff! 

movie recommendation, go back to 1990 for the fun movie with a great cast, Tremors. Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Reba McEntire, Michael Gross (the dad in Family Ties) with some cool vehicles too

by the way, you'll recognize the little girl, she was the young girl in Jurassic Park (1993) and the guy with the general store, Victor Wong, was the instantly recognizable wizard from Big Trouble in Little China

Steve reading Drag World (thanks George!)

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2361013287422582&set=gm.1130011954972506&idorvanity=300103187963391

Compliment of the day!

Thank You for all the great articles you put out daily. 

Your blog is my second stop daily, I check the weather first to tell me what I will be doing today, then your blog, then off to work. 

 Thank You 

 Albert

Thank you Albert! 

invention

one of the guys at the 454th BG, 737 BS, San Giovanni air base, 1944-45 took a lot of photos of life on base, and they were put together in this video, watch at at least 1.5 speed

A couple of the B24s in this video are Vicious Vixen, Willie the Wolf, the Joker

Dave W texted me these photos of his dad's B24, 454th BG, 739th BS, Hare Power ! His dad, Lewis Wienberg flew 62 missions as the navigator. Thank you Dave!

I don't have all the info, but the pilot's name was James A Formby

some of the crew's names, 

navigator 1st lt Louis Weinberg, 

and 1st Lt Winfield Llewellyn 

and his dad kept some notes/diary, describing each flight, in order! 

The above shows 2 runs at Ploesti

The pilot, James Formby, wrote a 70 page document on his WW2 experience, from learning of the bombing on Peral Harbor, to getting back to the US in April 1945, since they were crew on all the flights, the information is the same

IF there is any thing this WW2 cool that you've seen lately, share what that is and the link, in the comments! 

I haven't seen anything this cool since George Rarey's diary! https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2015/02/i-had-not-known-p-47s-had-nose-art-too.html 

Or the POWs that made a car magazine in the POW camp in Germany! 

 https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-most-amazing-thing-i-saw-today-book.html