98-year old WWII vet donates 1942 Army Jeep to Post

Robert R. Lamp wanted to create a memorial to the veterans who fought in WWII. He settled on purchasing a rusted-out 1942 Army Jeep built on December 7, 1942 from a farm in Galax, Va. and donated the vehicle to the American Legion Post 58 in Dublin, Va.. He asked the post to restore the jeep as much as possible and use it for parades in and around Pulaski County, Va. Unfortunately, Robert passed away in February 2020 before the project could begin.

The post began restoration in September 2020 with the help of numerous body shop experts in restoring older vehicles in the Southwest Virginia area. Gabor Egyed, one of the post members had previous experience in restoring a 1947 Jeep and the post began to raise funds to purchase the numerous spare parts needed to restore the Jeep.

The post also purchased a 1945 Army communications wagon which was converted to a caisson to be pulled behind the Jeep. The project was finished in January of this year and the post will begin to use the Jeep and caisson at the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery to provide a memorable send off to the veterans buried at the cemetery and their families,.

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