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Restoration of the original 1942 U.S. Army Class 125 Chevrolet 1-1/2 ton Firetruck originally assigned to the Casper Army Airbase and recently returned to become part of the collection in the Casper Wyoming Veterans Museum. The firetruck served on the Casper Army Airbase from 1942 - 1945 and responded to numerous training accidents. Tragically 138 airmen lost their lives while training to fly B-17's, B-24's and P-39's at the Casper Army Air Base for action in Europe and the Pacific theaters. The truck has been returned to the museum and needs to be restored so that it will start and run so that it can become a rolling display and take the museum collection to the people of Central Wyoming during special events including events at the Wyoming Veteran's Cemetery in Casper, Memorial Day and Veterans Day. The Members of the Casper Rotary Club have offered to donate their time, talent and tools to restore the fire truck and get it into running condition. One of the Casper Rotary members, Glenn Januska, secretary of the club has donated a heated workspace for Rotarian's to work on the vehicle. Timeline is pretty short - six months. The Rotarian's are ready to rebuild the carburetor, clean the fuel system, boil the radiator, and replace the tires and other rubber parts to get the vehicle running. Projected cost for the parts is $10,000. The patrons of the State of Wyoming Veterans Museum will be the beneficiaries of the project. The vision is to turn the truck into a running museum piece. The goal of the museum is to teach our citizens about our Veterans and the sacrifices that they have made for our safety and freedom. The Wyoming Veteran's Museum contains information and displays of our Veterans from per-territorial times through the present day. A large part of that history is the key part that the Casper Army Airbase played in training airmen for WWII and the Korean Conflict. The Wyoming Veteran's museum is a part of the Casper Museum Consortium and plays an important part in promoting tourism and learning in Casper and the State of Wyoming. Many of the elementary schools visit the museum to learn about our recent history and to round out their education about world events.
Addendum to Project Description (added after the project was signed)
Project update July 2, 2020.
Many thanks to Rotary District 5440 for the support and the grant.
The project stated out as a limited restoration - just enough to get the fire truck running so that he museum could take it to the local parade and display it as part of the museum collection. Thanks to Mark Milliken and his group of enthusiastic volunteers, the fire truck is currently in a million pieces while it gets a complete frame-off restoration and re-paint in the original 1942 colors. The volunteers have stripped the truck to the frame and local Rotarians such as Ronna Boril and Western Power Wash have media blasted, dipped and repainted the frame. the volunteers are currently installing a new wiring harness. The fenders have been repaired and a local body shop has donated the time and to completely repaint the exterior of the truck. Once the paint is finished, the volunteers will re-assemble the truck as closely to the original 1942 configuration as possible.
To date, the budget has far exceeded the original $10,000 with large in-kind donations made by our local businesses and collectors that have donated hard to find parts like window regulators and original brake parts. Other Rotarians such as Glenn Januska have helped with donated shop space, transportation and other support.
I have tried to upload some pictures of the disassembly and restoration to this site.
Once the main parts are back from paint, re-assembly of the truck with go very quickly.
We are hoping to debut the truck during the naming of one of our Casper City bridges after Leonard L. Robinson, a Bataan Death March survivor and community volunteer who dedicated the later years of his life to those in need.
Thank you again for the Grant and I will upload more pictures as soon as the restoration is complete.
Sincerely,
Joe MacGuire
(307) 333-3653
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