Hi everyone.

Does anyone know what US Marines Amphibian Truck company would have a word that starts out WIKS on the side of their vehicles? Looks to be some sort of insignia painted in front of the W. Yellow letters. Thanks everyone.

 

No one? Well, it was worth a try.

Here are the markings I should have posted yesterday.

 

Mike, any military vehicle forums out there that you can contact?

 

Been making the rounds, Not many WWII vets left, hoping to find a descendant or a history buff.

 

Is that a "duck" that you have there ?

 

It is indeed.

 

Well , show us the whole thing .

 

I wonder if my uncle would know. Not sure I would be able to show it to him though. He is doing very well for being in his early 90's. He was at Normandy and also at the Battle of the Bulge.

 

This was one of two DUKWs that belonged to the Union Springs, NY, Fire Department. There was a big lake in town and they'd use them for lake patrol and rescues. One of the trucks (not this one) had a fuel leak and caught fire when one of the firemen went to start it, and got burned pretty badly. The Chief made them get rid of them.

 

The DUKW was an amazing vehicle . It was a boat , built around the chassis of a 6X6 military truck .
It was powered by a GMC 270 cu. in. 94 hp 6 cylinder engine .
It was designed and first built by General Motors in 1942 . Over 20,000 were built until 1945 .
They were invaluable in invasions , such as in Sicily and D-Day .
They could carry ammunition and supplies from ships anchored off-shore to soldiers many miles inland .

Many are still in daily use over 70 years on as tour bus / boats . In tourist destinations such as Wisconsin Dells and Branson , Mo .

 

Mike, try here: http://www.lst393.org/ they are local to me, and might have a historian to help out.

 

One of these was involved in that Lake of the Ozarks tragedy this summer, where 17 people died. They shouldn't still be in operation as tour boats.

 

I sort of agree with you. However that accident had nothing to do with the vehicle, and everything to do with it being out on rough water when it shouldn't have been. Also, that vehicle had been modified from its original form. I still think it performed admirably, at least staying under power longer than one would think.

 

I rode in one in Boston about 2 weeks ago and it was fun, even got to drive it a short way in the water. It had to be certified and inspected every year by the coast guard so they could give tours with it. It also had to be driven by a licensed captain. What I noticed is they have put roofs on them for comfort, if they didn't have the roof on people wouldn't have been trapped under it. Like anything maintenance plays a key part in anything. Just because something is old does not mean it shouldn't be used.

 

Yes, the roof they put on essentially trapped people and caused the drownings. Well, that and the tour company didn't watch the weather and got caught in a bad storm w/ high winds. I guess having spend so much time on the Great Lakes, I'm just more leery about the type of boat I'd ride in. It's not fun getting caught in high winds and 6-8 foot rollers.