696: Louis Mangino’s Tribute Willys Jeep to all Veterans
My father, Pasquale (Pat) Mangino, joined the U.S. Army In August,1941, mere months before Pearl Harbor occurred. With that date that would live in infamy, Pat was off to the South Pacific. During his service Pat was awarded the Solder’s Medal for saving a drowning GI. As a member of the Corp of Engineers, he was involved with the construction and repair of airfields and infrastructure. They even built a runway between two islands by filling in the ocean. He remained in the islands for the duration of the war rising from enlisted man to lieutenant, continuing his service from 1945 to 1950 in the reserves. On June 25, 1950, the Korea Conflict started, and Pat was recalled to active service and sent to South Korea.
Pat was assigned a Jeep for his use as a 1st Lieutenant and as the executive officer. The Jeep came from Japan in its original shipping crate and had to be assembled by his men. There is a picture of Lt. Mangino standing next to his Jeep on page 270 of the 2022 Kaiser Willys catalog. That was taken right after the assembly. As was often done, he personalized the name of his Jeep: Mary-Lyn-Lou, naming it after Mary, his wife, MariLYN, his daughter, and LOUis his son. That Jeep saved his life. At a crossroad, Pat and another solder came under sniper fire. They dove behind the Jeep to take cover. Pat yelled, ” He’s a lousy shot”, pulled his M1911 pistol, and emptied the magazine toward the sniper. The sniper ducked for cover while the two men jumped in the Jeep and sped away. Mary-Lyn-Lou had saved the day. After he returned the states, he would say “Aw hell. That wasn’t a conflict! That was a war!”
Sadly, Pat passed away in 2007 at the age of 87. I always wanted to do a tribute Jeep to honor his memory. My good friend Joe Lamonica, who is a former Jeep dealer, sold him a 1946 CJ2A that he had stored in the original former Lamonica Motors building for over 30 years. While not a military Jeep, it was an excellent candidate for me to build my tribute. After a lot of work, and help and parts from Kaiser Willys Jeep, Mary-Lyn-Lou rose from the dust. I only wish Dad had lived to see it.
Kaiser Willys Jeep Blog Story – Louis Mangino
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