Posted by Tom in Oregon on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 at 4:38PM :
Friends,
Here is a photo of Fred Quale, a retired History professor who drove Dodge ambulances in north Africa in World War II.
He gave a brief talk at a fund raiser for AFS, the American Field Service. The AFS is an international organization for student exchanges to promote world peace. It was started in 1947 by WWI and WWII ambulance drivers. Fred was given the model Dodge ambulance as a token of our appreciation for his service, his career as a teacher, and his support of AFS. He said the Dodges were great in world war two, much better than the Ford Model T trucks used in WWI. His recollections of the war were great to hear. He related how he slept by his truck, and drove mostly at night to avoid enemy aircraft attacks. The flies were a vivid memory for him, and he appreciated his truck as a refuge from the pests that seemed to cloud up around any encampment. He drove thousands of miles over hard sand as the front moved almost to Cairo, Egypt, then west to the Libyan coast. He pointed out that the north African front was essentially the western front after 1941, as the Nazis had already taken over all of Europe by then. He mentioned that the British 8th army ambulances were two wheel drive, so always got stuck in the desert. The Dodges hardly ever got stuck with their 4-wheel drive.
Please check out the AFS organization if you are interested in hosting a foreign student, or have a child who would like an amazing experience of growth and learning, or would like to support them. In this world, outfits like AFS are needed more than ever.
Tom in Oregon
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