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Show CONVERTED FARM TRACTOR FIRST VEHICLE TO BE CALLED "JEEP" , . .... if - $ MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. The name "Jeep" was first given to a con verted MM farm tractor, shown above, and used during maneuvers at Camp Ripley in 1940. This military tractor was termed "Jeep" by Jamp T. O'Brien, then a private in the 109th Ordnance Company, Minnesota National Guards, who now is a First Sergeant in the United States Army. Sergeant O'Brien says he called it "Jeep" because it could el almost anywhere and knew all the answers just like the "Jeep" In the Popeye cartoons, who also knew all the answers and if treated right could do many unusual things. This dispels the popular mis conception that the nickname came from the contraction of the words "General Purpose" (GP), an Army and agricultural tractor term "Jeep" became Army parlance and it is acknowledged that if it were from "General Purpose" the spelling would be "Geep' The original Minneapolis-Moline Jeep was a four wheel drive machine made ex pressly for pulling big guns and heavy equipment now used on many battle fronts. |