Bumper Star

[Tom P]

When I sanded my truck (52 Army M37) I found the tailgate star on the right side. It's going back there I think,
but have seen them on the left and one on each side.
So beings mine was originally on the right seems it should go back there.

Now on the front split winch bumper I found no Star or unit markings.
Which side dose the star usually go? And closer to the center or ends?
Thanks
TGP

[Tom P]

Ok in researching the TM"s Looks like the national symbol should be placed in or near the center front, back and top. or close as.
Thanks.
TGP

[milstencil]

No star on front bumpers of winch equipped trucks.
Rick

[Tom P]

Thanks Rick.
We got one now left center.
I guess I will have to remove it, although I'm not 100% correct and saw a few others in various pictures.

Awesome Products BTW!!

TGP

[52 M-42]

They was lots of variation over time and across units. The thing to keep in mind is that there is not "one correct way".

The doors and hood are pretty standard. However, if you have a B1 there is a star in front of the driver's door, not on the driver's door.

There are usually, but not always, two stars on the tailgate. Usually there are no stars on the front bumper of winch trucks. Usually there are no stars on the side of the bed (I have seen pictures of trucks in VN with small stars on the side of the bed).

So, there is "guidance" but no "one size fits all".

52 M-42

[Tom P]

Thanks.
I understand what your saying.
I remember a lot of trucks were "personalized" in the field with whatever they could get away with.
Probably going to leave it for now because I kind of like it there.
Besides when my friend Paul Cook see's it he'll straighten me out! HAHA!
TGP

[52 M-42]

I mentioned to someone the other day about their truck, that they could do anything they liked because now they are "command authority" and additionally they have complete control of the budget.

52 M-42

[UZIS9MM]

No star on front bumpers of winch equipped trucks.
Rick

Never say never. I have a whole lot of period pictures from units in the U.S., Europe, Korea, and Vietnam of M37's with winches sporting stars on the front bumper. It looks like it varied from unit to unit but there are way too many pictures showing winch trucks with stars on the bumper to say "no star". I'll post a variety of the better pics when I get a chance in the next couple of days.

Even my truck has it's original vinyl star on the front bumper. The markings on my truck were never scrubbed when it was released from service, they're all original as the unit applied them sometime in the 1960's.

Kevin

[Hal O'Peridol]

While working on my truck tonight I took some pictures of the bumper star on my W/W truck. Still has original paint that it left service in, although faded. Here is a pic of the bumper:



As you can see there is one star next to the winch on the drivers' side, and a faded out/painted out previous one just to the right of it.

[T. Highway]

Hmmmm......no picture Hal.

Bert

[Monkey Man]

I can see the pic Bert...

MM

[T. Highway]

I can see the pic Bert...

MM

I can see the picture that Tom posted but not the one from Hal. I guess you deleted it before I saw it.

Bert

[Tom P]

I can see the pic Bert...

MM

I can see the picture that Tom posted but not the one from Hal. I guess you deleted it before I saw it.

Bert

Hal's picture is showing for me from the day he posted it.
Not sure what's happening to you ?
TGP

[PFC1952M37]

Okay, Tom… here’s this old soldier’s take on it.

Remember that I did most of my twenty years in civilian clothes. There was even a time I wore a beard. When I was drafted, I was asked about my background experience. I told them playing the saxophone, water skiing, and telling a few tall tales. My first assignment was to be a bandsman. After looking at a few test scores and my actual education and employment history, they selected me for the civilian clothes duties.

Early on there were several occasions when I was in uniform. I enjoyed “playing Army” and spent a lot of time reading regulations that the real soldiers had to live by. That was when I learned the value of “reading the book”.

There was one time that I was in civvies but was the only one in the unit who could get the portable engineer pumps to work during the rainy season in Korea. (The pumps used a Johnson outboard motor power head and my waterskiing experience came into play.) In addition, I was seen actually reading the …-10 manuals for the deuce-and-a-half. So, I was selected to be the Acting Motor Sergeant for an upcoming IG inspection of a unit had various elements all over Korea. IT WAS THE ONLY PART OF THE IG THAT PASSED.
Even then, I had to learn about local requirements that messed with every part of getting the mission done.

Point of all this… There are many MWO’s and local command policies that are superseded repeatedly. Many procedures that are sacred in one command are unknown in another. And a new guy was in charge but rotated out of the unit before everyone had everything changed over to his way of doing things.

Ask me about the disc brakes on my WC and I’ll look you straight in the eye and tell you the appropriate MWO was destroyed IAW Department of the Army Regulation 25-400-2, Information Management, The Army Records Information Management System (ARIMS), 2 October 2007, Effective date: 2 November 2007. (Current version)
That means that there are few folks that would have the version of the official policy on much of anything that would have been correct for a particular local command on a particular day.

Any way of doing it is correct as long as it is my way. HAHA yourself.