On August 13th, “Right wheels of Mack Blacksmith Shop #4 sheared through 16x3”x10” bridge floor planks and narrowly avoided falling into a 12’ ravine”. We suggest having at least two people per vehicle so that one can drive and the other can navigate; however, many drivers have gone solo on past tours with no problems at all. Because of the availability of lodging and the size of venues, the tour is limited to 60 vehicles. The route began at … The Transcontinental Motor Convoy of 1919 was a project of the Army’s Motor Transport Corps. The highway system continued to improve on a local level over the years, bolstered by the need for good roads during World War II. Invented in the 1900s, the car was quickly adapted into the truck and bus, both of which were used to move men and supplies long distances to the front line. Your tour fee does not include your fuel, personal expenses or lodging. Eisenhower learned that military vehicles were often too heavy to cross bridges designed for passenger cars, resulting in the need for temporary bridges to enable river crossings. The 1919 Motor Transport Corps convoy was a "Truck Train" of the US Army Motor Transport Corps that drove over 3,000 mi (4,800 km) from Washington, D.C. (departing July 7 and arriving September 6), to Oakland, California, and ferried to San Francisco. William Stuhler, Major Brett, Paul V. Robinson and Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower. U.S. Army Signal Corps/National Archives. The event is structured so that it allows each vehicle’s “crew” to travel at its own pace during each day. The tour reconnects with the main Lincoln Highway route as it completes its trek across Ohio, then west to California. Even with “excellent” roads, the convoy only managed 48 miles. On July 15, “Rear wheels of Class B tanker went through small culvert bridge.” The bridge was repaired by convoy engineers. The tour will begin near the White House in Washington, D.C. and will travel at a leisurely pace, averaging under 200 miles daily, ending in San Francisco at the Lincoln Highway’s western terminus. One staff officer along for the ride, future President of the United States Dwight David Eisenhower, described road conditions as varying from “average to non-existent.”, A post shared by Eisenhower PresidentialLibrary (@ikelibrary). The tour planners have been diligently working on a great adventure for you. Over the next 61 days, the convoy would drive across America’s, uneven, disjointed, and occasionally non-existent road network. One hundred years ago, the U.S. Army sent the first motor transport convoy across the nation on the newly-constructed Lincoln Highway. Eisenhower learned that military vehicles were often too heavy to cross bridges designed for passenger cars, resulting in the need for temporary bridges to … The group decided to organize a military convoy to drive from coast to coast, from Washington D.C. to San Francisco, traversing the newly created Lincoln National Highway, conceived just seven years earlier. Exclusive: AI Pilots Military Plane for First Time, 25 Last-Minute Gifts and Stocking Stuffers, This Is Not Your Father’s Tomahawk Cruise Missile, Mass Extinctions Happen Every 27 Million Years. The convoy, as The Washington Post describes it, consisted of nearly one hundred “heavy troop carriers, light trucks, sidecar motorcycles, reconnaissance cars, field kitchens, blacksmith shops and one Renault light tank.” The convoy was manned by 24 expeditionary officers, 15 observation officers, and 258 enlisted men. The Army’s success in the war is directly attributable to the exploits of a convoy that trucked across America in 1919. Prearranged lodging is available at discounted rates at motels in our overnight locations. The Military Vehicle Preservation Association marks the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Army’s transcontinental motor convoy with dozens of historical vehicles retracing the original 1919 route on the famed Lincoln Highway. Paul Gilger, Jerry Peppers, Olga Herbert, Michael Owen, the Cassler family and many others look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones on this excursion. We don’t convoy, so your speed is set by you, the driver. © 1999–2020 by the Lincoln Highway Association. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. 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