Accurate V100 markings

[wgtactical]

Does anyone know how many Cadillac Gage V100’s that served in Vietnam are back stateside and now privately owned with the following intact:
1-uncut/unmodified hull (not demilled and repaired)
2-original registration and vehicle number
3-nose art
4-photos while in service

I’ve been able to trace the “Super V” from manufacture, to delivery in S.Vietnam, to the 504th C company and talked with 4 different soldiers who served on it. The serial number and registration numbers can be difficult to trace back to any particular machine that had nose art, unless of course there are photos to back it up. Since the serial numbers were too small to capture in a photo, that part is virtually impossible to nail down. In our case a personalized Zippo lighter was found in the one we are working on and that along with photos and first-hand accounts, we were able to easily connect the dots. The soldiers we were fortunate enough to actually speak with, one lost their Zippo in it and that lighter remained lost for 52 years before finding it’s way back into the hands of the soldier that lost it while he was seated in the vehicle that he lost it in. Another provided several photos of Super V and even had the M2HB added to the cupola. Another provided photos, video as well as several accounts of what the V100 crews did with these vehicles and the last soldier was responsible for adding the nose art “Super V” to the front. Although speaking to any one of those soldiers would have been considered a treasure on it’s own but to have all four communicating with one another after all those years and contributing toward the restoration of the vehicle was like hitting the lottery.

 

[wgtactical]

Maybe I asked for too many qualifiers in the OP, so how about V100's with photos placing them in Vietnam? Finding the original vehicles intact with all the markings are going to be incredibly rare, which is why many of the survivors today have been rebranded with nose art or numbers from other V100's. Here is the photo that solved the mystery for our V100 as it shows the vehicle number, registration number and nose art in one shot. The soldier on the right is Noel Troxclair, who has provided a ton of information and photos about Super V. We are currently working on a custom engraving project on a stainless 1911A1 for him.

 

[M813rc]

Dave C (HellonwheelsV100)'s V had the original Proud Mary nose art and markings visible on his V, and he was meticulous in restoring her as she was in Vietnam.

I know mine served with the 720th MP in Vietnam, but I've never been able to tie her definitively to an Army serial number, so of several potential photographs, all I can say is "That could be her".
But she was also a Marine "strategic national assets" guard post-war, and that is how I restored her.

Cheers

 

[wgtactical]

Dave C (HellonwheelsV100)'s V had the original Proud Mary nose art and markings visible on his V, and he was meticulous in restoring her as she was in Vietnam.

I know mine served with the 720th MP in Vietnam, but I've never been able to tie her definitively to an Army serial number, so of several potential photographs, all I can say is "That could be her".
But she was also a Marine "strategic national assets" guard post-war, and that is how I restored her.

Cheers

I was aware that Dave's had the "Proud Mary" nose art and since he had the vehicle it was discovered on, he also has the serial number associated with it. It's a shame that you were not able to retrieve the numbers on your machine...I know the lion's share of the success on mine was luck as so many pieces had to come together in order to make it happen. As of right now we are trying to find Elton Littlejohn to let him know of the restoration since he is in several photographs both in and on the Super V.

 

[wgtactical]

So far I'm being told that since everything but the serial numbers were painted on, being able to definitively track those numbers or images to a particular serial number will be very difficult, if not impossible. Of course that is understandable considering the trouble I had finding some of the actual veterans who served on Super V, who then provided accounts and photos of their own. The infamous Zippo that was lost in the vehicle more than a half century ago by Don Tillman was what ultimately kicked off a series of events that made the puzzle come together. The discovery of "Blood Sweat and Tears" nose art led us down a rabbit hole early on and we still don't have a clue who put it on there or when, other than it happened after 1971 and before the 1980's. Nose art can change or be deleted altogether but the painted on registration number stays the same and fortunately we knew what that was (1304269) along with the vehicle number (C55) and of course the serial number that was stamped on the lift ring.

When we finally discovered Tillman he didn't recognize the nose art "Blood Sweat and Tears" but certainly recognized his own lighter. He dismissed not recognizing the nose art by the passing of time but said that he would have had to have been in it since his lighter was found inside. It was months later when Patrick Spinks, a 504th C company V100 crew chief on "The Texan" (C57) began sharing photos and one with a familiar vehicle number and registration number caught my attention, even though the nose art was something I had not seen before. After calling Tillman and asking him if his V100 had nose art he said "yes it was Super V, why"? Then everything started falling into place. Since that time many of the soldiers who were on Super V have been identified as well as the soldier who painted "Super V" on the front in 1971 (Harold Cypret) as well as the soldier responsible for adding the M2HB to the cupola as well as being in the photo that shows the vehicle number, registration number and the nose art in a single photo (Noel Troxclair)

It's been a heck of a ride so far and we've beat lottery odds to be able to piece the history of this project together.

 

[wgtactical]

I was recently told that there are probably less than one hundred V100's in the USA today which includes those in private collections, static displays and the few still in service with law enforcement agencies. I knew there wasn't a lot of them but I really didn't know there were that few either. Digging around for another V100 that has a solid traceable service life, complete with nose art, markings and photos I may have found a source for some of the actual negatives of some of the photo's I currently have as well as some I had never seen before. An added bonus is there may be 8mm film showing Super V as well.