The Purchase
"I remember the first new car I owned. It was '39 Ford convertible with every extra that could be added, which was a radio, white sidewall tires and a deluxe steering wheel. This cost me $685 of which I had to borrow the whole amount from a bank in San Antonio in exchange for my agreeing to have my pay deposited there until the car was paid off."
"I bought the '39 Ford in July, 1939 when my status at the flying school was that I would probably not get washed out so an automobile sale was approved by the powers that be. You probably had something like that requirement at West Point."
1939 Ford Deluxe Convertible
Side profile — white sidewalls visible
The convertible top down
Arabian Sand
"Andy, that first Ford paint job was called 'Arabian Sand'. I remember it well because I had it repainted in Panama. The original color was Desert sand, a light tan if I remember correctly."
Charleston to Panama
"My first car, the Ford convertible, was bought as I was finishing up at Randolph Field and shortly thereafter, I moved over to Kelly for the final round of flying school. Having orders for Panama, I drove the car to Charleston, SC and it followed me to Panama."
"This gave me about 4 months of ownership as a cadet, then another month of leave at Ecru before I left the car at the port of Charleston, S.C. where I took passage to Panama via US Army transport ship. The car was also shipped via Army transport at no cost to me. It arrived in Panama about a month after I did which was on the 26th of December, '39."
28 Miles of Paved Road
"I operated it on the full 28 miles of paved road on the Atlantic side of the Zone. As to what 28 miles of road connected, there was three army posts, one Navy base and my own base of France Field on the Atlantic side. There was a movie theater at each and its own PX. Plus all save the Navy, had its own baseball team and the competition was keen. And beside driving the car to and from the flight line, the rest of the mileage was accumulated in availing myself of the diversity of movies etcetera, around the area. If you surmise that there was a bit of claustrophobia, you would be correct. I did long for the open road."
The Repainting
"I had the car repainted the same color because the Panamanian air, being heavily laden with salt spray, had faded it materially."
The Sale
When the squadron moved from France Field on the Atlantic side to Howard Field on the Pacific—the move that put Bob alone at the base when Pearl Harbor was attacked—there was no longer 28 miles of road to drive.
"I did sell that first Ford of mine in Panama. The war was on and I got almost my purchase price for it. I think some civilian canal worker was the purchaser but I can't be sure of that."
From the Flight Records
From the records
February 1940 Form 5 — the France Field flying the ’39 Ford drove him to.
Feb 27, 1940 · A-17 · 2:50 hrs · 4 landings
Feb 1, 1940 · B-18 · 2:50 hrs
The Ford itself never made a logbook — but every line on this form is a morning it carried him down the Atlantic side’s 28 miles of road to the flight line.
View all flight records →