Good driver decal

[timjuhl]

I know the good driver decal didn't show up until the 1960's. I'm trying to decide if it would be appropriate to put one on my 1952 M38A1. I have one that came with some other stuff. No, I do not plan to have mine judged. My questions:

1.) How many years was a Jeep built in 1952 likely to be in military service? I guess what I'm really asking is whether it was likely to have been around long enough for the decal to be added?

2.) If I decide to install it, is the proper placement to the right of the knob on the glove box?

Thanks!

Tim

[wesk]

The military decision to declare a vehicle surplus to it's needs was normally based on a useful life equation which was usually determined by operational cost. In most cases when a vehicle reach the maximum dollar value of maintenance and repair care set by the military it was stricken and declared surplus. This makes a educated guess on calender life absolutely unreliable. A 1952 M38A1 involved in several accidents could reach the max amount in as little as 3 or 4 years.

On the other hand it would also depend on what the DRMO was able to do with the jeep when it was turned into them. They may have been able to turn it over to another military unit or branch. That unit or branch may have continued the jeeps military service another 5 or 10 years. I have seen form 97's on surplussed M38A1s with very varied life spans. The 52 I had in SD in the 80's was surplussed out in 58. The County CD outfit operated it through the late 70's and they sold it surplus. We still had active M38A1's in the USAF in 88 at Ellsworth AFB SD.

As for proper placement of decals that would depend on the reading level and mind set of the original person who installed them. If you google the decal by name you will see many different locations were used for it. The most obvious placement directive used by most military units for operator instructive decals was usually "In view of the operator".