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The Military Jeep
$34.95
Tri-Valley Dispatch
By: Melissa St. Aude
KINGMAN — From the moment he met a banged-up military Jeep in need of work, Jay Fraser knew he had something special. He purchased the vehicle, fixed it up and began off-roading with it.
And the vehicle changed his life. Soon, he was making friends and personal connections through the once-neglected vehicle that he lovingly brought back to life. In his new book, “The Military Jeep — A symbol of unity and exploration without boundaries,” Fraser tells the story of his relationship with the vehicle while also sharing insight into the history and philosophy of the military Jeep, explaining why it is a masterpiece and a true American hero.
On Sunday, April 9, Fraser will sell and sign copies of the book during a special event from 9 a.m. to noon at the American Legion, 408 N. Main St. in Coolidge.
“When I bought this Jeep, it was in tatters,” Fraser said. “It had been in a fire that melted the tires and gauges. I put it on a trailer and brought it home because the most important part, the engine, was unscathed.”
Fixing the vehicle and getting it running again took several months of work and research.
When it was finally road-ready and he slipped behind the wheel, he said the first drive was a special moment and he felt the undeniable “call of adventure.”
“It was magic,” he said.
He began driving the vehicle on various roads and trails.
“Everywhere I went, people wanted to talk about it,” he said.
Through the book, Fraser shares his journey and experiences off-roading, making friends and learning more about the vehicle he came to love.
The book, he said, has three main points:
- the story of the history and appreciation of the design of the vehicle
- the story of the author and his connection, through the Jeep, to other people as well as the environment
- the philosophies, principles and values associated with the vehicle
“On the surface the book seems to detail the design aspects of the military Jeep and why it is truly a design masterpiece,” he said. “But as one reads, the story becomes one of underlying relationship, personal excursions off-road and a story of connection, discovery and value.”
The Jeep, he said, has a fascinating history.
“Many inventions over history have developed out of military necessity. But no other answer to a need reverberated in our culture as the iconic Jeep,” Fraser said. “This book is not only about the American icon known as the military Jeep but how it inspired generations for adventure and as a means of connection for outdoor enthusiasts.”
Fraser is a retired teacher and publisher. For several years, he taught a publishing course at Central Arizona College, teaching students the ins and outs of publishing their first book.
“The Military Jeep” is his third book. Other titles are “Lost Dutchman Mine Discoveries” published in 1988 and “The American Publisher,” released in 2010.
He’s published about 33 books throughout the years.
“’The Military Jeep’ is different from anything I’ve done. It’s about unity among people without boundaries,” he said.
The book is available online at signalpeakpress.com.
Kingman Daily Miner
By: Casey Jones
KINGMAN – Jay Fraser’s love affair with Willy’s jeeps started, not with the military versions he’s now enraptured with and wrote a book about, but with a cobbled together Willy’s pickup truck.
He bought the truck for $400.00 when he was a student studying creative writing at Arizona State University, where he received his degree in 1988.
The truck had been extended by welding a crew cab onto the cab and was a four-wheel drive, which meant Fraser could load up his friends and go camping in the wilderness.
More importantly, it served as a work vehicle. “I cut firewood and hauled it in that truck to pay my way through college,” Fraser said.
But after graduation he became a general contractor in Colorado, and decided he needed a truck more befitting an up-and-coming young contractor.
It was a decision he came to regret. “I miss that truck even today,” he said.
His second jeep was a conven- tional jeep. While living in Wyoming years later, he traded a 3⁄4-ton Chevy pickup for a black CJ, getting the better end of the deal. The owner of the jeep was afraid to drive it.
“It was squirrelly on the highway,” Fraser agreed, “but it was gorgeous.”
And it shined off-road. He took the jeep to the beach in Mexico, and raced it at Rocky Point and in the dunes.
“I had always wanted a CJ, but they’re pricey,” Fraser said.
He had and has a successful publishing company, and the books he’s written and edited have been well-re- ceived. “I’ve had a lot of acclaim, but not made a lot of money,” Fraser explained.
But when his wife filed for divorce, he was forced to sell the CJ to pay his legal bills. “It made me cry,” he recalled.
Then, a couple of years ago, Fraser was meeting with a business client he writes for when he looked out the
window and saw an old military jeep that had been on fire.
The MA had been parked by a house that caught fire in California. The tires had burned, the windshield was melted, the body was scorched.
‘’I just knew that jeep was for me,” Fraser said. He bought it for $850.00.
Then the work began. It took more than year to get the jeep up and running.
Fortunately, parts were easy to secure from online companies that had bought the contents of surplus military warehouses. And as Fraser made the painstaking repairs, he came to admire the jeep’s engineering.
“I learned about the incredible engineering and design,” he said, noting Gen. Dwight Eisenhower awarded a medal to military jeeps. “He likened it to a soldier in the field.”
But Fraser worried about the super heavy-duty -10 ply springs on his jeep.
“I thought this thing would ride like a dump truck, but I was wrong,” Fraser said. “(Off-road) it drives better than a new jeep.”
But, like all jeeps, the M military jeep is prone to rollovers due to a short wheel base and narrow five-foot tracking width. But Fraser doesn’t drive his on the highway, taking it on a trailer when he travels to riding areas.
He also has plenty of room to drive the jeep in his own backyard. His -acre parcel miles east of Kingman in the Windmill Ranch area adjoins public lands, both state and Bureau of Land Management holdings.
The jeep, which he finished about a year ago, has been everything he was hoping for.
“It’s unbelievable at low RPMs. It’s a great climber; you don’t have to shift,” Fraser said.
It’s also a conversation piece.
“People just love it. They wave me over to stop and talk about it,” Fraser said. “I’ve made so many friends.”
It’s a sight to behold on the trail, but it’s not a thing of beauty with its fire-scarred exterior and rusty haze.
“I’m not painting it. It’s humble,” Fraser said. “I’m not driving the jeep because I’m bragging about myself. I bought this jeep to get up
and down the trail.”
Fraser is a professor, a publisher and a writer who envisioned his book about military jeeps about months ago. It’s at the printer’s now, a 179-page photo-laden treatise on military jeeps and his own adven- tures restoring and then driving his MA. It is the third book he’s written, and the 33rd he’s published.
The book is titled “The Military Jeep: A symbol of unity and exploration without boundaries.”
Fraser said the jeep, not himself, is the main character in the book.
“The jeep is personified through the story.”
The book can be purchased on Fraser’s website – signalpeakpress.com. Fraser said military jeeps should prove to be a popular topic.
“People love jeeps for a reason,” Fraser said. “It has to do with exploring and connecting with the outdoors.”
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Signal Peak Press is Pleased to offer our newest book. The Military Jeep – A symbol of Unity and Exploration Without Boundaries by Jay Fraser. Preorders are available now.
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