The legend* of
The Leatherneck Express

        As the 1930s drew to a close, the winds of war were blowing across the globe, and Americans realized they would soon be at war in both Europe and the Pacific.
        Recognizing the need for thousands of fresh recruits, the United States Marine Corps launched an unprecedented recruiting drive.
        To help carry the Marines’ message, six 1937-1939 Ford panel trucks were outfitted as mobile recruiting offices. Painted Marine scarlet and gold, the trucks were outfitted with external sound systems and emblazoned with colorful graphics and recruiting posters.
        Two recruiters were assigned to each truck, and they participated in hundreds of community parades and festivals. They also visited high schools and colleges, allowing the two-man teams to enlist young men on the spot. Recruiters often spent a month or more traveling in their panel trucks, using the vehicles as mobile motels as well as offices.
        When World War II ended in 1945, the trucks were sold as surplus.  None were seen again until 1999, when this 1937 model was discovered in a barn in northeast Colorado. It was transported to Texas, where it underwent a comprehensive frame-off restoration.
        Now known as The Leatherneck Express, the vehicle appears today exactly as it did in 1939, when it began service as a mobile Marine Corps recruiting office.
        Today The Leatherneck Express is once again crisscrossing America in search of young men of courage and high character with the mettle to be Marines.
        Semper Fi!

*Legend: An unverified popular story handed down from earlier times. 
Source: American Heritage Dictionary