History Million to one, shot in the dark

Looking through my dads old army pictures I discovered this pic
Dad passed away in 1999




I'm curious about the merc

My guess is the picture was taken in may of 1953 at Camp Roberts in California before he shipped out to Korea. Dad entered the Army in May of 1953 so that's the time frame.

Looks like its taken in front of some Barracks, I don't know if he knew the owner or not.

I think the merc is a 1950?,
the surrounding towns are San Miguel and Paso Pobles


There is a plaque hanging from the rear plate.
would that be a club plaque used in that era?

Could this car have survived the last 70 years?

Of course I don't expect anyone to recognize the car, but.........nawwww





thanks for looking
Not that one guy

 

can't help....

but just wanted to say that is a great picture.

 

It could have survived,,may be chopped,may not.

It is a cool photo of a different era. HRP

 

'49 merc. Cool pic!

 

I don't think that's a club plaque.May be a military plate

 

That is such a precious video.Your son is a star. Bill aka Tnomoldw

 

The original pic is 3x3 so I cant make out the plaque it distorts when enlarged.

I was wondering about the plaque, it could be a base plate.
thanks for the comments and the year clarification.

Who would bring a Merc like that to Boot camp
It looks lowered but I'm not sure.

thanks
Not that one Guy

 

Probably not a boot camp but a base,,,in 1953 it was a new car. HRP

 

Awesome photo.... I may print it, and hang it in my garage.... SO cool !

 

Yep, looks like a plate when blown up. I can make out "3" as the first digit in the second trio of numbers.
Probably belonged to an officer/senior rank. Not likely a boot would be driving that nice of a car-especially if he was destined to ship out to Korea. Great photo.

 

The Camp Roberts Historical Museum is a wealth of information. They have a link that may lead you to other Korean War era soldiers that were there with your dad.

http://www.militarymuseum.org/CampRobertsMuseum.html

 

Yes, Its likely the car belonged to someone stationed there or maybe lived in the area.

Thanks for the link to the Camp, We are planning a trip there to visit. I have a few pics of Dad at the main gate. The brick wall at the main gate hes standing in front is still in place. California National Guard operates it now.

Just guessing...that car being in that area of California in the 50's could of survived.


thanks

 

Neat photo, could someone run the plate, or are those records long gone? Bob

 

Cool Vid! Thanks for sharing. I would think that merc could be traced from license plate?

 

Well its barracks but it could be Fort Ord or the Presidio as easily as Camp Roberts.

The Merc is a nice looking old car for sure, it is a shame that it is not flat black like all the other cars from that era.

Pretty slick old car and it has a real soldier to care for it. yes it could still exist but I doubt that it would be in the same condition as it is in that pic.

Um I am not seeing the vid, am I missing something here?

 

Thanks
The video they are talking about is in my signature line.

Your right, it could be Fort Ord I'm just guessing it Camp Roberts because of his arm patch in the pic with the Merc.




He was wearing a different patch when he was in Korea

He was in 53 to 55

I had not considered running the plate if its even possible. My first thought when I saw the pic was there was a club plaque on the rear, but like what was posted above its likely a base plate.



thanks again

 

Pork, look under his name or just click this link.

YouTube video 1950 Chevy 3100

 

Don't know about the pic of your Dad with the Mercury but I do know that was one hell of a cool video.

 

I found this. Camp Roberts plate.Sorry it's so small.

 

That patch is 7th Armored Division they trained replacements at Camp Roberts. When did he go to Korea? If he enlisted in May of '53 he would have had a tough time making it into combat before Sept. '53 when the hostilities were stopped. Cool pictures.

 

79th engineers


The patch is what makes me think the merc pic was at Camp Roberts.
Last year I remember seeing a pic on here of a famous 41 ford at Camp Roberts I believe that was in 1951, two years earlier than when my Dad got there.



Very cool vehicles in that area in the early 50's.
If the Merc is still around I'm sure the owner would like a copy of the pic.
But as HRP posted, if it is around it may be chopped, customized or other.





thanks

 

AWESOME vid bro! nice ride, dad would be proud, flathead

 

thanks

and thanks for the image of the military plate.

 

Great video, and even Greater Son, and Grandson!
I'm sure your Dad would be very proud of both of you!
God bless.
KK

 

Not likely you can run the plate unless it is registered to a car after they went to computers. All that old stuff is archived in boxes somewhere. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't.

 

Thanks,

Yeah I don't think I would go to the extent of running a plate even if it was possible. My Dads old 50 pick up stayed in northern California from 1950-2007.

When I found the pic of the Merc my hairbrained thoughts were that maybe it stayed in the so cal area after all these years.

Thanks for the input and comments

 

I really enjoyed the video. Nice job.

 

It would be pretty slick to find the old car, even more slick to find it and the soldier that went with it.

When I was little there was a black guy that had been stationed at the Presidio during the Korean War, and after before he was discharged. He had a picture of himself and a little lady in front of the barracks with a new caddy. He lived on Potrero Hill (best weather in the city) still had the caddy under a cover in his garage. He had another car and the caddy was his baby said he would be buried with it.

Some of those older guys used to hang onto their cars.

 

I did fire off an email to the Camp Roberts Museum. Sometimes photos are archived and searchable by key words. another shot in the dark. If the car belonged to someone stationed there for a while maybe there are other pics.

they pretty much pickled the base after 55.

 

Hate to sound repetitive, but awesome video. Really.

Good luck finding some info on the Merc.