I Should Write That Down

One of the fun benefits in writing this book is the many interesting conversations I get to have with people about Rehoboth.  Just the other night at a swank cocktail party in “The Acres,” I met a gentleman who has been coming to Rehoboth since he was a boy, even before WWII.  During the war, he remembers DUKW amphibious vehicles – called Ducks – in Rehoboth.

Ducks were produced by GM and the name came from their naming protocols.  “D” indicated a vehicle designed in 1942.  “U” meant utility.  “K” meant front wheel drive.  “W” meant two powered rear axles.  Today they’re often used to give tours in waterfront cities like Boston and Washington, DC.

He remembers soldiers driving the ducks around in order to try and get a reading on how many miles per gallon they could get.  He also recalls how the soldiers referred to one as “Sicily,” a foreshadowing of where the Ducks were first used, in the 1942 invasion of Sicily. They were also used in Normandy.  Kind of interesting.