Jeep altar at WWII mass service

Jeep altar at WWII mass service, a photo by lee.ekstrom on Flickr.

The Willys MB Jeep 4x4 was often used by chaplains in World War II as an altar. This image from the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum shows Seabees of the 111th Naval Construction Batallion giving thanks after the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France. Navy Chaplains have served around the world with Seabee battalions since their inception in 1942. Chaplains prayed and conducted regular services, using any available area including a ships deck, an apple orchard, a hand-cut hole in a Pacific-island jungle or a makeshift tent for a church. They will use a Jeep 4x4, packing case or ammunition box for an altar, or a helmet for a yarmulke, the top of a mess kit for a paten or a canteen cup for a chalice.

Date: June 1944
Creator/Photographer: 111th Naval Construction Battalion
Collection: 111th Naval Construction Battalion
Rights Info: No known restrictions on image.
Repository: U.S. Navy Seabee Museum, Collections Department, Port Hueneme, CA, Naval History and Heritage Command, www.history.navy.mil/seabeemuseum

Towed Jeep Normandy 1944

Towed Jeep Normandy 1944, a photo by lee.ekstrom on Flickr.

Jeep being towed ashore in Normandy Invasion, June 1944

A U.S. Army Jeep 4x4 (nicknamed "Dam Yankee") is towed ashore on a Normandy beach, 12 June 1944.

Note the amphibious operation breathing tube leading to the engine compartment, and the U.S. flag mounted on the windshield.

Two of the men with this vehicle appear to be African-Americans.

Wartime censors have deleted markings on the Jeep vehicle's front bumper, and an object in the right distance.

Taken by Combat Photo Unit Eight (CPU-8). Photo #: 80-G-252807

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

Jeep 4x4 carrying casualties - Normandy 1944

Jeep 4x4 carrying casualties - Normandy 1944, a photo by lee.ekstrom on Flickr.

Jeep 4x4 at Normandy Invasion, 1944

A Jeep 4x4 brings casualties to a LST for evacuation from the Normandy beachhead, 13 June 1944.

Note the bulldozer just beyond the Jeep 4x4, and the line of German prisoners of war marching by in the background.

This appears to be "Utah" Beach.

Photo #: 80-G-252779. Uploaded on Flickr by Lee Ekstrom.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.