Army·Institutional politics·In Memoriam
Motor Transport Corps
Served: 1918–1920
Drove the Army's trucks in France — the first time the Army recognized motor transport as something distinct from "horse-drawn wagons but with engines." Recruited heavily from civilian automotive workers.
The Story
The MTC's first director was Brig. Gen. Meriwether Lewis Walker. The branch lasted barely two years — long enough to prove trucks could outrun mule trains, not long enough to convince the QM Corps to give them up.
Epitaph
“Two years to prove trucks worked. Twenty more before the Army admitted it.”
Sources
- Wikipedia — Motor Transport Corpsen.wikipedia.org
- Army Transportation Museumtransportation.army.mil