Help Me Solve a History Mystery

[Bravo2Uniform]

I recently purchased this 1953 M38A1. When I got to looking the engine, I couldn't help but observe that the firewall and fenders were painted red. There are, in fact, three layers of paint on the entire vehicle: an olive color, red, and dark green. Could this have been a fire service Jeep? I can't imagine anyone painting a surplus Jeep down to inside the engine compartment unless they were restoring it. I found this picture of an Air Force jeep, too. Could that be the source of first being green then red? The second picture is of my engine compartment.

 

[Chief_919]

Most likely after it left military service it served with a small fire department someplace. Small FD's get "loaner" military surplus vehicles through the USFS and will always paint them red or yellow. Since FD's like their shiny red trucks looking nice it wouldn't be unusual for them to paint the engine compartment too.

 

[FrankUSMC]

I am with the Chief on this one. There are some fire departments out there that go overboard and make beautiful fire trucks out of the loaner trucks they get. I can see them painting the fire wall.
The Marine Corps did have a M38A1 fire truck in the 1960s. I have seen about 5 of them, all of them were at White Owl parts company. This was back in the 1980s, I have never seen one since. As a note, the fire jeeps I saw were all painted green.
One of the few, Frank USMC RET

 

[Al Harvey]

I'd say their dead on. The fire department/forest service that had my blazer took the time to repaint the whole interior red. They do like their red. lol

 

[KansasBobcat]

In Kansas many of the rural fire dept. military vehicles were painted red. I had an M38 that came from a surplus auction but the engine compartment was still OD. Also M38A1 that all OD.