As we honor the brave men and women of the U.S. Military this weekend, we thought our readers would love a look at a couple old Willy’s ads from 1944.

The illustration above, from a 1944 ad, is dramatic, intense, and depicts what looks like an impossible situation (although that’s something our veteran parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents would never admit). Through thick and thin, Jeep vehicles were a crucial part of American success in WWII.

The ad ran on the cusp of the vehicle’s transition. With its ruggedness and capability, U.S. servicemen clamored for a Jeep vehicle to use at home, for civilian use. After a few off-road experiences, who wouldn’t want one of their own?

As it became clear that these Jeep vehicles would become a part of everyday American life, advertising began mirroring reality, for the vehicle and American society. The ad below is a neat representation of immediate “post-war” life America. A uniformed soldier returns home to the farm. His family gathers around to catch up with him and to inspect the vaunted vehicle of war that would soon become an American standard.

The potential uses of a Jeep vehicle when it made its way to American land grew along with the number of people that could own one. Its overall capability? That was there from the start and it still is with today’s Jeep_® brand vehicles.