Mrs. Jacobson Goes to Washington: Make Way for DUKWs

Tim has business in Boston this week and lucky me! I got to go along! While he is slaving away, I plan to see the sights and explore the history of Boston. But today is Sunday so for our first afternoon here,Tim is free to take a Duck Tour with me.

While some of the Ducks were painted in outrageous colors, our vehicle was standard-issued Army green.

In this retired World War II amphibious landing vehicle...a DUKW, we explored Boston by land and by sea.

Our conDUCKtor was Officer D. Dunkin who joked that he always keeps 3 life jackets with him: two for him and one for his box of doughnuts: "You just can't get a cruller wet!"

The DUKW military acronym was formed by the following:

D stands for "designed in 1942."
U signifies "utility amphibious cargo carrying vehicle."
K mysteriously means "front wheel drive;" personally I don't see the connection between that and K.
W denotes a "double rear axle drive;" again, this eludes me.

Thankfully, WWII soldiers simply called them Ducks.

Here Officer D. Dunkin downshifts as our Duck leaves the streets for the Charles River.

Once the war ended, many Ducks were sold as surplus equipment or simply given to civil fire and police departments. Some enterprising individuals purchased a fleet of these vehicles and thus, the Boston Duck Tours through the historic streets of Boston and up the scenic Charles River began.