SSG Victoria Ryan, U.S. Army (1973-1988)

I arrived at my first duty station, Fort Dix, NY, in spring 1974. My sister, a military police (MP) officer at West Point, was engaged to be married. To avoid the complications of being a two-car couple, she offered me her vehicle—a 1972 yellow Ford Pinto. I was ecstatic, as now I had wheels to get around.

There was just one major drawback to my sister’s generous gesture: the vehicle had a four-speed manual transmission, and I had never driven a manual before.

Once the car arrived at Fort Dix, I was fortunate enough to enlist a bunkmate to teach me in a large, open parking area. It took a bit of practice, but I eventually felt confident with shifting, braking, and accelerating while changing gears.

Of course, unbeknownst to me at the time, this was only one of the challenges that awaited me with this vehicle. At 24, I didn’t have much driving experience, particularly in complex traffic situations. Well, let the fun begin! And this was well before Ford Motor Company issued advisories to Pinto owners about some of the inherent hazards. Fortunately, I never experienced any of them.

One day, as I was driving back to the Company from lunch, I approached a four-way intersection where an MP was directing traffic. Being a rookie driver and unfamiliar with MP hand signals, I misinterpreted his stop signal and drove through the intersection—only to be struck by another vehicle. Crunch! And, oops…

Sometime afterward, I went to get into my car, which was parked behind the Company, and noticed a white residue near the gas cap. It turned out to be sugar. Someone had poured sugar into my gas tank! Perhaps I’d upset someone—possibly a soldier I’d instructed to walk to the finance office for a casual pay collection. The car was towed to a local service center, where the gas tank was dropped and flushed. I immediately bought a locking gas cap and never encountered that situation again.

This delightful little Pinto took me to and from my parents’ home in Beacon, NY, as well as on trips to and from Fort McClellan, AL, to visit a boyfriend during my year stationed at Fort Dix.

When I received orders for Hawaii, I was dismayed at the prospect of not being able to visit home routinely. But my main concern was what to do with my trusty Pinto. Take it with me, of course!

Since I didn’t yet have the rank or time-in-service for a government-paid vehicle shipment, I covered the shipping cost myself. I drove the car from New York to San Francisco, CA, where the only mishap along the way was a muffler replacement. Otherwise, the car and I arrived safely in California, and it was soon shipped to Hawaii.

While in Hawaii, the only other significant auto-related incident (aside from one parking ticket) was a flat tire that was replaced. I’d been told that flat tires were common occurrences in Hawaii. After all, didn’t I know that the roads there were paved with crushed seashells, hence very sharp edges to penetrate tires (insert chuckle here).

I reenlisted in Hawaii for West Point, NY to be closer to my family. Once again, the vehicle was shipped back to the mainland; I picked it up in San Francisco and drove it back to New York, without incident.

Was this little yellow Ford Pinto truly my favorite car of all the others I owned during the entire time I spent in the military? Well, yes and no. Yes for the fact of how I obtained the car and it was my first vehicle while on active duty, and for the numerous memories it provided. No for future auto purchases, which were comparatively better.

But, I was so enamored with my reliable Pinto, I traded it in for another Pinto—a station wagon, and that, of course, is another story for another day!

Photo taken in front of my parents’ home, Beacon, NY, in 1974.

Read the Military Memories of our Runner-Ups.