M54 Gun Truck Eve of Destruction

"Eve of Destruction" was built in 1968 by the 523rd Trans Company (Light Truck) (2½-ton), 124th Trans Battalion, 8th Trans Group. The company was later transferred to the 39th Trans Battalion, Army Support Command, Da Nang, and still later served under 26th General Support Group. Eve was first built on a 5-ton M54A1 chassis and later refitted to an M54A1C. In 1972 it was the only original gun truck returned to the United States from Vietnam. Besides its name in white, the glossy black Gun Truck 214 displayed “To Charles with Love” on the front bumper, added late in its career. On the tailgate was a white bar inscribed “100 meter interval” in black. Some fittings were painted white. It mounted a twin .50-cal in the rear and a single .50-cal on each side. The Eve of Destruction appears today in the US Army Transportation Corps Museum, Ft Eustis, Virginia. It is the sole remaining actual gun truck that served in Vietnam.