After machinists Otto Zachow and William Besserdich, of Clintonville, Wis., came up with America’s first four-wheel-drive system in 1907, it took them awhile to get the Four Wheel Drive Auto Co. (FWD) started. At first, they envisioned making cars that had power to all wheels, but they quickly realized that trucks were better suited to their invention.
The small company got off to a slow start, selling only a handful of vehicles, until the United States Army started buying the company’s “dinosaur-looking” trucks to chase Mexican bandit Pancho Villa. The Army trucks performed well and before long word got around. Then, FWD got an order from the British Army for 50 trucks for World War I use.
On April 3, 1917, with American entry into the war almost a certainty, Walter A. Olen – the
