Why a duck?

This is an image of Kelsey steering an amphibious landing vehicle - a DUKW.  Chattanooga Duck use only the WWII GMC DUKWs on their tours.  We were told that many like touring companies use replica's of the DUKW - not these guys.

The DUKW saw action in all theaters of World War II and Korea as a ship-to-shore transporter of soldiers and supplies. DUKWs proved to be critical to the even flow of supplies from ship to shore. The initial intent was to develop a lighter vehicle that could ferry supplies from ships anchored offshore and drive right up over the beach to support the supply lines.  The DUKW's were used in all theater's of war during WWII as well as in Korea.  It's a great experience learning about history as you're riding history.

The captain of the 'Daffy Dukw' was kind enough to let our 7 year old take the wheel as we circled around Madellan Island.  This was our second tour aboard a Chattanooga Duck.  The first time was when Katie was little.  We wanted Kelsey to have the same experience that Katie did.  Both times, the captains were knowledgeable about the history of the craft, and the history of Chattanooga on and off land.  It's also nice to have a tour guide with a sharp sense of humor.

Above is an image that Gina took just prior to the Captain asking his passengers if we wanted to do this slow or fast.  We of course all said, "FAST!"  That was the only fast thing about the tour.  DUKWs don't go that fast in water.  That's why so many who had the privilege of riding them under fire during WWII called them 'Sitting Ducks'.  We were told that all of the DUKWs found in the U.S. never saw combat.  No one was fond of them and so they did not make it back state-side after the war.  All the GMC DUKWs found in the U.S. today never left America.