RIDGEFIELD, Wash. and TEMPE,
Ariz., June 29, 2020
/PRNewswire/ -- U-Haul® was born as World War II was coming to
a close, with its first one-way trailers made available to the
moving public on or about July 4,
1945.
Just as U-Haul is celebrating 75 years of service this year,
America will soon celebrate the 75th anniversary of V-J Day. This
signifies Victory over Japan and
is observed Sept. 2 when the signing
of surrender occurred, effectively ending WWII.
Veterans such as Ridgefield native and longtime
Tempe resident Hap Carty pursued a
new life after the war, and in doing so planted the seeds of
prosperity for U-Haul, a product of the peace for which America
fought.
WWII-era Navy veteran L.S. "Sam" Shoen and his wife,
Anna Mary Carty Shoen, conceived
U-Haul in June 1945 when they
recognized a basic need while moving up the West Coast, having left
behind most of their belongings since one-way trailer rentals did
not yet exist. From that idea, an industry was created and a new
level of mobility became attainable for every American family.
New Display at Pearl
Harbor
Today, U-Haul is committed to honoring veterans and supporting
veteran causes. This is accomplished through recruiting veterans
and giving them hiring preference; direct assistance to veteran
groups; participation and sponsorship of Memorial Day and Veterans
Day parades; and supporting Pearl
Harbor tributes.
The Company's 75th anniversary tributes will peak triumphantly
with the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum's dedication of the renovated
Ford Island Control Tower on Aug. 29.
A number of U-Haul Pacific Theater veterans' bios and photos will
be displayed in the tower lobby.
The tower will showcase a new elevator, gifted by U-Haul CEO
Joe Shoen, providing public access
to the observation deck where America's lone WWII aviation
battlefield can be revered and our heroes remembered.
Eager to Serve
Carty was born in 1927 to Bill and Mary
Carty. He grew up on the family ranch in Ridgefield. He was
the third of six children, and brother to U-Haul co-founder
Anna Mary. Carty not only worked the
ranch, but he worked in shipyards and lumber mills during his high
school years. He attended Ridgefield High School, graduating in
1945.
Carty joined the Army immediately after high school. He went
through 17 weeks of infantry training at Camp Roberts, Calif. He
then put in for an overseas tour, but was assigned to the 1st
Infantry Division's transportation unit at Fort Riley, Kan. Though he did not face the
perils of combat since the war was coming to an end, Carty remained
willing and ready to serve his country. He was honorably discharged
as a private first class (PFC) in 1946.
Carty came home on furlough at one point in 1945 and found
himself in the business of building trailers. His brother-in-law
had converted an old milk house on the Carty ranch into a welding
and carpentry shop, and was in the process of building the first
fleet of U-Haul trailers. During his furlough, Carty helped build
the first 10 U-Haul-manufactured trailers.
After his discharge in 1946, Carty joined the upstart business
to become the first U-Haul employee. In 1952, Carty established the
first U-Haul manufacturing plant east of the Mississippi River. It
was stationed in Boston. In the
late 1950s, Carty enrolled in night classes and completed two years
of manufacturing management undergraduate study at Penn State University.
A Remarkable Legacy
Over the course of an extraordinary 41-year career with U-Haul,
Carty held many key leadership positions. These included: rental
company president; product director; director of transportation;
district vice president; U-Haul International (UHI) president;
Kar-Go International president; AMERCO (parent company of U-Haul)
vice president; and UHI chairman of the board.
As president of Kar-Go, Carty was instrumental in establishing
the U-Haul Technical Center in Tempe,
Ariz., in 1970. At that time, it was the industry's only
such research and development facility of its kind.
Carty retired in December 1987,
but continued to serve on the AMERCO and U-Haul boards through
2006. He also served on the Tempe Zoning Board of Adjustment and
was a longtime member of the Tempe
Chamber of Commerce.
Carty and his wife, Toni, have six children: Gail, Tim, Martin,
Kevin, Katie and Patrick. They have 14 grandchildren and 15 great
grandchildren. Carty continues to be a resident of Tempe.
Veteran Ties and Appreciation
The Shoens started U-Haul upon Sam's discharge with $4,000 of accumulated Navy pay
and the courage formed by the cauldron of WWII. With the
help of other veterans, the young couple forged their new
enterprise from the freedom that victory produced.
Today, U-Haul serves all 50 states and 10 Canadian
provinces, helping millions of families move every
year. Carty is one of the many veterans who laid the
foundation for the present prosperity U-Haul enjoys.
U-Haul is one of a myriad of companies built by these incredible
veterans, who are to be saluted and remembered during this 75th
anniversary celebration. Thank you, Hap.
Find more veteran tributes in the History and Culture
section of myuhaulstory.com.
About U-Haul
Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of
do-it-yourself movers, with a network of 22,000 locations across
all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7
offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day
through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and our
proprietary Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has
enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 167,000 trucks,
120,000 trailers and 43,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers nearly
697,000 rooms and 60.7 million square feet of self-storage space at
owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer
of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket
industry, and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S. For
information on moving safely and smartly with U-Haul during the
COVID-19 pandemic, please reference
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8601451-u-haul-moving-season-covid-19-safety/.
Contact:
Jeff Lockridge
Sebastien Reyes
E-mail: publicrelations@uhaul.com
Phone: 602-760-4941
Website: uhaul.com
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SOURCE U-Haul