Lieutenant Colonel Charles W. McClure and Captain Bernard H. McMahon were the respective expedition and train commanders[2] and civilian Henry C. Ostermann of the Lincoln Highway Association was the pilot[3] (guide).

[5]: 11  The 5th Engineers' Company E[5]: 7  of 2 officers and 20 men headed the main body with the artillery's 51⁄2 ton Mack truck carrying a 5-ton Maxwell tractor (22,450 lbs total) in the lead followed by the machine shop and blacksmith shop trucks, and the Quartermaster Corps' Service Park Unit 595 of 1 officer and 43 men brought up the rear ("often separated from the main body" while servicing disabled vehicles).

[2] Although some "were really competent drivers" by the end, the majority of soldiers were "raw recruits with little or no military training"; and except for the Motor Supply Company E commander (1st Lt Daniel H. Martin), troop officers had "meager knowledge" of "handling men in the field".

[5]: 24 In the course of its journey, the convoy broke and repaired[19] dozens of wooden bridges[2]: 10  (14 in Wyoming alone) [20] and "practically" all roadways were unpaved from Illinois through Nevada.

Six rest days without convoy travel were at East Palestine, Ohio; Chicago Heights, Illinois; Denison, Iowa; North Platte, Nebraska; Laramie, Wyoming; and Carson City, Nevada.

Eisenhower reported that the experience gained on the relatively good roads in the earlier, easier part of the trip proved invaluable in the heavier going further west.

Two junior officers scouted ahead of the main body on motorcycles, signaling the route to the rest of the convoy using a simple but effective system of blue paper triangles tacked to trees and fences.

At many stops along the way, the convoy was escorted into town by local dignitaries and feted with church bells, parades, concerts, picnics, dances and banquets.

For example, the log entry for 18 July reads (in part) "At 8:00 A. M. halted by request in Churubusco, Ind for 10 min., while refreshments were served by local Red Cross Canteen Service.

Sentinels were posted that night, but when Ike and friend exchanged warrior yelps outside the perimeter, a young officer on guard discharged his weapon.

[5]: 4  An extra travel day on "mining roads"[25] was used between Ely and Austin, Nevada; where the convoy arrived on the 27th (v. 20th), 348 mi (560 km) short of the scheduled point for the 27th (Sacramento).

[5]: 4 In addition to transporting New York's Medal of Joan of Arc[27] for San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts,[28] the convoy had four objectives; and Ordnance Department[5] and Tank Corps observers[1] completed their reports in October.

The White, GMC, Riker, Packard and Mack trucks also proved satisfactory, though the latter's chain drive rendered them unsuitable for poor roads, and the larger motorcycles would have benefitted from more robust tires.

Most of the failures that were not caused by operator error (primarily poor lubrication and over-revving on downgrades) were due to the effects of the constant dust, vibration and pounding on the carburetors, ignition systems, bushings, fasteners and bearings.