Early efforts at simulating the atmosphere, ocean, and sea ice components of the climate system had to overcome major difficulties. A review of several of the modeling attempts within the United States will be given along with some insights on the different approaches used. Key players, such as Akio Arakawa, will be highlighted along with their contributions to the science of climate modeling. Some early atmosphere and ocean results including animations will be shown that demonstrate what could be done with limited computer capability and first order treatment of physical processes.