COMBAT COMD / BRIGADE UNITS

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We Gyroscoped w/3AD in Apr 1956 (our second tour to FRG). At that time, my dad commanded the 3d Armd Div Air Section at Bonames. We lived in the Drake-Edwards Housing area. I could see Camp King (and the Grosser Feldberg) from my bedroom window - a truly "million dollar view". All my dad ever told me - "That's where the weird intell stuff is.." lol.

After the 18 mos command time at KG, we went back to Drake-Edwards, where my dad was 3AD Asst G-2.

I truly love your site - I read it every week, and have for years. I can't thank you enough. I suffered a terrible mid-life crisis over the last 5-10 years; as the Germans began to tear down our old homes. I TRY to tell civilians (and they cannot comprehend) that most of my old "home towns" are now gone - obliterated. I try to tell them - 'Imagine, one night, you come back to the old 'hood. To your amazement, It's GONE!! Everything!! Church, stores, houeses, places of business." They still can't comprehend the emotions that are involved.

Our first tour (1949-53), my dad was fresh outta OCS (he had been an inf plat sgt w/103d ID in WWII). He was assigned to 1ID - first as the Pioneer and Ammo Plat Ldr of 16th Inf Regt. Then, in one of those weird career moves, so prevalent in the Old Army we all knew, was assigned as a tank plat ldr in Tk Co, 16th Inf Regt/1ID. He would eventually branch transfer to Armor and command Tk Co, 16th Inf Regt.

I've attached a couple of photos from the first tour.

The photo is dated 7 Dec 1956 (not June 1956) and shows the 3d Armd Div Air Section (not avn det) aircraft, at that time stationed at Bonames. From 1955-1957, my dad commanded the Air Sect, and spent most of his time piloting the 3AD CG and senior staff around the Germany. The L-20 was his pride and joy - he had jazzed it up into a VIP aircraft - cavalry yellow rugs and wood-grain interior trim. The crowning glory was the nose art (which he designed), featuring a large cav yellow arrow and small lightning bolts. Superimposed on the large arrow was the division motto SPEARHEAD and the silhouette of an M-4A3E8 tank. EVERYBODY knew when Spearhead came to town.

FIRST TOUR -- 16TH INFANTRY REGIMENT, ASCHAFFENBURG
After being commissioned from OCS in 1949, my father was assigned to 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment at Pinder Barracks in Zirndorf. At that time, he was a Reserve officer, and the powers that be were quite blunt - "No RA, no line infantry platoon." As virtually every platoon leader in the regiment was RA, my father truly believed his Army career was over. He was dejected, but gladly accepted the Pioneer and Ammunition Platoon Leader slot.

At this point, his story becomes stranger than fiction. Everyone has seen the old version of the movie From Here To Eternity, and remembers the tremendous emphasis that high level commanders placed on regimental sports teams, during the 1930s - 1950s. Prior to being drafted in WWII, my father had played semi-pro baseball in rural Alabama. Somehow, that information reached 16th Infantry regimental HQ. One day, my father was shocked to see the regimental CO in his platoon area. The Regt CO wasted no time....... "Lieutenant, here's the deal. I understand you are a fine baseball player. If you will play on my 16th Infantry Regiment team, I will give you command of a line platoon." The deal was cut, in a nano second, but it turned out it wasn't quite what my father had expected. He would become a tank platoon leader, in Tank Company, 16th Inf Regt at Montieth Barracks in Furth (later Tank Co moved to Schweinfurt). Once again, dad thought his career was over - what would an infantry lieutenant do in a tank company? But he gave it his all, and it paid off, handsomely. Not only did the 16th Inf win the division baseball crown; but my father was so taken with tanks that he branch transferred to Armor. Before leaving Tank Company, the 1st Inf Div was sufficiently pleased with his performance, to grant him an RA commission and command of Tank Company. That simple decision to play baseball would send him on a long, long road, ending with retirement in 1973, as Colonel on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

I had the great honor and delight to serve with LTC Vessey for the next two years as part of his consolidated S2/S3. In the first year he promoted me from PFC to E4 and then E5 and I was his Assistant S2 Sergeant. My time with him was a daily laboratory in leadership.

In 1965 I left the battalion for training in "area intelligence" at Fort Holabird, a career change that would eventually bring me into senior intelligence leadership position with Department of State, DOD, CIA and the White House where I served as Director of Intelligence Policy.

LTC Vessey had a fine goodbye party for me as I left Fliegerhorst Kaserne and at my send off gave me the 3rd Armored Division (Spearhead) Certificate of Achievement. It remains a most treasured tribute.

I was later to meet Vessey when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and I was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence. It was a fine reunion and we both concluded that we had done much better than either of us expected.

I have some neat pictures of the battalion in the field in those pre-Vietnam years when we worried most about our ability to stop the Soviets at the Fulda Gap.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
I will share another memory that just flitted by. 2/73d Field Artillery was one of the 3rd Armored units selected to march in review for President Kennedy during his June 1963 Germany visit. I recall that somewhere up the chain, a decision was made that we looked far better wearing our AG 108 wool shirts and battle pants than we did in regular fatigues. The parade was set for 1000 on the Fliegerhorst runway. Each subordinate command added another 15 or 30 minutes to the time we were to report for the parade. WE assembled at Pioneer Kaserne at 0530, road marched cross country the 4-5 kilometers to Fliegerhorst Kaserne. It was a very hot day, perhaps 95 degrees, and we stood in formation for three hours before the parade began. Soldiers were dropping right and left and the medics were running around with ammonia ampules to awake the fallen comrades.

Nothing, however, could make this a more surreal event then what happened next. Fierce warriors, battle ready, M-60 tank engines rumbling and as the command "Forward, March!" cascades down through the subordinate units, the 3rd Armored Division Band leads off with "Moon River" from "Breakfast at Tiffanys", set to a dreamy 4/4 time.