Armored Sentinel (Temple, Tex.), Vol. 9, No. 8, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 24, 1955 Page: 1 of 14
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VOL. 9 No. 8
I
Fort Hood's 1955 Red Cross Fund
Campaign—the annual appeal to
"answer the call join and serve"
—gets under way today.
Maj. General Thomas L. Harrold
III Corps and Fort Hood com
mander has designated Lt. Col.
Robert M. Allgeier assistant Pro
vost Marshall III Corps as gen
An Editorial
The American Red Cross
May Seek an Office
Whenever our dandruff bothers
us and when our sinuses refuse to
drain and we become weary of
soul and are no longer capable of
coherent thought we always vvan-
der over to talk with our old friend
Colonel Glen A. Webster. He is the
only man on the Post wc have
been able to find who does not
know any more than we do and
what he has to say always af
fords us the mental relaxation a
tired man needs. The Colonel is
the HI Corps Engineer officer and
since he looks and acts a good
deal like Herbert Hoover we call
him the Great Engineer. He al
ways calls us something too but
we cannot print it here except it
begins with and ends in D.
One never: knows if what an en
gineer says is true for we remem
ber years ago that Hoover told us
we would soon have two "cars in
our garage. Instead of getting an
other car we lost the old one we
had on a mortgage while Mr.
Hoover was president. Thus when
an engineer speaks we are some
what reluctant to swallow every-
^ting he says. Sometime ago Frank
^Blich told us that Colonel Glen
^made his wife work in a store until
after he was promoted to field
grade. Glen said Frank was lying
—that she quit working while he
•was a captain and two weeks be
fore he was promoted to major.
IT COULD WELL be sunset for an "enemy" sniper as Pvt. William F. Steckman Arkansas City
Kan. a member of the Security Platoon of the First Armored Division's Headquarters Battalion ze
roes in" with his M-l rifle during: the current test exercise being held at Fort Hood. (U.S. Army
Photo by Grubbs)
Red Cross Fund Chairman
Announces Campaign Plans
eral chairman of the drive. Serv
ing as assistant chairman will be
Lt. Col. Donald A. Barker III
Corps Artillery Headquarters.
This year's drive will continue
from now until April 8 the chair
man announced. He also pointed
out that 100 membership in the
Red Cross on the part of all mili-
The annual drive for voluntary contributions to the American Red
Cross begins today and will continue until April 8. It would be a
labor of supererogation indeed to dilate at any great length upon the
heroic. services the American Red Cross has rendered since it was
folded by Clara Barton in 1881. As everyone knows the Red Cross
has always stood as a symbol of mercy. Whether it be flood famine
or fire the Red Cross and its volunteer workers have always been on
hand to relieve suffering. When the great flood struck the Missouri
Valley only a few years ago the Red Cross rehabilitated thousands of
homes and cared for the sick and the wounded and when a tornado
wrecked the heart of Waco two years ago the Red Cross workers dis-
mguished themselves in the same manner that has always character
ed their work in time of disaster.
Perhaps the largest group of individuals who feel the beneficence
of the Red Cross are the service men especially those stationed in re-
mole corners of the earth with their family at home. Wherever service
men are stationed there are Red Cross workers ready to help them if
help is needed.
During its long history the Red Cross has always depended on volun
tary contributions. Here at Fort Hood there are many families in the
lower income brackets who cannot and will not be expected to make
a sizeable contribution. It is therefore incumbent upon those in the
higher income brackets to contribute as liberally as they can without
putting a strain upon the family purse.
The American Red Cross is an integral part of the National life.
It deserves the support of all Americans who cherish the American way
of doing things.
NOTES ON THE ENGINEERS
The telephone rings a good deal
down at the Post Engineer's of
fice. The other day we walked into
the place just in time to learn
that a lady had telephoned to say
her torn cat had got his tail caught
in the washing machine wringer.
Would the engineers please send
down some one to extricate poor
torn? The engineers did and poor
torn is as good as he ever was
except his tail is a little shorter.
We have heard of a good many
things getting caught in a wringer1
but this was the first time we
have ever heard of a torn cat be
ing so careless with his tail. Our
^wife's cat Clementine got her left
^^pnt foot caugh' in a slamming
^Kor the other day and is now on
three legs but we won't go into
that here except to say it hasn't
lessened Clemmy's nuisance value.
Our Peripatetic Reporte rWrites
Anyway the colonel told us a lot
of interesting things including the
fpct he may decide to seek a pub
lic office after he retires from the
Army in April of this year. We
know now that he is no smarter
than we are.
Forgetting levity for a moment
it is the truth to say that the III
Corps Engineer has a rather stag
gering job. He has his finger upon
everything that has to do with en
gineering means that he
must keep the Commanding Gen
eral informed upon all matters hav
ing to do with the Post Engineer
tho two division eingineer battal
ions the 35th Engineer Group and
the attached engineer units. In
other words his responsibilities
cover a multitude of activities
spread over a wide area.
104000 Duds
Last summer when the drouth
renderd the Fort Hood water sup
ply inadequale the III Corps En
gineer office was given the re
sponsibility of the laying the four
six-inch pipelines from the Belton
reservoir to the Filter Plant on the
Lampasas river. This was accom
plished by the 35th group in a mat
ter of days and 1954 marked the
first year in history when water did
Division Men
Mark Holiday
In The Field
Washington's Birthday was no
holiday for the troops participating
in the current test exercise on the
Fort Hood Reservation.
Men from the First Armored Di
vision launched two atomic at
tacks against "Aggressor" forces
supplied by the Fourth Armored
Division to begin the day. Later
the "Aggressors" countered with
an even larger atomic blast of
their own.
Both sides traveled in modern
armored vehicles equipped with
the latest weapons.
No doubt the United States' first
general would have been quite im
pressed by the manner which his
birthday was celebrated at Fort
Hood.
Atmoreil A.
tary and civilian personnel at Fort
Hood is the goal of the Fund cam
paign.
On Tuesday of this week Colonel
Allgeier held an organizational
and planning meeting to map out
campaign strategy. It»was attend
ed by Lt. Col. Barker assistant
chairman Mr. Clifford Gibbs Red
Cross Field Director Capt. E. S.
Throckmorton Killeen Base chair
man Mrs. Joan C. Burton Volun
teer Red Cross chairman Mrs.
Thelma Fitzgerald Officers Wives
Club and Mrs. Thomas W. Mus-
ton NCO Wives Club.
It is expected that all unit chair
el in
coming week and announced in the
next issue of the SENTINEL.
The American Red Cross this
year will seek 85 million dollars
and 30 million active members dur
ing its annual campaign through
out the nation.
According the national headquar
ters the largest item ir its 1955
budget is $36640300 for services
to the armed .orces and veterans.
Next largest item also closely re
nted to the armed services is $14-
287000 for the Red Cross blood pro
gram.
During the year ending June 30
1954 the Red Cross provided more
than $2000000 in financial assist
ance to servicemen veterans and
their dependents and collected al
most three million blood donations
for national defense and civilian
use.
Secretary of Defense Charles E.
Wilson recently stated that he feels
sure that Americans everywhere
will give their wholehearted sup
port to the Red Cross appeal for
1955.
not have to be rationed at Fort
Hood. In addition to his routine
duties Colonel Webster and his
staff recently supervised clearing
the reservation of duds. More than
104000 of them were gathered up
and exploded to make maneuver
ing safer for the troops.
The Assistant Corps Engineer is
to W a a
home is in Winthrop Mass. and
who arrived here only recently
from Korea. The HI Corps Opera
tions officer is Lt. Col. Walker K.
Carroll who incidentally wort a
house and lot in Killeen in a recent
a in is as is an is a
Ralph H. Payton who is also a new
arrival here at Hood. Captain Paul
Boylan Jr. who lives with his
family in Killeen is the mainte
an an up of of
Corps Engineer Section.
A graduate of Oregon State in
civil engineering Colonel Webster
now lives with his wife Olga in
N a a he ha
daughter Mrs. Norma E. George
who lives in Coose Bay Oregon
with her husband and two children.
The two engineer battalions of
the two armored divisions fit into
the Engineer picture for which
Colonel Webster is responsible. The
16th Engineer Battalion of the 1st
Armored Division is Commanded
by Lt. Col. William H. McKenzie
and the 24th Engineer Battalion of
the 4th Armored Division is com
manded by Lt. Col. Louis Johnson.
The 35th Group is commanded by
Colonel George D. Burch The do
ings of these three units will be re
ported in a subsequent article.
Recovered Store Teeth
As we said earlier in this dis
quisition we got down to the Post
Engineer office last week just in
time to learn about an unfortunate
torn cat. While there we also
learned that strange things often
happen to people living at Fort
Hood and that quite often the En
gineers are called upon to perform
some strange tasks. Not long ago
a Fort Hood lady dropped her store
teeth down a toilet and called
frantically for the engineers to re
he or he
promptly did. One Fort Hood man
after imbibing a bit too much got
himself locked in his bathroom and
(See PERIPATETIC Page 18)
COVERED WITH MUD after a grueling day in the field a jeep
assigned to the First Armored Division's Company of
Reconnaissance Battalion moves steadfastly forward to the front.
Driving is Cpl. Ronald E. Harvey Electra Tex. and manning the
.30 cal. machine gun is PFC Paul Rooney Circleville Ohio. (U.S.
Army Photo by Grubbs)
FORT HOOD THURSDAY FEBRUARY 24 1955
W I E A E S S O
FORCES IN THE FIELD—Hard
it in A re so of
Fourth Armored Division looked
back on a week of giving the First
Armored Division nightmares in
the test exercise being held here.
Major actions this week were
highlighted by the Aggressor slow
ing and stopping the "end run" of
Combat Command of the First
A or in he a
unit and conducting vigorous com
bat patrolling plus guerilla war
fare in all sectors.
After stopping Combat Command
C's drive over Cowhouse Creek in
the vicinit^ of West Range Road
and throwing them back across the
stream the Aggressor forces found
themselves threatened by rapid
driving CC "B" of the 1st Armored.
This unit had swung to the far
eastern side of the reservation
bridged Cowhouse Creek and be
gan driving northwest parallel to
the stream.
Enemy Forces
Opposed at first by elements of
the 25th Reconnaisance Battaion of
the Fourth Armored Division Ag
gressors CC found they had
stuck their nose in the wrong door
as in quick succession:
1. The Aggressor 35th Tank Bat
talion cut the main supply route.
2. The 704th Tank battalion re
pulsed attempts to drive further
north.
3. The 553d AIB ran a gauntlet
of tank and artillery fire to com
plete the pinning up of the First
Armored CC B.
Beating off continuous counter
attacks by the now-gorwing wa-
GEN. JOHN E. DAHLQUIST
Gen. Dahlquist
Observes Test
On Reservation
General John E. Dahlquist com
manding general of the Continental
Army Command left Fort Hood
Sunday after observing the 17-day
test exercise now being conducted
on the reservation. The entire ex
ercise is under his supervision.
He was met at the Fort Hood
A S up on is a iv a
Saturday morning by Maj. Gener
al Thomas L. Harrold HI Corps
commander.
After a briefing by Lt. Col. Tru
man Alford on the situation to date
General Dahlquist conducted an in
spection in the field of the First
Armored Division which is being
tested in new concepts of atomic-
age warfare and the Fourth Ar
mored Division which is supply
ing the "Aggressor" troops for the
problem.
(the
81st
Aggressor Forces Slow Drive
Of Advancing First Armored
ter fuel and ration-short CC B
the Aggressors caused the situa
tion to look desperate.
Relieved of their material short
ages by an air-drop plus an atomic
drop the Aggressors allowed CC
to link up with CC C which had
succeeded in a drive across Cow
house Creek.
Take Prisoners
A total of 399 First Armored Di
vision prisoners were reported as
having been taken according to
Aggressor Headquarters.
An atomic drop on the 1st Ar
mored Tuesday morning (results of
which was not available at press
4th AD Names
25th Recon.
As Honor Bn.
The commander's trophy and
streamers designating the "Battal
ion of The Month" went to the 25th
on a is an at a on of
A or iv is on or
month of January it has been an
nounced by Maj. Generp.l Thomas
J. H. Trapnell iv & on com
mander.
The trophy is awarded the bat
talion each month which has the
fewest delinquencies accidents
courts-martial and vehicle defi
ciencies plus points which are
given for participation in the sav
ings program athletics and other
activities.
The battalion is commanded by
Lt. Col. AlexJVT. Nelson.
At the same time Headquarters
Company of Combat Command A
as am pa of
Month" for the competition con
ducted on the company level.
Hood Soldiers
To Visit Gray
On Saturday
Fort Hood units will visit Gray
Air Base Saturday morning to view
an aircraft display as a part of
the Troop Information and Educa
tion program.
Pilots and crew members will be
on hand to explain the missions
of the jet and conventional air
craft. While the visit will not in
clude a planned demonstration of
planes in the air the Hood soldiers
will be able to view aircraft fly
ing regular missions.
The visitors will also have an
opportunity to listen to the control
tower in operation and monitor
the landing of a plane by means
of the Ground Control Approach
unit used in blind flying- The
program will begin at 10 a.m.
All units and individuals at Foi
Hood are invited to attend. Intel
ested parties should call the Train
ing Section 4005th SU Enlisted De
tachment Telephone 41297 which
is coordinating the visit. The visi
tors will leave together from the
4005th at 9 a.m. Saturday..
The Editor Speaking
What is needed in American
journalism is a school to refine
the art of interrogation. Re
cently a Washington news man
propounded this question Ad
miral Radford: Does Red
China have the power to liber
ate Formosa? Journalists are
always using "liberate" when
they mean "enslave."
First Armored Team Work
Pays Off Against Aggressor
time) hit the link up point of CC
and CC B.
Another blow to the 1st Armor
ed effort was the loss of an atomic
an no as a
"knocked out" after an Aggressor
air strike. The cannon position had
been radioed to the airmen by an
Aggressor reconnaisance patrol.
1st
FLASH FLOODS—SFC Joseph Pellam (in water) and Sgt. Russell Bianchi (in jeep) found it plenty
damp in the field during the exercises now underway following the heavy rains over the weekend
which preceded the sleet a.nd snow. The two Aggressors are in the Photo Section of the 144th Armor
ed Signal Company Fourth Armored Division. (U.S. Army Photo)
GATHERED FROM FRONT line battle reports of the First Arm
ored Division this unofficial map depicts the highlights up to mid
night Monday February 21 of the field exercise testing the Division
in new concepts of atomic-age warfare. Aggressor troops in the
problem are being supplied by the Fourth Armored Division. The
exercise is scheduled to end March 1. (Map by LeFebjre)
First Fort Hood
Carnival Planned
(See Photo Page 5) I
The recently organized Fort Hood
Activities Group met in commit
tee last week to make preliminary
plans for a carnival to be held at
Fort Hood on April 30 May 1 2
and 3.
Besides providing recreation for
station personnel and Youth Activi
ty groups the carnival receipts
will be used to provide better fa
cilities at Meadows School and to
aid Youth Activities and Special
Services.
Victory Shows Inc. have been
contracted to furnish rides side
shows and some concessions. In
addition many other concessions
will be operated by the Officers'
and NCO Wives and other Fort
Hood groups.
Several committees have been
born within the Activities Group
to handle various phases of the
carnival.
Committee Plans
The Steeling Committee com
posed of a representative from
Special Services Youth Activities
and Meadows School will be re
sponsible for the general organiza
tion and operation of the carnival
moneys and be responsible for all
outside contracts for the carnival.
Formulating the plans for Fort
Hood personnel's contribution to
the carnival will be an Advisory
Committee which will include a
chaplain and a legal officer.
A Finance Committee will be re
sponsible for all money and neces
sary records and will pay all bills
incurred by the Activities Group.
The remaining committees are
self explanatory and include the
Concessions Ticket and Transpor
tation Publicity and Grounds com
mittees.
Member's of the separate com
mittees will be announced in the
SENTINEL at a later date.
Advance ticket sales for both
adults and claldren will begin in
the near future.
1st AD Jeep
Band Appears
In San Antonio
With "The Eyes of Texas" look
in on as el a is in
First Armored Division's famed
jeep-mounted band made a special
appearance last Friday ir. San An
tonio as the annual Fat Stock Show
parade wound its way through the
city.
Preceded by the colors and the
lieutenant governor of Texas Ben
Ramsey the colorful musicians
"rolled" at the head of a column
of at an a he as
Star" ranchers and cattlemen had
their day.
The jeep band is under the di
rection of CWO Erwin M. Greger
Grover City Calif.
Final Exercise
Critique Set Wed.
The final critique of current
training exercises now in operation
will be held at 10 a. m. next Wed
nesday March 2 in Theatre No.
1 it was announced by Headquar
ters HI Corps.
All personnel attending are asked
to be seated not later than
9:55 a.m.
The uniform will be service
jacket and trousers wool shade 33.
*14 Pages
Exercise Moves
Into Final Phase
By LAWRENCE T. FRIEND
WITH THE FIRST ARMORED
DIVISION IN THE FIELD—Tak
ing everything that an enemy
might be expected to throw their
way—and more—the fighting men
of the First Armored Division were
finding out Thursday morning that
"team action" pays off on a bat
tlefield where the use of new weap
ons of war may mean destruction
of personnel and equipment on a
scale unparalleled in battle history.
During the past hours of simu
lated combat between "United
States'' and 'Aggressor'' armies
in the test exercise now moving
ahead in high gear at Fort Hood
heavy emphasis has been laid on
logistics as they would affect mo
bile combat formations under con
ditions of atomic or thermonuclear
warfare.
During the current 17-day field
exercise that is scheduled to end
March 1 the division is undergoing
a in to in
combat potential of its largest sub
ordinate unit the combat com
mand.
Because of the limited "battle"
area available only the combat-
command size unit of the Division
is being tested. But both combat
and supporting elements of the
A or a re in a
thorough workout against an "en
emy" as well as some stiff oppo
sition from Mother Nature.
Combat Commands and of
the Division are engaged in real
istic "combat" with eight battal
ions of "Aggressor" troops fur
is he or he is
Fourth rmored at Fort Hood.
Commander of the division is
Maj. General William S. Biddle.
Col. Robert R. Glass normally
commander of the Fourth Ar-
mored's Combat Command
heads the "Aggressor" force.
CONARC Directs
The entire operation is under the
general supervision of the Com
manding General Continental
Army Command who is also di
recting a similar test of the Third
Infantry Division which is being
held at Fort Benning Ga.
All employment of atomic weap
ons in the current problem is be-
irtg simulated. But the probable ef
fects and implications of such
weapons as to the tactical use of
men and equipment on future bat-
ttlefields are being carefully
weighed.
Throughout Wednesday and on
into the first houra of Thursday
at an of
First Armored were undergoing re
organization in the western sector
of the Fort Hood Reservation fol
lowing the heaviest day of "fight
ing" thus far on Tuesday.
As a result of Tuesday's action
CC and CC were occupying
new positions as they waited to hit
"Aggressor" forces that Wednes
day night were neavily entrenched
in the western sector.
Atomic Blast
An "Aggressor" atomic blast of
75 kiloton yield had destroyed ele
ments of the First Armored's CC
which Tuesday morning attacked
from the north to link up with the
iv is on vi
from below Cowhouse Creek.
At daybreak Tuesday CC B
which had been bottled up since its
supply lines were cut Friday broke
out of positions in the Royalty
Ridge and Henson Mountain area
of the reservation.
Hitting hard with friendly air
and artillery support CC troops
drove southward to effect a link
up with CC C which had been
maintaining mobile defensive posi
tions south of the creek against
heavy "aggressor" concentrations.
Two simulated atomic blasts
coming just two minutes apart
rocked "Aggressor" strongholds in
the vicinities of Shell and Manning
Mountains at dawn Tuesday.
Launch Attack
The first shot from a 280 mm.
atomic cannon and the second an
"Honest John" rocket missile were
launched from atomic artillery
(See FIRST Pagee 13)
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Armored Sentinel (Temple, Tex.), Vol. 9, No. 8, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 24, 1955, newspaper, February 24, 1955; Temple, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth254418/m1/1/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Casey Memorial Library.