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Call Me SPEARHEAD The Official Publication of the Association of 3d Armored Division Veterans July 15, 2000 Volume 00, Issue 3 At noon on Friday, November 10, 1945, the colors of the 3d Armored Division were furled and cased in a ceremony at the kaserne in Aalen, Germany. This act symbolized the inactivation of the division following the conclusion of the Second World War. Twenty months and five days later the colors would be unfurled in a ceremony at Fort Knox, Kentucky to reactivate the division. In mid 1947 the Army began naming its replacement training centers after distinguished units that were no longer active. Appropriately the replacement center at Fort Knox, the home of American Armor, was designated as the 3d Armored Division. This activation was in tribute to the heroic actions of the men of the division throughout five European campaigns. Today marks the 53d anniversary of the reactivation and the beginning of the SPEARHEAD Divisions participation in the Cold War. From 1947 until 1955 the 3d Armored would train soldiers to serve the Army. The division trained soldiers for combat in the Korean War as well as for service at every other duty station occupied by American troops. In 1955 it was announced that the SPEARHEAD would be reorganized as a tactical division and would deploy to Germany to replace the 4th Infantry Division on freedom’s frontier. The division was given a little under one year to make this transition and be ready for combat. Major General John M. Willems, who had served in the division when it was known as the “Bayou Blitz” (1941-42), was given the command. The division met its objective and was declared combat ready before the May 1st deadline. On May 12th 1956 the first contingent of the Combat Command A arrived at Bremerhaven, West Germany on board the USS Darby. Their arrival marked the beginning of the 36 years of duty as America’s choice to defend the Fulda Gap. The Cold War years were not bloodless for the division and many 3AD soldiers would never again see American soil after arriving in Germany. As the division trained to repulse the Soviet onslaught soldiers died. In one terrible incident, 16 soldiers of 3d Squadron, 12th Cavalry were killed when a stray 8-inch artillery round impacted in the billeting area at Grafenwohr. Training accidents would claim the lives on many SPEARHEAD soldiers. Let us never forget the price that American service members have paid for freedom!
Over the
course of the next two plus years the regiment would also train at Fort Polk,
Louisiana; Desert Center, California; Fort Pickett, Virginia; and Indian Town
Gap, Pennsylvania. In
September of 1943 the regiment headed out for Great Britain to prepare for the
invasion of the European continent. The regiment trained in England for nine
months before landing in Normandy.
As the principal unit for Combat Command B, the 33d Regiment saw a tremendous amount of action and duly earned their nickname “Men of War”. In action at Scherpenseel and Hastenrath, Germany the 1st Battalion was award the Presidential Unit Citation while its commander, LTC Herbert M. Mills, was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. During the Battle of the Bulge the 3d Battalion under LTC Samuel Hogan continued fighting even after they were cut off from other friendly units. When their ammunition and fuel finally ran out, they destroyed their equipment and infiltrated back into friendly lines on foot. Throughout the five European campaigns the veterans of the 33d Armor proven themselves to be a premier fighting force. The regiment was inactivated following the end of the war with the rest of 3d Armored Division. In July
of 1947 33d Armor colors were brought back into the active army as a separate
tank battalion. The 33d Tank was
activated at Fort Knox, KY along with the rest of the 3d Armored Division.
The unit served at Knox as a training unit until reorganized in 1955 as a
tactical battalion. When deployed to Germany the 33d Tank Battalion was
stationed at Gelnhausen as part of Combat Command B.
In 1957 the Army renumbered all of the separate tank battalions under the
Combat Arms Regimental System. During
this reorganization the 33d Tank Battalion was redesignated as 1st
Battalion, 33d Armor. During this
same timeframe the 2d Battalion was activated at Fort Polk.
It then inactivated at Polk and was reactivated in Germany in the spring
of 1958 where it served until 1986, joining 3d Armored Division in 1963.
During the 1960’s the 3d, 4th, & 5th Battalions would also be activated giving the 33d Regiment four battalions on active duty and one battalion, the 4th, on reserve duty. With exception of the 4th Battalion, which inactivated in 1968, all of these battalions served the army until the mid 1980s. When the Army adopted the U.S. Army Regimental System in the mid 1980s the 33d Regiment was reduced to a single battalion stationed at Fort Lewis, WA. This battalion, the 1st, has been activated, inactivated and reactivated several times over the years, but it currently serves as part of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. The 2d Battalion was reactivated at Fort Knox KY in the early 1990s as part of the 194th Separate Armored Brigade, only to be inactivated in 1995. As part of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, 1-33 Armor will be converted to a Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition Squadron in the early part of next year. This conversion will prove to be very challenging as they help the army develop new tactics for the next century. SPEARHEAD Happenings Around the World
1-36 Infantry
Heads to Kosovo 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry (SPARTANS) deployed to Kosovo on June 7th for a six-month tour of duty. 1-36 IN is currently assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division and normally stationed at Ray Barracks in Friedberg, Germany. Former Cavalry
Commander to Receive his Second Star BG Terry L. Tucker who commanded 4-7 Cavalry in 3d Armored Division during the Operation Desert Storm was recently selected for promotion to Major General. BG Tucker has most recently been serving the Army as the Assistant Division Commander for Support of the 25th Infantry Division. 1-32 Armor to
be Reorganized and Redesignated As part of the 3d
Brigade, 2d Infantry Division’s conversion to an Intermediate Brigade Combat
Team, 1st Battalion, 32d Armor is being reorganized as
Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition Squadron.
In conjunction with this reorganization, the battalion will be
redesignated as 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry in September of
this year. No decision has yet been
made on whether another battalion will be given the colors of 1-32 Armor.
Anti-Tank Guns and
Army Manuals
Submitted by J. Vickers Smith After 3d Armored Division arrived in the desert in 1942, the Maintenance Battalion began to man the TO&E which among other things called for an anti-tank platoon of five guns for the Bn Hq and one gun each for each of the four companies, HQ, A, B, and C. By August 1942 equipment issue had begun and the Maint Bn was issued ten new self- propelled 37mm anti-tank gun. This was a new piece of equipment and there was no advanced information available – the manuals were issued with the guns. This resulted in my reading the manuals at night and teaching it to the enlisted men the next day. In one of the manuals it stated that the 37mm gun had a 360 degree field of fire. It is important to know this number for in combat it helps determine the placing of the gun. At first look, it didn’t seem practical to have a 360 degree field of fire. The 37mm gun was mounted in the bed of a ¾ ton truck and sure enough, the mount allowed a traverse of 360 degrees. However, when the gun fired toward the front of the vehicle, the end of the barrel was over the truck’s instrument panel and would possibly damage the glass-covered instruments located there. It would have been impossible to safely fire the gun if the driver was in his seat. Therefore, I suggested that the gun not be fired forward, even in an emergency. One evening in the officers’ mess tent, LTC Cowhey, the Bn Commander, was present and he asked me how the training was going on the new guns. I told him it was going well and that the manual had some erroneous material in it. He asked what this was and I explained to him about the field of fire of the gun. When I finished, his face was purple and I could see that he was very upset. In a few words, he let me know that second lieutenants (my rank at that time) were dumb and inexperienced and should never question manuals written by experienced experts of the army. He stated flatly that if the manual says the gun has a 360 degree field of fire, it does, and I had better teach it that way. Then followed a tirade on young officers who thought they were smart but really were too dumb to ask a reasonable question. I listened to his scolding but I was convinced that he was wrong. However in those days, a second lieutenant did well not to correct a lieutenant colonel, so I politely exited the mess area. I didn’t want to teach our gunners bad information and since we were firing regularly on the 37mm gun range, I decided to test the gun in the forward firing position. This was a realistic test, for an anti-tank gun in combat could be attacked from any direction and would probably not have an opportunity to move in order to defend itself. The next time we went to the range, we put the gun at the firing point with the front of the vehicle toward the targets. We then traversed the gun to fire over the hood of the vehicle. The gun elevation was set to fire at an approaching vehicle. It was obvious that this was not a recommended firing position. Pictures were taken before and during the firing of one round. When the smoke cleared, the cockpit of the vehicle was in shambles. All instruments with glass were broken and some were hanging out on the wiring connected to them. The windshield, which had been down, was cracked and in general, the vehicle was unsafe to drive. That night at the officer’s mess, I reported the results to LTC Cowhey who exclaimed in a loud voice, “Binckley, I would Court Martial you, but you are so damn dumb you would plead ignorance.” I replied, “Yes sir,” and that was the last ever said on the subject. 3-5 Cavalry Desert Storm SummaryWritten and Submitted by Donald Pinkerton This is a brief story of the 3d Battalion, 5th Cavalry (Black Knights) deployment and participation in Operation Desert Storm. This deployment in my mind was truly the test of many years of hard training that everyone had been involved in to prepare for a mission such as this. In fact the Battalion was just completing a Grafenwöhr / Hohenfels rotation when the unit was alerted for the deployment.
As I recall we were officially notified in November 1990. Many long hours followed as the battalion prepared all the equipment to be shipped, and all the soldiers got all of their personal things in order. The equipment was railroaded and moved to the port in mid December. An advance party was formed from soldiers of each company that would move with the equipment. MAJ John Lough, the Battalion S-3, was the officer in charge of the advance party. The remainder of the Battalion began flying to Saudi at the end of December. B & C Companies departed Germany and arrived at King Fahd Airport on New Years Eve 1990.
Once in Saudi, units arriving were being staged in many different areas. The Black Knight Battalion was staged at the Port of Damam. The plan was to stay at the port until our equipment arrived, and then move to the Division’s Tactical Assembly Area (TAA) Henry. The ship that our Battalion’s equipment was on had problems enroute. This caused a delay in the battalion getting its equipment.
As we were approaching the middle of January, the word of possible Scud missile attacks in and around the port had soldiers and leadership concerned. The news of talks breaking down in the political arena meant that it was just a matter of time before something would start. MAJ Lough had already taken an advance party to the TAA to layout the battalion’s sector. A decision was made to get the majority of the battalion out of the port and to the TAA. Since we did not have our vehicles and equipment we boarded buses that the Support Platoon drivers had drawn from the port and moved the main body of the battalion to the TAA. Drivers and TCs were left at the port to wait for the equipment and would later link up with us in the TAA. I was with the first group to arrive at the TAA just hours before the air war started. To the best of my knowledge the remainder of the battalion and equipment arrived a couple of weeks later.
While in TAA Henry the battalion performed all the tasks that normally occur in a tactical assembly area in preparation for the ground war that would follow. Daily activities included stand-to, all weapon systems zeroed, ammunition issued, load plans checked, etc. While the Battalion was in TAA Henry we lost our only soldier the battalion would lose during the deployment. SPC Peter Swano became ill with some sort of virus and died. SPC Swano was in HHC in the mortar platoon.
On 16 February 1991 the battalion started making the move toward Forward Assembly Area (FAA) Butts to stage for the ground war. In Butts the battalion conducted rehearsals, pre-combat checks etc. On the afternoon of 24 February 1991 the Black Knight Battalion made its move toward the border of Iraq and crossed where the engineers had made holes in the berm. We moved until it became dark and halted for the night. This allowed the Division to reform in its attack formation. It seemed like the night was real short; everyone was filled with anxiety. The battalion moved in its attack formation until it made contact on 26 February 1991 around 1600hrs. The battalion was held in this position where we fought a Mechanized Infantry Battalion of the Tawakalna Division of the Republican Guard. Over the next 48 hours we pretty much stayed in contact destroying the enemy, continuing our push toward Objective Minden. The battalion was halted on 28 February 1991 and directed to take up a blocking position.
This was truly the best any 1st Sergeant could ask for. I had been in this Battalion since 1985 and had held positions of Platoon Sergeant, 1st Sergeant, and Battalion Master Gunner. I had been the 1st Sergeant of B Co. (Bushwackers) since 1988; this was truly the ultimate test of many years of hard work and training on every soldier’s part. Association News The Store is up and running In May the Association opened a store for members to purchase merchandise bearing the association name along with the 3d Armored Division patch. The items currently being stocked are golf shirts, hats, license plates, bumper stickers, mouse pads, and coffee mugs. Membership renewals For many members the end of your first year of membership is rapidly coming to end. In the coming weeks we will begin to mail out membership renewal notices. We hope that all of our annual members will continue to support the association by renewing their membership. NEW MEMBERS The following new members have joined since our last newsletter. YEARS NAME IN 3AD UNIT or UNITS Joel S. Kyzer 1988-92 SVC/2-227 Aviation & G/227 AV Mike F. Miller 1980-82 122d Maintenance Battalion Frederick C. Sechler 1955-57 29th Armored Infantry Battalion Phillip R. Lindley 1965-67 B/1-33 Armor William F. Wallace 1971-74 HHC 3AD Isaiah V. Oglesby Jr. 1955-58 32d Tank Battalion Richard T. Talo 1961-63 B/2-27 Field Artillery Robert L. Wilcox 1955-57 HHB DIVARTY Stephen Lucero 1977-79 SVC/2-3 Field Artillery Frank Catania 1967-68 HHC/3-32 Armor James A. Keener 1965-67 HHC & A/1-32 Armor Frank K. Almquist 1981-82 HHC/3-33 Armor Todd M. Pidone 1991 503d Military Police Company Robert Q. Jones Jr. 1979-82 B & HHC/2-36 Infantry Robert M. Baker 1953-55 A/37th Armored Infantry Battalion William E. Hammock 1955-58 D/36th AIB & D/2-36 Infantry Marvin L. Spiro 1945 HQ Combat Command B Robert W. Fuson 1943-45 Company A, 36th Armored Infantry William M. Baldwin 1963-65 HHC 1st Brigade & A/2-32 Armor Lester H. Baver 1944-45 Company A, 36th Armored Infantry George H. Hoyt 1945 Company A, 36th Armored Infantry Willis D. Green 1944-45 Company A, 36th Armored Infantry Clyde M. Grubb 1943-45 Company A, 36th Armored Infantry Stanley T. Atkinson 1945 Company A, 36th Armored Infantry Merle E. Lambert 1944-45 HQ 1/36th Armored Infantry Joyce E. Ferrier Associate Charles R. Smith 1959-62 503d Military Police Company Orville W. Paeth World War II 23d Engineers & 45th Medical Phillip L. Mitchell 1961-64 C/2-13 CAV, C/2-32 AR, HHC CCA/1st Brigade George K. Moore 1977-80 C/2-6 Field Artillery William H. Myers III 1960-62 503d Military Police Company George Napuda 1951 761st Tank Battalion Carl C. Lotz 1960-63 C/2-32 Armor Jason A. Schilling 1990-91 HHC/4-18 Infantry Kirk C. Callesen 1975-78 CSC/3-36 Infantry John H. Tullis 1941-45 391st Armored Field Artillery Battalion Robert F. Snead 1941-45 33rd Armored Regiment Band Last round
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