Memories Of Dying Days

Col Hall was my Bat Commander downrange. I always thought well of him. His driver was a good friend of mine and  good source of intel for me and my platoon.

• I'm very proud of the fact that I went to war with the Texas Army National Guard and although I'm authorized to wear 2 different combat patches if I had gone back regular Army I would have worn the so called T-Patch for the 36ID. Interestingly, before I left for downrange I found out a brother in laws uncle was one of the first T-Patchers killed at Salerno in WWII.
• My original unit was a Artillery Battery in my hometown. I was 17 when I enlisted- my mom had to sign for me.
  
  
  

  

  No, smart Alec- I don't go that far back.

• Some people need to die before I tell some of those stories. Really- you won't believe me regardless.
• Uh, we were famous for three things: 1) max-ing the Army's live fire gunnery tables, 2) max-ing it's field exercise test (whatever that was called back then- too long since I had to think about it) and 3) partying.
• For the first two US Army observers from Fort Sill followed us around on a four day drill afterwards and the next annual training at Fort Hood to see what they could learn from us.
• For the third they had to pretend they didn't see a lot of things.
• Oh come on Kev- the partying couldn't have been that pervasive could it?
• Let me give you a hint with a memory I can pull up like it was yesterday. Coming out of the field and headed to the wash racks 2 1/2 ton trucks are mixed in with ammo carriers and M 109 Howitzers. The guns only have a driver and commander crewing them. Guys in the backs of trucks essentially pass out from exhaustion and I'm no different. Suddenly somebody steps on me and runs to the front of the truck. I wake up punching him in the leg and cussing. That is when I see the muzzlebrake to the barrel of the artillery piece that was behind us come under the tarp of the truck and start pushing its way inside. When we go into the bottom of a low water crossing the barrel scrapes the tailgate as the gun backs away from us and on the way up the next hill everybody scatters again as the gun barrel comes so far inside the truck the muzzle brake touches the ceiling of the tarp. When it backed off and out of the tarp the commander (R.F.) was looking up to the main road beside the tank trail to make sure they weren't busted and laughing his head off with a Budweiser in his hand.
• If I'm lying I'm dying.

  

  After Fallen Heroes March in Austin

• Oh, and our entire unit got stopped by the MPs twice in the same road march for driving erratically on the tank trail and our commander got a ticket.
• I later spent years on active duty at Ft. Hood and never even heard of that happening to a unit on the tank trails.

  

  From an image search for Fort Hood tank trails

• Get stuck on post without wheels? No prob. Just find an unlocked Jeep that belonged to another unit that some Sad Sack left unlocked and problem solved. We drove all over town and went out to eat at Sammy's BBQ and then whiled away an afternoon at the lake. When we got back to the motor pool another unit had moved in so we had to park half a mile away from where it belonged.
• Uh, whoa- I just realized. I was accessory to grand theft auto. Holy smokes.
• My unit was originally the 49th Armored Division which was also called- and I kid you not, The Texas Imperial Army. Legend has it it was actually bigger than the hugely huge US Army's 1st Armored Division by several tanks during the Cold War.