In February 1959, I was part of a group of young 2nd Lieutenants fresh out of Airborne and Ranger schools checking into our first Army assignment, the 2nd Battle Group, 2nd Infantry, 24th Infantry Division. We were stationed in Gablingen on an old German Air Force base about a 20-minute drive from Augsburg. The Division was spread between Augsburg and Munich.

The Division replaced the 11th Airborne Division, which had been demobilized (Our NCOs told us that the reason they brought in the 24th was to repair relations with the local German populace, which were pretty bad because of the airborne troopers off-duty conduct).

“A” Company was like a number of companies in the Battle Group. Company commanders were Reserve Officers who had fought in Korea and had been promoted but were subject to reductions in force (riffed) when the Army downsized. They were old, experienced Captains who, with the help of some good career NCOs, knew how to run an infantry unit. Although most companies had an Executive Officer, there was a shortage of officer platoon leaders. I found myself as the only one in my company, which was the case throughout the Battle Group.

My First Sergeant, Willingham, was old school, having fought in WW II and Korea. Most of the troops, and definitely the NCOs, were more scared of him than they were of the CO. He would sit at his desk with his feet propped up, a cigarette dangling out of his mouth, and read the riot act to NCOs and soldiers he had summoned to his office. I don’t think he had much use for brand new 2nd Lieutenants, but he gave me good advice, and he told me when he saw me doing something dumb; he really taught me a lot about soldiers and leadership.

The enlisted men in my company were generally from the Midwest. They had been drafted in 1958, and joined the Division right from Ft. Riley. Many of them were single. The married ones were not authorized to bring dependents over, but some did anyway. They lived on the economy with no Army support. They were a good group of men and in their short two years in the Army became real soldiers.

We all were tested many times by our field training at Hohenfelds and Grafenwohr, and at Wintershield I and II. Those days bring back memories of freezing cold, long marches, C-rations, and a mess hall that always seemed to arrive late. We trudged across frozen and snowy terrain carrying our sleeping bags and wearing heavy thermo boots. This was during the era when the Berlin Wall went up and we were preparing for a possible Russian attack on Germany.

There were also Army Training Tests (ATTs), Unit competitions, Spartan barracks, and the isolation of Gablingen where German bus service was the only way for enlisted men to get into town when they were off duty. My platoon had one of those ATTs shortly after I arrived, and we came out tied for first place in the Battle Group, which boosted my standing, and the platoon’s, with the First Sergeant and CO. When we weren’t in the field, there were the daily inspections, morning runs, weapons cleaning and training, and classroom instruction on various subjects, including the prevention of venereal disease.

One particular subject got our Division Commander, General Walker, relieved when he pushed an anti-communist “Pro-Blue” program on the Division. He had purchased the books himself and ordered the officers to read them and teach classes to the troops. One kind of inspection our NCOs and the officers always dreaded was the short-notice drop-ins by our Assistant Division CO, General Maroun. One time he came to “A” Company, which we had hustled to prepare, making sure the troops and barracks were in pristine condition. The only soldier who didn’t measure up was a redheaded PFC who had just joined us; he needed a haircut and didn’t have a clean uniform. We made sure he was not in sight of the General. General Maroun seemed pleased with the inspection. But as he and the CO were walking outside the building after the inspection, who should the General see carrying garbage out the back but the redhead! General Maroun zeroed in on him, and on our CO.

Sports were big in the Division and I was assigned to coach the Battle Group basketball team for a couple of months before a Special Services “jock” lieutenant showed up to take over. Our team eventually won the USAREUR championship that made our Battle Group Commander, Colonel Ward, very happy.

For a young lieutenant on his first assignment with troops, my days with the 24th Division in Germany were a great learning experience that got me off on the right foot in pursuing an Army career. I owe that good start to the officers, NCOs and the young soldiers I was privileged to lead. Some years ago I learned that the men of “A” Company had started having biennial reunions. This is an example of the bonding effect that serving together in a good division like the 24th had on these young troopers.

I salute them for their effort and for their service during the Cold War!

John Herren, Colonel, USA, retired, Bethesda, Maryland
The Taro Leaf, Vol 63(2) Spring 2009, pg. 41.

Living at 4668 Garfield Street, Washington, DC. My career has been typical--troop duty in Germany, school at Benning, aiding a General, and then commanding a rifle company in Vietnam where my unit, the 1/7 Cavalry fought the historic "Battle of la Drang." What haven't I done? No wife, no horse, no mustache--yet!

John writes: As a typical Army brat, I grew up on Army posts, mostly in the South, allthough we did manage tours in Korea and Japan after WWII. My dad was a cavalry officer who I remember gave young straight legs at Ft. Benning instruction on how to fight on horseback during some of my early Army post years.

Following graduation, I did the normal tours as an infantry officer: airborne/ranger, tours in Germany and Ft. Benning with the advanced ciurse in between. One highlight of my troop career was as a company commander with the 1st Airmobile Test Division, then deploying with them to Vietnam as the 1st Cavalry Airmobile Division. Saw my share of combat including the IA Drang battle prior to returning for ROTC instructor duty at Georgetown University.

The two years at Georgetown were not only a welcome respite from the mud of Vietnam, but allowed me to meet and marry Sally, a native Washingtonian. The Staff College followed, then another tour to Vietnam, a Masters in International Relations at Georgetown University, and four years in DCSOPS at the Pentagon. Next, to Germany for a three year tour including commanding a mechanized infantry battalion in beautiful Baumholder. Since then, I have been in the Washington, DC area where I commanded the Baltimore-Washington Recruiting District, went to the National War College (Class of 1980), and served on the Secretary of Defense's Staff (in the NATO Policy Office, both as a colonel and now as a civilian (Foreign Staff Specialist).

Along the way, Sally and I have had four children, though one of them died after a year. We are very proud of our three -- Lisa, a freshman at Connecticut College, and Michael and Allison who attend Potomac School in Virginia where Sally is also Director of Alumni Affairs. We have become Washington Suburbanites, but try to lead a fairly quiet life amidst all the frenzied activities that make up Washington. We keep in touch with our DC classmates and look forward to a continuance of these warm friendships in the years ahead. Beat Navy

I entered the Academy from the West Point Prep School with the Class of 1957, but had trouble in electricity my cow year and joined the class of 1958. When not studying, I played virtually every intramural sport and enjoyed the camaraderie. Upon graduation, I selected infantry as my branch, went through basic Infantry, Airborne, and Ranger training at Ft. Benning, GA prior to joining a fun group of my classmates and wives (Gibbins, Browns, Evans, Zwick) with an infantry brigade in Germany. There I was schooled in how to run a platoon and how to soldier by a touch old first sergeant and two reserve captains who had fought in WWII and Korea.

My next career highlight was commanding a rifle company for 18 months, 4 in combat. We went through a rigorous test of the Army's new air assault concept and then deployed to the Central Highlands in Vietnam as part of the 1st Cavalry Division Airmobile. My battalion was involved in a number of combat operations, the most fierce being the 14-17 November, 1965 battle at LZ X-Ray, the la Drang Valley. My classmate, Tony Nadal, and I fought side by side as company commanders in a ferocious three-day engagement with elements of three North Vietnamese divisions. (This battle is described in the book We Were Soldiers Once and Young, by Moore/Galloway.

After Vietnam I taught ROTC and worked on an MA at Georgetown University. I met and married my wife, Sally Hand, a lovely young lady from Washington, DC. After the Armed Forces Staff College, I was back in Vietnam on the J-3, MACV staff. I covered I Corps and Special Forces as to their operational plans and spent a lot of time visiting those commands. I was also the Ops briefer for General Creighton Abrams's weekly battlefield updates with his commanders, a very interesting task. On the home front, Sally delivered Lisa, the first of our four children: Lisa, Alice (who died in infancy), Michael, and Allison. Following Vietnam were tours on the Army staff, a battalion command in Germany, a recruiting area command, and the National War College. I spent the next 15 years in NATO Policy, OSD, 11 years as a civil servant. These were busy years at a level where I got a real insight into how defense policy evolves. Sally and I are enjoying retirement in Washington, DC. Besides travel, golf, and two grandaughters, we do some volunteer work (Walker Reed Wounded for me). I credit West Point as starting me on a rewarding career, and I will always be proud of being a member of the Long Gray Line.