(Also see Walt's photos of the Predient Kennedy visit at Fliegerhorst Kaserne, June 1963.)

I love your web site, but (in your history of the 36th FA Gp) you jump from 1958 to 1964. To me the most important years were 1962 - 64 when I spent two years in Babenhausen Kaserne.

I have a bunch of pictures of the Kaserne and other stuff.  Near as I can tell, the pictures of what everyone is calling the barracks is where the HQ Administration building was, S-1, S-2, S-3, S-4 and Communications. I was the Kaserne commander's clerk (who was also known as the group commander, 36 FA Gp) - he was a bird colonel and senior office on the kaserne. When I first arrived it was Col. George P. Curtin followed by Albert E. Hunter and then Thurman Irving.

I have a lot of stories from our move to Fulda during the Cuban Missile Crisis and how flexible an Arty Group really is as it relates to various battalions moving from place to place.  It was also during my time when the 3rd of the 82nd 280 mm "Atomic Cannon" was inactivated as the last in Europe and maybe the last one in the Army.  Got to see that bad boy fire one time.

I am going to try to give a different perspective of serving that the average hard working gunner, infantryman or wireman etc. never knew. I really respect and honor the guys on the front line that did the real work and just want to let them see what maybe some of their buddy's doing my type of work did. As small as my role was, I was proud to serve as my father and his father did before me in two world wars.

I must confess that most of the pictures (I am sending) are from the right side (northwestern corner) of the Kaserne near the main gate. I seldom got to the other end of the place. A few months before my discharge I made Spec 5 so I got over as far as the NCO club; I was in the officer's club a few times to deliver messages from the colonel; and once I was invited to dinner by the S-4 Sergeant in the family living quarters.

I first arrived in Germany at Frankfurt. We all thought were were going to be in V Corps. I spent a couple of days there and was further assigned to HQ Company, Special Troops, Heidelberg. I actually interviewed for the steno job with General Paul L. Freeman Jr. who was the Commanding General of United States Army, Europe. Obviously I wasn't selected. I was then assigned to the P&A Division of HQ USAREUR.

Heidelberg is probably the best city in Germany to be stationed. German national KPs; an EM club that has entertainment such as Sam Cook (60's you remember?) and other like him; a city rich in history and not touched by allied bombs during WWII because it was allied HQ then. When I got orders to go to Babenhausen only after 30 days I was crushed. I guess someone didn't like me there.

I arrived at Babenhausen in Aug of 1962. I found that I would be the S-1 clerk, which was also the personal clerk to the group commander a.k.a. Kaserne Coordinator since he was the highest-ranking officer on the Kaserne. Without question I was blessed with privilege in that the Adjutant, Sergeant Major, XO and Commander wanted me there constantly. As a result I was exempt from guard duty and KP. This wasn't something I asked for and every time we got a new Battery CO or first sergeant I found my name on both rosters. Not once did I ever complain or report this to the sergeant major. I simply reported for duty. In most occasions the battery CO was called and was told to get my but back to the office that correspondence was piling up and I was needed to take the never ending barrage of phone calls. Although this was none of my doing it generated a lot of dislike for me.

Every day the colonel's orderly of the guard was sent to the sergeant major's office, which I also shared. We instructed him to first report to the colonel and introduce himself and n how to make coffee and to periodically check on the colonel to see if he wanted any. Other than that the colonel's order had a great, do nothing day but occasionally was used for gofer chores.

When we got a new battery commander I noticed my name on the guard roster. I never told or complained to anyone at the HQ building. The night before I spent hours spit shining my boots and when I reported for duty I was standing tall. Staff Sergeant Ira Walton was the supply sergeant and made sure I got my M-14 in plenty of time to get it spotless. Guess what! I was selected as colonel's orderly. When I reported to the good old Sergeant Major Megahee he broke out in hysterical laughter because he tried to get me off the roster and since the adjutant was off that day, the battery CO over-ruled him. After he finished laughing he told me to sit my ass down and get to work.

When I first arrived at Babenhausen, Colonel George P. Curtin was the commander. He was a John Wayne type; weathered face, soft spoken and respected by all. When he left Colonel Albert E. Hunter replaced him. Colonel Hunter while an Artillery officer was a real "Officer and a Gentleman" type. He was frequently condescending and loved to wear his dress uniform. Never once did I see Colonel Curtin in his greens or blues. Colonel Hunter loved his picture taken by our PIO specialist. Hunter frequently held the formal military dinners known as "Dine-ins." We had a couple of reams of Special 36th Arty Group stationery with the crest etc. I would have to type individual letters to all the officers invited to these dine-ins on the special paper. In the body of the letter he would inform the recipients who the president was (always him) and who Mr. Vice was. Mr. Vice was generally a junior officer who according to protocol had to say certain things and other various duties? The tradition is ancient and I am sure they had fun - dah? Look up the protocol for a formal "dine-in."

Colonel Hunter was also a "resume" guy. At the time the "Army Commendation Medal" was (and I am quoting from the Army description) "The medal is awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who distinguishes himself or herself by meritorious achievement or service. The degree of meritorious service must be the same as that required for the Bronze Star or Air Medal, but does not involve military operations against an armed enemy. (ANF) In that I typed all recommendations for awards I know that this award was a necessary item for an upcoming officer's resume. Colonel Hunter seemed to recommend every battalion commander and or above average battery commander in his group and at times we had as many as 5 battalions under our command. I know of none that were not eventually approved. In my 28 months I only saw one enlisted man that received the Army Commendation Medal.

One battalion commander that I knew very well was the CO of the 2nd of the 5th, Roscoe Cartwright. I always said to myself that this guy is going to be a general one-day. Low and behold I looked his name up on the Internet and yes I found "Brigadier General Roscoe Cartwright" He was a very tough battalion commander and had a crack, combat ready unit that I was glad that was on my side. Those old 155 towed howitzers were immaculate and well manned. Those guys worked hard and also played hard. He was still in command when they started getting their 175 mm self-propelled units.

My desk was right next to the Sergeant Majors. While I was there I worked for only two sergeants major. Sergeant Major Buford V. Megahee and Sergeant Major Powell. I conveniently forgot Powell's first name.

Sergeant Major Megahee was one of my favorite people in the Army as was the Adjutant Major Joe R. McCray. When I describe old Buford I am using terms of endearment not disrespect. He was a vet of WWII and the Korean War. I only saw him a few times in his dress greens. He had hash marks up to the bend in his elbow and a chest full of medals. To say the least an impressive picture. I can best describe him this way. He would be the man I would love to lead me in battle. He was a seasoned artilleryman. He was a good old redneck from either Georgia or South Carolina. He was cantankerous. He spared no one with his screaming. He was an average size guy with a weathered face and jowls and always spoke with a gruff voice. One of his duties was publishing the Staff Duty Officer roster. He asked all HQ officers to keep him informed of when they were on leave or had officer of the day or officer of the guard duty, but they never did. Thus there were always conflicts. They would call him at the last minute and inform him that they could not serve that particular day. He would scream at them and many were very intimidated, but I loved the man. To compound matters, he would then have to notify another officer and tell them they had duty that day!

When he departed (I think he retired) he was replaced by a battalion Sergeant Major named Powell. From the day of his assignment to the 36th Group HQ to the day I left, my life changed. Sergeant Major Powell resented my authority as a lowly specialist and the fact that I typed all officers' efficiency reports, that no one saw but me just killed him. This also made me very popular with many of the officers and he hated it just as the officer's hated him.

Our office received an enormous volume of correspondence mostly directed to the Adjutant. Captain then later Major Joe R. McCray filled that spot. He was another seasoned vet and an absolutely super guy. He had so much trust in me that I literally wrote and typed a great deal of his correspondence. I would lay a 3 inch stack of correspondence on his desk with signature tabs and he would sign them. He did read them before he signed them however.

Courts and boards was another of my duties and was really interesting. I had nothing to do with Article 15's or Summary Courts Martial. They were handled by the battery/company. I was recorder for all of the Special Courts Martial and board hearings, 208, 209 and special investigations. Special courts did not require verbatim accounts but rather a detail summation of the proceedings. This is what my MOS was qualified for. My MOS did not permit me to do board hearings or General Courts but I was directed to record all of the board hearings within our domain. Our communications officer, Major Americo Gonzales Garcia was the senior Major on the staff. He was always selected as the president of special courts martial. We became very close and got to a point where I would correct his pronunciation of certain words. He took it in stride but never changed.

When he told me that I had to record a 208 board I informed him that I was not qualified within my MOS to do it. It mandated a verbatim account just like a civil court. Well I was not qualified to record data that fast. It was all done in short hand. He didn't care and I actually did 6 different board hearings often times with the help of his personal tape recorder, which was absolutely illegal. He took to me a general court martial in Frankfurt in which he was selected as one of the board members involving an accidental shooting by a soldier who was on guard duty and shot his XO who was "playing" intruder to see his soldiers reaction. Well his reaction after saying halt 6 or 7 times fired a shot into the brush and yes it hit the lieutenant right between the eyes. Fortunately V Corps new the regulations and had a qualified reporter with one of those Dictaphone type gadgets that you put over your mouth and literally repeat everything that is said. I was however permitted to sit in on the entire proceedings. Major Gonzales had an expression before every special court martial. Yes he was just jesting but in today's world his words would be a basis of a big lawsuit. As we were ready to proceed and call in the accused he would say, "OK I am ready bring in the guilty bastard." We all knew he was joking and actually he was a very fair and wise president. I recorded 1 NCO and 1 EM club investigation involving theft and fraud. It just so happened that I was the president of the EM club board of governors and was aware of all activities that were a part of managing a club. Sadly some of the managers and Master at Arms took advantage of the system and were punished. I would feel so bad for some of the old NCOs that were a part of the fraud but I guess the old adage flies "Don't do the crime if you don't want to serve the time."

The unit had a military reporter or Public Info guy. He took pictures of training activities and participated in special events such as German/American day etc. He had an office and dark room on the 4th floor. As far as I know this was the only thing on the 4th floor. I was only up there twice and I wish I had his photos. He had tons pictures of the Honest John Unit, Corporal unit, many of the 280 mm gun units that once belonged to our group. Not to mention pictures of the 2/92nd, 3/79th, 2/38th. His filing system was boxes. If only scanner technology was available then. In the admin building which it seems from early pictures of Babenhausen used to be barracks there were 5 floors. I was only on the 4th floor a few times and never on the 5th? Don't have a clue what was up there.

The first floor was personnel and S-4; 2nd floor S-2 and S-3, 3rd Floor consisted of a latrine, small recruiters office, small storage room that we called the coffee room. A small room where the mimeograph machine was and also served as the courier mailroom. I believe a Spec 4 Fred Terry was the boss of this room. Then there was a small office for the Adjutant and next to it was the office of the Sergeant Major and S-1 Clerk. Next to it was the XO's office followed by the Commanders office. At the end of the hall was a conference room where I spend many hours recording court martial and board hearings.

An artillery group is not easy to define. Battalions come and go and believe me I saw it. I have a vague memory of an Honest John missile unit, a Corporal missile unit and two different 280 mm gun units. I saw the 2nd How Bn, 5th Artillery convert from a 155 mm howitzer to a 175 mm self propelled unit. I saw two of the initial Sergeant missile battalions assigned. The Artillery is the heavy foot of the Army and I was proud to be a little part of it.

Walt, when I arrived in Babenhausen in 1962 I was aware of what readiness tests were. They could be called by 7th Army, V Corp, V Corp Artillery and the biggies by USAREUR. In October just two months later, I think on the 14th, we had what we all thought was a readiness test, i.e. monthly alert. I remember our HQ convoy going somewhere that was a bit far and I recall seeing pumpkins or bunkers as they were called. Not till after we arrived at Fulda, Germany did I know what they were. They were the nuclear warheads for (I am not sure), but I don't think we had the 5th Missile, 77th Artillery in our unit yet. So I deducted they were for our Corporal Missile battalion?

That scared the hell out of this 18-year-old Pittsburgh Catholic whose grade school nuns constantly spoke of the end of the world. I asked an old veteran NCO how big are those things compared to Hiroshima. His reply really shook the heck out me. He said Hiroshima put out a blast equivalent to maybe 12 kt. These warheads were 20 kt.

The colonel's driver a very good buddy of mine was Conrad Gasper. He was from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Not too long before he was drafted he was a left hand pitcher with on of the LA Dodger's farm teams. He ended up with elbow surgery and his potential career was ended. As a little leaguer I was a catcher and talked him into throwing me some smoke. I always wondered what it would be like to catch a big leaguer. We got out the gloves and he took his time warming up. When he started firing them he damn near knocked me over. I ended up telling him that I had enough. Conrad was always on call for whomever. I loved when good old Sergeant Major Megahee called for him in that loud southern accent. He would yell at the top of lungs "Jaspah get your ass in hea." Conrad acquired a nickname after that. We all call called him Jaspah. Keep in mind his name was Gasper (hard G). Fond memories.

Another dear friend was Dave McKibben. He was already on his second enlistment and was a personnel specialist. He was from Albion, Illinois, and could have easily have been the personnel sergeant. He made Spec 5 and probably made staff sergeant shortly after my departure. I was never able to contact him.

Another great story of a personal friend was Charles P. Marshall of Charleston, S.C. he arrived in Babenhausen about 1 year after me. This is a true story of human determination and the will to not be defeated. He was assigned as the S-4 clerk. He appeared to be a shy guy that kept to himself. I soon became a great friend and we had a lot of fun. One time in Graf we had to put our shelter halves together and share the infamous tent. No level ground was available and we put it together on a steep hill. Both of our air mattresses had a hole in them and didn't inflate. It was very cold and pouring rain and the water was pouring down the hill. Needless to say we both got soaked and were miserable. He told me that he was in his 4th year as a cadet at the Citadel. He went on to say he was drummed out for an indiscretion. I don't know what the indiscretion was, but I do know it wasn't cheating. I learned from my cousin who was at the time a cadet at VMI that indiscretions might seem minor to most people, but if they were a violation of the schools code of conduct there was zero tolerance. Charlie never disputed the code of conduct and took it like a man. He joined the Army as an enlisted man. In many of our conversations he would tell me that someday he would get his diploma from the Citadel.

Sometime in the 1970's I got a phone call. It was Charlie. He said "Hey, I am at the Pittsburgh Hyatt sitting next to your District Attorney and that he was a principal of a middle school in S.C and was in Pittsburgh for a Principal's convention. I picked him up and we spent all evening at my home talking about our days at Babenhausen. He then proudly told me: "I got my diploma from the Citadel as I said I would."

Well Walt since I rambled and hopped all around in my narrative I will close. I suppose I could have rambled on for pages more, but I will not plague you with anymore. Oh, almost forgot. I have included a bunch of pictures that were taken by Bob Butterly at Fliegerhorst Kaserne. They are not in the power point presentation. They were part of a display for the JFK visit in June of 1963. The equipment represents all types of units that were based in Germany. I used to have a group of color 35 mm slides of Kennedy that I bought at the PX but lost them?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Just wanted to let you know that the building on the bottom right next to HQ Btry barracks (see map below) was the home of the 14th Quartermaster Battalion. We would eat in their mess hall and vice versa when it was time to spray the mess halls with insecticide.

I noticed the new list of past commanders of the 36th Group that you recently added. I had forgotten about little old LTC Robert E. Cleveland. He served as CO until Col Hunter came on board and then served as XO during most of my tour. He was replaced sometime in 1964 by a LTC Kusick (sp?) as XO.

He was a neat little guy, actually shorter than my 5' 6" frame. Salt and pepper flat top hair and had a great sense of humor. He had a hair cut thing. As I drew closer to my discharge date I was trying to let my hair grow out a bit. One day he sent me back to the barber twice to get more cut off. After the first one he gave me the 50 cents out of his pocket. I think that's what a hair cut cost then?