Arrived at HHB 94th ADA Group (Nike-Hercules) June 1979, Kaiserslautern, Germany after being reassigned from A-3-71 Dallau Germany. HQ 94th ADA Group was still located at Kleber Kaserne in Kaiserslautern.

Being assigned to the 94th ADA GP S3 Section, ORE Team (1) meant periodically visiting each firing unit of the four battalions - sixteen firing units in all. Initially, the ORE Team consisted of team chief Roy Gortney (later succeeded by Bill Knox), Fire Control Techs, Pollard Sullivan and Mike Lavka, Launcher Techs, Joe Welch and myself. Our mission was to assess the operational readiness of each firing unit in 94th ADA Group.

Each battalion had a rotation schedule for it's batteries. One would be the 'Hot' battery with response time of 15 minutes, a second battery would be the 'hot backup' with a response time of 30(?) minutes, a third battery would be on '3 hour standby' with a response time of 3 hours, the fourth battery would normally be in 'deep maintenance' with a 6(?) hour response time.

The ORE team chief would schedule which units we would visit. Sometimes we would visit a unit early in the morning only to find out it had declared itself out of action during daily checks; however, if the backup unit was nearby, we would go right over and visit that unit. The distance between adjacent units was seldom more than 25 miles apart.

We paid visits to all of the firing units of each battalion;
3rd BN 71st ADA with units at Dallau, Hardheim, Pforzheim, Grossachsenheim - all in Baden Württemberg;
2nd BN 1st ADA with units at Quirnheim, Dexheim, Dichtelbach, Wackernheim - all in Rheinland-Pfalz;
5th BN 6th ADA with units at Hontheim, Wüscheim, Schonborn, Baumholder - all in Rheinland-Pfalz;
2nd BN 56th ADA with units at Geinsheim, Landau, Salzwoog, Oberauerbach - all in Rheinland-Pfalz.

I was able to revisit some of the units where I had been stationed on previous assignments.

Joe Welch and I were also part of the 94th ADA Group Nuclear Surety Team led by MAJ Motes. We also got to visit most of the firing units in that capacity also.

I got to see a lot more of the German countryside visiting the different units of 94th Group. We also were called upon to be part of the 4th ATAF Tactical Evaluation teams whenever they conducted 'tac evals' within 94th ADA Group, and occasionally some German units in the northern part of Germany.

We were familiar with all of the local inns near the units we visited because sometimes we would have permission of remain overnight, especially, while on a 'tac eval' team. There was one charming country inn located in Hardheim near C-3-71 that my family, including my visiting parents, all stayed at on our way to visit the walled city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

My family lived at Landstuhl Army Medical Center housing area, our kids attended Landstuhl Grammar School, Ramstein Middle School, Kaiserslautern High School. They all had experiences and visited places that kids in CONUS can only dream about. Each has fond memories of our time in Germany from 1977 until we departed in June 1982.

Looking back on my three tours in Germany from 1960-1962, 1962-1967, 1977-1982 covered nearly half of my Army service. It was a good experience; all in different parts of Germany, but not so different as to be unfamiliar. I enjoyed every bit of it.

(1) Operational Readiness Evaluation: no-notice inspections - performed at any time, day or night - that tested a site’s ability to be ready for a missile firing within the fifteen-minute timeline.

My leaders were - Maj Ryasoki, Capt Swanson, (site commanders), Lt Delaney (Crew commander), SSGT Jon Hesse (Crew chief), Msgt Solomon (Commo Chief), Msgt Wicox (1st SGT). There were 3 crews: "A," "B," "C" - I was on A crew.

Anyway I was just looking for info about the 94th and found your site and thought I would add my 2 cents worth.

For the most part, life on the hill was pretty tame. However, we did have some excitement during the Olympics when the athletes from Israel were murdered in Munich. For more than a month we were under high state of alert and during guard duty using weapons with chambered live rounds. Every day there was new intelligence warning of possible attacks of U.S. installations. On one evening, around 2AM, a local using a flashlight and carrying a weapon was hunting pigs while I was on guard. Fortunately, my crew chief Sgt. Hummel spoke German and suggested he hunt somewhere else.

During my tour, we had to go to the "bunker" to cross train on their equipment. The bunker was a NATO installation, manned by US, Canadian and German personnel. That was an exceedingly impressive week.

Eventually we changed from "rostered" 24 hour duty to 24 hours on-48 hours off. This new arrangement give all of us a great deal more time to enjoy our tour in Germany. I purchased a Norton motorcycle after we were temporarily billeted in Landstuhl, while out barracks at during our Kleber Kaserne were being refurbished, and took the advantage to travel the surrounding countryside every chance I could. I had a great time while in country.

By the way, we used to dig up potatoes in the field around the site and roast them on the diesel heaters in the AADCP. They were great! Unfortunately, the farmer caught on, reported us and we had to stop. They were really good while it lasted. I'm glad I was able to help.

I arrived at C-5-1 in May 1962 while the unit was at Annual Service Practice (ASP), McGregor Range, New Mexico. The first sergeant of Charlie Battery was 1SG Graham, launcher platoon sergeant was PSG Edmunds, Bravo (to which I was assigned) Section Chief was SSG Gibson. Charlie was situated on a hill overlooking the Rhein valley; nearby towns and villages included Asselheim, Grunstadt, Bockenheim, Worms, and Bad Durkheim. The slopes of the hill were covered in vineyards. The area is famous for producing outstanding wines. Standing at the gate of the launching area, one could see Frankenthal, Mannheim, and even Heidelberg on a clear day.

Shortly after arrival, I was assigned to go the rifle range at Worms to qualify on the M14. After informing 1SG Graham I had previously qualified six months earlier at Idar-Oberstein, he relented, I did not have to qualify, but I still had to go to the rifle range to pull targets. Such is the life of a soldier. We did not have to pull KP; every soldier donated a couple of dollars every payday to provide for a couple of local civilians to pull KP. We also donated monthly to the First Sergeant’s shoe fund to buy shoes for the children of a nearby orphanage every year.

We had three fully manned operational launcher sections so the men from each section pulled duty, consisting of 24 hours of manning (a launcher section) and guard, every three days.

Bootstrap exercise #1

Btry C 5th Msl Bn 1st Arty to Baumholder summer 1962.

Preparation for Bootstrap began with each section converting the outer-most, semi-permanently, bolted down launcher to a mobile launcher that could be towed behind a 5-ton M54 6x6 truck. The Nike-Hercules missile, being much larger than a Nike-Ajax, had much larger, heavier launchers and loading rails, and supporting electrical equipment. In Ajax we had a missile transport trailer that could transport two fully assembled Nike-Ajax missiles. In Hercules we had a M529 Ready Round Transporter (RTT) that could transport one fully assembled Nike-Hercules missile. Each launcher section had two of the M529 RTTs assigned to it. We also had some Ajax missile transport trailers, and each launcher section had, at that time, five Nike-Ajax missiles -- two were on Launchers 2 and 3, while three missiles were maintained on electrical/hydraulic test stations outboard of Launcher 3. The mobility kit for a launcher consisted of seven hydraulically controlled jacks used for leveling and securing the launchers to the ground, a portable blast deflector, and a removable towing pintle.

Preparation for march order. These are the steps each launcher section had to accomplish.

1. Prepare the missiles for transport, position the M529 RRT to accept the missile, install the adapter rails, roll the missile onto and secure it to the M529 RRT, move the M529 RRT to the convoy assembly area behind its towing vehicle.

2. Prepare the launcher section firing panel for transport. We normally referred to it as the “section panel” or just “panel.” Disconnect all cables from the launcher operating control console (LOCC), roll up cables on reels. Load the section panel, LOCC, and data cables onto the cargo bed of a M54 trucks. The M54 trucks were used to tow the generator and launcher.

3. Prepare the launcher for road march, remove and store loading racks onto the towing vehicle, remove the mounting plates from the launcher, install the hydraulic jacks on the launcher, install the portable blast deflector and linkage on the launcher, install the towing pintle assembly underneath the front of the launcher, install the rear axle underneath the launcher, install the marker light assemblies on each side of the launcher - front and back, position and connect a M197 towing dolly with fifth wheel to the towing pintle assembly. Now we have a fully mobile M94 Nike-Hercules launcher.

4. Each launcher section had a 45 KW 120/208 VAC 400 Hz diesel-powered generator mounted on a M200 generator trailer that provided power to operate all of the launcher section equipment.

After forming in a column at the designated assembly point, we began our road march, at the bottom of the hill we made a left turn that took us through Asselheim and Gruenstadt, and onto the autobahn towards Kaiserslautern. Down at the Kaiserslautern area, we left the autobahn continuing on towards Baumholder. Once we got to Baumholder, our designated temporary site to emplace our launcher section was on what was at one time the temporary Nike-Ajax launching area of 5th Msl Bn 6th Arty. It was situated on a hill overlooking an Army Airfield. We emplaced our three launchers, assembled the loading racks, positioned the M529 RRT, offloaded the missile from the RRT, and loaded it onto the launcher. Afterwards, we passed an operational readiness evaluation (ORE). What was unusual about this particular bootstrap exercise, was the time we actually spent at the temporary site. We stayed there about four or five days before heading back to our permanent site at Quirnheim returning by the same route.

Bootstrap exercise #2

Btry C 5th Msl Bn 1st Arty to Worms summer 1963.

The destination for this exercise was the former tactical Nike-Ajax site of Batteries B & C 63rd Msl Bn near Worms. The preparation, movement, emplacement of the Nike-Hercules launching equipment was the same as described earlier in Bootstrap Exercise #1. Main difference was the destination, and we did not have to stay as long deployed to Worms. One other observation, the site was near the Rhein River, and the mosquitos were quite bothersome. The ground had a lot of slugs, some as long as 4 inches.

Bootstrap exercise #3

Btry C 5th Msl Bn 1st Arty to Landstuhl/Ramstein summer 1964.

A few months prior to this exercise, our launchers had been converted completely to the M94 mobile field launcher. We had also received additional mobility equipment. The (600 pound) launcher operating control consoles were mounted on small four wheel dollies that could be pushed into place by a couple of men. There was a two-reel cable rack mounted on the front of the M200 generator trailers. The section panel was mounted and transported in its own firing section panel trailer that had an access door that was removed to connect the data and power cables. Inside, it was large enough for the panel, panel operator, and section chief during launch operations. Each section had a cable reel rack large enough for the all of the data and power cables for the complete three launcher section; this cable reel rack was securely mounted on the cargo bed of the M54 that towed the firing section panel trailer.

Our destination for this exercise was the tactical site formerly occupied by Batteries A & B 4th Msl Bn 6th Arty. The Fire Control area was on a hill a short distance from Landstuhl Army Hospital while the launcher platoon would occupy the old launcher site of A&B-4-6 near Ramstein. I was selected as a member of the advance party whose responsibilities were to reconnoiter the site, determine the back azimuth to the planned position of the Missile Tracking Radar (MTR), determine the approximate AL angle (azimuth) of the launchers, mark with stakes, the position of each launcher, generator, section firing panel trailer, and launcher control group (LCG) trailer (referred to in Ajax as LCT.)

A day or so later we prepared our equipment and road marched to the vicinity of Landstuhl/Ramstein. Once we drove into the launcher site and began to emplace the equipment, we could tell it was a more efficient operation with all of the new mobility equipment. It really went smooth, but I attribute a lot of that to the soldiers assigned to Bravo Section. They were really a fine group of young men.I hope I can do them justice by recalling their all of names. Refer to attached photo C-5-1_1964.

When the order to prepare for road march was relayed to us, we positioned our M529 RRT to the outboard end or the loading racks, connected the adapter rails from the RRT to the loading rails, and stabilized the RRT when moving the missile onboard. While we were doing this two soldiers from Assembly Section removed the rocket motor initiators, the propulsion arming lanyard, and replaced the forward yoke shear bolt with a steel bolt. After all that was finished, we rolled the missile onboard the RRT and secured it for travel.

Once the missile was on the RRT, we disassembled the loading racks, raised the launcher, installed the blast deflector linkage beween the deflector and the raised launcher, lowered the launcher, with its linkage, raised the blast deflector to its travel position above the launcher. Using the leveling jacks the whole launcher was raised a few inches to swing the rear outriggers inwards to their travel position at the rear of the launcher . The two front leveling jacks were completely retracted, and the double-cylinder center jacks were extended to install the towing pintle under the front of the launcher. Next, we Installed the rear axle/wheels then extended the center jacks high enough to move and connect the M198 towing dolly to the launcher towing pintle. We now had four wheels under the launcher. While this was going on, other men of the Section were rolling cables onto reels, moving and securing the firing section panel into the section panel trailer, preparing the 45 KW generator for travel.

When we were ready for road march, Bravo Section had four M54 5-ton trucks towing one M94 launcher, one Nike-Hercules missile on a M529 RRT, one section panel trailer, and one M200 generator trailer. Each of the other sections, Alpha and Charlie, had the same.

The rest of the Launcher Platoon consisted of the Assembly Section with ¾ ton truck, 2-½ ton truck, 15 kw generator, 5-ton crane w/5th wheel assembly, low-boy transporter, and a Wheeled Front-loader. Launcher Platoon Headquarters with a M151 ¼-ton Truck, M54 5-ton truck towing the Launcher Control Group trailer, and 2-½ ton truck towing its M200 generator trailer.

We departed, drove down the hill, made a left turn, eastward through Asselheim, northeastward towards Bockenheim, then drove north through Alzey to Wackernheim.

We reached our destination, the former temporary launching site of Batteries A & D 63rd Msl Bn on Finthen Army Air Field. Our designated site to emplace the launcher section had an earthen berm to the front which made maneuvering the vehicles difficult. When it came time to move the M529 RRT up to offload it, we could not tow into position with its prime mover. We had to move it into position by brute force manpower which resulted in a serious injury to one of the soldiers of Bravo Section.

The remaining part of the exercise went much like the previously described exercises. We returned by the same route a couple of days later to our permanent site at Quirnheim.

Bootstrap exercise # 5

Btry C 5th Msl Bn 1st Arty to Landau Summer 1966

Once again, I was selected as a member of the advance reconnaissance party. We completed our preliminary survey and staked out the positions of all of our equipment. The location was one of the best I had seen, a broad open field with no obstacles, fairly close to the permanent launching area of Btry B 2nd Bn 56th Arty. It was summer and the weather was perfect.

The route of the road march took us through Asselheim, Grunstadt, onto the autobahn heading eastward to the Frankenthal exit then south towards Speyer. From Speyer, we continued on towards Landau then south to an open grassy field adjacent to B-2-56. We towed our launchers right up to the stakes that marked each launcher's planned position. We set up the launchers, attached the loading racks, positioned the M529 RRTs, and loaded the missiles onto the launchers in record time with no mishaps, no accidents, and no injuries. Once we completed our daily and weekly checks we had some time on our hands so we found something useful to do. Our missiles were still painted white which really stood out against the background of the lush green grassy field that was our temporary site. We took new unused burlap sandbags and took them apart by cutting the seams of the sewn edges, then we tied the corners of the resulting square together to form a rather large quilt-like piece of olive green burlap which we draped over each of the three white missiles. We were later told that one of the helicopter pilots who flew over our temporary site remarked that he could tell something was down there, but could not distinguish what it was. I guess we could credit that to the “tonedown” camouflage and concealment initiative (that came down from somewhere above), and lessons learned from operations in southeast Asia.

We returned to our permanent site at Quirnheim a day or so later by the same route. This was to be my last bootstrap exercise. I had participated in a total of eight bootstrap operations from 1960 to 1966 with two different units, C-4-6 to Trier, Spangdahlem, Germersheim, and C-5-1 to Baumholder, Worms, Landstuhl/Ramstein, Wackernheim, Landau. I never went to the same destination twice. It was quite an experience and I enjoyed every one of them. I believe we proved that with the proper equipment, and well-trained soldiers, we could do the job that was given us.

December 1962. Accompanied Sp4 Bishop, driver of a M37 ¾-ton truck, to transport the Test Responder for repair at our supporting Ordnance DSP at McCully Barracks near Wackernheim. After we arrived and turned over the Test Responder, we stayed overnight at the barracks of A-5-1. During our trip there, a fierce winter storm occurred. The weather was bad - sleet and freezing rain. The next morning we departed, driving slowly over ice-covered roads, to return to Quirnheim. It took us about four hours to make the trip. When we got there, we discovered all offpost traffic had been grounded which meant I could not drive my POV home. So, I decided to walk past the IFC area, down the hillside through the vineyards to Asselheim then on to Grunstadt where I was living at the time. Needless to say, I made it.

The winter storm we endured the evening before was the beginning of a long cold winter. It snowed the next day covering the ice and frozen ground from the previous evening. It snowed several days afterwards also. We had snow on the ground until early February when it began to thaw. During that time, the normal river traffic up and down the Rhein River came to a halt which included shipments of coal. The Army began running convoys of trucks from Bremerhaven carrying coal to the US bases. There was a fear the that ice dams would form on the river, and they would have to broken up by explosives. I don’t recall that the situation ever got that bad, but Pioneer units of the German Army were ready just in case.

When we came into work on Monday, the concrete pad at Bravo Section was covered in ice and snow. The snow was more than a foot deep while the underlying ice was about half inch thick. Cleanup began with no more than the D-handled shovels from our on-vehicle equipment (OVE), we began chipping and shoveling the ice. It took us several days to finally clear the ice and snow from the concrete and asphalt so that we could safely move the missiles about on the loading rails. It remained bitterly cold for weeks. It was so cold the 55-gallon fire barrels inside the missile storage buildings froze solid even though each barrel had a solution of calcium chloride in the water to, supposedly, keep it from freezing. Don’t know what we would have done if a fire had occurred; I guess we would have thrown ice at it.

May 1966. I was given orders to march order one of Bravo Section’s launchers; after the Section cleaned and painted it with a fresh coat of NATO green paint, one of the soldiers from B Section and myself drove one of our M54 trucks, freshly painted also, down to Kaiserslautern near Kapaun Barracks to participate in the ceremony where 32nd Arty Brigade was to become 32nd Army Air Defense Command (AADC) commanded by MG Underwood. This is the ceremony where the 32nd AADC patch with 5 (3 over 2) arrow heads was first unveiled. I believe several of the 94th ADA GP battalions participated by towing a missile on a M529 RRT, or a M94 launcher in the motorized pass-in-review. D-2-56 had a static display with a missile on a launcher. The two HAWK ADA Groups, 10th and 69th, were also represented.

Small arms and crew-served weapons. At C-5-1, everyone was armed with the M14 rifle except maybe the Battery Commander who had a .45 caliber pistol. Crew-served weapons were the M60 machine gun, and from about 1965 the M72 light anti-tank weapon (LAW) with the fibre-glass one-time-use-and-discard storage and launch tube. The older M2 caliber .50 machine gun and 3.5 inch rocket launcher were not to be found.

TOE Change. Sometime around late 1965 to early 1966, our Tables of Organization and Equipment (TOE) changed. All of our M529 Ready-round transporters and most of our M54 5-ton trucks were reassigned to HHB in a newly formed Transportation Platoon, or maybe it was called the Motor Platoon. I believe the idea was that since the battalion was only 25% mobile, all of the resources to move a battery should be located at HHB where they could be called upon to support any one of the firing units. This occurred during the time of the Vietnam War, and was probably in conjunction with the transfer of some of the battalion’s 5-ton trucks to that theater.

Family Housing. During my time at C-5-1, I lived in the barracks at Quirnheim, on the economy in Grunstadt, and in government quarters at Vogelweh housing area in Kaiserslautern. Some of the married soldiers lived at Weierhof Military Housing Area about 40 kilometers from Kaiserslautern on the road to Mainz. The soldiers of C-5-1 went to medical and dental appointments at a small medical facility at Weierhof. Two of my children were born at Landstuhl Army Medical Center a few miles from Kaiserslautern. Living at Kaiserslautern, we could receive American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) that was broadcast from Ramstein AB. Programming began at 15:00 and ended at 24:00.

When we had free time, we drove around the local area. We had a 1200cc Volkswagen and my wife would pack a lunch, and we would take off. Sometimes we would go for a picnic on the banks of the Rhein, and watch the river barges go up and down the river. Some of the towns we visited included Speyer, Neustadt, Bad Durkheim, Mannheim, Heidelberg, Worms, Mainz, Rudesheim, Bingen, Wiesbaden, Zweibrucken, Saarbrucken - all within a day’s drive. It seemed like every year each city, town, and village had a fest celebrating something: wein, fish, wein, wurst, wein, schweinchen, and wein.

I departed C-5-1 in September 1966 being transferred to another unit. I truly enjoyed my assignment there and look back on it with fond memories.

When I arrived at Frankfurt Airport (Mar 1980), it was not Matt that picked me up but LT Tom Leaderly. He was the IFC Plt Ldr from D2/1. Apparently, Delta CDR (CPT Williams) had assaulted the acting Bn CDR (MAJ "Fearless" Frank Farcis) who was sitting in while LTC John Holly was stateside on a MAJ selection Board.

Bottomline I ended up at D2/1 (Dichtelbach), outside Rheinbollen.. CPT (P) Vince Boyle was my first CDR (corrected the problems CPT Williams left behind), CPT Max Knight (oversaw the loss of mission and started the drawdown) the second and CPT Weldon Flaharty (finished the work and closed the site)

I served as Lchr Platoon Leader and XO until she (Dichtelbach site) closed her gates on 20 Sep 1982.

Served the remaining time in my tour as Lchr Plat Ldr in A 2/1 Co-Located with HQ in Wackernheim. CPT Mark Palen was the CDR. Left FRG in Mar 1983.

2/1 was the third of four Nike-Herc Bn to close (in the 94th ADA Bde).. 3/71 was the last and I believe "the Dragon" LTC Epperson was the final CDR there.

COL Winzurk was the 94th GRP CDR

I guess you might call our tactical site "temporary" as everything stayed on trailers with wheels except for the missile launchers. We, though, considered it permanent.

While I was there, which was about 14 months, I was in charge of Maintenance & Spares Trailer.

I think the Hercules was in the pipeline. Just remembered, we had no running water at the site and were powered by 400 cycle generators which were diesel.

Hope this helps.

My tour at Bitburg/Spangdahlem was from Jan 1958 to March 1961. Replacement from launcher pits in Bedford, MA.

Our kindhearted BC, Cpt Beaumeister, recognizing my superior intellect, assigned me to IFC where I OJT'd on MTR, and I hit the ground running. Glad for the opportunity.

I remember well First Sgt Roger J. Pines, starched pressed fatigues and spit shined Corcoran boots. One fine soldier.

Great pics you have -- the one at the Kaserne of the parking lot wth the French barracks behind was the view from my room . Also the 5- ton C-45 at the IFC was parked across from the truck with the commo hut on the back which I drove towing the BC van to Bootstrap No. 1. We just called it a March Order.

Leveling the track antennas was a pure delight. Even with Perforated Steel Plank under the legs didn't help. Just walking around the legs forced the level pads into the mud, causing leveling to be done over and over.

I owned a little Austin Healey sports car that made many a 'thunder run' back to Bitburg for Pizza at Col. Brown's as well. My crew usually hung out at the Bambu Bar where a liter of beer cost one MARK.

Funny how well we remember names of guys in the crew so well. When you work 24 on 24 off and all sleep in the same room you become family. Later BC was Cpt Waters, Plt leader Lieutenants Gaustad and Ted Wilson. My section chief was Melvin Churchill. CWO Brown, Msg Foster, maintenance techs. I don't remember his name, but the Launcher Platoon Sgt, who had lost most of his hair, leaving only a fringe around the sides and back, was well liked by the Launch Platoon, was leaving for home, and on the usual Sat morning formation, after all the activities were done the Platoon leader called 'attention' and ordering the departing Sgt front and center and about face to see his platoon, given the order to 'uncover', removed their hats to reveal that almost to a man had shaved their heads to emulate their hero. Quite a show of solidarity.

Those were good days, important days and months for us because we felt that we were performing a great service to our country. Long hours on assignment were part of the job. I remember best from my days in ARADCOM that many of us were draftees, some with college time serving alongside we, volunteers. They were among the very best of soldiers. They learned their jobs quickly, did it very well, simply because they wanted to make it quite sure that they got out and went home when their 2 year tour was done.

I have never heard a proper explanation why the new barracks built for us in 1960 at Spang, surrounded by grey painted buildings, was PINK!

Glad to find a site that coincides chronologically with my own experiences.

My tour at Thule Air Base gave me opportunity to consider that there must be a better way to serve, so I put in my school application for the Medical Equipment Repair MOS course given at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Denver, in 1965 and in so-doing began a whole new career that lasted until 1982 and from which I retired from the Army and remained here in El Paso.

Here I found my former opposite number Section Chief from RI and we both met up with two more of our gang in MO for a mini reunion about 5 years ago. Small world. Thanks for the opportunity to sound off.

1960-1962, Btry C, 4th Battallion, 6th ADA - I arrived at Luxembourg Kaserne in Bitburg, Germany in February 1960. I was assigned to Bravo Section; section chief was SP5 Hoyle, Launcher Platoon Sergeant was SFC James Young, First Sergeant was 1SGT Roger Pines. After an influx of newly assigned personnel, SFC Young became Bravo Section Chief; he was a good section chief that I respected and enjoyed working for.

Our direct support platoon was also located at Luxembourg Kaserne. We ate at the mess hall at Bitburg Air Base which was 2 or 3 miles away. We traveled everywhere on the back of a 2-1/2 ton truck.

Our tactical site was a few miles away at Spangdahlem Air Base. The fire control units of Charlie and Delta were located adjacent to each other at Spang. Charlies' launching area had two active launching sections, Alpha and Bravo; they were adjacent to the Air Force ammo storage area. The manning crews normally worked 24 on, 24 off; occasionally, we might get a day where we were assigned details around the kaserne.

In the summer of 1960, we moved from Luxembourg Kaserne to newly constructed barracks at Spangdahlem Air Base.
Sometime shortly after being assigned to C-4-6, 94th Group was activated because one of our battery clerks was reasssigned to HHQ 94th GP. We wore a 7th Army patch on our sleeves.

In 1961, we received our newly trained Nike-Hercules package along with all of the Nike-Hercules equipment. to be continued... bootstrap and Germersheim

1962-1967, C-5-1, A-3-71 to be continued...
1977-1982, A-3-71, 94th ADA Gp to be continued...

BOOTSTRAP EXCERCISE #1

I was assigned to Btry C 4th BN 6th ADA from Feb 1960 - Feb 1962. From my earlier correspondence, I stated I would provide a narrative about my experiences on bootstrap excercises while assigned to firing units of 94th ADA GP.

Bootstrap excercise #1: C-4-6 was a Nike Ajax unit at the time, along with D-4-6, the two units provided air defense for Bitburg and Spangdahlem Air force Bases. Since we were located at a temporary tactical site on Spangdahlem Air Base, it was relatively easy to prepare and load a couple of Ajax missiles on a missile transporter trailer. We prepared at least two launchers, maybe three, for march order. The fire control platoon march ordered all of their vans and radars. It probably took three or four hours for the convoy to road march from Spangdahlem, through Bitburg to our destination, a training area for the French Army outside of Trier.

I seem to remember after we left the highway we traveled uphill on gravel roads to the treeline at the edge of the training area, from there it was an open muddy field that we had to drive across with our launchers, missiles, generators, and launching control trailer (LCT). After we arrived at our designated launcher site, we positioned the firing section control panel, emplaced the launchers, set up the loading rails, brought up the missile transport trailers, off-loaded the missiles to the loading rails then loaded each missile onto a launcher. While we were doing this, the LCT was being emplaced, generators were positioned, power and data cables unreeled and connected. The fire control platoon was emplacing the tracking van, battery control van, target tracking radar, missile tracking radar, and perimeter acquisition radar. The Commo Section installed field wire between all of the major elements of the battery. The mess section set up the field kitchen and began preparing a hot meal. The motor pool section drove its 2-1/2 ton truck into a French tank trap that was filled with water and had to be pulled out by a D-4 Caterpillar.

After both fire control area and launching area became operational, an operational readiness evaluation (ORE) was conducted 94th ADA Group. The ground was so muddy most of us slept on the cargo bed of our trucks. The generator operators slept on the front frame of the generator trailers. The generators ran all night long. We pulled guard duty through the night also.

The next morning we loaded onto the back of a truck and were literally towed by the D-4 up to the fire control area where the field mess was located. After we ate a hot breakfast, we returned to the launching area, again towed by the D-4, where we again prepared our launcher equipment for march order. When the order was given, we road marched back to our tactical site at Spangdahlem Air Base. We were glad to be back at Spang', and we all felt like we had accomplished something special.

There were two more bootstrap excercises I participated while at C-4-6. As I recall the details, I will send them also. By the way, did I ever say that one of the best assignments a soldier can get is being stationed on an Air Force Base.

Next morning, after a breakfast of fried egg sandwiches and coffee served by one of the cooks from the back of a 2-1/2 ton truck, we continued our preparations of setting up our launching section by unrolling and connecting the power and data cables. After the launching equipment was powered, we brought the missile transporter trailer up, transferred the missiles to the loading rails then loaded the missiles onto the launchers. We ready for operations after completion of daily and weekly checks. An operational readiness evaluation (ORE) was conducted by the battalion ORE team. After successfully passing the ORE, C-4-6 was declared mission ready. Shortly after that, we were ordered to march order the launching section and road march back to regular tactical launching area.

BOOTSTRAP EXCERCISE #3

C-4-6 was still a Nike-Ajax unit. I believe this exercise occurred during August 1961. To add some historical context, the East German regime had began construction of the Berlin Wall in the summer of 1961. The initial preparation and road march was similar to our earlier bootstrap excercises with the difference being the distance to our destination and our mode of transportation. We departed Spangdahlem Air base, convoyed all day to a wooded area near the fire control areas of A & B Batteries of 4-6 located a short distance from Landstuhl Army Medical Center. We stayed there overnight; I can't recall whether we pitched tents or not. One of the other batteries, either Alpha or Bravo, had set up a mess tent where we ate that evening and again the next morning. The next morning after the fuel tank truck made the rounds and topped off all of our gas tanks, we continued our road march. On the second day of our road march, our convoy traveled mostly on the autobahn E50 from Landstuhl eastwards towards Mannheim to the intersection where E50 goes southward, finally exiting to travel to our bivouac area near Rheinsheim on the other side of the Rhein River.

The next morning after breakfast, we crossed the Rhein River on barges operated by a German Army Pioneer unit. To enable a drive forward down the ramp of the barge, each trailer had to be disconnected from its towing vehicle, and literally pushed backwards onto the barge by a specially modified truck with pintle mounted on its front bumper. Once the trailer was in place on the barge, its normal towing vehicle backed onto the barge and the tow bar, air lines, and electrical cable were reconnected. The vehicles were secured to the barge by the Pioneers. Each truck and trailer combination were ferried across the Rhein River, taking a good part of the day. Each platoon's vehicles were assembled in one area and after all were across the river our road march continued a few miles to our pre-selected launcher site at Germersheim Army Depot. There we once again emplaced and setup our launcher section, loaded the missiles, completed our daily and weekly checks and adjustments, passed an ORE, march ordered our equipment again, bivouaced over night before returning to Spangdahlem Air Base the next day. We were glad to return to Spang after having been gone for the better part of a week.

TRANSITION TO NIKE-HERCULES

Final road march with Btry C 4th Msl Bn 6th ADA September 1961. Shortly after completing Bootstrap exercise #3, the Nike-Hercules package of personnel and equipment arrived at Spangdahlem which meant that nearly all of our Nike-Ajax equipment: launchers, LCT, fire control equipment - vans and radars had to be turned in. The Nike-Ajax missiles were placed in temporary storage on loading racks and missile transport trailers kept also. After preparing all of our equipment for march order, we returned by convoy once again to Germersheim Army Depot to turn it all in. It took us all day to travel to Germersheim; once there we drove to a designated area, parked, disconnected our towed Ajax equipment, and drove off. I don't remember where we slept that night, but we ate in the mess hall of A-2-56, then located at Germersheim Army Depot. I recall going into a small NCO club that evening at the Depot. The next morning we traveled in convoy back to Spangdahlem.

Transition to Nike-Hercules with Btry C 4th Msl Bn 6th ADA. The Nike-Hercules launching equipment was emplaced in the vacant temporary tactical site once occupied by D-4-6 which had moved to its permanent site near Balesfeld earlier during the summer of 1961. Initially, one Nike-Hercules missile was loaded on one launcher in each of the three launching sections. Nike-Ajax missiles were loaded onto the remaining launchers. Each launching section had three launchers that could be loaded with either Ajax or Hercules missiles. We continued to man the unit whenever C-4-6 has the "hot" or "backup" fire unit for the battalion. We always had to pull guard duty. A team of trainers came down from 94th Group (?) during the last few months of 1961 to provide everyone assigned to the launcher platoon special weapons training. The goal was to prepare us to pass a technical proficiency inspection which, as I recall, was in December 1961.

One of the responses of the Army to the construction of the Berlin Wall was to extend the enlistments of all personnel. My original estimated time of separation (ETS) was 22 October 1961; my enlistment was extended more than three months to 12 February 1962. I believe I left C-4-6 around 1 February, traveled to Bremerhaven by train, boarded MSTS General Alexander M Patch, and together with several hundred other soldiers sailed for New York.

Looking at it all in retrospect, the Air Force capabilities we were defending became moot after the balloon went up because all of the payload carrying aircraft would have flown to their pre-designated targets. There would have been no assets remaining to defend, therefore, the 94th ADA Group fire units could be re-located to sites to reinforce the defense of the Rhein River bridges. We had always talked among ourselves that our secondary mission was infantry.

By the way, the B&W photo of the 25th Missile Battalion launching section from the Spangdahlem Air Base newspaper strongly resembles Alpha Section of Btry C 4th Msl Bn 6th ADA from the time I was assigned there.

The 196th was a Nike missile Odnance support unit attached to the 1/67th Artillery Batallion with their HQ in Werthheim, about 80 miles away from our home base in Worms. We seemed to be pretty much on our own. Our rank was handed down from Artillery (they wern't all that generous) and the Artillery brass was not enthusiastic about journeying to the boondocks to visit or inspect, so we had only, at most, one annual batallion inspections, typically.

The shop was a complete service unit. That is, we serviced Nike internal guidance, auxillary power, hydraulics, and launcher (mechanical, hydraulic and electronic) sections. Most maintenance was done in-shop, the repaired subsystems/components then ferried to and installed at the site. Site work was mostly to service the several radars and the launchers. In the shop was the orderly room, of course, and tech supply, manned by, usually, 3-5 men and separate areas for the other sections.

The shop, itself, was a stuccoed cement block building about 75' X 150' (give or take) located inside a 6-foot high fence which surrounded the asphalt motor pool which was usually full of APC's, a couple of tanks and one humongous tank retriever. I'm guessing they were armored cavalry. The shop was only a half block out the back gate, away from Taukkunen Barracks, in Worms.

My section had the responsibility of maintaining the personnel heaters in all the instrument vans at each of the 1/67 ADA radar sites. There must have been 3 at each site. Times 4 sites. Those dozen heaters alone kept us busy. But doing that, along with the normal launcher service kept someone from our launcher section almost always at one site or another. Another frequent duty which kept someone busy on site was the installation of modifications to the equipment. I was sure Western Electric originally designed a good system but then went back and changed some things so that, down the road, they could sell modifications to the Army for a little more cash. One example: the launchers were always exposed to the elements (our surface sites, at least) so it seemed reasonable to expect the several exposed cable connectors to draw moisture, compromising the power, control and communications signals going through them. But it wasn't untill years after their deployment that we came to install the weather-proofing, presumably purchased from Western Electric.

The 1/67 ADA included four Nike Ajax/Hercules missile batteries:

"A" Battery was the nearest to home, located in Griesheim (we just said Darmstadt), Germany, only 30 miles away. It was not a really interesting drive. "A" Battery called for very little attention. I'm not sure why. All the batteries had very competent crews who could and did handle 99% of the launcher area maintenance. The 196th was just there to handle what regulations prevented the battery crews from doing.

"B" Battery was altogether different. Bravo was associated with the town of Mainbullau. The ~60 mile trip to Bravo was always an adventure. One took winding roads through the woods and over a mountain. The site was on the top of a mountain (no surprise) which, in good weather was a postcard journey but in deep winter, could be a death-defying challange. You could always count on a breath-catching vista looking out over a deep valley. There was a German grass air strip nearby often with gliders in the air. Occasionally I would look DOWN from my truck to see a glider flying below me up the valley. Magnificent! Bravo's officers (especially Lts. Reiley and Adams) were the easiest officers I ever met in the Army to get along with (except for one full bird colonel - but that's another story), even if the enlisted men stationed there wouldn't agree and many didn't.

"Charley" battery was a hoot. Here the NCO's were the high feature. They didn't hesitate to assist or compliment us Ordnance grunts. It was easy to feel like real people at "C" Battery. It sure didn't help their image when it was discovered that one obsolete Ajax missile they had sent back to the states was uncanned with the warhead still in it. Not armed, but still.... This was the longest drive from home (except for the trip to batallion HQ, about 80 miles), about 75 miles. Located near Hardheim (recent aerial view), I always expected to spend the night when I had to go to Charley. Nice drive, though, over much the same route as to Bravo but further.

"D" Battery was unique. These guys were clever and resourceful. They only called us for things they were, by regulation, not permitted to do, and not always promptly then. I delivered replacement cables to them to correct a communications glitch. To avoid having the battery off-line, the maintenance guys crossed unused conductors in the cable (a no no) to stay operational. There was a USAF base somewhere nearby. Once, while working inside a bunkered section of the launcher area, I heard a high-speed bogie approaching. Then, like an explosion, wham!, this jet flew over just above the bunker and gaining altitude AND UP-SIDE-DOWN!. Unaffected, the site cadre guy simply shrugged and said, "oh, yea, they do that all the time. I think they're pissed 'cause somebody reported some pilot's wing number ID for buzzing the site. Now they still buzz us but inverted so we can't copy their ID".

I loved the ~45 mile drive to Delta. From Worms we went south through Heidelberg (past the famous Heidelberg Castle) then wound , again, through the woods but, this time, over and along two rivers, Neckar and Mosel, finally to the town of Dallau. Since this site was so capable and self-reliant, I didn't get to visit there nearly as much as I would have liked.

Any of you 1/67 vets have any additions, corrections or comments, contact Walter Elkins, this site's webmaster.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
One day in the winter 1964/65 I and two other grunts were making a run of some sort to, I believe, B Battery, 1/67 ADA. On the miles long climb up a mountain, we saw a semi truck off to the side of the snow-covered road. The closer we got, the more convinced we became that the driver was having trouble. He was digging with a shovel at his tires. When I got close enough to see that the truck was a Heineken beer truck. I had to pull off to see what's up.

Sure enough, the truck was hung up because of  the ice and snow, could not get traction to even get started out onto the road.  After learning from the Dutch (from the Neatherlands) driver that, yes, he would accept any help we had to offer (he and I both spoke enough German to get on), we all looked over the situation, pulled around to the front of the semi and hooked up a tow chain from the semi to our deuce-and-a-half, 6X6, M109 shop van. It was my truck but for some reason we selected Rush to drive while (God, I can't recall his name! I'll call him Fred until I remember or am told better) Fred and I shoveled cinders under drive wheels on both trucks. I told Rush that, if he got moving, keep moving. Fred and I would hitch a ride somehow.

Well, I already knew what we would do. Sure enough, the trucks spun then grabbed a bite and slowly lumbered onto the asphalt surface. Fred  and I threw our shovels into the cinder box behind the semi tractor and I grabbed a hand hold onto the rear of the trailer while Fred tried to jog along to keep up. I told him it was a long run to the top and he had better grab on.

I arrived at A-3-71 in September 1966. The unit had just returned from annual service practice (ASP). Battalion headquarters was located at Kornwestheim. Instead of being on a hill, A-3-71 was situated in the flat land of the Rhein River valley. The launching area was surrounded by woods and forest. The water table was just below the surface of ground which meant that all of the pre-dug foxholes had to be dug into the sides of the earthen berms surrounding each launching section to keep from filling with water.

During the time I was there, the unit experienced a Surety Evaluation by 32nd AADC whose team chief was MAJ Culp whom I had come in contact with previously from my time at C-5-1. There were no bootstrap exercises during my assignment there. My family and I lived in military housing at Karlsrue.

I departed A-3-71 in April 1967. It had been a short uneventful assignment.

Btry A 3rd Msl Bn 71st Arty Dallau Germany DEC 1977 - Jun 1979

During the ten years between my last tour to this one, 94th ADA Group had lost the equivalent of two battalions; 4th Bn 6th Arty and 1st Bn 67th Arty had both been inactivated. Eight firing batteries along with two BOCs had been closed, and some of the remaining fire units had been reassigned. Additionally, 32nd AADC had moved from Kaiserslautern to Darmstadt.

I arrived at A-3-71 in December 1977. I soon found out that the firing batteries no longer participated in bootstrap exercises. Each firing battery now had a platoon of Military Police providing security for the launching area.

A major security concern at the time was that a group of terrorists would gain access to our missiles equipped with special weapons. Each year the capabilities of the battalion were evaluated under simulated air attack by Warsaw Pact air forces for a period of 24 hours. It was referred to as a “4th ATAF Tactical Evaluation.” The evaluation team was composed of 4th ATAF representatives from all of the countries of the NATO Allied Air Forces. There was a pre-planned scenario where situations were introduced from command and control units down to the fire units, and also locally, to assess the response of the unit’s personnel. It probably provided a fairly good assessment of a unit’s capabilities. A day after the tactical evaluation ended, there would be an exit briefing by the team chief to the battalion commander and key personnel from each battery, A, B, C, D, and HHB.

Instead of going to MacGregor Range, New Mexico for ASP, each unit now went to NAMFI Range on the Greek island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. Nearly all NATO missile units went to Crete for ASP including HAWK and some Field Artillery missile units.

My family and I lived in US Military Housing Area across the street from Wharton Barracks at Heilbronn Germany. Dependent high school students were transported by bus down to Stuttgart High School while the younger students attended grammar and middle school in Heilbronn. My whole family enjoyed our time at Heilbronn. I departed A-3-71 in June 1979 after receiving orders transferring me to 94th ADA Group in Kaiserslautern.

I will try to offer some details here.

I arrived at D Battery barracks on the Friday before the Memorial Day weekend 1969 after successfully completing 24U20 training in class Nike Hercules Missile Mechanic training class 4-69 at Fort Bliss Texas. I can give many details about my service there as well as names of many of the people I served with there.

The IFC area was at Wurmburg and the Missile area was across the autobahn to the West a couple of kilometers away. The Missile area was surrounded by a game area controlled by the local Jeagermeister. The barracks were several kilometers to the southwest of the Launcher Area. I worked for and with some very good people there whose names and even how to contact a few of them I can offer.

In 2000 through 2002 I did extensive business travel in Europe and went back to the barracks, IFC area and as close as I could get to the launcher area. The IFC area is now a small Industrial complex with a business that refurbishes and sells LandRover vehicles. The launcher area is now fenced off with a sign indicating that the area is a municipal project. The barracks are still standing but in a very run down state with many broken windows, weeds grown up and the like.

In June or July of 1970 I was sent to a Hawk site, A 6/59 at Fliegerhorst at Hanau. Fliegerhorst was a very interesting Kaserne due to its WWII significance. It had been built by Hitler as an airfield. The barracks were arranged and built to look like a village and the air strip was built so that it could be flooded with a few inches of water to appear as a lake when flown over during the daytime.

I OJT'd into a 24F20 Fire Control Repair MOS in the Hawk system and retained my 24U20 as a secondary MOS.

Where our Hawk unit was located on the NE corner of the Kaserne and airfield now appears to be an ammo dump of some sort and has Marine signs around it. Something super secret is going on in Fliegerhorst so they would not let me in under any circumstances.

This is a thumbnail sketch.