Remembrances of 4th Armor Group: 1958-1959

Note: I arrived in Germany to join the Fourth Armor Group as a private in July 1958 and was stationed with them until December 1959. These remembrances are based on contemporary letters to my parents with minimal reliance on memory. The letters are what one might expect of a young twenty-year-old soldier, away from home for the first time and on foreign soil. So, I have culled factual information from the letters, thinking that would be of most interest.

Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Gibbs Kaserne. Frankfurt am Main
Headquarters and Headquarters Company was stationed at Gibbs Kaserne. Our Commander was Colonel Kane. We controlled five battalions, which were scattered throughout Germany. 4th Armor Group totaled approximately 5000 men. It was roughly the size of a Combat Command, which is one third of an Armored Division. We were a component of V Corps, under the aegis of the Seventh Army. Our shoulder patch was the familiar "Seven Steps to Hell."

The photograph on Mr. Elkins' website with the caption: "19th Armor Gp Headquarters Building, Gibbs Bks, 1954" is of the same building that housed 4th Armor Group Headquarters in 1958 and 1959. We worked there when we were not in the field at Baumholder or Grafenwoehr.

The Colonel's office, Administration (S-1), and Supply (S-4) were to the left of the entrance. On the right were Operations and Plans (S-3) and Intelligence (S-2). I worked in S-3, which was headed by Major Prichard. I recall that he once whimsically reminisced that he had served under Patton in World War II and had, on occasion, told the General that he was going the wrong way. Our officers were all armor men who had fought in World War II and The Korean War and each had a tale to tell.

S-3 had three captains: Capt. Leroy Lafayette Schaefer, Capt. Seymour Weiser and Capt. Parkhurst. (Personnel changed regularly while I was there but those three were there during most of my time.) The S-3 Operations Sergeant was Sgt. Jack Cummings of Enid, Oklahoma. He was later replaced, in 1959, by Sgt. Campbell, who had been a prisoner of war in Germany in World War II. We had two operations assistants (I was one) and, for a while, a draftsman.

Headquarters Company comprised three main sections: Headquarters, Motor Pool and Communications. We had approximately 90 men of which "only eight were privates."

The picture of the Headquarters building brings back memories of late afternoons when I left work and walked across the parade ground to our quarters. Occasionally, if I left early, the walk across the field would occur when "Retreat" was sounded. I recall stopping in place as the flag was lowered and reflecting on my surroundings. It is a sharp image and a moving memory that I have carried into my later years.

Headquarters and Headquarters Company in the field: Baumholder and Grafenwoehr
The Company had just returned from Baumholder when I arrived in Frankfurt in July. The Group also went there for ten days later in July, and in the fall. A letter indicates we left October 16 and returned November 7. I wrote that we departed Gibbs for Baumholder at "3 in the morning". However, some of the Company did not leave until October 29. Those in the advance party slept in barracks but once the whole Company arrived, we slept in the field. I wrote in November that "three of our five battalions are here."

I was told of, but did not see: " … an atomic bomb simulator which has a mushroom cloud of 2500 feet."

I wrote to my parents "The food here is OK. The weather and terrain are atrocious. They fly our mail up from Frankfurt by helicopter." I also mentioned that while in the Baumholder advance party I had attended an army football game.

We spent substantial time in Baumholder and Grafenwoehr during 1959 but I have no actual record of it. The Group was also scheduled to be involved in tank gunnery in Belsen-Hohne in the British sector from 31 March to 16 May 1959 but that obligation was later given the Third Armored Division.

In addition to scheduled field duty, we had an unscheduled "Alert" approximately once a month. Usually "Alerts" were called during the week but occasionally on a weekend, which was an oddity.

A Note on the Lebanon Intervention
United States intervention in Lebanon took place in July 1958. I referred to the impact of this operation in a letter (but only after the crisis atmosphere had calmed):

"The situation seems at a standstill as of now and things are pretty quiet. With an easing of the situation, I guess it is safe to admit now that things were really jumping then. It was an army changed overnight. You'd never know how it was unless you were here."

"Overnight, surgeons are attached, Majors shifted all over the place. Drivers (nine in number) were taken out of the Transportation Company upstairs. Dependents were issued evacuation instructions. Orders came through that all men, and dependents, not having dog tags do so immediately. We are a Headquarters, and control five battalions. The day after it happened the first of our battalions was alerted and shipped out the next day to Turkey. If two more of our battalions had gone, we would have had to go also. In Frankfurt-Main Air Base, 200 flying boxcars were flown in within one day."

Headquarters Company: Life at Gibbs Kaserne (Gibbs Barracks)
The troops referred to the Post as "Gibbs Kaserne" but officially, it was called "Gibbs Barracks."

The following groups were stationed at Gibbs in 1958. (The names are taken from the Gibbs Barracks Consolidated Mess 1958 Christmas menu.) ·
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Armor Group
Headquarters Detachment, 45th Armored Medical Battalion
Company A, 45th Armored Medical Battalion
Company B, 45th Armored Medical Battalion
69th Engineer Topo Company
92nd Transportation Company
35th Transportation Company
7772nd Signal Service Company
109th Military Police Platoon ·
32nd Signal Detachment

We lived in a three storey building in comfortable rooms that held four or five. Our Company occupied the ground floor. We drew guard duty about once every three weeks at Gibbs and every tenth weekend or so. The Guardroom was in the same building as the EM Club. Once or twice a year we had guard duty at our Frankfurt airstrip, where the Group had an L-19 and a helicopter. Captain Carley and Lieutenant Missildine were our air officers. Guard duty at the airstrip was the only time we were issued live ammunition.

German civilians did the KP for which we paid $3.00 a month. And we had a company tailor, also German, whom we paid a standard $2.00 a month.

There was a library, a coffee shop and a movie theatre on post. The three entities were all housed in the long, multi-windowed two storey building shown on Mr. Elkins' website with the caption: "Gibbs Barracks, Frankfurt am Main, probably 1952 (Unknown Photo Album, Signal Unit, 1952)." I remember seeing Merry Andrew and Cry Terror at the theatre while there. My roommate and friend, Carroll Chapman from Texas, was one of the projectionists.

We read Stars and Stripes, copies of which cost five cents daily and ten cents on Sunday. The paper included the Peanuts comic strip, which was very popular with the troops. One of the organizations maintained a Snoopy doghouse in front of their building. You could purchase American magazines (e.g. The New Yorker and Downbeat), but they were usually one month old.

The EM Club
The EM Club at Gibbs was in a building located on one side of the parade ground (facing the front gate off in the distance). It was a two, perhaps three, storey building and the Club was up one flight. The NCO Club was on the ground floor. The 69th Engineers Topo. Company had offices in the basement. When one left the Club, 4th Armor Group Headquarters building was on the right side of the field and our billets on the left side.

I wrote a letter home describing the EM Club when I first arrived, from which:
"Over here they have what they call an EM Club. It is a far cry from the beer halls in Fort Dix. It is for Privates, PFCs and Specialist 4s, which are the first four grades of rank. They have German help working as waitresses, barmaids, bartenders and manager."

"The Club is separated into about five big rooms. The first is a beautifully modern bar that looks just like those fancy cocktail lounges downtown (in New York). Drinks are fantastically cheap. Canadian Club is 30 cents, good champagne is $2.00 a bottle and a good bottle of German Beer is 15 cents." (During the last week of each month, there was a 'two drinks for one policy' to help us through the dark days before the next payday.)

"The next room is a dining room and dance floor. You have to remember the whole place is beautifully decorated in soft plush colors, wood paneling, amber drapes and all the works. In another rumpus-type room there is a long table shuffleboard, tables, chairs, and a bowling machine. Off the main lounges they are putting in a new bar with a western type theme and swing doors. It is not really what you would expect to find on any Army post."

The Club's operating hours on weekdays were 0900-1000, 1130-1300, and 1700-2330. It was closed Wednesday. On Saturdays, it was open from 1300-2430, on Sunday 1000-2330. There was music and entertainment on Saturday night.

Each outfit at Gibbs Kaserne had one or two representatives to the EM Club. SFC Eugene Schwartz who oversaw the Club, held a monthly meeting with the representatives. At it, he solicited our thoughts on services provided or that might be added.

We occasionally visited The Plantation Club, a different EM club at a nearby kaserne. There was a "Trinkhalle" (German beer stand) across from the entrance to the post. And Frankfurt had ample restaurants and "gasthouses," places at which to drink and mix with civilians or other military personnel. The regular restaurants were inexpensive and one could get a good meal for a few dollars (10 marks equated to approximately $2.50).

So, a soldier's life at Gibbs and the surrounding area was not without its pleasures and when we were off duty we had sundry places to eat non-army fare, have a drink, relax, and join with friends.

On 20 Oct 1950 the 10th Cavalry Regiment [i.e., one of the original Buffalo Soldiers outfits] was removed from the 2nd Cavalry Division and its Regimental History and Regimental Colors were redesignated to the 510th Heavy Tank Battalion.

On 17 Nov 1950 the Battalion was activated at Camp Polk, Louisiana. In 3rd Quarter 1952 the Battalion was moved to Germany. On 10 Oct 1952 the 510th Heavy Tank Battalion moved into Sullivan Barracks (Named after entertainer Ed Sullivan) at Mannheim, Germany. In 1954 the good people of Allentown, PA gave the battalion a 100 pound baby Buffalo mascot [i.e., an American Bison], which was named Pvt. "Allen T. Geronimo" - RA#12345678 and assigned quarters at Company "B". Many years later, when Captain Jimmie D. Morton took command of Company "B" "Allen T. Geronimo had advanced to: 1) Sergeant, 2) a weight of 2000 lbs., and, 3) top running speed of 35 miles per hour. Captain Jimmie Morton had to supervise "Allen T. Geronimo", who reported directly to Captain Morton.

Shortly after 12 Aug 61 all of Mannheim's Sullivan Barrack's tanks were mobilized and sent via the autobahn to Berlin (i.e., the East Germans built the "Berlin Wall") Also, shortly thereafter, Jimmie, his wife and his two sons were reassigned to quarters in Kentucky). Jimmie served at Ft. Knox [Home of the Armor School] from late 1961 until late 1964.

It has been a long time but I pretty well remember the layout of the Conn Barracks and housing area. I remember the mess hall, HQ Building and the barracks as well as the motor pool, NCO Club, and converted aircraft hangar that was used for maintenance and USO Cafeteria combination.

The hangar used by Bn S-4, was used for storing supply items, mostly sheets, laundry, etc. for the Battalion. They supplied the individual Companies.

Across the road from the Maintenance hangar was the battalion's motor pool. All of the battalion's track and wheeled vehicles were maintained in the old Hangar building or on the apron, outside the building.

I don't remember any other activities at the Education Center Building. I enrolled there to take classes in Ballistics, but there were no other enrollments so the class was deleted.

The USO club (took up part of the maintenance hangar) also had a snack bar. We used the large P.X. at Ledward Barracks.

As mentioned, I was there as a dependent. I really don't know where most of the dependent families lived in or around Hammelburg. We lived in requisitioned housing, and moved as the houses were returned. The first one had been owned by "the salt and pepper king of Germany", the person who had a monopoly on salt and pepper at the time. It was on Rosen Strasse, high up on a hill with terraced grounds surrounded by fruit trees. A gardener was provided.

Then we moved to a house on Kurhaus Strasse, in Bad Kissingen, which had steel shutters on all the doors and windows. The house had been used by the CID during the war. There was a room numbered light board in the kitchen, as one might find in a hotel. Each bedroom had a sink and a toilet. It backed onto the Kur Gardens. There was a small park across the street, and when the men were "out in the field" on maneuvers we could see a man dressed in a dark hat and long dark coat standing in the shadow of the bar by the edge of the park watching the house. We never knew who he was or why he was there. I went to school on the military post in Bad Kissingen, transported by a military bus which picked me up at the house. Most of my friends lived on post. My brother, who was starting high school, rode a military bus to Wurtzburg. He was picked up at the house at 6:00 each morning, and returned around 5:00, I think. Both houses had bomb shelters in the basements.

When the 826th left Hammelburg and moved to Schweinfurt (around June 1956) we moved into another house on the economy. It was a little less grand than the other two had been. It was built into a hill and from the road you drove directly into the driveway and the garage. To get to the front door you had to go down steps and around a corner. There were fruit trees terraced there too. When that house was returned to the Germans we moved on post into a newly constructed duplex. In all cases our furnishings were provided by Quartermaster.

There was more than one grade in each classroom at school. The classes were small. We had a class in German each week, but I don't think that I learned much. I can still ask where the train station is though.

Of course from the perspective of a kid the fact that Elvis was stationed at Schweinfurt (sic) when we lived there was a big deal. I think we attended the same Saturday matinee at the movie theater once.

I have been thinking about the flags flying at the change of command ceremony... it must have been the American flag and the new German flag. I wish I had known about your site before my dad died. He would have been able to share so much valuable information. I will let my brother know. Maybe he would remember things which didn't interest me at the time.

Thank you for your interest in the 826th. The tanks were so impressive! I got to ride in one once. The noise was loud, and the ride was rough but it was one of the coolest things I ever did. The 826th was special.

There is another area to be explored for the sake of history...that of the role of the officer's wife. It was a very different world.

My family was stationed in Germany from 1958 – 1960. My father served from 1941 to 1960. He was a combat vet in WWII and Korea.

(Webmaster note: 3rd ARB, 51st Inf was stationed at Butzbach but subordinate to the 4th Armor at this time. However, the photo clearly shows the men wearing 3rd Armd Div shoulder patches. Was the battalion "attached" to the 3rd AD and thus authorized to wear the 3rd AD patch? Can anyone provide additional information?)

I was assigned to the 4th Armor Group in February, 1962, after completion of Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Dix.

On arriving in Germany I joined 3/51st Armored Rifle Battalion (ARB), which some told the folks at home meant “airborne ranger battalion.” I was assigned to the Scout Platoon.

There were two other battalions in the group at the time, an armor battalion (maybe of the 40th?) also based, as was 3/51st, at Sullivan Barracks in Mannheim, and a battalion of the 48th Infantry (for sure), based in Worms.

(Webmaster note: a review of the STATION LIST for June 1962 shows the following units still attached to the 4th Armor Group:

1st Bn, 48th Inf, Worms
3rd Bn, 51st Inf, Mannheim
3rd Bn, 35th Armd, Mannheim

An interesting side note: the Heavy Tank Battalion (2nd Bn, 33rd Armd) formerly attached to the 4th Armor Group has been split into the four independent companies with two (B & D Companies) attached to the 3rd Armored Division and the other two (A & C Companies) to the 3rd Infantry Division. HHC of the HTB seems to have been inactivated.)

It was a very different Army from the one I retired from in 1994. Nobody did PT. Not even the Scout Platoon. Maintenance was a joke. Paint and polish, even on tactical vehicles, was the big thing.

Good story: The tank battalion had an extra, off the books -- tank. And the M-60s hadn’t been fielded for but a couple of years. They used it as a hangar queen, so it was always just on the verge of inoperability. Came the annual IG inspection they got their worst soldier and told him to take the extra tank and his dirty self out to the Victory Area training woods and not come back ‘till after dark. So he did. But he wasn’t just the dirtiest soldier, he was also the dumbest. He took the tank out towards the ammo dump and backed it into the woods just off the road. Of course, the ammo dump was subject to inspection. The IG team headed for the dump noticed the M-60 with the bumper markings of the battalion they were inspecting parked just off the road. They stopped and after considerable banging the private woke up and opened the hatch. When asked he explained that he’d been told to take the tank out to the woods and not come back ‘till dark. The IG team had him follow them right back to BN HQ. I’d have loved to have been a fly on the wall…

In the spring of 1963 the Army was in the throes of reorganizing from the old TOEs (Armored Divisions in three Combat Commands and “Pentomic” Infantry Divisions in five Battle Groups) into the new brigade structure that’s been in use since. 4th AG was dissolved and the battalions experienced extreme makeovers. For starters, the old armor TOEs had four company line battalions. I think the armor battalion and the 48th stayed intact, but restructured. Third 51st was broken up, though I think some companies went intact to become part of new or reorganized formations.

Some of us were approached by an 8th MP recruiting team. Had to be a minimum size (I was exactly six feet), no Article 15s, and have at least a year left in theatre. At that time the 8th Division was partly airborne. Under the new TOE it would have an airborne brigade with two infantry battalions and division “slice” element in proportion. As I recall, the division MP companies were also restructured from two-platoon detachments, to five-platoon companies. Which was why they suddenly needed a bunch of extra bodies, school-trained MPs or not. I cared diddle about being an MP, but desperately (no exaggeration) wanted to go airborne. Which I finally managed while in the 8th MPs, remaining with the 5th Platoon of the 8th MPs at lovely Bad Kreuznach ‘till I ETSed in September of 1964.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
I served in the Scout Platoon, 3/51st Armored Rifle Battalion (ARB) February 1962 until the unit was broken up as part of the Reorganization of Army Divisions (ROAD) April 1st, 1963. We were at Sullivan Barracks, Mannheim, along with a tank battalion. There was another ARB, one of the 48th Infantry, at Worms. All three battalions were organized on the old armored (three Combat Commands) TOE.

4th AG was part of V Corps. There were no “slice” units, but I think some were routinely task organized with us from V Corps assets.

And BTW, when the warheads for the Davy Crocketts arrived (or somebody decide to start acting as if they had) a Scout Section (four jeeps) stayed loaded and ready in one of the long bays along the lower left edge of the image. On order (which came often) the alert section would run like hell to the bays, mount up, and drive like hell to reinforce the foot guards at an ammo dump out in the “Victory” training area. Maybe the whole platoon pulled the duty and rotated with other scout elements, such as those at Coleman Barracks.

Not sure where the line company mess halls were. Probably in the low, connecting structures between the long axes of the “U?” I was never in one. But the Scout Platoon, or parts of it, often ate in the field with the nearest line company. D Company mess hall had a great Puerto Rican Mess Sergeant. All the line company messes were, even in the field, better than the HQ mess, but D was especially good. The D Company Mess Sergeant used to joke that when her retired he was going to set up a grill outside the HQ mess and get rich.

The tank BN was in the set of U-shaped buildings just “below” the 3/51st buildings.

A lot of what’s across the street looks unfamiliar. Motor pools, yes, but… There was a bowling alley at the bottom of the picture but I can’t ID it. The EM club was behind the 3/51 HQ building, but the buildings there in the photo seem too close. Maybe expanded? The main PX was off post, but there must have been some place that sold pogey bait, shoeshine, razor blades. I can’t think where it was, though. There was a barber shop somewhere just “south” of the tank battalion, but I can’t ID it either. Across the road from 3/51 and maybe back a street was a fire station, whose firemen ran an all-night business on the side selling Cokes and pizzas (really bad pizzas) to the troops.

I believe that the T-shaped hqs building was only 3rd ARB, 51st INF. Mind, other than the mess hall at the other end of the building, I didn’t have much occasion to be in the HQ company building. But I think I recall the tank BN HQ being in the group of buildings just “below” the 3/35th barracks. Certainly, post guard mount was held in front to the building with the darker red roof and the post Duty Officer worked out of there. I’m pretty sure both battalion COs had their offices there. I never set foot in either, nor in any of the tank battalion’s buildings.

Apparent equitable assignment of HQ building space may not be an issue. Remember, a tank platoon is only 20 guys per tank platoon. Five tanks, each with a four man crew. I think infantry platoons were over twice that. And the tank battalion had four of those big old Wehrmacht barracks, just like the much larger infantry battalions. There would probably have been plenty of room for all non-command/clerical functions in the barracks block of a tank battalion, while 3/51st had bits and pieces crammed into (resented!) spaces in the already-full line company buildings. C Company’s day room was at the end of the attic space where the Scouts were billeted. C Company had to walk through our quarters to watch (German only) TV or shoot pool.

Funny story. In those days Saturday morning were for inspections. Various things were inspected, maybe TOE equipment like tools, maybe everybody in Class A uniforms, but whatever else was inspected, weapons were too. And the platoon with the cleanest weapons had next Saturday off. In practice, this meant that Scout Platoon slept in every other weekend. Which meant that C Company CO/ISG, and often BN people, including the BN CO, had to walk through a bunch of sleeping-it-off Scouts when they went to inspect the day room. Not appreciated!

(1) Webmaster note: not sure if that HQ building was strictly 3rd ARB/51st NF, or if hqs of 3rd MTB. 35th ARM was also located there? If not, then where was Q 3/35 ARM located?

Our main function at the 33rd Inf Scout Dog Plt was to surround and protect Hqs. Made no difference. Most of the time we were placed on the outside perimeter . We were used a lot in Escape and Evasion to capture those who escaped.

You might check with Quartermaster US Army. They were the ones who supplied the dogs. In Germany I guess they purchased from the Germans.

From 1958-1971 Sig. Retired from Ft Huachuca AZ. Was with 1st Cav in Korea 1950.