I noticed that the list of officers on the website for 1967 did not include my boss, LTC Mayer, the Catholic chaplain.

It was an easy tour since the chaplain had his own driver and was on the road to all of the missile detachments for 3 days a week for three weeks a month. I had a lot of time on my hands since there was minimal paperwork to do. I learned to play the guitar.

The accommodations at Handorf were great and I had my own room. A lot of my friends were college graduates, like me, who were drafted after college.

We were supported by the British and they often drank at the NCO club. Once we had a unauthorized NATO drinking contest and we won having drunk 15 beers each over a 2 hour period. The next day was not fun.

I have some photos of myself next to the building that housed the chapel.

I was stationed with the 570th USSAG, after PC, from Ft. Ben Harrison, Indiana (Army Finance Center). I was assigned to the finance section.

My train arrived in the middle of the night and there was no indication of military at the Muenster train station, most everything was closed except two men working in the ticket office who didn't speak English. I finally was able to get them to call the police. The police came to the "Main Station", one of the two policemen spoke broken English and he called the local German Army HQ and they called the English Army HQ who contacted a very small contingent of the U.S. Army Kaserne near Muenster in Handorf.

A British Landrover with a Brit driver arrived at the train station after about 3 hours and said he was my driver and would take me the "American Camp" in Handorf, about a 45 minute drive. I asked why I was being picked up by the British Army and he briefly explained what the connection was.

On arrival at the Kaserne I was surprised to find a U.S. Army installation small enough to stand in the center of and easily throw a rock over the fence in any direction and no real guard gate.

The only people awake were the NCOIC, CQ & crypto operator 0300 hrs. I was billited temporarily in the 583rd building for the night. The next day I was inducted to the normal routine of new arrivals and assigned a room in the 570th Artillery HQ, (SASCOM) barracks.

There were about 100 personnel assigned to the 570th & 583rd & a SSB Commo. group. After my wife joined me I moved into a sub rental apartment run by the British Army in Muenster, known as Kinderhaus about 30 minutes from the camp. The married Enlisted & NCO personnel lived in four story complex where the British Army Enlisted & some NCO's lived. Muenster, Westphalia, was designated the British zone of Germany after WWII so the British were stationed all throughout that area of Germany along with small contingents of NATO nations. As part of the status of forces agreements (SOFA) the Brits provided our transportation, security & emergency medical and other support.

In regards to the single enlisted housing, the barracks were masonry and fairly new as was the remainder of the camp. The German nationals worked in the mess hall (no KP) and the food was pretty good. Some of the rooms in the Barracks had a sink with running water which would make you sick if you drank the water. We also didn't drink water from the shower for the same reason. The water at the mess hall was kept in a separate dispenser where they added bleach that turned the water off color (yellow-ish). A good excuse to drink good German beer (off duty of course). I don't know if anyone suffered permanent effects from the water or the sprays that were used to keep the foliage growth back away from the fence at the Kaserne & site.

Most everyone would at some time go into Münster (German spelling) to visit the sites, of which there were many or dance at the Tenner or Taboo Discotech. We would eat Bratwurst across from the train statiion standing outside in 2ft of snow in the winter because the lady, her name was Shalata, had the best bratwurst, currywurst and pommes frites in town.

The manager of the Taboo Disco would sometimes give us a free beer because he liked Americans and had lived in New York for a short while, his name was Manfred Groneck, he and his wife Brigetta were very nice.

I've returned to Muenster several times to visit friends my wife and I made while stationed there.

15th USAFAD, 1973 to 1976.

After Cpt. (Chuck) Lamb left, I was the detachment commander from August 1974 to April 1976. While the enlisted personnel were housed in the 15th USAFAD building, the officers, one capt. and two lieutenants (Joe Norberg and Charlie Hollister at that time) lived in 45 Medium officer's mess. It was quite an experience for the US officers. Every morning a mess orderly woke us with a hot cup of tea, ties and jackets were worn at evening meals, and there was an active social calender with frequent "dining ins." Despite John Calhoun's comments, I made lasting friendships among the British officers and, to bridge the cultural and discipline differences, I did my best to promote US/British interoperability. I was a member of, and later captained, the regimental cross-country team and was well integrated into life in the mess and the regiment.

When new British Army lieutenants (subalterns) arrived in the mess, there was a tradition of changing identities and creating elaborate false scenarios - just to have fun at the expense of the new arrivals. One mess member might pretend to be the regimental commander (borrowing the appropriate uniform), another might pretend to be a gay chaplain (and make advances), or the new arrival might be put in charge of a "prisoner," who would invariably "escape." All participants (except the new subaltern), took pains to conceal their mirth while enjoying the new arrival's plight. These elaborate plots occasionally backfired - such as the time the new subaltern was tougher and faster than expected, tackled the escaping "prisoner" (actually a lieutenant) and roughed him up for real.

Arriving US lieutenants were subjected to the same treatment, and Lt. Joe Norberg took it particularly hard, with the deception beginning as soon as Joe arrived in Paderborn. While wearing a British captain's uniform, and complete with a Land Rover and British driver, I picked up Joe, explained that I was the British liaison officer assigned to facilitate his integration into the mess (an Irish brogue buttressed the deception), but would first bring him to the 15th USAFAD building to meet the detachment commander. Joe saluted smartly to the presumed detachment commander, a SP4 in my uniform and at my desk (I forget his name), who really got into the act. He gave Joe a dismissive salute and reprimanded him for having long hair and a sloppy uniform (Joe actually had an appropriate haircut and neat uniform). Joe was crestfallen at getting off on the wrong foot with the det. commander, and looked around for a friendly face, but everyone in the 15th USAFAD was in on the act and gave him no relief - and he hadn't even arrived in the mess, where more elaborate high jinks were planned.

Later in the mess, "there was drink taken," lots of high jinks, and numerous real and erroneous toasts proposed: to the Queen, the US President, fictitious fallen heroes etc, but Joe's drinks were spiked, leaving him with only the haziest recollection of the evening's proceedings.

Finally, Joe was driven to his quarters, which were actually the British schoolteacher's accommodations, and given a room. The next morning, with the mother of all hangovers, and in his skimpy underwear, Joe wandered down the hall looking for the "loo." The schoolteachers were also in on the act. Their polite "good mornings" and the complete absence of any recognizable face from the proceeding day and night, rendered Joe into a most disoriented state of mind.

Later, when he got into uniform, Joe went to the detachment to report in - again. I was at my desk in the proper uniform, had lots to do, and wanted to give Joe a proper welcome and get on with my work. However, I had played the role of the British officer so well (the uniform had fitted perfectly) that Joe was convinced the deception was continuing, and refused to report to me until he saw my ID.

Joe never fully forgave the SP4, and when Joe returned to the US, we met at Ft. Sill where I was attending the advanced course. He had married one of the British schoolteachers, and although relatively cordial, he never completely forgave me either.

Well, my excuse was that we had to do something to take our minds off the innumerable regulations within regulations and the unceasing inspection cycles of the 59th Ordnance Brigade and higher headquarters.

I served with the 15th USAFAD which was part of the 570th Artillery Group, 59th Ordnance Brigade (SASCOM).

The 15th USAFAD was operationally attached to NORTHAG - BAOR - 1st British Corps - 1st Division - Division Artillery - 45 (pronounced FOUR FIVE) Medium Regiment Royal Artillery. This unit was stationed at Barker Barracks (the Germans called it Panzer Kaserne) in Paderborn, FRG. It supported M109A1 and M110 self propelled howitzers on the Northern Plain & Harz Mountains "AO."

Also on the kaserne was the Queens Royal Irish Hussars, a Chieftain Tank armour unit. Tenant units were a medical clinic and REME workshoppes. I was stationed there in 1974 & 1975.

The commanding officer (OC to our British partners) was a Cpt Dullaghan. It was interesting as he was a conscript, native of Ireland, who attended OCS after Vietnam. He was particularly disliked (behind his back) by the British because of his ancestory. This artillery unit did two Northern Ireland six month tours while I was there. Our unit was approximately 31 men - 1 captain; 2 lieutenants, one E-7 first sergeant; one E-4 admin clerk; one E-6 supply sergeant; one E-4 supply clerk; one E-6 Crypto sgt.; one E-4 Crypto clerk; one E-7 mess sergeant; one E-5 cook; one E-4 cook; one E-3 cook; 3 sets of Artillery MOS teams made up of one E-6 sergeant; an E-5 sergeant; two E-4 specialists and two E-3 batterymen. (One Artillery Team supported each firing battery in the 45.)

The firing batteries in the 45 were:
34 SERINGAPATAM BATTERY (8 INCH M110)
52 NIAGRA BATTERY (155 M109A1)
170 IMJIN BATTERY (155 M109A1)

* 170 Battery was one of the few foreign military units to win the US Presidential Unit Citation (in Korea). They had a special ceremony every year celebrating this award on St. George's Day.

Today, the 45 and 34 have had their colours retired. 52 and 170 have been amalgamated into other units. All these units changed throughout the 1980's until their re-alignment in the early 1990's.

I understand that the 15th (now the 15th Artillery Detachment) was brought back in the late 1990's and serves in Germany but is part of our American corps stationed there.

The 570th Artillery Group was headquartered in Münster on a British kaserne. I knew of the following detachments (besides the 15th USAFAD) in the 570th in 1974:
1st USAFAD stationed in Wesel and supporting the Dutch.
22nd USAFAD stationed in Sennelager 12 miles from Paderborn and supporting the British 39 Regiment RA.
69th USAFAD supported the British Missile (part 8 inch part Honest John).

The 5th Artillery Group was located near Paderborn in Büren (20 minutes away) and was really much closer to us than the 570th. The 5th supported Belgian units.

As you know these were all custodial units. The 15th and 22nd USAFAD were so close to each other that we shared a common custodial site which relieved much of the guard duty burden which became acute when the last draftees left the Army in 1974. Because of the lack of security clearances some draftees had to involuntarily extend and I know of some who violated rules so they had their clearances pulled and were eligible to be sent home.

Oh yeah, I was the Group S-4's little secret. I didn't have a TO&E position. It was my job to around to different units prior to and after IG inspections "to help them out." As you know we had sensitive missions and keeping track of sensistive property and information was closesly looked at.

Later, after finishing college, I commanded my own unit in the 9th Infantry Division.

I (British) Corps, NORTHAG - Nuclear-Capable Artillery and Support Units:
Unit History/General Information
24 Missile Regt RA
27 GW Regt RA
39 Missile Regt RA
45 Medium Regt RA
47 GW Regt RA
50 Missile Regt RA
1st Surface-to-Surface Missile Btry RCA
8 Regt RCT
Warhead Custodial Units (US Army)

As I remember it, there were the 27, 5 and 13 SQN - seperated by blocks with each having their own OC. The 570th shared the block I lived in and had their own floor in our block.

We did not support the Royal Artillery nuclear-capable units. The only thing in common with the artillery and the transport was the history of the LANYARD, a piece of brade worn around the shoulder. The Transport had a dark blue one and the Artillery had a white one, this symbolises cowardice in battle. The Artillery retreated and left their Guns and Transport soldiers manned them and beat the enemy back. I am unsure which conflict this was in but Blue symbolised Bravery something the Transport regiments are fiercely proud of. The LANYARD was attached to the firing mechanism to keep hands away from the breach...

Nukes on exercise and on live outloads of the site were guarded by American troops; we just transported them to firing positions. Never to the wartime firing positions as we would only know of them in event of an alert state Red (your Def Con 1, as I understand).

13 Squadron was organized as 1x HQ troop; 1x Support troop; 1x NCE Troop (Nuclear convoy escort); 1x C&D Troop (the actual warhead and main motor assembly carriers).

Hope this is of some help

Related Links:
27th Regiment RA - shows photos of the CORPORAL (Broken LINK)
47th Regiment Royal Artillery (Broken LINK)
John Walker's R.E.M.E. Pages - personal recollections on his service with 47th Regiment in Dortmund - great photos of the British CORPORAL unit (Broken LINK)

At this time, I BE Corps consisted of two divisions: the 1st Infantry Division (Bensberg, Germany) and the 16th Armored Division (Neheim-Hüsten, Germany). The 20 Arty Bn (designated "20ème Régiment d'Artillerie" in French or "20de Artillerieregiment" in Flemish) was the nuclear-capable, direct support artillery battalion assigned to the 16th Armd Div. Thus, 3 Arty Bn was most likely assigned to the 1st Inf Div and supported it with its nuclear capability. Each of these mixed artillery battalions appear to have consisted of a headquarters battery, a battery of Honest John rockets (two launchers) and a battery of M-115 (203mm) towed howitzers (four howitzers) [1].

[1] The M115 8in (203 mm) howitzer, which was replaced by the M110 self-propelled howitzer, was a towed weapon developed prior to World War II as a heavy artillery weapon. The weapon used NATO-standard 203mm ammunition. In NATO service, its primary mission was to fire nuclear rounds.
[2] Wiener, in his 4th edition of Die Armeen der NATO-Staaten, states that each missile battalion at corps consisted of two batteries. However, that information was correct for the early 1970s. Did it also pertain to the organization in the mid-1960s?
[3] According to Dreifke, there also existed - until the 1980s - a nuclear-capable reserve unit, the 72A in Elsenborn, Belgium which was configured as a heavy artillery battalion equipped with M-115 towed howitzers.
[4] Source: History of the 1st Engineers, Belgium web page - http://mitglied.lycos.de/pclaeys/Historiek.htm.

Initial warhead custodial support (nuclear warheads remain under US control) was provided by the 33rd US Artillery Detachment at Spich, but in September (1962) that role was transferred to the newly arrived 4th Arty Det in Werl.

1968 - 19..
In 1968, the Belgian Army underwent a restructuring of the ground forces which included the consolidation of all nuclear capable artillery battalions under Artillery Corps command. The divisional 3rd Artillery and 20th Artillery battalions were placed under the Artillery Corps. This also led to a reorganization of the battalions. The HJ battery of the 20th was transferred to the 3rd Artillery Bn in Jan 1969.

The 20th now consisted of two M55 batteries.

On April 20 1975, the M55 SP howitzers were replaced by the M110A1 SP howitzer.

Between 1984-1986, the M110A1's were upgraded to the A2 model.

I was in the Belgian Army back in 1964 and stationed in Germany with the 75th Artillery (Battalion) of the Belgian Forces. The warhead custodial support of our Honest John rockets was provided by the 33rd Missile Detachment, US Army (at least in 1964). We were located in Köln-Dellbrück; Bergischgladbachstrasse - the name of the barracks was "Quartier Moorslede."

The 75th was composed by two "batteries"; one administration and the other "field" (firing). We went several times to a place named "(Bergen-)Hohne" (major training area) for night shooting exercises (located near Bergen Belsen, the former SS concentration camp) and occupied by the British army until 1958/59.

The following information regarding the unit history of the 75th Artillery Battalion was provided by Lt Col Roger Lothaire, Belgian Artillery School, via Col. Jean-Pierre HAUSMAN, Chargé de mission:

The 75th Bn Aie was formed on April 20 1959. That battalion was located at Köln-Dellbrück and was the first Belgian artillery unit to be equipped with the new 762mm Honest John rockets with nuclear capability. The battalion was composed of a headquarters battery and a firing battery.

THe equipment was officially handed over to the battalion on October 1, 1959. King Boudouin of Belgium presented Lt Col Gravy, the commanding officer of the 75th, with the unit colors (organizational flag) in a ceremony held on April 1 (1960). The colors were new and had no lineage. The flag and crest of the battalion were designed by unit members.

On August 20 1959, the battalion was assigned to the 1st Artillery Group. The Group was composed of the following artillery battalions:
71st Artillery Bn (155mm & 8in, towed)
72nd Artillery Bn (155mm & 8in, towed)
73rd Artillery Bn (155mm & 8in, towed)
74th Artillery Bn (155mm & 8in, towed)
75th Artillery Bn (Honest John)

This group was considered as the corps artillery of the 1 BE Corps.

All tests where passed succesfully by the battalion.

In July 61 this bataillon received new equipment that would be used to create a second firing battery, the 3rd Battery.

Battalion commanders:
Lt Col Gravy, April 20 1959 to September 1 1960
Lt Col Masset, October 3 1960 to October  15 1962
Lt Col Wibin, October 16 1962 to ??  ( I guess 1964 )
Lt Col Bem FRANKIGNOUL, from 1964 - to ??

The battalion was inactivated on March 3 1969. The unit's colors were transferred to the Royal Army Museum on February 19 1969.

In 1986, the 73 Arty of the 1st BE Corps was reinstated, as a support unit for special weapons, mostly strategic nuclear weapons but also chemical and biological ammo that was to be fired with a modified M-109A2 howitzer 155mm.

After six weeks of boot camp in Belgium, we received march orders to Soest, Germany. There was no 73 Arty Co yet, and everything was very hush hush about it. We had to train in parade marching every day sometimes even twice a day for the big event, the parade marching was not something I liked. I remember we all had sore feet from hacking with our combat boots on the concrete parade ground to get that chap-chap noise when marching. After weeks of training, the ceremony and the parade finally came to pass and there was a reasonable good party, Belgian Army style with lots of good food and of course plenty of beer…

At first our barracks in the kasern in Soest were nearly empty with only our platoon present when we arrived, but every month more recruits came and slowly it filled up till we were discharged.

I had lived in the states for 6 years previously and was one of the few Belgians around that spoke “American” fluently, and I was somewhat the oldest private around with 27 years of age, I had good map reading and navigation skills, due to my yachting and sailing experiences, also I had a steady hand, controlled my breathing and that made me a good shot. Those skills are appreciated in the Army and they gave me two stripes, a brigadier or corporal status.

The training was extensive, there were maneuvers all the time, it seemed that the army was in a high state of readiness at all times. There was a no-nonsense attitude about it. Our main duties were to guard several of the nuclear ammo depots. Training in the transportation of the nuclear ammunition to the forward howitzers. Training in destroying the nuclear weapons with explosives (to keep them out of enemy hands, most likely a suicide mission in real time we were told). Training as a light infantry (lichte infantrie) soldier, with the FN FAL 7.92mm caliber NATO ammo, the Vingeron 9mm (“grease gun”, terrible jamming weapon!), FN GP 9mm sidearm. FN MAG 7.62mm caliber machine gun. LAW disposable anti tank weapon and other anti tank weapons. Handgranades etc. Close combat training. There was also repeated NBC (Nuclear, Biologic and Chemical) training.  

Don’t let the term “light infantry” fool you, (it had fooled me at first) there was nothing “light” about it, we carried all our weapons and gear so there were no heavy mobile weapons about really. The most heavy and hardest to haul around was the MAG, about 30 pounds by itself, that weapon had a gunner and a feeder. The gunner carried the weapon and the feeder the ammo and a spare barrel. The barrel would heat up red hot during firing that after a while it needed to be replaced to cool off in the soil or snow, to use again for the next box of ammo. I used it several times during training and it is a powerful weapon and kind of fun to shoot with, with the tracers bullets, rather than aiming, you guide the bullets to target.

We learned “guerilla” tactics with the American Army. They played the enemy (Russians) to steal the special weapons from us. For us it was more hide and sneak, digging fox holes, hiding the trucks mostly MAN 4x4 and other vehicles like the Mercedes Benz Unimog with camouflage nets and bushes. Making dummy sites that would give away their position if they went for them. Americans would track us with all they had, helicopters, APC, infantry even tanks. We would usually sneak away during the night. It seemed like they really enjoyed hunting us down. If it would become a real war, the nuclear weapons were American property, we the Belgian Army were only the delivery boys, so they expected the very best, and therefore our training was also very extensive. We had to do it over and over again till even our Belgian superiors got frustrated (that was a while after us). Now I also realize that the Americans knew more about the reality of a nuclear war than we did. Recently it was revealed that if the Russians would have attact at the time the use of Nuclear Tactical Weapons (NTW) would have been a certainty and the only way to keep the Russians put, with their overwhelming amount of rolling equipment.

One day we had the experience to see howitzers fire, the firing explosion really goes through your whole body, I understand what “shell shock” is by that experience. Neighboring trees lost all their leaves from the air expansion. First a shell is loaded in the barrel with a piston, then several bags of explosives, a fire cap is placed and then the gunner pulls the firing cord and kaboom. The front of the thirty ton machine lifted like a rearin stallion. The howitzer has a bulldozer blade on the back so it can “dig in”, otherwise it would just slide back several meters every time it fires and loose its position. Our first sergeant or gunny was also a tank commander and he claimed that they could hit a  “zakdoek” (handkerchief) with it. They have forward scouts that report every shot back to the gun crew, by computing triangulation they claim the fourth or fifth shot is always a bull’s-eye. Reality is that to kill a bridge at 15-20 km distance, it takes more than 10,000 100-pound shells in average, and that is one of the reasons they would have used NTW to take the bridges out with one shot. The linear implosion plutonium weapon had a yield of less that 0.1 kiloton. Detonation by mechanical time-delay or proximity airburst, or contact. Remember this was before the “stealth air planes” and “smart-bombs” came about, those could do the job now more effectively with conventional weapons as proven in the Gulf wars.

By winter time Germany wasn’t a fun place to be in a field camp, we had only the basic clothing, compared with the American Army, they had luxury winter gear and even anti-freeze filled boots! ABL gave us long underwear knickers. It was very cold, I remember once it was minus 15 Celsius about the same temperature as in a deep freezer, and we could not make fire to give away our position until the maneuvers were over. We had to sleep with our MAG or FAL wrapped in a cloth against dampness, in our sleeping bag so our body temperature would prevent it from freezing solid and unable to fire. On maneuvers we fired blanks. The weapons were inspected freaquent on cleanliness and readiness. Ususally the Americans would attack at night, too. I told my platoon comrades to use newspapers in their clothing, a trick I also used when motorcycle riding in the winter, cheap but very effective paper is an excelent insulator. Now years later I look at it as a good time, but sometimes I remember the not so good times too, and realize having being so close to it that we were lucky that the “Cold War” stayed Cold or else we would not be here after a nuclear holocaust. Something that still hangs above all our heads like a sword.

Related Links: