Red Dragon Report
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The RED DRAGON REPORT 2019 Red Dragons Gathering August 14-18 Fort Hood, TX Fort Hood has been the home station for the 2D Chemical Battalion for 41 years. A highlight of this year’s gathering will be naming the Battalion HQ Building in honor of Master Sergeant Hugh D. Whitacre, who received a posthumous Silver Star for bravery in action with the 2D Chemical Mortar Battalion in 1950. WHAT YOU NEED TO DO ONE Make your hotel reservations no later than July 1st. We will be at the Shilo Inn & Suites, 3701 South W S Young Avenue. Killeen, TX about 2 miles from the Fort. Call 254-699-0999. BE SURE to say you are with the Red Dragons in order to get our special rate of $79.00 for a king or two double beds. TWO Send me money! By July 1, please send a check for $20 per person to cover the banquet, hospitality room, refreshments, etc. Send your check to Red Dragons Association 1455 Spanish Lakes Ave St. Gabriel, LA 70776 THREE Bring your “Sunday go to meetin’” clothes for the Memorial Banquet. FOUR Bring small items to donate for the raffle on Friday night. 1 2019 Gathering Schedule Guests welcome at any time Wed 14 Aug 1730-2400 Informal social gathering at Killeen Civic and Conference Center (KCCC) 3601 W S Young Dr Thu 15 Aug 0830 Gather at Shilo Inn & Suites, proceed to Fort Hood Visitor Center for credentials 1000-1100 Leadership recognition, promotions, etc. - building dedication at Bn HQ 1330 Gather at Nov 5 Memorial Gazebo between KCCC and Shilo Inn 1400-1700 Red Dragons History Brief at KCCC 1800 - 2200 Dinner on your own, room at KCCC open for visiting. Fri 16 Aug 0800-1200 Battalion sports competition and lunch at Bn HQ 1730-2400 Memorial Banquet at KCCC Sat 17 Aug 0900 Visit Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco Time and activity TBD – Waco Mammoth site, Balcones Distilling Company, Three Texans Winery & Vineyard, Walker Honey Farm, BJ’s Brewery & Tasting Room Sun 18 Aug Close Station/ March Order Insignia of the 1st Gas Regiment, ancestor unit of the Red Dragons 2 Table of Contents Reunion Announcement and Schedule…………………..1 Test Your Red Dragon History Knowledge………………3 Norm DeRosier Memorial Financial Report……………..4 TAPS……………………………………………………..4 Report on 2018 Gathering………………………………..5 Museum Expansion………………………………………8 Fox M93A1………………………………………………9 Realwasphotos.com……………………………………..11 John Skaggs……………………………………………..11 Korea……………………………………………………12 Videos of Interest……………………………………….14 New KIA/MIS Identified for Korea…………………….15 Dragon Wings Award…………………………… ……15 48th Chemical Brigade Honors Peggy Eldredge…… …15 102 Years – Photos of 5 wars……………………………16 The Fireshot Ceremony…………………………………17 Mortar Barrel Makeover…………………………..……19 Roster……………………………………………………20 Test Your Red Dragon History Knowledge 1. What’s the significance of the circle under the dragon’s foot on the Distinctive Unit Insignia? 2. What was the “old” name for Aberdeen Proving Ground when it was the Red Dragons’ home station? 3. Why didn’t the 2d Chemical Battalion deploy to Viet Nam? 4. In the 2003 invasion of Iraq, what was the firsts vehicle to enter Baghdad Airport? n Battalio Chemical 2d the of Fox M93 An 4. companies. few a and platoons detachments, No battalions deployed, chemical units were were units chemical deployed, battalions No 3. Arsenal Edgewood 2. Army. the in units motorized because the unit was one of the first fully fully first the of one was unit the because circle symbolizes the wheel of a vehicle vehicle a of wheel the symbolizes circle The 1. 3 Norm DeRosier Memorial Financial Report YE 2017 $1,321 Donations $5,060 Interest$5 Supplies & Equipment -$556 Website -$84 Newsletter -251 Raffle $135 Reunion Expense -$4,635 Reunion Revenue -$2,259 CCRA IRS User Fee -$275 Dragon Wings -$574 Printing & other expenses -$438 YE 2018 $1,967 TAPS Name Service Date of Death Frederick Aydellott WW II Co A Not Known Mitchell Ciborowski WW II Co A Not Known Richard Corwin Co A 1953 2/22/19 Donald Gillis 1953 Not known Paul Kovach Co C 1953 Not Known Steve Kovall Co C 1951 1/18/2018 George Thelen, Jr. 1953-53 12/12/18 4 Report on 2018 Gathering Korean War veterans and veterans of Desert Storm joined about fifty soldiers of the 63rd Chemical Company in Clarksville, TN August 8-12. An informal gathering on August 9 allowed the active duty troops to learn a lot about their predecessors, and the “old guys” satisfied a lot of their curiosity about the modern Army. Side trips included the 101st Airborne Museum and the J.B. Rowland Distillery, where we learned a lot about the making of bourbon and other fine whiskey products. Designated drivers were assigned before we went to the tasting room. Walt Eldredge presented his brief on the history of the battalion, which now spans 101 years. The Memorial Banquet included a solemn ceremony of reading the names of the fallen. The names were assigned to people present, so that nearly everyone had a person to honor and time to think about who that person may have been. The atmosphere became lighter with the Fireshot ceremony (drinking from the mortar barrel) which dates back nearly sixty years and was revived in 2017 at the Centennial celebration, As always, events closed with the raffle which contributed $135 toward costs of the event. Soldiers of the 63rd Chemical Company enjoy the banquet 5 Harry Mitchell, Korean War Red Dragon, and SPC Salinas, Red Dragon of today. Marty Troster, Korean War Red Dragon, sips reflectively while visiting the MB Rowland Distillery SFC Doe reads the name of a Red Dragon who fell in the Korean War 6 Walt Eldredge with Desert Storm Veterans Alex Elliott, Eddie Heath, Jeff Pearsey and John Rachwitz. Part of “The Museum” set up at the 2018 Reunion Museum Expansion As many of you know, Peggy and I have a lot of historical items that we cart around the country to display at reunions and other Red Dragon occasions. It’s come to be called “The Museum.” We want to expand this to cover the modern era (1960 plus) specifically including Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. If you have photographs or items that you are willing to donate, please contact Walt Eldredge at [email protected] or 225-892-3754 7 Fox M93A1 Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Reconnaissance System (NBCRS) Outside of 2d Chemical HQ at Fort Hood an M93 “Fox” NBC Reconnaissance System.is on display. The Fox NBCRS was a rolling laboratory of NBC detection, warning and sampling equipment highlighted by an onboard mass spectrometer. With a crew of four and a weight of 17-19 tons, its 320 HP Mercedes- Benz engine could drive it at a top road speed of 65 mph. It was armed with a 7.62 mm M240 machine gun and 12 smoke grenades. Fox crews appreciated the overpressure filtration system that maintained a “shirt-sleeve” interior environment despite external contamination, and the vehicle’s amphibious ability to “swim” water barriers too deep to ford. The filtration system caused a pronounced “pop” in the ears if a hatch was opened under pressure. The Fox was based directly on the German TPz “Fuchs” APC. In the late eighties the U.S. Army purchased 48 of the XM93 developmental model, and Germany supplied another 50 XM93s for Operation Desert Storm. Many of these were used by the Red Dragons to provide chemical recon for VII Corps on its race across the desert in the “Hundred Hour War.” Over the next 25 years 1,236 Foxes served with the Army and Marines. In the invasion of Iraq, March 2003, several Red Dragon platoons deployed with Foxes. The first American vehicle to enter Baghdad airport was an M93A1 Fox of the 2d Chemical Battalion. Maneuver units did not enter until the facility was declared clean. When President George H.W. Bush visited Iraq in April 2003, three Red Dragon foxes probed his route to detect any NBC threats. Upgrades to the M93A1 variant began in 1998. This model reduced the crew to 3 and automated procedures for NBC sampling, analysis and reporting. The M21 Remote Sensing Chemical Agent Alarm (RSCAAL) could detect chemical agent clouds 5 km away. It was raised and lowered from the roof by a vertical hydraulic cylinder. The entire onboard sensor suite was 8 linked to communication and navigation systems through the Multipurpose Integrated Chemical Detector (MICAD.) This meant that threat detection, analysis, and location were sensed and reported automatically. In 2007-9 eighteen Foxes were upgraded to the M93A1P1 variant with slat armor, improved land mine protection, and the CROWS Common Remotely-Operated Weapon Station. During the same period the Army was developing the M1135 NBCRV Stryker variant as a replacement. The last Foxes in Army service were retired by the Red Dragons at in July 2014. A Fox on the road at high speed A Fox swims a water obstacl e 9 A personal story was contributed by Kingsley Adams, who gained close-up knowledge of the Fox in 20 years of Chemical Corps service. I was assigned to the 68th Chemical Company under the Iron Horse Brigade of the 1st Cavalry around 1996. Our unit received orders to deploy to the National Training Center of Fort Irwin California to conduct training for a possible upcoming deployment overseas. Naturally I was excited since that's what I signed up for. Our unit began preparations quickly. We were told that we were going to rail-load all our vehicles and then sign for a few out of the draw yard when we arrived to N.T.C.