The Blackhorse Association (703-250-3064 Or 703-407-4038)
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April 2014 The Blackhorse Riding with the Blackhorse: Vignettes out of Our Regiment’s sent it to all camps, posts, and stations. 1941 History However, the instructions from Washington Desert Warfare Training By Don Snedeker were that taking the shot was entirely voluntary. April 2014 Only about one-third of the Troopers of the Eleventh Cavalry Regiment volunteered to take 1907 the shot. This was unsatisfactory to the A Second Lieutenant with a Map Regimental Commander, Colonel James Parker. He issued an order on 7 September directing that all officers and Troopers under the age of 50 would be expected to take the shot. Exceptions could be made when requested in writing. However, due to the threat of an epidemic in the civilian community, those who did not receive Trooper Sid Stark - 11th U.S. Cavalry the vaccine would not be allowed to go off post At Camp Lockett, 1942 on pass “where they run danger of infection.” In 1918, the Eleventh Cavalry departed Fort Everyone dutifully lined up and was inoculated. Oglethorpe, Georgia, for its new home in The Eleventh Cavalry Regiment (minus First California. While most of the Regiment Squadron) was serving as part of the U.S. went to the Presidio at Monterey, Echo forces sent to Cuba to put down a rebellion. Troop initially occupied a bivouac in the Troopers were located in Pinar del Rio (the Campo Valley in the high desert west of heart of the Cuban tobacco plantations) and San Diego. Two decades later, the entire Camp Columbia near Havana. In addition to Regiment rode south from Monterey, with patrolling on horseback and maintaining order, orders to establish a long-term horse cavalry officers of the Regiment assisted in making a camp in the same location. After a 54-day map of the island. Each officer, accompanied trek on horseback, Second Squadron by one or two mounted Troopers, was armed Troopers rode into the valley (known to the with a prismatic compass and a sketch book. Native Americans who originally lived in The teams were sent out for months at a time, the area as ‘big foot’) on Thanksgiving Day, measuring and sketching the landscape, then 1941. Although the attack on Pearl Harbor returning to provide input to the mapmakers. was still two weeks away, war clouds were The whole project took many months. The already on the horizon. According to the final map, with a scale of three miles to one LA Times, the “tough-bitten” 11th Cavalry inch, measured 24 feet long. had the missions of patrolling the near-by 1910 border with Mexico, protecting the West Life is Full of Choices Coast in case of a Japanese invasion, and In the summer of 1910, there was a typhoid guarding the far-flung San Diego dams and fever epidemic sweeping the country. An reservoirs from sabotage. The new camp, Army doctor had developed a vaccine against which cost the Army Corps of Engineers the fever the previous year, and the War Dept. $1,000,000 to construct, was named Camp Colonel James Parker Lockett, in honor of the 4th Colonel of the 3rd Colonel of the Regiment Regiment (1913-1915). It lay just two Inside This Issue miles from the Mexican border in an area President’s Message……...……….…...........2 accessible only on a horse. One history of 65th Colonel’s Message…...……….….........3 the camp described the terrain and weather Additional Association Notes........................3 in the region: “The surrounding terrain Chapter Information/Officers..…....…...........4 offers unparalleled opportunities to test Front page continued………......………....…5 man, beast and mechanized carriers over a Fundraising Event..........................................6 wide variety of terrain that includes heavily Paver Project..................................................7 wooded underbrush, desert sand, miles of Reunion info and signup ....…........….….8&9 barren, rocky wastelands, streams to be Trooper/NCO Awards….......……..……….10 forded, and other geographic hazards Blackhorse Store…………..….....………...11 identical to those which confront cavalry Membership application…....….......………12 Continued on page 5 Blackhorse Association Web Site is: http://www.blackhorse.org President’s Message by Glenn Snodgrass, President, Blackhorse Association Page 2 The Association continues to operate status with the IRS) – please contribute YourMount evening (including some more on a sound financial footing: 2013 was to our 1901 Club or simply send a check inductees into the Regiment’s Honorary a great year with a wonderful reunion to our treasurer earmarking the donation. Scrolls), and a Saturday night banquet, with in Louisville, 20 scholarships were (2) If you want to contribute to our GEN JD Thurman tentatively to be our guest given, and important donations were Scholarship Fund, please become a speaker. We will have a memorial service at received from hundreds of members. member of the Allons Club or simply our Memorial tank located nearby, tours of With your help, 2014 can be even send a check to our treasurer earmarking Fort Carson, and perhaps a trip to Cheyenne better. the donation. Mountain. If you have any silent auction (3) If you want to help us move our items to contribute, please call Charley Update on the Move of the regimental monument from Fort Knox to (Home: Regimental Monument Fort Benning, you may buy a paver (see 719-576-0559; Cell: 970-620-0402). article elsewhere in this newsletter) or This information can also be found on our Some of you may not know that we are simply send a check to our treasurer www.blackhorse.org and going to move the regimental earmarking the donation. www.blackhorse.com websites – or call me monument from its current location at The mailing address for all contributions with any questions the Patton Museum near Fort Knox to is: The Blackhorse Association (703-250-3064 or 703-407-4038). a new site adjacent to the future Armor ATTN: Treasurer and Cavalry Museum at Fort Benning Communications P. O. Box 84093 (it is a long story - suffice it to say that Lexington, SC 29073 once the Home of Armor moved from Clint Ancker, our Director of The website offers an easy credit card/ Knox to Benning, and all the armored Communications, asks that you make us PayPal option of making contributions vehicles were taken from the Patton aware of things which you think would be of for any purpose. If you know of any Museum to Benning, there was little interest to the Association membership – just Blackhorse veterans who are not choice for us but to move the send either of us what you have in mind members of the Association, please monument – if we ever expected lots electronically or call us anytime (Clint – encourage them to join. of people to come see it). 913-724-4420), or send to Clint at 17946 We are working closely with our How you can help us save 156th Terrace, Bonner Springs, KS, 66012. sister organization, the 11th Armored money If you have access to a computer, please Cavalry Veterans of Vietnam and check our website at www.blackhorse.org for Cambodia (11th ACVVC) to execute A major goal is to continue to reduce a wealth of information about the Association and pay for the move. Association expenses. If you have and the active regiment, and give us your We have coordinated with Fort access to a computer and email, you can email address so that we can send you our Knox for departure requirements, and help immensely if you would be willing monthly e-news items. Greg Hallmark has are working with monument to go paperless (and save us the cost of done a marvelous job over the last year companies at both sites. printing and mailing this newsletter making our website a state-of-the-art place to We are also going to take this twice a year). It’s easy – just go to our visit, but we are always looking for ways to opportunity to enhance our monument website at www.blackhorse.org and click make the website better. – with more history, our campaign on the “Go Paperless” link at the top of streamers, our patch, our crest, our the home page. If you do not have Memorabilia crossed sabers and more – we want it access to a computer and email – no to stand out and be something all of us worry – we will continue to send this Finish Line Awards (FLA), our can be proud to visit and to call our publication via regular mail. own - it will represent all eras of memorabilia vendor, continues to do a superb Blackhorse service. Our target for Reunion in June job of offering quality merchandise - see their completion is the spring of 2015. advertisement elsewhere in this newsletter. As always, we need your assistance It is now time to get your registration FLA has had such a profitable year, that they to help us pay for all of this. Please forms submitted for our upcoming have been able to contribute a portion of their see the 3rd subparagraph below if you reunion in Colorado Springs, CO, which profits to the Association. would like to contribute. will be held June 12-15. [See the flyer and registration forms elsewhere in this Any Questions about anything – don’t ever How You Can Help us newsletter.] We are getting early hesitate to call me (703-250-3064 or Financially indications of a very good turnout – we 703-407-4038) or any member of the Board of have already topped our initial room Directors (see page 4 for a complete listing). (1) If you want to contribute to our minimums, so we are encouraging you to Operations fund (the cost of running get your hotel reservations soon.