TC COLD WAR HISTORY EDITION TWO It is my honor to recognize members of the 53rd and 181st Transportation Battalions as the “Senior Legends” of our time during the Cold War era. Among the names, we have wheeled vehicle operators, a platoon leader and heavy wheeled vehicle mechanics that supported the mission in the United States Army Europe. REMEMBER WHEN: Semaphores were a common signal device used on European automobiles, you wore a COMZ patch, you attended Head Start, your Mess Sergeant yelled all the time in the field, mess kits require three dips in the wash cycle, dip, wash and rinse, your Supply Sergeant stated you needed three copies per request “Triplicate” became a norm, Armed Forces Network still had one television channel and Radio Free America and Armored Forces Network radio were your two options, split rims were the danger in the motor park, driving on coble stone roads became an issue driving in the fall and winter, heating C-Rations on your manifold, the battalion safety patrol made your day on the Autobahn, the Willys M38 was replaced with the M151, The M52 replaced with the Autocar U7144T, your dispatch read, Belgium, Berlin, Holland, and France - COMZ, double clutch, construction of the Berlin Wall began on August 13, 1961. In 1963, the Rhein and Neckar freeze over. Apollo XI astronauts land on the Moon. You still had a M14 with Tripod. PAUL MC WILLIAMS, (84) enlisted into the US Army as a volunteer. Completed Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training at Camp Breckenridge, Kentucky in January 1953. After graduating as a Heavy Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic, he boarded a train for Fort Hamilton, New York, New York and boarded the US Army Transport (troop carrier) Harry Taylor dispatched for the North Sea port of Bremerhaven, Germany. He then processed through the 319th Replacement Company, Building 103, Carl Schurz Casern, Bremerhaven, Germany. Paul was then place on a train and headed to Heidelberg, State of Baden Wurttemberg, Germany. Upon his arrival was taken by M34 (2.5-Ton cargo truck) AKA “Eager Beaver”, REO Motor Car Company truck to Turley Barracks located in Mannheim, Germany. Paul then in-processed with the 84th Transportation Company, the 53rd Transportation Battalion was located at Kapaun Barracks, Kaiserslautern, and the 37th Highway Transport Command at Turley Barracks. During his tour he participated in numerous bivouac exercises, missions through Helmstedt where Paul was operating the unit recovery wrecker truck arriving in a tent city to Rest Overnight (RON) then off for a logistical run through Communist East Germany to Berlin. In May 1954, Paul reenlisted for another consecutive overseas tour. The 84th Transportation Company was dispatched in whole in June 1955 through the COMMUNICATION ZONE (COMZ) to the US General Ordnance Depot, located in Nancy, France. COMZ Patch The unit uploaded the entire fleet of M52 and trailers over several days and returned to Miesau Ordnance Barracks, Kaiserslautern, Germany. In August 1956, the unit turned in all M52s at Spinelli Barracks for the new International Cab Overs, U7144T Autocar a 5-Ton 4X4 cab over engine tractors with single-axle box trailers and Class IX. In 1956, the unit is reassigned the 181st Transportation Battalion and stay on Turley Barracks. In 1960, the mission is realigned. In the event of war, the 84th Transportation Company would drive to Campbell and Patton Barracks’ in Heidelberg, load United States Army -Europe headquarters and head for the determined location and safety of France. Its assembly area was the racetrack at Hockenheim, Germany. This unit was made a part of CENTRAL ARMY GROUP (CENTAG) in 1961 and was relocated to Hammond Barracks, Seckenheim, Germany. On Oct 1, 1960 CENTAG became the newest member of the NATO military command. Paul’s second tour comes to an end and then departs for a Permanent Change of Service in 1957, sails on the US Army Transport, General Harry Taylor used by the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS). Is assigned to B - Battery, Nike Missile in Lemont, Illinois. Paul then spent another 6 years in the Army Reserves in Illinois and Ohio. GEORGE HILTON, served in the US Army attending Basic Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina in October 1967 and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Lee, Virginia in May 1968. Upon graduating he was then given a bus ticket traveling to the Holding Company at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Several days passed then was bussed to Maguire Air Base, New Jersey where he boarded a Charter Flight with Pan-Am in July 1968 his flight stopped in Shannon, Ireland to refuel. Then take off to Rhein Main Air Base, Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt, Germany. George then processed through the 21st Replacement Company. After processing through the replacement company, he was taken by truck to the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (Main train station) he boarded a train headed West to Idar-Oberstein is a town in the Birkenfeld district in the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He transferred to the 66th Transportation Company, 53rd Transportation Battalion stationed at Kapaun Barracks, Vogelweh, Kaiserslautern in September 1968 having transferred from the 522nd Quartermaster Company, Nahbollenbach Army Depot at Idar-Oberstein. He was assigned to the 1st Platoon and went straight to the Driver's Academy. That Saturday we did a commissary run from Giessen and the driver George was assigned to ride with, SP4 Wiltz, so he could learn, was not too mechanically inclined. As we were pulling out the clutch blew, he was afraid we were going to spend the weekend there, so George got behind the wheel, put it in gear and cranked her up and drove back to K-Town with no clutch, after much discussion amongst the NCOs, he was assigned 66-20 and Monday George was on the road on my own. Our main mission was sea containers out of Rotterdam and Antwerp, hence the Sea-Land container on the company sign in front of the barracks. The 66th, 83rd, and 70th Transportation Companies were at Kapaun Barracks, Vogelweh, in Kaiserslautern, the 76th Transportation Company was at Husterhoeh Kaserne, in Pirmasens and the 501st Transportation Company who ran 2 1/2 Tons to Berlin were at Turley Barracks in Mannheim. Photograph by George Hilton, 66th Transportation Company 1968 Occasionally when other companies did not have the manpower, we were called in to haul reefers, general cargo, mail, and ammo out of Miesau to all the training areas. All the ammo came in by ship to Zeebrugge, Belgium and someone thought maybe we should try it by road. Off we went, the entire company, along with wrecker, mechanics, parts truck, POL tanker and the safety patrol Jackie Palmer, only got stopped by the Polizei once because someone broke protocol and passed another truck in a No Passing Zone. Having been to Zeebrugge, Belgium "before the war", he knew there were good beaches there, so everyone took along their swim gear and we all had a good splash. We were there several days while the trailers were loaded and stayed in Belgian barracks and ate in their mess hall, beer was always served except for breakfast. We headed home with a Belgian Military Police escort until we got to the German border crossing where the Germans took over. We stayed in German barracks at Aachen and the next morning headed down to Miesau Army Deport with no further incidents. On another mission took the unit to Soesterburg Air Base, Holland to haul some missiles to several locations in the Bitburg area. We spent several days there whiles trucks and trailers were thoroughly inspected and loaded. We were ready to go and my battery exploded, so the other went on ahead, no batteries in Kaiserslautern, not even in a deadline truck, and there we sat for four days when the 37th Transportation Group commander stopped by for lunch on his return from Rotterdam. He saw my truck and found me, he got on the telephone and made a lot of noise and the next morning a guy from IHC in Paris, France turned up with a battery and away he went, the AF were great to me and almost made me want to re-up for the Air Force, and upon returning processed a TDY claim voucher and collected the balance and life was beautiful. One day’s orders came down for a run with two drivers that had a secret clearance, so SGT Gene Shiver and George set off to the Port of Rotterdam with an empty container. We got to the port and saw a lone G.I with an M14 guarding a container, so we dropped our empty and headed for the Hotel Nanking in Chinatown where we always stayed. Next morning, we hooked and ran not knowing was out load was, our orders said Nuremburg and "No stopping except for food & fuel", so we decided the Wiesbaden NCO Club was a good a place as any to eat, I think that was the longest meal break on record. We rolled into Nuremberg the next morning with a ton of brass waiting for us, MPs broke the seal and opened the doors and we backed onto the dock, we walked back there, and the brass were livid. This was the first load of M-16s to arrive in Europe, whoever loaded these probably went to Leavenworth as they were in the old triangular rifle racks stacked on top of one another totally unsecured and they were sideways, upside down and any other way you would describe them, pieces all over the floor, I expect some armorers had a fun job trying to piece some back together.