The Armored Sentinel (Temple, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 9, 1953 Page: 1 of 8
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liliilill!
WW II Hero
CAPT. AUDIE MURPHY is shown stepping out of the helicopter
which brought him to South Fort Hood to speak to the students
at the NCO Academy. Captain Murphy who is now a movie star
was the most decorated hero of World War II.
Audie Murphy In
With Guard Here
PIO Capt Audie Murphy Am
erica's most highly-decorated hero
of World War 33 was a guest
speaker Tuesday afternoon at the
Fort Hood Non Commissioned
Officers' Academy.
He emphasized the seriousness
of the training at the academy
and reminded the men of the
importance of the jobs they will
assume upon graduation.
Well known as the movie star
of such films as "The Red Badge
of Courage" Captain Murphy is
now a member of the 36th Inf. Div.
Texas National Guard which is
currently undergoing its annual
summer training at North Fort
Hood.
Captain Murphy holds all of
A a he it at on
courage on the battlefield includ
ing the Congressional Medal of Ho-
Jnor the Distinguished Service
*Cross the Silver Star with cluster
the Purple Heart with two clusters
the Legion of Merit the Bronze
Star and several decorations giv
en by foreign countries.
He entered the Army in 1942
and in February of 1943 was or
dered overseas as an infantry re
placement. He joined the 3rd Inf
Div. at Casablanca and fought with
it in North Africa Sicily and
Italy as a member of Co B 15th
Inf Reg.
In Italy because of a lack of
officers Captain Murphy led a pla
toon while holding the rank of
sergeant. He was offered a battle
field commission but turned it
down in order to remain with the
3rd Division.
Later when he was offered a
commission plus the opportunity
to remain with the Division he
accepted it. Finally he was pro
moted to First Lieutenant and was
elevated to commander of Co B
Acres
54115
The original plan for expanding
the Fort Hood Reservation con
templated a total of 62000 acres
however a reduction in the appro
priation as passed by the 82nd
Congress required a corresponding
reduction in acreage. The present
proposed boundary includes 54115
acres.
Individuals who are concerned
with the exact location of the
proposed boundary with respect
to their property may inspect de
tailed plans at the Fort Worth
District Engineer Branch Office
in Building 323 at Fort Hood
(Mr. Andrew J. Landry tele
phone 3811).
General Doan has been assured
by the District Engineer that
everything possible will be done
to eliminate delay in making pay
ments for property in order to
avoid hardship being incurred by
those property owners who have
made other commitments in antici
pation of an early settlement for
their property.
The approval of the acquisition
iOf the land was given by a sub-
Jcommittee of the Senate Armed
Forces Committee last week.
When informed of the approval
by
the Senate group General Doan
15th Inf Regt.
A native Texan Captain Mur
phy was born in Kingston and at
tended school in Celeste. His fam
ily was living in Farmersville when
he entered the service.
He joined the National Guard in
1950 and takes time off from his
movie work each summer to fly
to Fort Hood from Hollywood to
take part in the summer training
activities of the 36th Div.
During the current train
ing program Captain Murphy is
conducting a bayonet training pro
gram at North Fort Hood. He is
in charge of training one officer
and 16 non commissioned offi
cers from each regiment in the
Division who will in turn become
instructors at their home stations
throughout the remainder of the
year.
"The Korean War taught us a les
son in the use of the bayonet"
Captain Murphy told members of
the Non Commissioned Officer's
Academy. "At the end of World
War II we thought methods of war
fare had changed so that we could
throw it out the window but it is
still a valuable weapon. Proficien
cy in the use of the bayonet gives
a man courage."
Captain Murphy was a luncheon
guest of Col. E. H. F. Svensson
1st AD Chief of Staff this after
noon at the Fort Hood Officers'
Club.
Accompanying Captain Murphy
was Lt. Col. William Dickinson
36th Div Chaplain of the Highland
Park Methodist Church in Dallas.
It was he who performed the cere
mony when Captain Murphy was
wedded to Miss Pamela Archer of
Dallas. Captain and Mrs. Murphy
was wedded to Miss Pamela Arch-
of Dallas. Captain and Mrs.
Murphy have
son.
a 15 month old
Senate Group Approves New
Land Addition For Fort Hood
(PIO—Maj. Gen. L. L. Doan Fort Hood and 1st AD commander said today that he has re
ceived assurances from both the Pentagon and the District Engineer of Fort Worth District that every
tmeasure will be taken to expedite the acquisition of the new land recently approved by the Senate
Armed Forces sub-committee.
Actual acquisition of the property included in the new area cannot begin until the formal sup-
committee approval is forwarded to Department of the Army officials. When that approval is received
in the Office of the Chief of Engi
neers a directive will be issued to
the Fort Worth District Engineer
who will initiate the acquisition
procedures.
said "This is the final action to
release the funds approved last
year which will permit the En
gineers of Fort Worth District to
proceed with the acquisition of the
needed land."
Expansion of the sprawling
Central Texas post has long
been considered essential to the
training of the 1st AD. The in
creased range and fire power in
the newest model armored and
infantry weapons have created
the demand for increased firing
ranges and consequently great
er impact areas.
Lt. Gen. Bruce C. Clarke now
commanding I Corps in Korea
was the first to prompt the expan
sion of Fort Hood. Commander of
the 1st Armored from its reacti
vation in 1951 until he was suc
ceeded by General Doan in April
1953 General Clarke prepared
plans for the new firing ranges.
The House approved the action last
November.
In addition to affording longer
firing ranges and larger im
pact areas for the 90mm and
giant 120mm tank guns the
post's extended boundaries will
allow 1st Armored soldiers to
practice stream crossings and
participate in other water train
ing when Belton Lake is filled.
The additional land will also
mean greater flexibility
in
VOL. 1 No. 27
Hood Fire Losses
Down This Year
Fire losses on the Fort Hood
reservation hit a new low during
the first six months of 1953 with
only $1736.92 worth of property
damage being caused by fires Fire
Chief A. J. McGuirt revealed.
During this period no one was
either killed or injured by fire.
A rigid inspecton program car
ried out by the Fire Department
and cooperation of all persons liv
ing on Fort Hood have been two
of the factors that aided in the
compiling of this record the chief
said.
Fire losses during the same per
iod in 1952 were over $1000 great
er with the total for that period
hitting $2873.93. The second six
months of 1952 were far more cost
ly than the first with $16495.37
damage being done. Total for 1952
was $19369.30 Fire Chief McGuirt
stated.
In an effort to prevent fires dur
ing the first six months of this
year there were 6024 individual
building inspections made by per
sonnel of the Fre Department
Chief McGuirt stated.
In making these inspections
members of the department found
and eliminated 758 possible fire
hazards. In addition to eliminating
fire hazards inspectors replaced
dozens of faulty fire extinguish
ers and repaired many others.
"We members of the Fire De
partment do not believe in remain
ing at leisure until the fire bell
rings. Our primary job is to keep
the bell from ringing by inspections
and nstruction in fire preventon"
Chief McGuirt explained.
Another factor that has helped
keep the fire losses at a minimum
on Fort Hood is the regular month
Few Wrecks
Death Takes
Holiday July
A deathless July 4 weekend was
celebrated by the personnel of
Fort Hood according to Capt.
George Williamson Post safety
officer.
By mid-week only two minor in
juries had been reported to safety
officials and there was no word
training for the men of Fort Hood
on both a combat command and
division basis.
As anticipated approval of the
reservation's expansion was an
nounced after an executive session
of the Senate Armed Forces sub
committee today. A letter from
Secretary of the Army Robert
Stevens urging favorable action
was read to the sub-committee
during Wednesday morning's ses
sion. Until that time the detailed
contents of the letter were not re
leased.
General Clarke
In Near Miss
(PIO) Lt. Gen. Bruce C.
Clarke I Corps commander and
former commander of Fort Hood
and the 1st AD barely escaped
death under a thunGering bar
rage of Red artillery on a com
mand bunker in Korea accord
ing to a news article published
in the Stars and Stripes Pacific
Edition.
The newspaper reported that
the three-star general was in a
regimental command post bunk
er June 29 when the Chinese
poured in 1200 rounds of high
explosives. The general was un
hurt the report said but the
rear propeller
of
the
his helicopter
was damaged by shell fragments.
Armortii
ly fire hazard inspection made by
each Fort Hood organization.
The men from the fire depart
ment are likely to drop into an
organization to make a spot-check
at any time according to the chief.
"We want to see the buildings
as they are normally not fixed
up especially for the department"
he stated.
In addition to the regular and
spot inspections of units made by
members of the fire department
they check apprqpeimately 100 auto
matic and manual fire alarm sta
tions 52 sprinkler systems and
valves 100 local fire alarms and
100 fire alarm telephones Chief
McGuirt said.
There has not been a major bar
racks fire in years at Fort Hood.
The largest fire in South Fort oc
curred when a theater burned in
1943 and just after World War II
there was a large fire in the ware
house area of North Fort Hood.
A crowd estimated at 7000
persons viewed a fireworks dis
play Saturday night at Pritchard
Field which rang down the curtain
on an Independence Day packed
with activity.
Earlier in the day persons from
the Post and surrounding towns
had witnessed an action-packed
baseball game and heard a con
cert by the 1st AD band.
A
4
of any type of accidential death
the officer said.
The two minor injuries were
the result of an accident that oc
curred when two late model auto
mobiles collided Friday afternoon
near the entrance of Gray Air
Force Base the captain stated.
"One thing which we feel
prompted the deathless weekend
was the participation of everyone
on the Post in the safety pro
gram" the safety officer explain
ed.
For over a month prior to the
two-day holiday an intensive
safety campaign was carried on.
Displays were placed at all en
trances at Fort Hood letters urg
ing safety were sent out a dis
play of wrecked cars was placed
in front of the Post theater mov
ies were shown to Hood personnel
and safety talks were presented.
In the week before the holiday
a film on safety was shown to 11-
492 Fort Hood servicemen. In all
there were 75 showings of the
movie and the average atten
dance at the picture was 153 per
showing according to figures re
leased by the Post film library.
The deathless holiday kept the
traffic death rate for military per
sonnel at eight for the year. At
this time last year the toll was
13 dead in automobile mishaps.
"We escaped over the holiday
with no serious accidents but
that doesn't mean that we can let
down on safety. The same road
hazards exist and one false move
on the highway can still prove
fatal" Captain Williamson warn
ed.
He pointed out that the same
dangers of summer driving
fatigue heat exhaustation and
heavy traffic—are present now
just as they were hazards dur
ing and before the holiday.
"I think the drivers should be
patted on the back for observing
safety rules over the weekend and
going without a serious accident
but I don't think that they should
rest on their honors. A good week
end should inspire all of us to
drive safety in the future—for our
own sake" Captain Williamson
said.
Fireworks Highlight
July 4 Celebration
Organization Day Ceremonies To
July
THIRD STAR—Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor Eighth Army command
er pins the third star on Lt. Gen. Bruce C. Clarke I Corps CG and
former Fort Hood and 1st AD commander at I Corps Headquart
ers in Korea. (U.S. Army Photo By Koplovsky.)
Independance Day dawned bright
and clear but by mid-afternoon
the skies were partially filled with
fluffy white clouds. However only
a few drops of rain fell on the
parched Texas soil during the day.
At Fort Hood it rained for about
five minutes at 6 p. m. Saturday.
At North Fort Hood men of the
36th Inf Div of the Texas National
Guard paraded before a crowd of
hundreds in their annual review
including high-ranking military and
civilian guests. Later in the day
they watched softball games and
that night they saw a fireworks
display put on by North Fort Spe
cial Services.
Holiday activity at South Fort
Hood began Saturday afternoon
with a baseball game between
members of the two top teams in
the Post League Killeen Base and
the 501st MPs and an All-Star
team picked from the other 10
teams in the loop. The All-Stars
defeated the KB-MP team 6-4 be
fore about 200 fans at Red Lind-
sey field.
Things really got rolling Satur
day night at 8 p. m. when the 1st
AD band began its concert at Prit
chard Field. By the time the con
cert started the large stands were
nearly full.
After the band had finished its
hour long concert and just before
the fireworks display began—Col.
Ralph M. Neal deputy post com
mander gave a short welcoming
address.
By the time the fireworks dis
play was to begin at Pritchjard
Field at 9 p. m. the stands were
filled and overflowing Hundreds
of late comers lined the streets
and roads near the stadium to
witness the giant display of burst
ing rockets and explosives.
Parking lots were jammed with
cars full of people and all of the
roads near the field had cars lined
them. Probably 4000 specta
tors were in the stadium or on the
field and another 3000 people
were set to watch the event in
parked cars.
Just before 9 p. m. the lights
at Pritchard Field dimmed and
the first explosive burst was set
off. For the next 20 minutes red
green blue yellow and many other
shades of rockets burst on the
field and in the air high above the
stadium.
With the band playing holiday
music in the background colorful
salvo after salvo was exploded
above the home of the 1st AD
Extra squads of military police
were on hand for the event and
in less than 10 minutes after the
final burst of fireworks the hun
dreds of cars had moved from the
stachium and only a few smould
ering small grass fires remained
The fireworks display was spon
sored by Post Special Services and
was under the direction of Gran
ville Wilde of Killeen former Post
special services officer.
Not only did servicemen and
families take part in the celebra
tion but hundreds of persons from
surrounding Cen-Tex towns were
on hand to help the Army observe
the holiday.
In addition to the scheduled
events the other recreational fa
cilities on Fort Hood drew large
crowds. The hot weather sent
many of the persons staying on
Post to the swimming pools for
relief and both golf courses had
large cl-owds.
At North Fort Hood festivities
began a little earlier in the day
when hundreds of persons gather
ed to watch the 36th Inf. Div. pass
in review at 10 a. m. Saturday
morning.
Saturday afternoon the Guards
men were joined by their families
and friends from over the state.
Some of them attended scheduled
ball games others looked over
the camp and some took holiday
outings.
That night hundreds of specta
tors gathered at North Fort to
watch a fireworks display.
In addition to the thousands who
took part in the Post Independance
Day activities many other service
men and their families took ad
vantage of the two day holiday
and bright Texas skies to travel
to the nearby recreation spots.
As soon as duty hours ended
Friday the highways around Hood
were jammed with pleasure seek
ers headed for the resort spots or
to their homes in Texas towns.
For most of the troops on the
Post the weekend was duty free.
Only the necessary fatigue and
guard details were maintained.
PIO Washing of Army vehicles
at the Fort Hood Post motor pool
went on an assembly line basis
this week with the introduction of
a newly constructed one minute
wash rack.
As the vehicles are driven under
a large framework of pipes they
are thoroughly sprayed with .water
from all directions. They are then
FORT HOOD TEXAS THURSDAY JULY 9 1953 8 Pages
Division Review
To Be Highlight
Of Celebration
(CC "B"-PIO)—An air of festivity surrounds the personnel of the
1st AD as they begin extensive preparations for the celebration of the
Division's 13th anniversary July 15.
Highlighting the commemorative affair will be a division review
with all units of the Post and division participating. Bleachers will be
erected at the parade field for spectators and an open invitation to wit
ness the review is extended to the
general public by Maj. Gen. L. L.
Doan 1st AD and Fort Hood com
mander.
The gates of Fort Hood will be
opened to the public and all resi
dents of the Central Texas area
are urged to visit Fort Hood and
enjoy the many events scheduled
which include equipment displays
baseball games added movie
schedules and various social
functions at all clubs.
As the thousands of troops pass
in review on Organization Day
General Doan will be participat
ing in one of his last official acts
as commander of the 1st Armored
Division and Fort Hood. The Gen
eral soon departs for Germany to
assume command of the 2nd AD..
On the reviewing stand with
General Doan will be many visit
ing local state and government
officials invited for the occasion.
Looking back on 13 yeai's as the
nation's foremost armored force
the 1st Armored was originally
conceived as an experiment in a
self-supporting permanent fight
ing unit with tanks as the nucleus
at Fort Knox Ky. July 15 1940.
This experiment in a self-sus
taining blitzkreig force had never
been tried before but the records
of the 1st Armored Division and
of the subsequent armored di-
CG Of 45th Div.
Here To Inspect
For Camp
PIO Maj. Gen Hal L. Muldrow
Jr. commander of the 45th Inf
Div Oklahoma National Guard
arrived at Fort Hood Friday with
his assistant division commander
Brig Gen Fredereck A. Daugherty
to inspect training facilities at
North Fort Hood.
General Muldrow will bring his
Thunderbird Division here on Aug.
9 for two weeks of training.
They were greeted at the Fort
Hood airstrip by Maj Gen L.
Doan 1st AD commander and
Brig Gen Edward G. Farrand as
sistant division commander and
then left by helicopter for North
Fort Hood.
New Car Wash Now In Use
driven forward a few feet and are
quickly wiped off by four attend
ants while the next vehicle waits
under the spray.
Idea for the one minute wash
was originated by Lt. Col. George
L. Cook former post transporta
tion officer and now 1st AD G4
officer.
The pipe wash rack was construc
ted from salvage material by post
vi
if
visions which followed proved the
experiment was a sound one.
With the advent of World War
II the ultimate test of all fight
ing units—combat—was unalter-
ingly given this new experimental
armored force.
Following three months of rigid
maneuvers in Louisiana in late
1941 the division moved to Fort
Dix N. J. in March 1942 with
their next stop Ireland.
On the morning of November 7
1942 elements of CC "B" spear
headed a landing of 150000 Amer
ican and 140000 British troops on
the shores of French North Afri
ca hastening to aid British Gen
eral Montgomery's war weary
troops in the rout of Nazi Field
Marshal Rommel's forces from
North African soil.
This landing paved the way for
the 1st Armored's long and bitter
ly won World War combat re
cord which ran through North Af
rica and ended near Novara Italy
almost three years and 20 major
campaigns later.
During the course of 30 month's
combat the 1st Armored is credit
ed With the capture of more than
95000 Nazi troops and was one
of the first Allied units into lib
erated Rome. Over 9500 1st Arm
ored personnel won American dec
orations while 33 were winning
foreign awards including Russian.
Following a short tenure as
a
"mothball" force the 1st Armored
was reactivated at Fort Hood on
March 7 1951 culminating their re
organization training in the spring
of 1952 as one of the major par
ticipants in the Armed Forces'
largest peace time maneuvers in
history Exercise Longhorn.
With the increased need of re
placements to front line units in
Korea the 1st Armored briefly re
verted to a training division and
helped meet this new crisis by
turning more than 16000 new in
ductees into fully trained replace
ments for shipment to the Far
East Command.
Today personnel of the 1st Arm
ored Division are once again pre
paring for the intensive training
schedules which will build them
into the combat-alert force which
won the high praise of both the
Secretaries of the Defense and
Army plus other high govern
ment and Army officials during
Exercise Longhorn.
motor pool personnel during their
off duty hours.
"It represents a tremendous sav
ing in manpower and water and
has greatly improved the appear
ance of our vehicles" said Capt
LeRoy L. Willard post motor of
ficer.
Between 100 and 150 vehicles are
washed each day with the new sys
tem he estimated.
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The Armored Sentinel (Temple, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 9, 1953, newspaper, July 9, 1953; Temple, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth254339/m1/1/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Casey Memorial Library.