US Army Training Center - Yearbook (Fort Polk, LA)

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m .; n-u ,. mmm mm W Major General Ellis W. Williamson was born in Raeford, North Carolina, 2 June 1918. Through high school and college he was a member of the 120th Infantry Regiment, North Carolina . National Guard. Upon graduation from Atlantic Christian College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1940, he entered the Federal Service with his unit. General Williamson remained with the 120th Infantry Regiment throughout World War 11 serving in rank from private to colonel. Fol- lowing commissioning as a second lieutenant of infantry in March 1941, he served as a commander at platoon, company, battalion and regi- mental level and as a battalion and regimental staff officer. He was regimental commander at the time of the unitis return to state control in January 1946. The same year he was integrated into the Regular Army. For three years he was an instructor of tactics at the Infantry School. He gradu- ated from the Command and General Staff College in 1950 and was assigned to Headquarters X Corps in Korea. He participated in the amphibious landing at Inchon as Assistant Operations thcer, X Corps, later becoming Operations Officer. General Williamson was assigned in 1952 to the Office of the Army Chief of Staff, next attended the Armed Forces Staif College, and then returned to Washington for duty in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He assumed command of the 13th Infantry Regiment at Fort Carson, Colorado in 1956 and took this unit to Germany on Operation Gyro- scope. After 27 months as regimental commander, he became Chief of the Training Division, Headquarters Seventh U. S. Army. He returned home to qualify as a parachutist and attend the National War College. Following three years in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for -335? I ELLIS W. WILLIAMSON Major General, U. S. Army Commanding General Personnel at Department of the Army, General Williamson assumed command of the 173d Airborne Brigade tSeparatei upon its activation in Okinawa in July 1963. He organized and trained this unit for its mission as Pacific Theater Reserve Force during the next two years. General Williamsonis brigade, in May 1965, became the first U. S. Army ground combat unit to enter the coniiict in Vietnam. Under his command, it participated in actions designed to protect friendly in- stallations and to destroy enemy forces in the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau-Ben Cat areas and the mountain plateau areas of Pleiku and Kontom. General Williamsonis command in Vietnam included All Australian and New Zealand combat elements, plus some Vietnamese units. General Williamson's U. S. and foreign decorations include the Dis- tinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star with five Oak Leaf Clusters, the Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Medal with nine Oak Leaf Clusters, the British Distinguished Service Order, the French Croix de Guerre with Silver Star, the Vietnamese CrOss of Gallantry with Palm, Vietnamese Army Disctlinguished Service Medal, and the First Class Vietnamese Service Me al. A 1962 graduate of the Harvard University Graduate School of Busi- ness, he earned his Master of Science degree in International Affairs at George Washington University in 1963. General Williamson is married to the former Margaret McNeill of Charlotte, North Carolina, and has two children, Dan and Nan. He assumed command of the U. S. Army Training Center, Fort Pork. Louisiana, 1 November 1966.

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Post Headquarters who have matched, topped and gone on to set new standards in physical training, rifle and other weapons qualification scores. Included among the Post,s training accomplishments is the Army-wide record of 459.5 for the physical combat proficiency test. It was established by Company Q, Third Training Brigade, in April 1964. In four years of operation, more than 350,000 Polk graduates have been added to the Army ranks. Fort Polk,s climate, location and terrain make it an out- standing training area the year round. The climate is mild, with Gulf breezes modifying the summer season and tempering the ,winter chill. Freezing temperatures seldom occur although per- iodic northwesterly winds occasion sudden drops in temperature, frequently accompanied by drizzling rains. From their vantage point at Fort Polk, servicemen soon learn that Louisiana has much to offer the weekend Sightseer and out- doorsman. Southern towns of great charm welcome visitors looking for a touch of the true aura of Louisiana,s history as well as a taste of its excellent French and Latin cuisine. Choice fishing spots on and near the Post are numerous, and hunters find small game in abundance. Cities in the surrounding area offer a wide range of business, educational, recreational, cultural and religious facilities. Within three hundred miles of the Fort are such cities and recreational areas as New Orleans, Houston, Galveston, Dallas, Biloxi, Lit- tle Rock and Hot Springs. Professional services available include a bank, a credit union, post oHice, hospital. and Red Cross Office. Chapels and com- munity churches invite Polk personnel to worship in the religion of their choice. Thus, Fort Polk provides a balanced program for its men. The recreational and cultural activities are some of the best the Army has to offer; at the same time, using the latest Army techniques, the Post performs the vital mission of turning civil- ians into the finest soldiers to be found anywhere in the Army.

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$h$ uQSngff HEADQUARTERS FORT POLK Oflice of the Commanding General Fort Polk, Louisiana 71459 This book is about you and for you, and in a large part you have written-the story it tells. It is an old story, lived through by countless other menafathers, brothers, and relatives. For you who have lived it for the first time, this book will serve as a reminder that you succeeded in making the difficult change from citizen to soldier. I trust that this book will remind you that there will be many other challenges in your military careers. These challenges will call f0r the same spirit of dedication and hard work demonstrated in your first eight weeks of service. There is much yet to be done. I am confident that as challenges and obstacles arise, you will meet and conquer them in a manner in which you and the nation will be proud. MWM Ellis W. Williamson Major General, USA Commanding