United States Military Academy Camp Buckner - Mortar Yearbook (West Point, NY)

Page 21 text:

f QW Wx A f' HX 'ii Y ,l' 'f -- Vw-, Z FA! 5 1,-,g . ' f- K , f., 4 f 7 ,f ff xii- ,QE ,Sas A Gfxfj T- Y f ' .ff F9341 if 351 A 7, ' , 447 .,., mfs,-T f' -' ' -N pg f,, 6j jg K K , X 'T T if - ' F.-71e..::s ' xo 1 f 5 , i rf, Y ' ltfxlliii ,Nw Nw M. lim.. -fwfr I'II101T With a rumble, a wheeze, and a roar we tore up half the county with those big M-48s. The trails were rough, but the tanks were rougher and by the time we finished even the Air Force files were convinced that Armor, with its Firepower, Mobility, and Shock Action had what it takes to win battles, and win them decisively. We had a chance to play with the radios and fire on Range l. And for those few who didn't see them, I assure you, the geese were there, all eight of them. The tactical problem really showed us what Armor can do. And as we started the attack on our objective we found that riding beats walking in more ways than one, sixty per cent grade or not. And when Lieutenant Glassmeyer told us about driving a tank through Napalm, a few more of our fears about the tin coffins were dispelled. They just don't make can openers that big. We ate Armor chow, talked Armor talk, and breathed Armored air, and when we finished, we were tankers to a man.

Page 20 text:

ij 1 fbwi lf .F l Ji tgi rl , ,7'X gf, X lxl . lf'fl Signal You can't control your troops unless you can communicate with them, and Signal Corps, in two days of instruction showed us how you do it. From basic orientation in the Able Baker Charlie alpha- bet we progressed to the mystery of the year, the ANPRC radios and the air was soon heavy with yearlings trying to find somebody to talk to. Wire communication was the order for the afternoon and all soon became expert splicers, tyers and switchboard operators, not to mention our more agile classmates whose motto was Every man a monkey as they swarmed to the tops of simulated telephone poles. The second day of instruction was devoted to a field exercise testing what we had learned. Most of us learned a lot, as was evi- denced by the fact that a whole battalion wire net and radio system went in during the course of the morning, but some of the recorded conversa- tions were enough to make us respect the Signal Corps the rest of our careers.

Page 22 text:

THE BUCKNER STAKES 'fjmv ' 2 . k Q Nag ww :M x X