HISTORY OF HEADQUARTERS AND HEADQUARTERS COMPANY, 196TH INFANTRY

By

Lt K.B. Schultz

The federal government recognized Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Second Battalion, stationed at Aberdeen, SD, as a member of the 196th Infantry Regiment on 11 Dec 46. The unit was under the command of Cpt Francis Clinton and Lt Eugene Tracy severed as executive officer.

On 6 Dec 47, the unit was reassigned as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 196th Infantry Regiment. The change was not too different from the original assignment but covered a larger scale in the controlling and supervising mission and the communication sections of the company.

Headquarters Company first encampment, was in June 1948 with a company strength of two officers and 25 enlisted men. This first encampment was held at Camp Rapid, Rapid City, SD from 13 June to 27 Jun, offered little good weather or training. The unit did accomplished considerable communications work, however, and wire was strung to all units in the camp. Radio operators had a good chance to learn proper net procedures and functional details of the radios with which they were to work.

Before the second encampment, the strength of the unit was 54 EM and with the addition of 2nd Lt Arthur Osterman, the unit again had three officers. During the year the unit acquired a new quota of vehicles. Sgt George Osterman had his hands full getting the 17 vehicles in shape for the long haul to Camp Ripley, MN.

M/Sgt Charles Webster was handling communication classes, getting the radio operators set up with basic knowledge of code and seeing that message center personnel were getting squared away on the M-209 converter and proper methods of handling messages.

Range facilities around Aberdeen had been limited to the sand pit and those men who had a chance to fire used only the .22 caliber rifle. Consequently, they were looking forward to Camp Ripley’s ranges. There was the usual farewell from the unit doctors and the puncturing of arms with tetanus, typhoid and small pox vaccination.

Work began immediately upon arrival at Camp Ripley. The Headquarters personnel and communications section were busy getting communications set up. Switchboards were readied and telephone lines strung. Basic communications school held on a regimental scale, was excellent and basic soldier training greatly helped the men. Several specialized schools were conducted, including communication, mechanics and cooks schools.

After returning from Camp Ripley, the unit went into routine training for the soldier with communications and individual weapons classes as the main subjects. The unit was fortunate to use the Willow Creek Dam Site. This enabled the unit to construct a rifle range and give new and old men a chance to do all the range firing they wished.

Camp McCoy, WI was the last summer encampment for the unit. Technical schools were conducted for the personnel. Training of the soldier was similar to training in previous camps, but more organized. An infantry weapons demonstration was conducted, showing the use of the recoilless rifle and as an added attraction the South Dakota Air Guard demonstrated the effect of aircraft in softening up an enemy position by bombing and strafing.

Training of personnel after returning from Camp McCoy was routine until 7 Aug 50 when the unit was alerted prior to being called into federal service. From that time on, training was stepped up to three nights a week in preparation for induction into federal service on 1 Sep 50.

With the rapid approach of 1 Sept, much was to be done. Men were to be processed and physicals to be finished. In general, all officers and enlisted men were busy. The Armory was like an Army Post, with chow being served in then truck park. Guard duty was one of the new additions. Most of the men were allowed to go home in the evenings, but during the day they were busy with close order drill. Not all the men were drilling, however, many were getting equipment crated and trucks loaded for the haul to Camp Carson, CO.

The advance party, headed by Cpl David Bruns with one jeep, left on 4 Sept to get things "squared away" before the company reached camp. On 6 Sep, Lt Schutz headed the 16 truck convoy out of Aberdeen to meet the other convoys in Pierre, SD for the trip to Camp Carson.

Hq & Hq Co arrived at Camp Carson on 9 Sep. During the weeks that followed all personnel were kept busy with the normal work involved in setting up a camp. By the first of October the unit was ready to receive and preparation was made to train filler personnel who arrived on 7 Oct.

The job of training the new personnel was taken over by the Provisional Training Battalion, which helped the overall situation. New men completed their eight weeks of basic with the training battalion then were returned to the company. There they were assigned to respective platoons and the specialized training was given on company level. By the first of January 1951, the company strength was 265 men. In February the unit received 105 more men, but a levy of 98 men was made, leaving the company with a strength of 272 men.

During the period of training conducted by the separate platoons, the communication platoon conducted schools covering all phases of communications. Men in the I&R platoon had some good training acting as aggressor for the Air Force on it’s survival courses. Routine training was carried on by the other platoons with much field and practical training. By the end of March company strength was 267.