HISTORY OF I COMPANY

By

SGT K.J. Woldt

Company I, I96th Infantry Regiment, was first given recognition as Co A. 196th Inf. Regt, two years after World War II.  Madison, SD, was designated as home station. On 17 APR 47, Co A, 196th Inf. held its first meeting in the armory.  The commanding officer was Capt. Burke Von Wald, with M/Sgt. Koehne the first sergeant of the company and unit caretaker.

In June 1947, Capt. Von Wald left Madison and Capt. Milo Natwick, a former member of Co A, 109th Engineers was appointed CO. At this time, Lt. Stanley Hanson, Lt. Urban S Bond and Lt. Daniel Lawler were appointed as platoon leaders.In June of 1948 the unit left for Camp Rapid, Rapid City, SD, 58 strong, with Capt. Natwick as CO. This two week period of training was not too satisfactory because of inclement weather.
In September of 1948 the unit attained its highest strength of 83 officers and men This came about  by an intensive recruiting campaign carried on by the officers and men.

Capt. Natwick and Lt. Hanson left the organization in the spring of 1949 and Lt. Bond took over as CO at this time.  In June, Co A left for Camp Ripley, MN via troop train.   At this camp, specialist schools and many phases of training were taken up.  At Camp Ripley, Co A mess hall fed 240 men daily. One hundred men of the 82nd Airborne Division were included in this group.  When drills began in September of 1949, Capt. Natwick came back into the company again. Also at this time Lt. Lawler left the company to go to Belvidere, SD as a teacher.
On 19 Sept. 49, Co A was redesiqnated as Co I and was also transferred to 3rd Battalion at this time. In May 1950, M/Sgt. Koehne received an appointment to warrant officer junior grade and M/Sgt. Erickson became new first sergeant.

On I Jan 50, Co I was composed of three officers and 55 enlisted men, and conducted National Guard training in the armory at Madison. Drills were held for two hours each Monday night. Subjects were of a basic infantry type. Co I embarked on a troop movement to Camp McCoy, WI 11 June 50 for two weeks of intensive training. Attending this camp were three officers and 49 enlisted men. Upon completion of training the company returned to Madison.

During the remainder of June and July, 1950, no drills were held due to the fact that many of the personnel were from out of town and had returned to their homes at the close of the school year.  On 7 Aug. 50, all members of Co I were notified by direction of the President of the United States and General Order 119, HQ 5th Army, that they would be activated on 1 Sept. 50.

On 1 Sept. 50, Capt. Natwick swore the men of Co I into the AUS. After being sworn in, the men took up their duties as soldiers on a day to day basis. Classes were held daily on the different arms of the company.  Packing of equipment also was completed at this time and it was taken to Mitchell, SD and. loaded in a railway box car.  On the evening of 1 Sept.  the Madison American Legion and its Auxiliary sponsored a banquet and dance for the members of Co I. The banquet and dance was held at the Lake Madison resort.

During their stay in Madison, the men were free to sleep at home or in the armory where sleeping facilities were available for them.   On 7 Sept.  the men and officers and men were loaded on buses and transported to Yankton, SD where they boarded the train for movement to Camp Carson, CO. After arriving at Camp Carson, the first two weeks were devoted to cleaning up the area to which they were assigned. This consisted of cutting weeds, repairing\g sidewalks and general cleaning of the barracks.

On 18 Sept., a course of cadre and pre-cycle training was instituted in the 3rd Bn.  All men were enrolled in this training or in some type of training school.  Co I received its first honor at Camp Carson on 3 Oct.  The softball team received individual trophies for  being runner up in the first softball tournament of 1950. Sgt. Glenn Jensen also received a trophy  for winning a boxing match during this time.

On 23 Oct., Co I received two officers.  1st Lt. Thomas J. Allen and 2nd Lt. Charles F. Gross were assigned as platoon leaders.  Cadre and pre-cycle training continued. The men were improving and looked and acted more like soldiers.   Lt. Bond was appointed executive officer.  Filler personnel arrived on 18 Nov. They were 50 strong. The next day, the company received 39 more men.  The officers and men of Co I estimated the situation and went to work. The rest of November the new members of Co I got their first taste of Army life. They adapted themselves quite readily to this new way of life.

During December, Co I received five Enlisted Reserve men as cadre. Training progressed rapidly. The men were granted five-day leaves over Christmas. This leave was the first for many of Co I men.  Capt. Natwick left the company in January to attend an Infantry Officer Refresher Course at Ft Bennng, Ga.  Lt. Allen assumed command in his absence.  Returning from school, Capt. Natwick became Battalion S-4, and Lt. Allen remained CO.  In February, the training turned to tactics. The men learned rapidly and the training got tougher.  All men in Co I found out what the infantry really was.

The company lost 42 men in March. They were sent to POE for overseas assignment, with those left wondering who was next. The training in March was of tactics, long matches and many night problems. The men ·were getting in shape for they new that this would be used in months to come.