Vol. 2, no. 21(September 1944) - Oregon State Library: State ...

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Page Two
O N G U A R D I
September, 1944
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Co. B, 14th Bn. Busy
With New Equipment
ALBANY - The Albany unit
has been very busy the last few
months mastering the use of the
new equipment and, according
to a recent anonymous article in
the "On Guard," allegedly answering
the plaintive call of the
bull.
The small bore qualification
course has been practically completed
with very gratifying results.
Names and scores will be
given at a later date as soon as
all have fired. A large percentage
have attained the sharpshooter
score and a good number the expert
rating and, of course, some
did qualify as marksmen.
Some men have already qualified
on the Model 1917 Enfield
and both courses are scheduled
for completion within four weeks.
One of Co. B's most successful
ovenight bivouacs was held
August 5 and 6 at 4,097-foot
'Mary's peak, one of the highest
mountains in the coast range. Although
we are usually termed as
"foot sloggers" our maneuver
was carried out in a typical air
corp training area, literally "up
in the' wild blue yonder" and
actually in the cluods which just
capped the peak. However, visibility
below was excellent en-'
abling men to pick out different
land marks in the valley.
The maneuver included an approach
march over unusual and
difficult terrain utilizing patrol
scouts and reconnaissance patrols,
under command of Sgt.
George Ehrlich and Dent Stewart,
maintaining direction by the
compass.
Contact between the various
elements was exceptionally good,
resulting in fine coordination
and preparing the men for the
THROUGHOUT THE
it
afternoon maneuver using two
opposing units under the command
of 1st Lt. J. Sprague and
2nd Lt., T. M. White; one with
orders to proceed to a destination
and avoid combat if possible,
the other to locate and attack
any group. The first unit was
ambushed but managed to disengage
only to be attacked later,
resulting in a spirited but bloodless
problem.
The scouts had some difficulty
keeping to the business at hand
because of the numerous deer encountred
which, however, refused
to commit themselve to battle
being no doubt overawed by the
imposing military strength.
Another overnight bevouac
was held August 26 and 27. The
maneuvers at night consisted
mainly of guard duty with reconnaissance
patrols out and sending
messages using the new signal
lights which have proved to
be very efficient. Sunday was
mostly devoted to zeroing the Enfields
and firing the qualifica
tion course. The field telephone
unit and firing line shelter have
been completed, both of which
are exepcted to be a great help.
----
Oregon State Guardsmen
Wins State Rifle Title
PORTLAND-1st Sgt. Charles
Lucas of Co. E, 2nd Bn., Port­
land, a darkhorse in competition
against top-notch shooters of the
Pacific northwest, holds the state
outdoor small bore championship
for 1944 by virtue of totalling up
the high grand aggregate score at
the Oregon State Rifle and Pistol
association small bore rifle tournament
at Clackamas July 23.
Lucas' surprising performance
against the crealIl of small bore
STATE
shooters was the high light of
partjcipation by Oregon State
Guardsmen in the tournament.
Co. E under the able direction
of its commanding officer, Capt.
Frank Cosby, had an ll-man
team in the shoot. Members of
this team were the only State
Guardsmen to 'participate officially
as Guard entries.
And, to cap the honors, Pvt.
Floyd S. Ragner of Co. E's team,
walked off with the state junior
title.
Sgt. Lucas has been shooting in
the small bore field for a number
of years and has fired consistently
in the expert bracket. His per­
formance against the large num­
ber of top-ranking marksmen
was something of an upset, how­
ever· for competition at the
tournament always is keen.
In addition to winning the
state outdoor small bore championship
Sgt. Lucas placed third
on the 10-man team selected to
represent the state association in
the international matches.
The ll-man team representing
Co. E all fired in their Oregon
State Guard uniforms. The group
included:
Capt. Frank Cosby, 1st Sgt.
Charles Lucas, Staff Sgt. Ora
Vial', Cpl. L. Knox, Pfc. Ed Gloss,
Pvts. George H. Kessler, Hal
Bevan, Cpl. Paul Watts, Pfc. Ted
Cosby, son of the captain, Pfc.
Robert Schuknecht and Pvt.
Floyd S. Ragner.
Capt. Cosby, who also is range
officer for the 2nd battalion, himself
has held the state small bore
championship several times and
now holds the state .30 caliber
title.