Vol. 1, no. 9 (June 1943) - Oregon State Library: State Employee ...

Page Ehrht
ON
GUAnn!
June, ],943
WITH THE MEN ON GUARD
(Continued from page 5)
action northea'st of Suippes, on the Champagne
front, on J,uly 15, 1918.
The wealth of experience from which
the captain draws, has contributed much
to the detailed and weH-planned series of
Sunday maneuvers arranged by Major
Donald MacArthur, commander, 2nd Bn ..
1st Infantry Regiment.
--+---
CO. A, 7th Bn., Lose Two
To Armed Services
The arnled services claimed two and re
leased one of the personnel of Co. A,
7th Bn., during the past month. Pvt.
Edwin Nelson left for Washington, D.C ..
where he will attend preparatory SCh09l
for West Point enlistment, and Pvt. Geo.
Houston is now servin'" in the Army Air
Corps. Former Co. A Pvt. Earl Peterson,
after " stretch in the army, has received
a disability discharge and is expected to
rejoin his former pals in the O.S.G.
The "war games" held every couple of
weeks or so by units in the Portland' area
continue to make much of Co. A news:
The time, for example, that a trio of the
boys, while advancing again"st the "blues"
through a farmer's pasture encountered a
young bovine character at the male sexbull,
to you and you-and discovered tbe
red ribbons in their caps failed to im-
11l'0ve the young fellow's temper. No
likely foxholes being available, there was
a quick retreat and rapid penetration of a
harbed-wire fence. Then, fig,uratively
thumbing their noses at their would-he
attacker, Co. A's doughty trio continued
their advance in a neighboring field, following
the fence with the bull snorting
along on the far side of the wire. Imagin'e
their consternation when the fence
suddenly ended, and the enemy charged
around it and into their supposedly neutral
area! Another rapid retreat and a
wide flanking movement through still more
distant pastures solved the problem.
Then' there was the private who stacked
his limbe g·un against a wire fence while he
?, ver it the fence--.but got a
-:-
shockIng surprIse when he reached fol'
the weapen and found the wire was of the
"charged" variety.
Such incidents, and many more like
tbem, have only served to liven up the
maneuvers, in which Co. A has had a
good turnout steadily, and the men ar&
learning more and more about combat and
reconnaissance from each event.
In response to a plea from Sergt. Earl
Dickensheets for donors to the Red Cross
hlood plasma bank, 14 Co. A men volunteered
to add their blood to the collection
which saves so many lives of American
soldiers and sailors. Nearly all others in
the company had already given their pint
'
-in some cases several times.
Incidentally, how about the rest of you
fellows over the state? Have you done
your part in this vital cause? There's no
pain connected with the pro"edure, no dane
gel' 01' detrimental results to health, and
it takes less than an hour. Your local
Red Cross unit will make the arrangements-and
you'll have the satisfaction of
knowin'g that YOUR blood may save the
life of some seriously wounded American
soldier or sailor.
C Company Honors
+
Commissioner
Old timers and rookies rubbed elbows
durlng the annual reunion of Co. C of
the Third Oregon, at Headquarters Company
drill room of the Oregon State
Guard, Friday, May 21. Capt. Henry
Smith, of Headquarters Company, was
elected president to succeed Capt. Charles
Renard, of C Co., 4th Bn.
A review was held to show the old,
timers the new organization formations.
Not to be outdone, ' the vets then showed
the present guardsmen how it used to be
done. City Commissioner Fred Peterson,
as a former member of the company, was
the guest of honor. He spoke briefly on
the duties of civilian defense and outlined
the plans by which these agencies would
best co-ordinate with the work of the
State Guard.
Refreshments , followed, and, although
they were prepared by the company, the
former Mess Sergt., Billy Dalbon, stuck
'his fingers into everything-just like he
used to do.
Capt. Smith has one of the ace outfit,
of our present guard, and the boys are
making an exceptional showing' under his
leadership. His demonstration of the duties
of a message center at a recent Sunday
critique left nothing untold, and the
men carried' out their duties with snap
and ass'Urance.
---++-
Service Company Active
The Service Company of State Guard
Headquarters has had an unusually active
spring season. Besides participating in'
all of the regularly scheduled Sunday maneuvers
of the Portland companies, they
have found time to spend several Sundays
out on the Clackamas Rifle Range. Both
.22 rifles and 12-guage shot g,uns were
used, and Capt. R. Niece reports that on
every oecRsion the scores turned in were
better than expected. ,Tbe company also
won its softhall game with the Detto Club
of the Federal League by a score of 8 to
2. 'I'he boys never miss an opportunity
for a game and have some good material
available within their ranks.
Credit must also be given the men and
officers of this company for the fine way
they have handled the transportation prohlem
going to and from our Sunday maneuver
areas. The problem of routing, parking
at the detrucking points, an'd traffic
handling has been made even more efficient
through the assistance of Capt. Gowenlock's
Motorcycle Company.
Co. A, of the 4th Bn .. joined with the
Service Company on on'e Sunday maneu ..
vel', starting with breakfast at 8 :30, smallbore
target practice was' followed by reconnaissance
and mappin'g problems, a ball
game and lunch. A field problem in defense
was then supervised by Capt.
Nutting with the relative worries of supply
and sel'vice being taken over hy the Service
Company. Over 85 men participated
in this trainirig.
+
Outdoor Training Is Best
The sixth of a series of Sunday maneuvers
of the 2nd, 4th and 7th Battalion'S of
the First Regiment, Oregon State Guard,
have reached their first phase of outdoor
tt'aining program according to Maj. Don-
TIM E
STRUCTU
aId MacArthur, commanding officer.
Beginning in April, the first man'euver
dealt with a general reconnoitering by all
troops in squad c'Olumns to better acquaint
them witb the strategical location of
the territory in which they were to maneuver.
It is truly a bottleneck to the approach
into Portland from the west, and
the l'oaps over which the training was to
follow, commanded the main approaches
to the city, on high contours overlooking
INC.
h10t of the industrial center.
On later Sundays complete problems of
deployment, simulated consolidation and
the establishment of outposts, message cen ..
leI'S and individual company maneuvel's
wel'e executed.
Finally came the assault prohlem-dividing
the battalions into opposing forces of
the IIreds" and the "blues"-with. plenty
of Indian' and Commando tactics that were
eagerly put into practice by the individual
soldiers.
'rraining such as this is most important,
said the Major, as it gives us the experience
necessary for actual combat. The
enthusiasti" response to these problems by
the men and officers has heen sufficient
}lroo£ of its popularity, concluded the
Major as he rubhed his sunburned nose
tp.ndrly and reflectively.
+
Notes from the Band
"C SHARP, " OR YOU'LL "B" FLAT
OK folks, here comes the parade--and,
folks, look at that banner in front 1 Buy
,Bonds. to Bomb the Bums I" No, gentle
reader, those "bs" were not inspired by
the busy little hon'ey gatherers 80 noticeable
at this time of the year, especially
when swarming. But it's a thought, any·
how-you know, a little here, a little
there.
And next comes the band, playing that
soul-inspiring march, "The Stars and
Stripes Forevel·." And that multitude yOU
see following, all real Americans will ·tell
you that the title of that march will never
be changed, and that we will never "ease
to play and love it, right here in the Land
of the Free and the Home of the Brave.
And now here at home; our own little
band is still up in front, doing its bit.
On May 2 we met the troops out on man·
eu'·el'S, and enjoyed a few hours in the
great outdoors. Some music, a tasty box
lunch and hot coffee, mOl;e music, some
interesting remarks by Gen. Cowgill and
his staff, and a return to the Armory,
with a feeling of having cooperated in
the great effort. And I do want to thank
Bill Hume and his men, of the Vetel·ans
Guard and Patrol, for their assistance on
this formation.
We can use some clarinets and ,horns at
this time. Any musicians interested are
invited to meet with us at the Armol'y
"ny Monday evening, 8 to 10 P.M.
(Continued on page 9)
ES
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