January-February - Air Defense Artillery

COLONEL HUGH N. HERHICK, COllllllalldill?, AAAHTC
By Liel/tel/aIlt Jallles C. McMaills
A widely varied series of cvcnts have taken place at
Camp \Vallace during the last sixty days, highlighted
by visits of several
Richmond.
officials in Antiaircraft Command at
Brigadier General G. de L. Carrington of the A1\
Command. with an inspection team of seven other officers
spent several days , at the post and was hiohlv 0 ,
pleased with the training progress. Inasmuch as General
Carrington is a former Commanding General of
Camp \Vallace, his visit was received with additional
interest, and while on his tour of inspection. he spent
much of his time renewing old acguaintanceships.
Armistice Day was guite an occasion at this Post,
with a huge parade and review in Houston, and Open
House at the Camp itself. The Houston event was one
of the outstanding in the country. f\ len and equipment
from Camps Hood, Swift, Hulen, Fort Crockett, Ellington,
and Camp vVallace took part in the mammoth affair
which included organizations from Tank Destrovers,
Air Cadets, Infantrv Combat Units, and Antiairc~aft
Artillery. The troops were reviewed by Lieutenant
General \Valter Krueger, Commander of the
Third Army and other high Army and Navy Officers.
In addition a Searchlight Group, from Camp \Vallace,
journeyed to Tyler, Texas where a mock night air attack
was staged under the auspices of the American
Legion.
The Open I-louse was probably the most succcssful
ever planned at this Camp. A complete program was
arranged, beginning at 9: 00 Al\! and concluding at 4: 30
Pl\l. l\Iany phases of training undertaken by the new
antiaircraftsmen were vividly displayed for our civilian
visitors, and to each one of the 1,600 guests, who attended,
a special guide was assigned, so no feature of thc
Open House would be overlooked. The day's events
were climaxed by a review and blessing of the colors by
visiting Church dignitaries.
An activity, especially interesting to the new trainee,
was the recent inauguration of the "County Fair" type
demonstrations. Comprising thirty-five separate exhi-
bitions and covcring evcry phase of training, the shom
arc prcsented to the newly arrived troops in their first
week to familiarize them with artillery materiel; increast'
interest; and introduce the training'subjects and basic
courses; so they may acquire a firm foundation upon
which to build their Army training. The results haw
been Yen' satisfactory.
At sev~ral points i~ the Camp area field fortification>
of various types have just been completed. These gun
emplacements, including slit trenches, dugouts, barbed
wire entanglements and ammunition dumps, are used
to demonstrate the use and value of such installations.
DifTerent methods of camouflage have been incorporated
into each fortification.
Athletic and entertainment features have also been
numerous at Camp \Vallace lately. To wind up the
football season, Battery C, 26th Bn., was crowned
Camp Champs when they defeated the strong 1865th
U nit, 8th Service Command by a score of 13-0. The
basketball season is getting under way and with several
of last year's players still in camp the men hope to repeat
the successful 1941-42 scason, when they won the
Texas Amateur Athletic Federation championship in
One of the many exhibits included in the "County Fair"
demonstration for the new trainee at Camp \Vallace is the
Communications Section. Radio and telephone equipment
used by the Antiaircraftsman is shown.
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