Memories of World War II in the 14th Cavalry Group (**)             I enlisted in the Army in Brooklyn, New York in 1944, I was 17 years old. I took Basic Training at Fort Bliss, Texas as an operator of the 90mm anti-aircraft gun. In the middle of that training, I was sent to (sorry

A Cavalryman at Last!           I had wanted to be in the cavalry from the time I was ten years old, having been inspired by John Ford’s classic Fort Apache. Near the end of the movie, a reporter makes a statement about a deceased officer being forgotten.  Viewed through a window

Memories of Serving in the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment In the Field             In the early 1960’s, the Troopers of A Troop, 1st Squadron, 14th ACR in Fulda, Germany, were becoming very tired of our young commander’s almost fanatical insistence on cover and concealment and noise and light discipline when we trained “in the field”

     Memories of My Military Duties in the 15th Ordnance Company        attached to the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fulda, Germany First Trip to Germany I arrived at Rhein-Main Airport in Frankfurt, Germany in early March 1959, around 8 pm, after what seemed a very long flight from McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.

I Loved the 14th ACR          I arrived at the 3rd Squadron of the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Bad Hersfeld for the first time in December 1958. I returned to the States for a 13-month assignment at Fort Lewis, Washington, and then came back to the 3rd Squadron in 1963–in November President Kennedy was

         Recollections of Serving in the 14th Armored Cavalry in the 1950’s             I was shown a bunk–in Headquarters & Headquarters Company (**) after being picked up at the Fulda train station in March 1954, at about 9 p.m.–and told to go to the company supply room first thing in the morning. I did.            

      Memories of Patrolling the East-West Border in the 14th ACR             It was a warm summer evening in June 1958. The sun had set and darkness closed in all around. It was a moonless night, the only light came from the stars. The infamous Iron Curtain (controlled border that separated East Germany from West

14th Armored Cav “Life on the Fulda Gap” She was beautiful. No, not the first main battle tank I saw in the motor pool, not even that 105 self-propelled howitzer from Captain Briones’ artillery battery, my first unit assignment after infantry, airborne and artillery schools.  I’m referring to the young woman who answered the door

Aviation and Artillery in the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment             My tour of duty with the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) occurred between January 1960 and December 1962. Upon completing the Army Fixed Wing Course in November 1959, as a qualified Fixed Wing Pilot and First Lieutenant, I was assigned to the Aviation Section of

Recollections of a Regimental Doctor Doctor in Fulda             I had been in Fulda as the medical doctor in the dispensary at Downs Barracks for about six months when a Colonel from the Army’s 97th General Hospital in Frankfurt came to the dispensary and announced that I was now the commanding officer the 20th Medical

Preface            I’m always humbled by the sacrifice, dedication, and spirit of the young men and women who have given so much to this great country of ours.  We so often do not hear or read about the actual circumstances these Soldier’s find themselves in and how they deal with tragedy in their lives. That

A New Shave-Tail Joins the 14th Cavalry Regiment             In early May 1958 two 2nd Lieutenants stepped off the morning train from Frankfurt at the Fulda Bahnhof and began their first active duty assignment with the 1st Squadron, 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment.  Rob Roller was a bachelor, and I was newly married, but after an

         Intelligence & the 14th Cavalry Regiment          Upon graduating in 1960 from Indiana University where I had been a cadet in the Reserve Officers Training Corps, I was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army. My first assignment was to attend the eight-week Infantry Officers Orientation Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, followed by six

Tales from the Gap Annual Squadron Tests             There I was. It was mid-January 1964, and my platoon was stalled in the middle of a small German village. The entire 1st Squadron was motionless behind us. In front of me was Lt. Col. William L. Webb, my squadron commander ordering me to put my helmet

A Very Brave Man         In 1964, as a young Armor officer, I was on my first duty assignment with the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) on the Inter-Zonal border of Germany.  Strategically positioned astride the famous FULDA gap, a militarily significant terrain and historic invasion route, the mission of the Regiment was to patrol

An American Soldier in Fulda             A light snow fell as we departed the Frankfurt airport after arriving from the United States in mid December 1960. My sponsor, 1st Lieutenant Bobby Carter and his wife led me to their car, a 1955 Opel, I think.             Driving through the city I noted heavy but orderly

Recollections of a Commissary Officer at Downs Barracks, Fulda, Germany          My name is James (Jim) Crawford and I served, along with a wife, at Fulda Post, Germany from September of 1960 until September of 1963. During my tour I met Jim Pocock who served in the 14th Armored Calvary. I was part of the