GUARDIANS OF FREEDOM
SALUTING THOSE WHO SERVED IN THE U.S. ARMY
Bill Holdwick in Vietnam, Part 3
by Janis Stein

Join me in the continuation as Bill Holdwick achieves his Army education in artillery survey school, preparing for the inevitable.

The fun wasn't over yet for those soldiers who were able to complete the course. Rather, the men set up their tents in, what some referred to as, the boondocks. Soldiers paired up and zipped their pup tents together. With just enough room to crawl in and lay down, the men lacked all the comforts of home. Those having plenty of air left in their lungs and enough ambition blew up their Army-issued air mattresses before collapsing for the night. Others, exhausted by the events of the day, simply spread out the mattress and lay down for the night. Just laying the mattress on the ground worked well enough if it didn't rain - but it often did.

After successfully completing eight weeks of Basic Training, the soldiers were honored with a graduation ceremony. Dressed in their best Army uniforms, the troops stood at attention and were inspected from top to bottom by their Company Commander. Platoon Sergeants gave individual reports on the success of their troop, and the soldiers were awarded badges for their excellence on the rifle range and for other aspects of the training in which they excelled. After the formal celebration was completed, Bill was issued orders telling him where he would be stationed after his two-week furlough.

After a well-deserved trip home, Bill and another Huron County soldier flew to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he would spend the next two months learning the job the Army assigned him: artillery survey. Though the soldiers continued their physical training every day to some degree, most of Bill's time was spent in the classroom.

In artillery survey school, Bill learned approximately five different methods to calculate the settings to set up the eight-inch howitzer guns the Army was using. The goal was to determine the distance from the gun to the target, while considering the asthmus, longitude and latitude. He also found himself studying about tangents and co-tangents. Once the equation was calculated, the information was given to the "gun bunnies" so they could set up their guns and fire them, ultimately hitting the target based on the survey. It didn't always work, but they learned as they went.

Projoes was the name of the bullet used in the howitzer guns, and these bullets were eight inches around and three feet tall, each weighing 210 pounds. Only one projoe was inserted in the barrel, and the number of bags of powder added was dependent upon how far away they were from the target. Different colored bags contained different charges, with the most powerful charge shooting the projoe a maximum distance of 18 miles. Though they shot a lot for practice, Bill never handled the bullets or the guns; rather he handled the brain work, calculating equations and filling out the forms necessary for the gun bunnies to successfully do their job.

Bill enjoyed survey school, and he excelled in mathematics. Though Trigonometry wasn't a course offered back at Ashmore School, the country school where he learned to add and subtract, he caught on quickly. The Army more than likely put him in this position because his math skills showed up through the aptitude tests he had taken back in Detroit. Three out of the 12 soldiers in Bill's unit did not have a high school education, and while it was clear some of the men had little between their ears, it wasn't necessarily those with the lesser education.

After Bill completed his training in Oklahoma, he and six other soldiers in the unit were given their orders: They would be stationed at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. While Oklahoma's climate had been comfortably warm, Arkansas was miserably hot. As it turned out, the seven men arrived at Fort Chaffee before their orders came through so no one knew where the soldiers were supposed to go or what they were supposed to do. The bus driver seemed to be the most knowledgeable, and he delivered them to someone capable of directing the newcomers.

While they acclimated themselves with their new surroundings, they noticed Fort Chaffee looked like a ghost town. The rest of the soldiers on base were performing artillery maneuvers in a California desert, and it would be almost four days before their return. When the group did return to Fort Chaffee, all of their equipment was covered with sand and in dire need of some serious clean-up. For the two months he was stationed there, Bill cleaned and cleaned some more.

The Army had decided Fort Chaffee was going to close down for good, so the soldiers helped in loading train cars with their equipment: jeeps, trucks, artillery - everything but the kitchen sink. When this task was completed, all of the troops were transferred to Fort Bliss, Texas, which was located just outside of El Paso.

Although Texas in August was hot, it was thankfully nowhere near the sweltering 100 degree temperatures of Arkansas. Bill continued with his work in artillery survey during his 15-month stay at Fort Bliss; the artillery range was located 45 miles into New Mexico, and 80 percent of Bill's days were spent surveying on the range. All of the targets had already been surveyed so Bill went to work, testing himself to see if his equations were figured correctly. Different types of forms needed to be filled out for different types of surveys. In his surveys, he always had to start from a known point and close the survey on a known point. If the data didn't work out to what the soldiers knew it should be, the survey was deemed "busted", and they started over with their calculations. When the final calculations were made, the data was handed off to the "gun bunnies" so they could set up their guns.

Targets five miles away consisted of old cars and trucks, and the idea was to make contact with the first shot. One of the soldiers acted as a forward observer; he was positioned closer to the target than the gun bunnies. After the first shot was fired and if the target was missed, the gun bunnies would have the opportunity to make any necessary corrections on their setting before firing again. Though it didn't always happen, the gun bunnies were always thrilled if they could hit the target after just one adjustment.

Along with surveying, Bill's days at Fort Bliss were filled with guard duty and KP duty. Working in the dining room was typically one of the better jobs, but those who didn't behave usually ended up scrubbing pots and pans. If Bill's name appeared on the duty roster - and it seemed to more often than a soldier thought it should - and he was assigned to scrubbing pots and pans, he usually took his time, knowing full well someone would screw up and he would be reassigned to the dining room.

Guard duty began every afternoon at 4 PM, with about a dozen guys on the roster each day. Designated areas of the base were patrolled, and while the soldiers always had to carry their rifle, they never had any bullets. During their formation, the Platoon Sergeant would ask his soldiers various questions, and the lucky soldier who was adequately spiffed up and could correctly answer the Sergeant's questions was rewarded with the highly-coveted position of remaining in the guard house instead of spending his night in the elements. The questions the Sergeant asked of his soldiers were usually political in nature. For instance, the soldiers might have to ponder who held the position of Secretary of Defense, or they may have been asked to name the Governor of Texas. The guardhouse was a separate room within the barracks, and the soldier selected to remain inside had to make sure he was there and nowhere else!

The soldiers' days were busy, but their nights weren't always restful. The Texan skies above Fort Bliss were constantly filled with airplane activity. Fort Bliss was located right next to a United States Air Force base, and it took a little doing to get used to all the noise. The soldiers were usually plenty tired at night, but some still had a bit of difficulty adjusting to all those B-52 bombers taking off at all hours of the night. If that wasn't enough air traffic, Fort Bliss was only one-half mile away from the international airport in El Paso. Day and night, planes would be continuously arriving and departing.

Although Bill and his comrades worked hard and didn't get into any serious mischief, from time to time they would take a drive around the desert. The scenery in his immediate area was pretty much all a desert filled with jackrabbits and coyotes, though the coyotes were scrawny and looked nothing like the Michigan coyote. Roadrunners were plentiful as well, and just like the cartoon, these birds could run fast. With their long necks and long legs, they carried a lot of speed, and they always headed straight for the sagebrush if oncoming vehicles threatened their territory.

Sagebrush was plentiful, too, and it was so hard and brittle, any contact would surely result in a flat tire. Bill was responsible for a ¾ ton, 4WD pick-up truck, and he changed many a flat because the sagebrush pierced his tires. Bill was assigned to be driver of the truck, and he had an assistant driver as well. Bill was ultimately responsible for ensuring the truck was properly maintained - practicalities he had learned long ago back on the farm. Other soldiers, particularly some assistant drivers, lacked the common sense to check the water and oil or to make sure the truck had a full tank of gas. Fortunately, Bill didn't have too many problems with his assistant, and his truck was always in fine working order.

While Bill was in Texas, along with surveying, guard duty and kitchen detail he also went to the rifle range. The officers and sergeants had to go out to the rifle range to qualify, and it was the job of Bill and his fellow soldiers to man the targets. The six-foot square targets were about a quarter of a mile away, and the soldiers communicated by radio, informing their superiors of their success. If the officers missed the target completely, the soldiers manning the targets would wave a little white flag they referred to as "Maggie's drawers". If the soldiers handling the targets knew the fellow shooting on the other end, sometimes they would wave "Maggie's drawers" even if they hit the target, eliciting a few chuckles from all who were paying attention. Every now and again, though, the officer who was shooting didn't find it quite so humorous!

Health and safety were of paramount importance, and if a soldier needed medical attention, he was sure to receive top-notch care. As it turned out, Bill was having some trouble with his wisdom teeth, so he thought it might be in his best interest to visit the dentist on base to have his teeth cleaned and see what the dentist thought should be done. Bill, of course, smartly chose a day when he would miss out on a full hour of physical exercise!

Since one or the other of Bill's wisdom teeth would become sore about once each month, the dentist, who was a colonel, advised he should have them pulled. Bill made another appointment to do just that, though the dentist decided he would only pull the top two teeth the first time around. After the deed was done, the Army dentist told Bill he wasn't going to touch the bottom two wisdom teeth; rather, the dentist wanted to send him up the chain of command to the main dentist's office.

When Bill arrived to get his bottom wisdom teeth pulled, he was told his condition was so bad they were only going to pull one tooth and he would have to come back for the second. Bill didn't see what all the fuss was about, but he went along with it. After the third of his wisdom teeth was pulled, everyone was making such a big deal about it, he was asked if he needed a ride back to his barracks. Bill assured them he could walk the mile back on his own, but on his way he got to thinking…

Soldiers always had to get a slip of paper when they left and then turn it back in when they returned. Bill decided if the Army thought his condition was so terrible they offered him a ride, he might just play along. He pulled out his piece of paper and on it he scribbled, 'one day of bed rest'. Bill thoroughly enjoyed lazing around the following day, and although his mouth was a bit sore he couldn't help but smile!

After some time passed and his mouth had healed sufficiently, it was time to make the final appointment to get the last of his wisdom teeth pulled. So bad was the fourth one, the main office scheduled a three-hour appointment for him. Again he was offered a ride, and for the second time he assured his superiors he would walk the mile trek back to base by himself. Along the way, Bill pulled out his piece of paper again and decided if the previous tooth was worth one day of bed rest, this last tooth should be good for two!

During the summer of 1965, Bill received orders he would be transferring to another artillery unit - one that was designated to be brought up to full strength. Five different batteries in the unit, each with about 60 men trained even more, honing their skills. While it was never spelled out for the soldiers, all knew what lay ahead: Vietnam.

Be sure to look for the continuation in next month's issue as Bill's unit gears up for Vietnam.

© 2006 Janis Stein