JMJ

Monday, March 7, 2011

POL Men 1956

POL men were a special breed. One thing was for sure they were tough, Working in a POL depot was hard work, it was also very dirty. You can became a true POL man when you could accomplish a certain task, We had rows and rows of 50 gallon drums weighing from 250 pound to around 300 depending what type fuel was in them. They were stacked 3 high, On the second and third level they were rolled up a ramp (wood).

Now to be that true POL man you took the sides of the drum with your hands and with your legs also pushing you got the drum up the ramp by yourself,(I did it) plus grab the drum with one hand on the rim and give it a twist so it could be rolled on the ground.

How tough were these men. This did happen. One night one of our men wanted to get in the orderly room on the first floor. The CQ (Charge of quarters) would not let him in and locked the door (The soldier drunk??) So he took his fist punched a hole in the door, Oh he got in.

Then fights in the EM club. POL men were well known.

But then there was the black soldier Sp3 Blankenship. He was a soldier of many talents, play the piano a clerk ,but one day he approached a couple of us and said he had learned to hypnotize he needed a couple of men to experiment on/So he told us where to meet him downstairs in an a room with just tables and chairs. He explained what he was going to do and that he would not hurt us (needle etc). He went to each of us and gave us a task to do, the next thing I knew it was like walking in your sleep. I left the room walked upstairs into a room with soldiers, I said something then returned to the room downstairs. He did what he said he could do.

Then the break room incident that was 1956,,,it was getting cold so we were allowed to make a fire in the pot belly stove outside the POL area in a shack on a large concrete platform With huge fire extinguisher on it that could be rolled. So as usual they try to get a fire started one soldier got impatient got some fuel and put it on the fire. I was outside a noise a lot of smoke soldiers pounding on the back of the break room windows broken and the big laugh of the day the fire extinguisher did not work, But it turned out more smoke than fire. No more fuel used to get the fire hot.

I guess the best memory they have of me is when I would be on my motorcycle and the POL truck would go by and I would see the soldiers in the back.

To sum up we were dirty hard workers but our sleeping quarters were kept immaculately clean.

30 Caliber Carbine Firing Range 1956

In June the word passed around we would go on the firing range to fire our carbines. I had been in the company a couple of years and never saw my weapon. So on May 25, 1956 the 2 ½ ton truck was loaded with men from the platoon who left for the firing range. I was helping back at the caserne so I left in a jeep with the Sgt driving The Company Commander on his right and I was in back.

It was getting late in the afternoon, it was cloudy and some fog as we got close to the edge of the forest of the highway to go to firing range. We were on the main road and the Sgt says to me "Check the back and see if any cars are coming". (Big mistake), the window in the back of the jeep was plastic and not the clear type. I look in back, I said "All clear" The Sgt went to make a left turn; a large Citroen side swiped us. Amazing no damage to the jeep but the French car got some scratches. A Gendarme was nearby and all was resolved very quickly, No I did not get in trouble no one hurt except the French car (but I do not think they would ask me if anything is in back anymore)

In the bivouac are it was getting dark..the fun began some soldiers found helmets with Officer bars on them and went around as it got dark making believe they were officers, One group cut down a small tree which fell on a tent lucky no one inside. But we finally settled down. The next day we marched out to the firing range. We got a little instruction on the carbine then we fired all day. After dinner that night we got a short break and as it got dark we were all line up and started to March in the woods, Hour after hour we just kept on going.

Now it was around midnight. In the distance I hear the clanking of metal cups. We came into a big clearing in the woods and the cooks had coffee brewing in large cooking pots, The order was given "Get out you cups which was under you canteen, So as we passed Hot coffee and a donut but we kept on marching...I have never drank a cup of coffee that tasted that good. We did get to sleep before the sun came up.

On the 11th June Special orders number 25:
1.Following Officers and EM
Fontainebleau Sub Depot Det,(7864)
APO 11,US Army
Having fired Carbine Cal 30 Course "B" at Fontainebleau France 25th may 56 qualified as Indicated.
Sp3 Phillip Meyer RA 14 386233
My score 126 EXPERT (on a carbineThe highest score was made by a PFC Jack Jenkins a 138 followed by our Company Commander who made a 136