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294th
US Army Artillery Group |
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| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 294th US Army Artillery Group DI |
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(Source: A Look Back ... at the 59th Ordnance Brigade. Final issue of the 59th COURIER, the command newspaper, published in 1992.) |
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| 294th US Army Artillery Group | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The 294th U.S. Army Artillery Group was constituted in the Army of the United States as the 294th Field Artillery Observation Battalion in February 1944. The battalion was activated in April 1944 at Fort Jackson, S.C. Following training, the 294th went to Europe and received battle credit for the Central Europe Campaign. After returning to the United States, the 294th was deactivated in October 1945 at Camp Bowie, Texas. Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 294th Field Artillery Battalion was reorganized and redesignated in January 1966 as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 294th U.S. Army Artillery Group. The group was activated in May 1966 at Itzehoe, Germany as part of the 515th U.S. Army Artillery Group (sic). (Webmaster Note: Should be the 514th USAAG.) The 294th Artillery Group relocated from Itzehoe to Flensburg, Germany in November 1974. The 294th USAAG inactivated in June 1992. 13th U.S. Army Field Artillery Detachment The 13th U.S. Army Field Artillery Detachment was organized in August 1960 as the 13th U.S. Army Missile Detachment at Fort Sill, Okla. Arriving in Germany in 1961, the 13th was assigned to the Special Ammunition Support Command and further attached to the 552nd U.S. Army Artillery Group. The detachment was reassigned to the 294th U.S. Army Artillery Group in June 1966. The detachment was located in Kellinghusen, Germany. The 13th USAFAD inactivated in May 1992. 75th U.S. Army Field Artillery Detachment The 75th U.S. Army Field Artillery Detachment was organized in May 1965 as the 75th U.S. Army Missile Detachment at Fort Sill, Okla. The unit departed the United States and arrived in Germany in November 1965. Assigned to SASCOM's 552nd U.S. Army Artillery Group, the detachment became operational in April 1966. The unit was transferred to the 294th U.S. Army Artillery Group in June 1966. The detachment was located in Flensburg and inactivated in May 1992. 99th Ordnance Company The 99th Ordnance Detachment was constituted in the regular Army as the 59th Ordnance Company in January 1922. It was reorganized and redesignated as the 59th Ordnance Ammunition Company in March 1943. The company served in the Asian-Pacific Theater during World War II and received credit for the New Guinea Campaign. It was inactivated in 1947, but was activated again in 1950 in Korea as the 59th Ordnance Ammunition Renovation Platoon. The unit received credit for eight campaigns during the Korean War. It was redesignated as the 99th Ordnance Detachment in November 1954 and deactivated in June 1955. After serving in Vietnam and receiving credit for 11 campaigns, the 99th was deactivated there in November 1972. The 99th Ordnance Detachment was reactivated in Germany in November 1974 in Flensburg, then inactivated in May 1992. |
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| Headquarters/Headquarters Det, 294th USAAG | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1969 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Scott Jones, 294th Arty Group, June 1969-March 1970) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I have recently retired with some time to browse the web and I did find Walt Nichols one of my friends from the 75th USA Artillery Det which was housed in Itzehoe with the 294th headquarters. I was a 294th clerk and never even went to the missile site. Walter Nichols has reached out and found some of the 75th Missile folks. Some names I recognize on your list from the 75th are: Stovall, Crews, Porsavage, Riggs, McClellen, McAleer, LaFontaine, and Miller. One of my closest pals was James Jones (Jonah) and I'm not sure if he was the one listed as Jimmy Jones. I'll send along one photo from the front of the 75th USA/294th building and another of some of us on a harbor tour in Hamburg in the fall of 1969. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION In my time Colonel Parks was a 1939 West Point graduate and was the only active military of his class not to make General. He was real interested in safety to a point of being a fanatic. He insisted we include safety points in all our bulletins. The sad irony was that his clerk was a SP4 who died in his private vehicle during this time. The identity of the 75th/294th guys on the Hamburg harbor tour in the fall of 69 are: Left to Right in the front row: Walt Nichols, Scott Jones, SGT Crews Left to Right in the rear row: unknown, John Sturkey Maybe Steve Mortenson would know the unidentified member? |
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 SAS Kellinghusen guard crew (three "custodial agents," standing) and site duty officer (Phil Noto) (1) |
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| (1) The above photo was taken 4 July 1973 at Kellinghusen in front of the 13th FA Det dining facility. The photo is of the site duty officer (me) and the new crew of custodial agents ready to be posted at the site after I would relieve the old crew. Back L to R: SP/4 "Shorty" Zeltwanger, SP/4 Robson and PFC Cumins and 2LT Phil Noto in front. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Phil Noto, 294th USAAG, 1972-73) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I served as the S-1 of the 294th USAAG from late 1972 to Sep 1973 when I was “stolen” by Col. Vedder B. Driscoll to serve on the HQs staff at the 59th in Primasens.
The 294th was my first assignment in the Army as a brand new 2nd Lt. (I retired in 1995 as a Lt. Col.). I’ll never forget that experience and cherish my time there. Maj. Calvin O. Toye was the CO and then Maj. Frank Ward. I remember with great fondness those I served with there:  Cpt Jim Warren1Lt Bruce Muzzy (13th Det)1Lt Frank Proccacini2Lt Ira EvansSFC George PerezSFC Wilbur Stovall2Lt Bill PiperSGM Hossler and especially SFC Jimmy Phelps, the 1st Sgt of the 75th Det. I could go on with name after name. I then served at 59th HQ until returning to the US in late 1975. I was there for Maj. Ward’s change of command at Itzehoe as an invited guest along with Col. John DeGrazia, CO of the 59th and was also there to see the transfer to Flensburg and to visit that new site. I would be most interested in contacting 2LT Ira Evans as he was my sponsor when I arrived, George Perez was my first NCO and he really took care of me as the old time RA NCOs did. He taught me a lot about the real Army. Frank Ward taught me how to be an officer and leader. I’ll never forget him for that. I ran into him by accident in 1992 and we ended up having dinner together (and quite a few cocktails too). I was a Battalion Commander at the time and got the chance to tell him how much I learned about leadership from him as a young officer. But contacting anyone who was there then would be great too. I got the chance to visit the old site at Kellinghusen in 2000 with an old German Army friend who I got to know when he was a UH-1 pilot at Hungrier Wolf airbase. The site was closed by then, but I couldn’t believe the changes (the big guard tower, etc). By the way, there is a Pirmasens reunion set for this summer in Park City, Utah. I hope to attend. I never knew there was a website for the 294th or the 59th. I was overjoyed to stumble upon it and want to thank you for managing it so well too. Thanks again for the help and I hope we have some success with making contact with some of these now older 50-5 soldiers. By the way, I didn't fully appreciate our mission there until I read the background information provided on the website. When you're a 22 year old 2LT you just stay in your own lane, worry about screwing up and never really see the big picture. The only photo of my military career that I keep framed and on the desk in my study is a photo (see photo above) from 4 July 1973 at Kellinghusen just before posting the new guard mount at the site. The photo includes myself, SP4 "Shorty" Zeltwanger, SP4 Robson and PFC Cumins. We're all armed and in flak jackets..."Cold Warriors" with a real world mission. Find a Way or Make One. As far as the sites go, if memory serves me correct the SWASP (Special Weapons Ammunition Supply Point) would be used for a tactical expression, therefore I think you're correct in that it is a Corps level entity. However, I also think I heard this term applied to Miesau (which I think was our largest site) and Fishbach. The site at Kellinghusen was a Type A ( I thought we were called a Type F) when I was there. We were in support of Arty Regiment 6, but also had a command relationship with LANDJUT and BALTAP so I'm not sure what we were suppose to have. There were 3 storage bunkers and the M & A (storage for maintenance, supply and other equipment) building inside the inner fence. Each warhead container had a 105mm SHAPE charge on top, wired with det cord. The CA (custodial agent) building, basically a guard shack, was in the "limited zone" between the fences, which was patrolled by a German infantry company that had a bigger building outside of the limited zone. Based on my 2000 visit, Kellinghusen must have been enlarged to an S site as there were quite a few more storage bunkers and the site was reconfigured. They even changed the approach road that lead into the site from my time there. When we pulled site duty, the officer would relieve the old guard (3 soldiers) and post the new crew. He also made his site visits during the hours of darkness after midnight. The duty NCO made his visits during the hours of darkness before midnight, so unless we got any messages to break (decode w/ the crypto system), the NCO got a good night's sleep. In that part of Germany there was a period of 2 or 3 weeks just before and after the 4th of July where it never really got totally dark. The sun would fully rise around 2 am and set around 11 at night. So the NCO and officer site checks had to be done between 1130 and 0030. It was strange, everything just got kind of grey for an hour or so and then the sun began to rise. Of course it was the opposite in winter when we had about six hours of full daylight (about 0900-1500). The other tidbit, was when you relieved the old guard you separated them from the incoming crew. I always had the outgoing guys get in the vehicle for return to Lilincron Kaserne and then briefed the new guards with the latest that the S-2 had provided for the day and establish the new duress code, which would be known only to the 3 CAs on duty, the site officer and NCO. Itzehoe/Nordoe was 19k from Kellinghusen, so the officers and NCOs assigned to HHD 294th and 75th Det had to get briefed by the S-2 and depart NLT 1530-1545 so as to drive over and get the new guys ready, draw weapons, ammo and flak jackets. Then inspect and chase down the German dienstfahrer so as to get the new guard posted by 1700. When we did site checks, we had one CA go with us, we'd lock and load one round in the chamber of our weapons (M-16 and .45) and go in. The other CA would cover us throughout our entire check from his position inside. The third CA would be asleep. They each worked 16 on and 8 off. We were required to check each bunker and M & A building's security locks, sign the form at each, check the security fence for holes or weaknesses, count the working security flood lights as we were allowed to have a certain number out, once over the number we had to report immediately and wake everybody up at the CA shack until we got the new light bulbs installed. I thought I'd forgotten all this stuff. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The SAS at Kellinghusen was the only site for the 294th prior to the move to Flensburg. All officers assigned to the HHD, 294th, 75th and 13th pulled duty at the site in Kellinhusen except of course the 294th Commanding Officer, who was the only field grade officer in the 294th. Further, all NCOs and enlisted personnel at HHD, 294th and 75th who were cleared to do so did pull duty at Kellinghusen along with the 13th. The exceptions to site duty were very few. Even the cooks had security clearances to be custodial agents. I don't think the mess sergeant did site duty nor did a couple of the crypto clerks. But other than that we all did. The guys assigned to STRATCOM manned the tropo tower only. They were attached DS to us so we did not exercise command over them. There was a SFC in charge of that detachment. We did however, feed and quarter them with the 13th FA Det. In fact, in the photo above: SP/4 Zeltwanger was assigned to the 75th, SP/4 Robson and PFC Cumins were assigned to the 13th, and I was HHD, 294th. So that should give you an idea of a typical day there. There was no site at Itzehoe/Nordoe. Kellinghusen (Liliencron) was 19 kilometers distant from Freiher von Fritsch Kaserne in Itzehoe. I think in my earlier email below I described the daily timeline of getting the S-2 brief in time to drive over to Kellinghusen to get everybody in flak jackets, draw weapons and ammo, etc. Plus chasing down the German duty driver was also a fun additional duty for a 2Lt. I also forgot to mention that in the second change of command photo (August 1974), Col. John DiGrazia was SASCOM commander. He took over from COL Johnson in either 1973 or 1974. |
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| 99th Ordnance Detachment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 13th US Army Artillery Detachment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Supported Command: Artillerieregiment 6, Panzergrenadierdivision 6 (link) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The 13th US Army Missile Detachment supported the 62nd Rocket Arty Bn and the 61st FA Bn. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1970 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Dave Phillps, 13th Arty Det, July 1970-Dec 1971) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| I knew how to type and although I had been trained as an Honest John Rocket Crewman, they quickly made me the Detachment Clerk to replace Dave Knapp who had served his time and was going home to New York. I had a Top Secret clearance and helped out in our "Crypto" or "War Room." I have fond memories of my time at the 13th, and spending about every night downtown at the High Chaparral where Margaret and her husband ran this dance casino. I believe it opened in 1969. We were good customers (though shortly after getting out of the Army I swore off drinking and smoking and haven't touched either since that time). A close friend of mine at the 13th (Ronald M. Nunez) and I got Margaret to set up charge accounts for the soldiers and we were able to put the drinks on our bill and pay up once a month when it was payday. To our knowledge, not a GI that participated in charging his drinks ever failed to pay the bill on time. Mel Chambers (E-7; married to a German woman) was our essential "First Sergeant." Cpt. Dieter Hoffmann was German born, American educated, and a career army officer who served in the Americal division in Vietnam prior to being stationed in Kellinghusen . He was replaced by Cpt. Clinton L. Stokes II (or the III), who was followed by Cpt. Frank M. Harford. Harford served as a Lieutenant on the SASCOM inspection teams that toured sites in Europe. After getting out of the military he went to law school and was working in southern California. When I arrived in July 1970, Major McAleer was in charge of the 294th, followed by Maj. Thomas E. Kinney. Major Kinney's wife was from England. I have communicated with some folks since leaving Germany, including Howard Norman's daughter, Susan Norman Chrispell, and Sergeant George Perez (who worked out of the 294th) and we have put together names of people we remember serving at the 13th, 75th, and 294th Group. They include the following: |
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| (Click here for extensive list of former members of the 13th Arty Det from the early 1970 timeframe) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I am not sure what else to discuss about our time there in Kellinghusen. A lot of us were homesick for our girlfriends in the States, but we made the most of it. Germany was beautiful, the people were very kind to the GIs since there were so few of us located in Kellinghusen (45 minute north of Hamburg) that we were probably a novelty of sorts. The weather was cold in the winter and the "Hawk" would blow cold! Summers were perfect and it seemed to stay light forever. We made up for that in the winter. We played a lot of horse shoes, volleyball and had some great softball games. We turned the big bay area in the building into individual "rooms" so the soldiers could have a little privacy, and those with seniority got to work their way into a hall-way room (real rooms with doors!) and which were shared by 2 guys. We had our own little PX there in the 13th, and it could not have been larger than 10' x 12' We took turns with the 75th in sending supply trucks to Bremerhaven for rations, supplies and food and mail. The 75th had a few more men than the 13th, so they made the run 3 times a week and the 13th made it the other 2 days. I took that trip a couple of times, and it was memorable taking that big 10-ton truck onto the ferry that crossed the Elbe River. We would go downstairs on the ferry and buy some knockwurst, all the while watching the waves rise and fall through the port windows. Riding in the back of one of those trucks, covered by a canvas top, was memorable! (read: COLD) One time there were 4 of us and we started drinking the Lowenbrau and Beck beer we were bringing back to stock our beverage lounged downstairs of the kitchen are at the 13th (the dungeon). Beer only cost 15 cents a bottle, so the German soldiers loved to come into our lounge downstairs and drink cheap beer. They didn't get paid as much as the American shoulders. Well, we drank all we could drink on the 5 hour trip home and figured it would keep us from dying from the cold. Cecil Wheeler could make a jackass sound better than a real jackass, and as we wound through those numerous, little German towns, the people could hear a big jackass sounding off in the back of this truck, and empty Lowenbrau bottles flying out the back. What a trip. I have written pages of personal history and memories, and if you think they are worth sharing, please let me know and I can send you some. Thanks for letting me share these memories. They really were specials days at a special time in our lives. I hope to hear from anyone else who was there at the 294th/75th/13th, and hope everyone is doing well. I know Sgt. Howard Norman (wife was Bertha, and children included Susan, Wanda, and Steven) died from leukemia about 10 years ago. He was loved by about everyone. He had a hobby of fixing old German clocks and all us guys bought a wall clock, or granddaddy off him. |
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 SSCC and Tower One at SAS Kellinghusen, 2008 |
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| 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Claus P., Germany & Building for Peace: US Army Engineers in Europe, 1945-1991) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In the mid-1970s, US forces in Germany had about 7,000 nuclear warheads stored at 100 storage sites. With the increased threat posed by terrorist organizations such as the Baader-Meinhof gang, the US military recognized the need for increased security measures at nuclear weapons and missile sites. In 1974, the Engineering Division at the European Division of the US Army Corps of Engineers (EUD) initiated a construction program initially known as the Special Ammunition Storage program but later renamed as the Long Range Security Project (LRSP). |
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 Perimeter fence (chain-link fence with top guard) and Tower One, 2008 |
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| Under LRSP, the Division formulated improvements centering around measures that would delay terrorists long enough to permit additional security forces to respond. These measures included special fencing; a clear zone both beyond and inside the security fence; (concrete) guard towers; special lighting; and an intrusion-detection alarm that would alert the security force on site to an attempted penetration of the secure area. Also included were construction of special bunkers or reinforcement of exisiting bunkers. Somewhat later, the planners added a new building to the project (the SSCC) that incorporated entry-control facilities, a site security control and alarm center, and quarters for a combined response force of 35 soldiers. SAS Kellinghusen was one of the sites upgraded by the LRS project and demonstrates these enhanced security features. |
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| 75th US Army Artillery Detachment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Supported Command: Artilleriekommando 600 (link) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1970 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Steven C. Mortenson) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| While doing some research on my great uncle who served in France in WWI with the 331st Field Artillery, I ran across your web site. It brough back some long lost memories. Some of the best of my life. I was assigned the 294th Artillery Group on 9 Jan 70. When I arrived at the 294th in Itzehoe, Germany, on 11 Jan 1970 I was immediately reassigned to the 75th US Army FA Detachment also located in Itzehoe, Germany. The 294th and the 75th were in the same building on Freiherr von Fritsch Kaserne. There were less than 20 of us (if memory serves me) in both the 294th and the 75th. It was a very small group which served for a very enjoyable duty. We had two groups: the individuals that maintained and guarded the SW and the other took care of all the administrative/communication/security activities. LT Alexander Miller was our officer for the 75th. I served with the 75th USA FA Detachment until 14 Mar 1972 when I received an early out with President Nixons Phase Down Early Release Program. During my duty with the 75th, I worked in the security room maintaining all the classified documents, coding and decoding messages, COQ (Charge of Quarters) duties several times a week and managed the post exchange. I used to make supply runs to Bremerhaven one to two times a week. In the summer it was nice making the supply runs via the Elbe ferry, however in the winter it was cold in the Unimog (German Truck) and we would have to go via Hamburg. There were no freeways and the trip seems like to take enternity. On one trip through Hamburg in Jan 1972, the driver was playing with my 45 cal pistol and accidently pulled the trigger and blew a hole in the roof of his truck. Having a hole in his truck roof was a hard one for him to explain. I enjoyed the German people and my fellow soldiers. To this day, there is a German couple that I exchange Christmas cards. I agree with you, the 294th was part of the 514th USAAG and not the 515th USAAG. During my time with the 75th USA FA, the 75th USA FA was located with the 294th in Itzehoe Germany and probably moved to Flensburg with the 294th in 1974. Attached are a couple of pictures from the 75th USA FA Detachment. |
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