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Fort Knox, Kentucky
Ft. Knox, a large military base about 30 miles south of
Louisville, Kentucky, is the Armor Center of the U.S. Army.
Pictures and words of my new experiences
The following photo pages show our military
life at Co D, 33rd Tank
Battalion.
I was already an avid photographer and always had a camera
along. With the commander's permission a buddy and I converted a vacant
broom closet into a make-shift photo lab for processing our black-and-white
photos. Or we used the excellent Ft. Knox photo crafts shop.
I'm in the Army now
Military life --- our first weeks at Ft Knox, unlearning
civilian life and learning "the Army way." More than
12,000 young recruits arrived and were placed into their new
home, the newly activated 3d Armored Division and its brigades, battalions and
companies or batteries and platoons. My unit --- Company D, 33rd Tank
Battalion.
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Basic Training & Armor Training Training,
and more training --- to save time, our Basic and Advanced
Training were combined and given by our own cadre. Next, we
learned to use our new tools and techniques --- the M-47 tank
and its 50 tons of cold
steel, weapons, ammo, bivouac, field exercises, guard duty, and
kitchen police (KP).
Movement to Germany
In Spring '56 the training goals were reached and division
was
found combat-ready. The long awaited move of the 16,000 men to Germany, called
Operation Gyroscope, was well prepared and we were ready to move to the
Frankfurt area. First by train to Brooklyn Army Terminal, then on troop ships
for the 9-day voyage to Bremerhaven, Germany.
Finally, we (CCB) arrived by troop train at Gelnhausen, our new home
overseas.
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