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Cold War 11th ACR uniform circa 1960


Martinjmpr
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Wife and I are going through some old photos from my parents, and we came across this one:

 

post-154311-0-00770400-1579569328_thumb.jpg

 

It's a picture of my dad at (I think) The Rohrbach Border camp in Germany, circa 1960. Dad was a platoon leader in G Troop, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (Blackhorse.) At this time the 11th ACR did not have its own SSI and wore the 7th Army SSI.

 

A few things jump out at me: Square-pocket fatigues, a light weight "tanker" jacket (which I think was locally made and not a part of any official uniform) and the stiff "Ridgway cap." Note the wear of the neck scarf.

Dad was a platoon leader (2LT) and is wearing a pistol belt but no web harness, carrying an M1911A1 pistol. You can also see what appears to be a first aid pouch on the right side of the belt buckle (left as you are looking at it) and a double magazine pouch on the other side.

 

The vehicles appear to be M38A1 Jeeps (the civilian equivalent would have been the venerable CJ-5) with a machine gun mounted in the back.

 

From what Dad has told me, this photo was likely very early in 1960 right after he got to Germany. He said shortly thereafter, they were issued the M-151 "Mutt" Jeeps, apparently they were one of the first (if not THE first) in Germany to be issued the "new" Jeep. They were also issued the then-new M60 machine gun.

 

The circular "recognition disc" in the middle of the spare tire was used for identification. I actually have that, as the platoon gave that to dad when he left.

 

Sadly, dad is in the final stages of ALS but next time I see him I'll ask him if he remembers anything more about this photo. But I wanted to share because it's interesting.

 

MODS: I spend most of my time in the "uniforms" section but if there is a better place for this photo, please feel free to move it or to let me know. Thanks!

 

 

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This works fine just here. Great photo.

 

The three vehicles posted are all radio equipped, which would have been essential for Border Patrol duties.

 

Note the dual fuel cans. These guys were up for a long ride and did not want to run out of fuel.

 

Also note the vehicle driver's name on the windshield. Looks like "PFC" something.

 

This all looks like a nice drive in the woods on a sunny day. Those who have been to Germany know the weather is not always this cooperative. If you get your Dad talking, ask him if they every had the tops up on those jeeps. Some units forbade it as not being "combat" enough".

 

It makes sense the Border Patrol got the latest equipment first. They were probably always in a Ready Alert status, having to roll out on a moment's notice. The border zone was not the friendliest place back in 1960, and it was no place to break down.

 

Thanks for sharing.

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If you get your Dad talking, ask him if they every had the tops up on those jeeps. Some units forbade it as not being "combat" enough".

 

 

Thanks for the kind words! And I already know the answer to that: NO, even in the middle of winter they did not have tops on the jeeps! No heaters either!

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Thanks for the kind words! And I already know the answer to that: NO, even in the middle of winter they did not have tops on the jeeps! No heaters either!

 

Not surprising.

 

I saw that at both Ft. Hood and Baumholder.

 

At Ft. Hood, there was some command philosophy that if the infantry troops were out in the rain that their leadership should not have special privileges and be riding around with a roof over their heads. In other words, the officers and NCO's should be just as cold and miserable as everyone else. I get the idea, but it did not make sense as far as protecting the driver as the vehicle was moving along in foul weather.

 

I was in a Combat Heavy Engineer Battalion (read "construction"). We had a very smart CW-4 in our maintenance shop who wrote an exemption for the battalion that since we were called out for snow removal, flood control and accident clean up, our jeeps and trucks were actually emergency vehicles. Apparently it was convincing enough... we even had some with winter hard tops. If this sounds far fetched for a unit stationed in Texas, the unit was deployed to New England in the 1970's for emergency snow removal. Our scoop loaders, graders and support vehicles were air transported to help dig through snow falls so deep they had paralyzed the region.

 

In Germany there were units that also discouraged the use of canvas in order to be "tactical", but given the climate the argument was a bit less persuasive. But then there was a train wreck that demolished a jeep (and occupants)where the side curtains were so frosted over that the driver could not see the train coming. Or at least, that was alleged. So we were ordered to remove the side panels in the dead of winter. I spent the better part of 12 hours riding in the back of a jeep during a tactical road march in one of their worst winters to date. The driver and front passenger at least had the windshield and a small heater to offer some relief... where I was sitting I got the full winter blast effect. I was lucky I did not get hypothermia (Or maybe I came close and not realize it.) I was totally useless by the time we got to our objective. Fortunately, we had an advance party already in place with some heated GP Mediums set up. I stumbled into one, and removed the layers of clothing around me. I could feel the cold air trapped in each layer. I think I stayed there about 2 hours absorbing the heat from the heaters. I think it still took a couple of days before I was fully warmed up.

 

It was one of those moments in the Army where you ask yourself "Why am I here?" LOL... makes a good story years later.

 

Hope you find out more about your Dad's service. From what I have been told, Germany in the 1960's was an interesting time to be there.

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Great picture! Ive been recently doing some slight reading/research on the USAEUR and Im particularly interested on 11th ACR and 3AD during the 1958-1980 period, so its great to see another picture.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Salvage Sailor

Wife and I are going through some old photos from my parents, and we came across this one:

 

attachicon.gifJohn Germany No Date.jpg

 

It's a picture of my dad at (I think) The Rohrbach Border camp in Germany, circa 1960. Dad was a platoon leader in G Troop, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (Blackhorse.) At this time the 11th ACR did not have its own SSI and wore the 7th Army SSI.

 

A few things jump out at me: Square-pocket fatigues, a light weight "tanker" jacket (which I think was locally made and not a part of any official uniform) and the stiff "Ridgway cap." Note the wear of the neck scarf.

Dad was a platoon leader (2LT) and is wearing a pistol belt but no web harness, carrying an M1911A1 pistol. You can also see what appears to be a first aid pouch on the right side of the belt buckle (left as you are looking at it) and a double magazine pouch on the other side.

 

The vehicles appear to be M38A1 Jeeps (the civilian equivalent would have been the venerable CJ-5) with a machine gun mounted in the back.

 

From what Dad has told me, this photo was likely very early in 1960 right after he got to Germany. He said shortly thereafter, they were issued the M-151 "Mutt" Jeeps, apparently they were one of the first (if not THE first) in Germany to be issued the "new" Jeep. They were also issued the then-new M60 machine gun.

 

The circular "recognition disc" in the middle of the spare tire was used for identification. I actually have that, as the platoon gave that to dad when he left.

 

Sadly, dad is in the final stages of ALS but next time I see him I'll ask him if he remembers anything more about this photo. But I wanted to share because it's interesting.

 

MODS: I spend most of my time in the "uniforms" section but if there is a better place for this photo, please feel free to move it or to let me know. Thanks!

 

 

 

Something else in that photo......

 

BCG's.......Spectacular Birth Control Glasses

 

We have several topics on BCG's on the forum

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