Army in Detroit streets during 1967 riots?

[luft]

Hi,

First, i don't know if my topic is at the right place, so if not, mods, please move it to a mot appropriate location

 

So, have some questions in my minds, since have some interets for the history of Detroit (i'm passionate by us cars and detroit is the native town of most of them so...) and have recently see some videos about 1967 Riots.

I as very surprising by presence of soldiers in combat condition (with M16, M56 full equipement, M1 lid,....) in Detroit streets, tanks patrolling too, etc

But i want to identify some units who take part to this operation, but haven't no more informations.... :pinch:

However, i was able to identify one of them, it was a part of 82nd Airborne Div. But some other units take part to this operation for sure, i read somewhere that 101st Airborne Div was in Detroit too, but no more evidence of that....

So, it's only regular army units who take part to this military anti-riot operation or National Guard take part to it too?

 

If you have informations about this military intervention, don't hesitate to post it

 

Thanks for your help in my research

 

Thierry

[Doug Beau]

I can't help much with the Army Units but I would assume they came from Selfrige Air Force Base. When I was young I lived in the next suburb South of Detroit and had a paper route that went to Outer Drive. Outer Drive is as it sounds, it circles the outer edge of Detroit. Although the riots were centered on 12th street 10 miles away from Lincoln Park, I remember 2 Jeeps on the corner of Outer Drive and Fort Street and both had twin machine guns mounted on the back.

[aef1917]

The Delaware National Guard occupied Wilmington, DE from April 1968 through January 1969 due to rioting after the assassination of Martin Luther King. It's likely that the Michigan NG was involved in the Detroit riots in a similar capacity.

[gliderman1]

Can't help with the units, but as I recall, both the US Army and the MI National Guard were in Detroit. My wife's uncle who was a WWI medic lived in an apartment 1/2 block from a multi-story parking garage where a machine gun was set up in a corner of one of the upper floors. Several times during that first week he was awakened in the early morning hours by the machine gun firing. After that, we were able to get him out of town until it cooled off.

[12thengr]

Go into the 'Life' magazine archives for about that time. I know their was something about a woman being killed by a .50 cal. machine gun round fired by regular army troops to suppress sniper fire.

[luft]

Thanks all for your testimonies! That helps me so much!

Doug, you're completely correct, units stationed few times on Selfrige Air Force Base, before the town was declared in "state of insurrection" by Michigan Governor in July, 25th. After that, they move to Detroit for try to calm down the situation.

Glider, your testimony are very intesting! that help me to have a clear image of situation in detroit during riot

12theng, thanks for the tip, i'll check that tomorrow :thumbsup: I ear a similar story than your, but in mine, isn't a woman who was killed, but a 4 year old little girl killed by mistake by guardmen who respond to a sniper fire from a tank. Sad story

[jim2]

Hello,

Yes the Michigan national guard was there along with the 101st. My father was a Sgt. in the michigan NG(I believe the 125th Infantry Regt.) at the time, and his armory was the old Detroit armory downtown. At the time we lived in the outskirts of Detroit and my father said he could see the glow from the fires from our home. They went in and I believe were there for about a week or so. Their 1st duty was to protect the Detroit fireman from snipers, but my father said at first they (NG) were not issued live ammo. My father also told me that since the NG men were from the areas they removed their name tapes from their fatiguues because there were reports that individuals were writing down the soldiers names and trying to find out were their familys lived. I remember as a kid my father had a spent bullet that he said landed next to him & he dug it out of the pavement. My father also told me that there were alot more deaths in the riots than what was reported.

 

Here is a photo of my Dad around 1965:

[luft]

Wow!

Thanks Jim for share with us all your father anecdotes! That's very interesting informations about live ammo and name tapes! For deaths, have same opinions because only 33 official deaths look like very small when you see the violence of riot. But it just my 2cts opinion on it....

BTW thanks for your dad photo :thumbsup:

 

Thierry

[sactroop]

My family happened to move out of Detroit (more properly Highland Park) earlier in 1967. However one of my brothers was in town when the riots broke out. He spent a week hiding in a basement a little more than a block away from where the Algiers Hotel was located.

[luft]

Highland Park is near to Boston-Edison if i'm correct, no? If i'm correct, it's very close to streets were start riot! (west side of Woodward Ave, some neighborhood around 12th St - Grand river ave)

Wow, very impressive story about your brother! Thanks to share it with us, and i can well imagine that he was freaked as hell, hide in a basement at the middle of urban riot.

About the Algiers hotel, he was located on Woodward, right ?

 

Thanks

 

Thierry

[jim2]

Hello,

Yes the Michigan national guard was there along with the 101st. My father was a Sgt. in the michigan NG(I believe the 125th Infantry Regt.) at the time, and his armory was the old Detroit armory downtown. At the time we lived in the outskirts of Detroit and my father said he could see the glow from the fires from our home. They went in and I believe were there for about a week or so. Their 1st duty was to protect the Detroit fireman from snipers, but my father said at first they (NG) were not issued live ammo. My father also told me that since the NG men were from the areas they removed their name tapes from their fatiguues because there were reports that individuals were writing down the soldiers names and trying to find out were their familys lived. I remember as a kid my father had a spent bullet that he said landed next to him & he dug it out of the pavement. My father also told me that there were alot more deaths in the riots than what was reported.

 

Here is a photo of my Dad around 1965:

 

My dad corrected me he was in the 225th Infantry Detroit Light Guard.

 

Here is a video of a Gordon Lightfoot song about the riots:

 

[bheskett]

I found this online.

 

 

 

"Mayor Cavanaugh and Governor Romney consulted with U.S. Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey; they decided to commit more troops to Detroit. At the same time, the Michigan National Guard was federalized and placed under command of the U.S. Army's XVIII Airborne Corps from Fort Bragg, N.C. One brigade each from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were flown to Selfridge Air National Guard Base and joined Task Force Detroit under the command of Lt. Gen. John Throckmorton. A total of 10,253 Michigan ARNG federally mobilized from 23 July - 2 August 1967; authorized by EO 11364 of 24 July 1967."

 

Source

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/detroit-1967.htm

 

 

Bob

[sactroop]

Highland Park is near to Boston-Edison if i'm correct, no? If i'm correct, it's very close to streets were start riot! (west side of Woodward Ave, some neighborhood around 12th St - Grand river ave)

Wow, very impressive story about your brother! Thanks to share it with us, and i can well imagine that he was freaked as hell, hide in a basement at the middle of urban riot.

About the Algiers hotel, he was located on Woodward, right ?

 

Thanks

 

Thierry

One would have to say that Highland Park was near the area of the riot. But in this case I would use the old saying that (a miss is as good as a mile). A mile away was about the edge of the worst of the rioting. However people were on edge all over as I remember. While there wasn't the military/police presence in other cities and towns there were a lot of situations that easily could have gotten a lot worse.

 

Highland Park is bisected by Woodward Ave. I had to look up the cross street for the Algiers and it was (VirginiaPark St). Again that was about a mile closer to the heart of downtown near the river. After the riots I remember whole city blocks where the building were gutted and they stood empty for years.

[luft]

Thanks jim for the information and for the vid!

Thanks bob for this precious information! :thumbsup: BTW, thanks all for your interest for my question. I really appreciate that

 

Sactroop, many many thanks for your explanation! That help me to make my own view on the riot and the situation at this moment

 

Thierry

[GIl Sanow]

I was doing graduate work at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, south of Toledo then and I remember waves of Huey helicopters flying north. This would have been on the direct route between Fort Campbell and Detroit. I don't know if they were carrying troops or not, but I assume they were sent to provide support. There sure were a lot of them, but I can't believe they would carry all those troops that distance that way.

 

Does any one know how they actually moved the soldiers?

 

G

[jim2]

I was doing graduate work at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, south of Toledo then and I remember waves of Huey helicopters flying north. This would have been on the direct route between Fort Campbell and Detroit. I don't know if they were carrying troops or not, but I assume they were sent to provide support. There sure were a lot of them, but I can't believe they would carry all those troops that distance that way.

 

Does any one know how they actually moved the soldiers?

 

G

 

Gil Heres a photo of federal troops arriving at Selfridge Airbase on