Posted on Apr 30, 2015
LTC Stephen F.
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07. 1983 02 wildflecken   m6 mortar training area   village appears from behind the clouds
02. 1983 02 wildflecken   m6 mortar training area   sgt rushing with aiming circle laying in the mortars
01. 1983 02 wildflecken   m6 mortar training area   tracks occupying the range
During the Cold War, I went with 1/52 IN Bn to Wildflecken twice for gunnery training including mortar training and evaluation. Wildflecken training area was significantly different from Graf. I remember Dead Man's Curve with the multiple white crosses displayed along the roadside and the nearby Monastery where the monks served a great beer.
Edited 8 y ago
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LTC Stephen C.
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Edited 3 y ago
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LTC Stephen F., I became an 11C (Indirect fire infantryman-mortars) while at AIT at Fort Jackson, SC from JAN70 to MAR70. I then went to the Weapons NCO Supervisor Candidate Special Forces Course at Fort Bragg, NC late MAY70 through AUG70. The last half of the SF course was all heavy weapons, with tremendous emphasis on the M30, 4.2" mortar during the week long FTX at the end of heavy the weapons portion of the course. Photo is of me hanging a round at the actual SF heavy weapons FTX at Fort Bragg in JUL-AUG70! COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. SGM Gregory Tarancon IV CPT (Join to see)
SFC William Farrell PO3 Phyllis Maynard SGT Robert Pryor SGT Mark Anderson
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LTC Stephen C.
LTC Stephen C.
9 y
LTC Stephen F., never had a hang fire, but did have a short round once out of a 4.2. Someone took off too many charges, and it barely puffed out of the tube and went about 300 yards down range. Everyone could see the round just lazily floating in the air! Soldiers were running away like crazy! For some reason it didn't detonate, but we were all scared to death! As I write this, it sounds crazy, but I think that's what happened!
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LTC Stephen F.
LTC Stephen F.
9 y
LTC Stephen Curlee, I know that several indirect rounds need to travel a certain minimal distance before the fuse arms. Timed detonation rounds clearly fit into category. It has been a long time since IMPOC and mortar live fires.
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LTC Stephen C.
LTC Stephen C.
9 y
LTC Stephen F., I did have some great trips to Germany. I'll try to find where I posted them on RP and tag you.
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SSG Gregg Mourizen
SSG Gregg Mourizen
2 y
Oh, the memories...White T-Shirts?
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LTC Stephen C.
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Edited 3 y ago
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LTC Stephen F., I thought I had posted these photos on another discussion thread, but I could not find it. So here they are on this thread, if that's OK with you. It may be interesting, in any event.
When we made our trips to the FRG to support the various NATO exercises, we were attached to VII U.S. Corps at Kelley Barracks in Stuttgart. During our numerous trips there, we became good friends with a lieutenant colonel, who was in the USAR program in the FRG which was very impressive. He met and married a baroness, more specifically a freiherran. My last trip over I took my wife and so with one other couple we spent a few days with them in their castle in the village of Thüngen, which is about 25 km NW of Wurzburg.
Here's an aerial photograph of Schloss der Freiherren von Thüngen, home of LTC James L., Freiherr (Baron) von Thüngen. The castle was protected by a hillside to the rear (left) and a dry moat to the front (right). According to Jim, records showed that the rectangular block building to the right of the castle dates back to the time of Charlemagne (742-814 A.D.)!
The second photo is a detail of the castle and the third photo is a detail of the "Charlemagne" building. What looks like a bay window is really an early version of indoor plumbing! The color photos were from JUL85. COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. CPT (Join to see) PO3 Phyllis Maynard SGT Robert Pryor SPC Woody Bullard

Here’s the FRG tag I mentioned, SFC William Farrell.

My travels don’t compare to yours SGT Mark Anderson, but I thought this little story might interest you.
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel, your shared link about "How Germans remember World Wars" put me in mind of this little tale from my trips to the FRG. Thought you might be interested.
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LTC Stephen F.
LTC Stephen F.
9 y
LTC Stephen C., thanks for posting the pictures. It sounds like it must have been a wonderful trip. I remembered to watch out for chamber pot dumping areas in some of the older German towns. While rarely used they filled a need.
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LTC Stephen C.
LTC Stephen C.
9 y
The double entendre is not lost on me, LTC Stephen F.! The chamber pots "filled" a need?! Very clever! Very funny!
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LTC Stephen F.
LTC Stephen F.
9 y
LTC Stephen C. I am trying to keep it light or lite which ever best applies.
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LTC Stephen C.
LTC Stephen C.
>1 y
SPC Woody Bullard, this is the comment that I wanted you to see about Schloss der Freiherren von Thüngen.
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Yes- went to Wildflecken twice and Graf twice with 3/63 AR BN, 3rd ID, 1986-1989. Feels like forever.
LTC Stephen F.
LTC Stephen F.
9 y
SGT John Panzini a lot has happened since our units went to the various training and gunnery areas during the Cold War. It seems strange that after so many years tensions our building back up between western Europe and Russia.
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Agreed, funny how that works! I guess there's truth in the fact that everything comes full circle.

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