{"id":1621,"date":"2012-01-11T10:00:30","date_gmt":"2012-01-11T10:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/americainuniform\/?p=1621"},"modified":"2011-12-30T00:20:02","modified_gmt":"2011-12-30T00:20:02","slug":"night-firing-ft-knox-august-1972","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/americainuniform\/2012\/01\/night-firing-ft-knox-august-1972.html","title":{"rendered":"Night-Firing, Ft. Knox, August 1972"},"content":{"rendered":"

Harmon Drew is a friend from college days.\u00a0 We have a group that still corresponds \u2013 thank heavens for e-mail!\u00a0 This article came in right before Christmas.\u00a0 I have received permission to publish it after Harmon\u2019s wife edited it in order to avoid any legal complications.\u00a0 I hope you enjoy it as much as I did; keep in mind it really is true.\u00a0 Hilarious!!!\u00a0 Cpt. Otis<\/em><\/p>\n

To all:<\/p>\n

Some 47 years ago at LSU I was approached at the fraternity house by one Harmon \u201cBub\u201d Drew who asked if I would allow him to hang out with me so he could be \u201ccool\u201d and possibly pick up on some of my culls.\u00a0 He then proceeded to follow me around like a Shitzu dog for the next 47 years.\u00a0 That said, Harmon was called into the Army after graduating from the LSU ROTC program and assigned to the armor officer basic course at Ft. Knox.\u00a0 Upon his completion of the course he was immediately retired from the army after being told his services were no longer needed, whereupon he chose to seek his career in the law.\u00a0 He has been on the bench at different levels during the last 25 years and now sits on the Louisiana State Second Circuit Court of Appeal.\u00a0 Somehow, miraculously, this man married way over his head and his wife has thus far gotten him through life without him self destructing.\u00a0 One only need read the attached email to see what I have had to put up with for almost one-half of a century.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>From: Harmon Drew
\nSent: Tuesday, December 20, 2011 10:35 AM
\nSubject: Night-firing, Ft. Knox, August 1972<\/strong><\/p>\n

To: Big Cat \/ Lodi \/ My Favorite Yes-Man:<\/p>\n

Just want to get the straight facts out about my military career, as there has been way too much misinformation circulating.\u00a0 Please pass this on to others who have expressed interest in my distinguished path through life.<\/p>\n

For the record – –<\/p>\n

Besides gaining a third-rate education for my fifth-rate mind, I somehow also secured a ROTC Commission at LSU-BR (as in The Ol’ War Skule).\u00a0 Was then sent to the Armor Officer Basic Course in the Blue Grass State.\u00a0 They were winding down Viet Nam, and offered me my choice of two years or 90 days.\u00a0 After reading this, you will know which of the options I chose, with the full support of the U.S. Army.<\/p>\n

The class of about 80 officers was broken down into two main groups:
\n\u2022 about 1\/2 were helicopter pilots being retrained to become tankers, for the coming wars in the sands of the Middle East; and
\n\u2022 about 1\/2 were clueless ex-college\/lawschool idiots like me – Slackers, Ingrates, Former or Present Dope-Heads, Malcontents, Misanthropes, Misogynists\u00a0 – you get the picture.<\/p>\n

We were being trained by some very old Sergeants (some were even over 40 –\u00a0 positively ancient), each with at least two tours in Southeast Asia, and they quickly realized that most of us couldn’t find it with both hands.<\/p>\n

Anyway, about day 75 of the 90 days, we had the traditional Ft. Knox “night-firing” so all the family members of the class could see what we had learned about waging war.\u00a0 Each M-60-A-1 tank had a crew of four.\u00a0 We would rotate (captain-loader-gunner-driver) and fire beautiful white phosphorus rounds into the night sky.\u00a0 On the second rotation, I became the “gunner” of my tank.\u00a0 Unfortunately, I had apparently not paid close enough attention to the earlier training, in that I somehow started aiming\/looking through the wrong sight window.\u00a0 When we were told to “fire,” I rapidly and mistakenly elevated the huge cannon to an almost vertical position, and shot\/fired\/pulled the trigger\/mashed the button.\u00a0 There was screaming.\u00a0 Intense sounds of scuffling and panic from old ladies and young children.\u00a0 People were wailing and crying.\u00a0\u00a0 Grown men quaked.\u00a0 Unfortunately, I didn’t immediately correlate my “round” with the bedlam.<\/p>\n

It became clear that there was some connexity, however, when the sergeant assigned to my tank DROPPED from the cupola to the floor of the tank (about eight feet), shouting: “GOOD\u00a0 GOD, L.T., WHAT HAVE YOU DONE????!!!!!!!\u00a0 Actually, he used other, more forceful, words to that effect.\u00a0 My weak and inadequate response was: “I think I nailed it, Sarge.”<\/p>\n

Then the round hit the ground, as almost all of them are want\/wont\/have a want, to do.\u00a0 The white phosphorus (HEAT) projectile hit “less than 40 meters” in front of the line of tanks, much, much closer than any round had ever fallen before.\u00a0 Earth flew everywhere, most of it on fire.\u00a0 The brush began burning.\u00a0 In several places.\u00a0 Amid the bedlam, I clearly heard one hoarse voice scream: \u201cINCOMING!\u201d.<\/p>\n

It may have been a coincidence, but night firing was abruptly terminated at that point.\u00a0 The shaken audience was evacuated on army green school buses.\u00a0 All 80 of my class members had to franticly egress from our war machinery and run to put out the blazes, using small fire extinguishers (only about 1\/3 of which worked), brooms, and horse feed sacks (still were a few horses at Knox at that time).<\/p>\n

One of my fellow officers barked at me, somewhat critically: “Drew, my grandmother drove from New Jersey – – to see THIS?”\u00a0 My flippant response, which nearly got me severely beaten, was:\u00a0 “How was her trip?”<\/p>\n

Page Two:\u00a0\u00a0 One General (#1) gave the main address at our graduation.\u00a0 You may have possibly heard of his father.\u00a0 As a cruelty joke, apparently, I was selected by the other officers to give the “Class Response.”\u00a0 It was, hands down, the finest speech I have ever given.\u00a0 Everything I touched turned to gold, oratorically – – it was HILARIOUS!\u00a0 I was like the Priest in Caddy Shack, but I made the putt on the 18th hole!!!!\u00a0 People were rolling.\u00a0 Never before or since have I put on such a presentation.\u00a0 It was the top of the mountain – the Extemporaneous Hall of Fame!<\/p>\n

Page Three:\u00a0 Unfortunately, General #1 was not especially impressed at my jocular 15 minutes of fame.\u00a0 He chewed out the two Captains in charge of our training, wanting to know what kind of an army were they running?<\/p>\n

Page Four:\u00a0\u00a0 As you know:\u00a0 “Everybody likes Harmon.”\u00a0 As further proof of this fact, there was another General (#2) there that day on the stage with General #1 and myself.\u00a0 This brilliant and discerning General #2 thought I was great, unlike General #1.\u00a0 Stationed in Germany at the time, General #2 was one of the big dogs running the Army PXs in the Entire Free World.\u00a0 This learned general officer had undoubtedly not heard about the “problem” with our night firing.\u00a0 He warmly told me that:<\/p>\n

I seemed like “his kind of guy,” further confiding that he would be “delighted” to have me on his staff, that he “could make it happen,” and that I “would never regret it.”<\/p>\n

Though honored and mildly tempted, it seemed better for all parties that I just end my military career by doing my six years of reserve duty back home, hopefully as quietly as possible, and causing as little harm as possible.\u00a0 The collective U.S. Army seemed relieved.<\/p>\n

General #2 really seemed like a superb, likeable, and talented man.\u00a0 He certainly was a good judge of talent.<\/p>\n

And I still think back as to what might have been…………<\/p>\n

Merry Christmas, Big Cat.\u00a0 Jean and I appreciate your service to the country, as well as that of your family and your brave comrades in arms.<\/p>\n

Sincerely, H. Drew\u00a0 “SERVING THE PEOPLE”<\/p>\n

\n

Loyal Subscribers!\u00a0 We need some help.\u00a0 The purpose of our “Heart” section is to publish stories of the experiences, contributions and sacrifices of our military (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard) and public service personnel (police officers, fire fighters, EMS, merchant marines and others in the public sector) as well as stories of their families.\u00a0 Please search your memory and computer for a few and\u00a0send them to Bill\u00a0(CPT Otis) O’Quin at boquin@ix.netcom.com<\/a><\/strong> for possible publication. \u00a0Thanks!<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Important links for updated military\/defense information:
\nThe Daily News Briefing<\/a><\/strong>:<\/a> Today’s News for the U.S. Military, their families and friends.
\n The Military Trivia Challenge:<\/a><\/strong> Register and test your knowledge about military history.
\n U.S. Department of Defense:<\/a><\/strong> Military Defense News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Harmon Drew is a friend from college days.\u00a0 We have a group that still corresponds \u2013 thank heavens for e-mail!\u00a0 This article came in right before Christmas.\u00a0 I have received permission to publish it after Harmon\u2019s wife edited it in order to avoid any legal complications.\u00a0 I hope you enjoy it as much as I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interesting-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nNight-Firing, Ft. 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