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Gasthaus in Fulda |
jimcdecker@earthlink.net |
B Company 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment
Downs Barracks, Fulda, Germany
B Company was a Line Company of the 14th ACR protecting Western Europe from invasion by the Warsaw Pack. Its job primary job was to patrol the East/West German Border in the Fulda Gap. Along with the other Cavalry Units stationed along the border it was the Eyes and Ears of the NATO Forces in Europe.
Were you in B Troop? Do you have any photographs of your time in Fulda. Do you have a story that you would like to tell? Contact us at catsauto@earthlink.net and we would be happy to put them on the web site.
Suivez Moi
A little over a year ago, Jim Decker, a former trooper of the 14th ACR, C Company, Fulda, Germany (1958-1960), asked me to write an incident report (story) that he could publish on his website, http://www.cats4x4.com/14thacr.htm regarding an incident on the Iron Curtain (East/West German Border) in which I was involved.
Oliver H. Dunham
14th Armored Cavalry Regiment
September 2010
I
It was a warm summer evening in June 1958. The sun had already set and darkness had closed in all around. The only light came from the stars, as it was a moonless night. The infamous Iron Curtain (controlled border fence that separated East Germany from West Germany) stretched from the North Sea, south to Czechoslovakia, wove its way through the Fulda Gap.
My platoon was assigned to LP duty (Listening Post), as the darkness made visual observation of the border region impossible. (Night vision technology had not been developed yet.) Each platoon member was stationed in a LP about a quarter to a half-mile apart, a few feet from the border, behind the cover of brush or trees. Each man was armed with his M-1 rifle. Our job was simple; report any sound or perceptible movement of Soviet armament or troops in the Fulda Gap.
Normally, there is nothing going on and the silence along the border is deafening. Let’s face it; a lot of guys had trouble staying awake, especially if they had had a belt of something alcoholic before going on duty, which was strictly forbidden. Lt. Marshall Mundy, a recent VMI (Virginia Military Institute) graduate, a shave-tail, we called him, was notorious for quietly slipping into the LP’s and catching guys asleep at their post, a definite NO, NO. Getting caught asleep at your duty station can lead to an undesirable Write-Up, extra duty penalties, a demotion or all of the above.
I was hunkered down in my LP behind some bushes in case a sudden burst of light appeared from the enemy across the border. I looked out into the black nothingness that lay in front of me. I could hear the faint sound of a motorized vehicle way off in the distance. I listened intently for several minutes as it continually got louder and closer. In the valleys of the Fulda Gap noises echoed off the hills confusing your senses of where sounds were coming from. The sounds grew louder and closer. The sounds were of a jeep screaming through its low gear range. I remembered the stories I had heard of Lt. Mundy sneaking into the LP’s. Whoever this was coming into my perimeter definitely had my attention. I stepped out from behind my cover, pointed my rifle in the direction of the jeep’s noise, and bellowed out a loud verbal challenge, “HALT”! The jeep kept coming. Tensing up, again, I challenged, yelling, “HALT” at the top of my voice. Adrenaline was pulsating through my veins as I loaded a 30 caliber round into the chamber of my M-1 rifle, and leveled it at the dark shadows coming into my vision. He kept coming. I screamed, “HALT” a third time with all the voice I had.
He kept coming; my finger was squeezing against the trigger. All of a sudden, the jeep went silent and I heard a panicked, “don’t shoot, D’DON’T SHOOT.”
“Who goes there?” I yelled. “L’l’lieutenant M'mundy”, he stuttered. (Now I was starting to enjoy this little episode.) “Advance and be recognized.” I commanded. He and his driver dismounted from the jeep and stepped forward with their hands raised, a flashlight shining in their faces. “I almost blew your Asses away, Sir”, I said as I admonished him and his driver for foolishly trying to sneak into a secured area. I’m sure it must have been the adrenaline talking and besides, they had scared the crap out of me.
After a moment of silence, Lt. Mundy asked me, “Where were you?” I explained I was waiting for them over in the brush. He said, still a little shaken, “Good job, Private, damn good job.”
About myself: My name is Oliver Holden Dunham, PFC, B Company, 1st BN, Company Commander: Capt. Hodges, MOS: Mortar Gunner. I arrived in Fulda,
in July 1957 from Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, where I trained as a Medic and was assigned to HQ & HQ Co., Regimental HQ in Fulda, Germany. Life in HQ Co
was uneventful, so in the spring of 1958 I moved to B Company where I got to do more fun things like guard duty and Border Patrol.
(The primary mission of the 14th ACR was to alert the Western world to any movement of Soviet armament to the West through the Fulda Gap.
Note: We were “expendable”.) While recollecting fun things, let me mention that I was privileged to play two seasons (1957-58) on the 14th Armored Cavalry
Regimental football team, the Cavaliers, and travel all over Germany. See Jim Decker’s website at http://www.cats4x4.com/14THCavaliers.htm.
Jim Decker is a former trooper of the 14th ACR, C Company, 1st BN., 1958-1960.
Your full name: Oliver Holden Dunham
• Rank at the time of the recollection(s): PFC
• Troop & squadron designations in which you served: B Company, 1st Bn
• The period of your service (e.g., '61-'64), and: 1957 - 1958
• Your rank at the end of your service in the Army PFC
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