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Then and Now: What Was Left Behind and What We Retain
In May, 1972, the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment reflagged to the 11th
Armored Cavalry Regiment in ceremonies at Fulda, Bad Kissingen and Bad
Hersfeld. Only months before, the 11th ACR had cased colors in
Vietnam; the 14th ACR had been on continuous duty in Germany since the
end of the Second World War. In Fulda, the events were marked by
formal speeches and a parade, all captured on film and still in the
government archives in Maryland.
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Trooper Albums |
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In Bad Kissingen, BG (Ret) Mike O'Connell, SCO at the time, remembers a
much smaller ceremony, a formation, the new flag and battle streamers.
He recalls the troops were very interested in wearing the distinctive
beret that came with the Blackhorse although some grumbled over the
loss of traditions of the old unit. The Daley Barracks tailor shop
worked special hours to get the new patches sewn on. The Eaglehorse
staff worked special hours to reintegrate into the command culture of
the parent regiment in Fulda and V Corps. The long OPCON to 2 ACR and
Vll Corps was over. Everyone was excited over the just announced plans
to finally upgrade the barracks and facilities at Daley. The US Army
and the Group of Soviet Forces Germany stood spear point to spear
point; no combat units closer outside of Berlin than the 2/11 ACR in
Bad Kissingen and the Soviet MRR in Meiningen. If you were a twenty
year old trooper when this occurred, you are now 51.
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The former site of
OP Sierra / Tennessee
(click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized picture) |
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How many soldiers
sat at OP
Sierra / Tennessee and looked out over
this same terrain, year after year. |
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All that remains
of part of the road
leading up to the gate at the OP |
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Remains from the
demolition of the OP,
some old rusting box springs and
assorted items |
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East Germany, a
nation that no
longer exists . . . |
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There was a near breathless rush of events for Eaglehorse troopers in
1990-91; from long duty at Wildflecken as a training cadre to assist
units in the final train up for Desert Storm to the fast, post
conflict deployment of the Squadron to Kuwait as part of the peace
stabilization program to redeployment to Bad Kissingen and, first
rumors then the command announcement of the permanent move to
Wildflecken. Everyone was happy to be home in Bad Kissingen, the
remodeled post was as good as any Kaserne in Germany. For the cavalry,
however, the standing order is be ready to move in good order on short
notice and moving to Wildflecken was just another " no big thing". If
you were twenty when this happened, you are now thirty-two and
easily could be a platoon sergeant on the verge of attack into Iraq.
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11th ACR Welcome Paper -
1988 |
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The Army and the cavalry changed much during the Eaglehorse years in
Bad Kissingen. At reflag, over half of the junior enlisted troopers
were draftees. There were problems with drug abuse, racial harmony and
key shortages of NCO's and officers. The equipment was at best,
suspect. The M114's were on the way out and no one would miss them.
More Sheridans were coming yet there were questions as to whether the
vehicle was reliable. New, standardized training programs and an
entire new "systems" approach were on the drawing board as were new
combat vehicles but all this was still years away. The border mission,
as recalled by BG (Ret) O'Connell, was in "bad disarray".
When the Eaglehorse departed Bad Kissingen, on a day marked with more
significance by the Germans than the troopers, the Soviets were well
on their way out of Meiningen. As bad as their barracks may have been
at Haupt, Drachenberg and Barbara Kaserne, they were much better than
what was waiting at the other end of the rail line. The border mission
was long over and new troopers to the squadron had no first hand
memory of Camp Lee, US patrol or OP Tennessee. The equipment and
quality of soldiers was first rate, M1, M3, the new family of
artillery and support vehicles all were battle proven and highly
respected. The cavalry troops departed Daley in road march order,
turned right on to Ring Strasse and were gone, like thousands of times
before only this time, there was no return to Bad Kissingen. Between
the reflag ceremony and the last Eaglehorse vehicle to clear Daley
Barracks there were so many troopers, so many FTX's and border
rotations, so many first arrivals and final departures for troopers
and families alike.
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(click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized picture) |
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The Blackhorse Departs Germany - The
Final Parade at Downs Barracks 1995
[Courtesy of Rick Laws] |
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We left behind so much in terms of what could be seen and touched and
what existed in spirit and memory. We left behind a newly remodeled
barracks and it could not coexist with the post cold war Germany and
Bad Kissingen where the future will always be linked to the past. We
left behind upgraded training and support facilities at Reiterswiesen
where we practiced the art of war and now, in partial collapse, will
remain frozen in time forever as protected nature refuge. We left
behind a housing area still echoing with American voices and an NCO
club, where the voices and laughter of sergeants is now replaced with
the order and detail of the civil police. The Frontier Theater once
ran the AAFES cycle of movies, now it is a German theater. Camp Lee is
remarkably unchanged and for sale for virtual low bid; OP Sierra,
Tennessee and the other relics of our side of the border are gone. At
the OP by Sondheim, a new super highway will cut almost directly over
the site. Who knows where the books of the Rec Center Library are; who
knows where the display tanks of the parade field may be? We left
behind a plaque and it now rests in a desk drawer.
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Shots
of Daley Barracks - 1994
Brian Reed
2/11 is gone and so are all the 3ID units. The housing area is
still in use
but main post lies empty
and silent.
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(click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized picture) |
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This is a shot of the
Front Gate
as it looked in 1994. |
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The back of the
Eaglehorse
Dining Facility |
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Shot through the front
gate. EM Club on the left.
Chapel on the right. HHT in the back. |
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We troopers retain our memories of the day, regardless of rank and
station. I recall qualifying my platoon at Grafenwoehr but weeks
before, throwing both tracks to the inside with the tank hopelessly
stuck in a ditch. Sergeant Dutton looked at me and shook his head as
the M88 strained to drag the tank back to the trail. He probably
remembers that night differently. Each of us had similar days. As
years pass and new careers and responsibilities have intervened, the
memories, both good and bad become less defined. The happier memories
have a greater staying power. What was once the stuff of our daily
existence becomes a few old photos in the attic and a possible familiar
face seen in an airport.
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Large Photos! (click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized picture) |
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Panoramic View: Looking west to east from the
front of the
former 2/11 messhall |
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Panoramic View:
The tank park located on the upper portion of the easternside of Daley Barracks. |
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Panoramic View:
The lower portion of Daley Barracks as of September 2003 |
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So, each or us was called to Bad Kissingen to wear crossed sabers on
our uniform and a standard three year tour is little over one thousand
days. A few former troopers live in that town, others have returned
over the years and captured the changes in both the landscape and the
" me ... now " photographs. At the reunion a few years ago, the town
provided a briefing in the former dining facility and glasses of beer.
I hope to someday return and walk the streets again in Bad Kissingen
and Daley. I will touch the stones I knew when I was twenty - one as
they can be found and recall the comradeship and thoughts of a job I
did that while seldom perfect, was done to the best of my ability. I
was like you. In town, perhaps I will see the deep blue eyes of a
German woman I once knew and I will drive north to see those beautiful
summer fields of brilliant green with yellow flowers where you can
stop and almost reach out to the past for just a moment, where the sky
and hills meet ... you know those fields,
by Fladungen,
in the rolling hills. I will meet you there.
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