HISTORY OF HEADQUARTERS BATTERY

By

Cpl R.G. Munce

Headquarters Battery, 147th Field Artillery Battalion. was organized at Sioux Falls, S. D.. on 17 Dec. 46. Its first commanding officer was Capt. Thomas R. Iverson.  Federal recognition was received on 16 Feb. 47.  Glen W. Shingledecker, 27 800 000 -- first number  in the 147th FA Bn -- was Capt. Iverson's first sergeant. There were 19 enlisted men on the first armory drill pay roll, six of whom were still with the organization when it was inducted three and a half yeas later. These.six men were: Darold W. Hawkey, Herbert S. Hawkey, Harm J Smook, Lloyd H, Weins, Shirley E. Wilson, and Eugene W. Dean.

Capt. George W. DeGroot commanded the battery from 10 April to 9 May 47, succeeding Capt. Iverson who was promoted to major and appointed executive officer of the battalion on 18 June 47.  1st Lt. Donald E. Brown became battery commander on 10 May 47, succeeding Capt. DeGroot. who resigned.

Recruiting, setting up the armory drill training program and receiving equipment, were the main tasks during the first year of the organization. There was no summer camp in 1947. Sqt. Vance E. Sutfin became the first full-time caretaker of the organization.  The second quarter of 1947 saw enlisted strength rise to 29 enlisted men. Stanley M. Peterson, who later became communication chief and finally first sergeant after induction, rejoined the 147th. He had been in a Sioux Falls battery prior to World War II.

The end of 1947 saw the battery solidly established with 61 enlisted men on the rolls. The next year brought a continued rise in enlistment Herbert S. Hawkey, a Sioux Falls policeman, became first sergeant on 1 Mar 48, a position he was to hold continuously until shortly after induction in 195Q.  The first summer camp was at Camp Rapid, Rapid City, S. D.. from 13 to June 48.  The second summer encampment of the organization was at Camp Ripley, Minn. 11 to 26 June 49. The battalion bivouacked overnight on the convoy to and from the Minnesota camp.

Capt.. Brown. who was promoted while at Camp Rapid, resigned as battery commander on 11 July 49. He was succeeded by Capt. H.Robert B. Chalberg, who still retained his staff position as adjutant. The latter became administrative officer of the battalion in a full-time position. Administrative assist&127;t of the battery was M/Sgt. Lawrence A. Dodd, who was sergeant major for about two weeks before receiving his appointment as warrant officer.

Capt. Anson A. Yeager became battery commander of Hq Btry on 21 Oct 49, succeeding Capt. Chalberg· berg.  Capt. Yeager had been in command of Btry A since July 1948. At the same time, Sgt. Bernard A. Szczurek was transferred from Btry A to Hqs Btry as caretaker.  Sgt. Szczurek, who had gone through the Pacific campaign as a 147th Guardsman in World War II,  was commissioned a second lieutenant on 8 Aug 50.

Summer camp in 1950 was held 11 to 26 June at Camp McCoy. Wis. The men liked the barracks at McCoy--they had been in tents at both Camp Rapid and Camp Ripley. The Korean crisis became aware to all of the Guardsmen as  they were getting ready for their overnight bivouac at. Fairmont, Minn.. on the way back to their home station.   On 1 Aug. 50, the 196th RCT, of which the 147th Field Artillery is a part, received it's 30 day alert   Guardsmen who were under age were discharged; four Guardsmen were transferred to the inactive reserves to complete high school.

The above losses and expiration of enlistment reduced the battery's strength to 50, a loss of 12 from the men who had been on the rolls in June. Enlistment's in July and August--promoted by the emergency--brought the unit's strength to 75 by 31 Aug 50, the last day as South Dakota National Guard troop.  August saw preparation for the move, recruiting, packing and processing conducted simultaneously.  Sgt. Elroy L. Pyper received a commission as second lieutenant and M/Sgt. Lawrence A. Dodd was appointed warrant officer, and became the unit administrator.  Physical examinations were given at the Coliseum.  As induction day neared, Headquarter and Btry A pooled their mess section and sat up a consolidated mess in the Coliseum gymnasium.

On 1 Sept. 50, the battery reported for its first day in the Army. The 147th FA Bn arrived at Camp Carson, Colo., on 8 Sept. 50.  Housekeeping was the main order of business upon arrival at Camp Carson.  M/Sgt. Hawkey became sergeant major and M/Sgt. Petersen became first sergeant. Hawkey was the first Guardsman to be discharged, being discharged for physical reasons. Sgt. Carl W. Eisenberg became mess steward, succeeding SFC. John Gibson who was transferred to the fire direction section. M/Sgt. Harm Smook became intelligence NCO.  Dayroom furniture was purchased with $250 which the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce had raised from civic organizations.

The first reserve officer to be assigned to Hqs Btry was 1st Lt. Robert L. Sublett of Columbia, Mo.  He became the motor officer.  Lt. Sublett had just finished work on his Ph. D. in Chemistry.  Meanwhile, the Guardsmen sweated out promotions to NCO rank. The first promotions were made on 1 Nov 50 after the battalion received an allotment.   The first men to be sent to specialist schools left on 11 Nov 50. This schooling enabled the men to better carry out their duties and to train other men in their particular sections.
Much of the instruction in basic and general subject was handled by the NCO's. Lesson plans were required for all classes which were conducted by the NCO's. Officers of the battalion handled the more specialized training.
On Thanksgiving Day, 23 Nov., the filler personnel started to arrive. The 14 men assigned then were all from Texas. On 1 Dec, nine more Texan inductees joined the battery and on 2 Dec there were 51 men assigned. The latter group came from Pennsylvania and a few other eastern states. With the joining of the fillers, the battery had a strength of twice its original number, and were over strength, being authorized only 147 enlisted men according to the Table of Organization.

The fillers were interviewed upon their arrival and were assigned to the sections of the battery in which they were best qualified. M/Sgt. Stanley Peterson, the first sergeant was relieved from active duty and SFC Raymond Morgan took the job on 30 Dec. Also on that day, M/Sgt. Gibson became sergeant major replacing M/Sgt. Robert Cain who was transferred. SFC. Oliver Twedt, the personnel sergeant major, was given a dependency discharge on 24 Nov and Sgt. Thomas Dirks was promoted to fill Twedt's position.SFC. Shirley Wilson was transferred to the IX Corp Artillery at Camp McCoy, Wis.

Most of the Guardsmen and a few of the filler personnel were able to have Christmas or New Years furloughs in 1950 and 1951 respectively.

Warrant Officer Adrian Reierson, who became unit administrator on 15 Jan 51, replaced Mr. Dodd who was transferred to Btry C to fill Mr. Reierson's position.   Hqs Btry showed no favoritism as far as appointment of national Guardsman and reservists to key position was concerned.  M/Sgt. Walter Cave became communications chief; SFC. William Mann was assigned as wire team chief; M/Sgt. Howard Heaton, heavy line construction foreman; Sgt. Edward Moser, supply Sgt. and M/Sgt. Wallace White left for Ft. Riley to take the Intelligence Course. These men were all Enlisted Reservists.

During the period of 5 Dec to 25 Dec, 15 Enlisted Reservist were assigned to Hqs Btry and on 31 Mar, the strength was 24 officers and warrant officer and 154 enlisted men.  The battery was very proficient on the combine range, in that almost everyone qualified in the weapons firing. Hqs Btry completed the overhead artillery fire, infiltration course, rocket launcher, close combat course, combat in cities course, grenade launcher and other courses without any accidents.

Lt. Sublett requested a transfer to the Chemical Corp because of his civilian schooling and experience. This he received and he left the battery on 26 Feb. A party was given him in the Mess Hall the day before he left. He was replaced by another reservist officer 1st Lt. Richard G. Nystrom from Moline, IL.  The kitchen was depleted by two cook being discharged in March. They were Sgt. Moxnes and Cpl. Edwin Gaedtke.  All of the privates were automatically promoted to Pvt E-2 after completing four months of service and during the same month, March, many of them received promotions to PFC. The battery took individual proficiency test the latter part of March.

The first overseas levy came during the middle of March and 10 men left on delay en routes before being reassigned to another organization. These men all were inductee who had completed 14 weeks of basic training.