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Pershing Cable
56th Field Artillery Brigade
Vol. 15, No. 4
April 1979

SapportlC Ille I/fill, 1/llat, I/Nth Field Artllet'let IDd the Z/tlb lafantry

Shoot I

VifOrth all the VifOrk'

Story and photos
by
Spec. t PATRfCIA ZULLO
". . . I felt like I just had triplets,"
claimed U . Col. Gerald R . Lauzon. 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery. Although he
was lib an excited first-time rather. Laur;on was actually the proud battalion commander of Charlie Battery, which had just
participated in a follow-on Operational
'rest (FOi'] at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The first and second firing platoons
from Charlie battery had returned to Florida in August wliere offi~ials from Pershing
Operational Test Unit ( POTU I . from
USAREUR HQs in Heidelberg said the)'
considered that a/toot the most successrul
test o( the Army's most powerful weapon
since before the Sequential Launch adapt.
er <SLA I was introduced.
The day the POTU went to the t-41st FA
Field Alert Site ( FASI the first and second
platoons were on pad once again and were
tapped for their second FOT in six months.

5ft. CllalOII Swrunerford Irear, ud Set. Mtc!J1tl 'WUIIIIIU moaltor ltle DIIHIit CGHt IDSlde the battery CHtrol ctllter I ea:,.

"Bell by Int"
Following the recent FOT. C .B allery
continues to hold lhe motto that was given
them from the August shoot, "Best by
Test." Charlle is also the first Pershing
battery to participate in a 1979 FOT. Once
the Pershing soldiers completed the first
day of worl< in Florida, they were a lreaa)'
two days ahead of the schedule they held
on the last a/toot. Several soldiers. attribW!d the smooth operation to lhe expertise
ol those Pershing crewmen who had attended the previous shoot and the coopera
lion of all the soldiers working together.
Most of the men claimed they were an,.
ious for the day of the firing because they
wanted to remain "Best by Test ... but
knew they had "a lot of work ahead" or
them to prove it.
Several days involved working into the
late evening and returning the next mornIng as the sun was rising. Even for those
who had returned to Florida on lhe second
C Battery shoot some said "it was just as
exciting" even though they knew how
much work it Involved.
With all the work. Pfc. Tyrone Humphrey said, "You learn a lot . . . "
Pfc. Joseph Rendina of the second pla
toon said, "Alter all the work we put Into
it, we were glad to see It go well."
Slloutiac ud whlstllllg
Once the time arrived for the missiles to
be fired. the firing crew had to return to a
closed-in tunnel where they watched the
missile Lift-off from television monitors.
Staff Set, Pete Coleman, NCOIC of the fireOghting crew who was In the tunnel said
shouting. screaming and whistling echoed
throughout lhe tunnel as each missile went

olf.
The shaking and rumbling caused by the
fU"ing missile could be felt by lhe soldiers
as they stood inside the tunnel. Some men
later claimed the noi.se outside was the realization that each missile was going even
though the television monitor was 11,howing

It.

Pfc. Joseph Rendlu 1fr~m lefO, Spee. f Walter Kebl, Pvt. Z William Gu~e. Spee. C Beallie Klq, Pvt. I Hector J i ~ 'bump'
cable-s 0111 from Wider the Heel ll1111d1H I ELI. Spee. ayde Loac ud Slafl Set, Terry B0ldln1 llep forward le u111& 1re1r).

Pfc. Michael Mc!Jonald who was a member of the fire-fighting crew and was in the
tWlllel when the missiles were fired said,
"It was well worth all the work done in the
last six months."
tSee photos OD page lltree)

Spec:. 4 Raller1 W. Strode lits ID a pan! Rack Ille HHB l-81st FA perimeter. ADO!h
HHB IIOldltr, Pfc. Mollmn M. Telo, bailt Ille 11111:eslllft llldtff te iwovkle prottt fr,
Ille elemtllh.
1Plloco by Pvt. ZCbrlstopht ' Est

WINTEX'79
Spec. 4 Timollly Cope'I AN/TRC-8t rl& "bad bee9 'IIP' for elpt dayl IUI Ille power amp
oat," C ..Id. Here 1" cec:ILI oot 1111 It--' wlalle
repairs. C<,pe, wh
Is "Truk-80" leam cld for Bravo, I/MIii FA, ii from HllllliDC'oa Btacla, C.W.
I PbGCo by Slaff Sgt. Locas HDtloI

alliac

Late winter rains turned Pershing's field locations into on.ocean of mud, molcing movement
and living conditions o real challenge. Photos
on these pages show Pershing soldiers at
work in the woods.

Spec. 4 Gregory Davis of Plloelx, Arb., chtclls 11111 llis Azimt RtferHCe Ullit tARU)

at A S-84111 FA'I WlNTEX field location. Be.Ind Dlvblt 51t. J1mi,s Lewil of OceHClty,
.Md., wllo ii an asslllaDt chief ol sec:tlon ID Bravo, 24 plltooa.
I PIiato by Slaff 5lt. Locas HuUOII f

Page 4

Sllff Set. Oerlld Divis oper11ts the field pl,ooe swllc.'Mooud d11riag WJNTEX. 0.vil Is lbt I
platoo sergeamt.
1 Plaoto by Pvt. :

Pershing Cable

I
;.

Who says paptr pushers caa't 10 tacllcal? TheM I ,tlst S.I admlll type, doa11ed their
masks and web gear and gaUantly marched down Ille daqero11s dirt ud 1ravel roads
of the battalion WINTEX. field slte. No one complainecl, ucept for eae spedalbl 5 who
wanted to lie down and pretend lie b8dn't gotten his mask oa la time. From left to rlg~t

SCI, James Lewis of Ocean City, Md., p1y1 elo1e altetllloa 1111
118 I/Shi FA commo
Cbrlstopber D. Eslesl

rll 1979

platooa counts a missile. Lewis Is u asslstut cbld el leCti.D la

the 2d PlalA)c,11, A3/114111 FA.

1Pboto by Slaff Sergealll Lona Hulloa)

.-e Spec. 5 Ooaald MlUer, S&aff SCt, Oaalel Tomaalo, ea,.. s - Zivush, Spec. 5

Ronnie w. Dlcbnoa, Spec. 4 Severiaao Sola aad PFC Mark J. Voss. Behind Voss and

gamig at Ille stars on this bript ud sa1111y day it Spec. 5 Cbrles R. Banoo.
t Plloto by Pvt. z Cluiaopber D. Estes>

Pvt. 2 Oeu Sbtrmaa of CoalesvWe, Pa., &truules wttll a camoafla,e spreader. Sherman
Is a Penlwre missile crewman ta the 2d platoon ol A3/84111 FA.
tPlultoby Staff Sgt. ucas Hatton)

Pershing Cable

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