Iwas quite proud of my new Warrant Officer's uniform, even though I had bought it at the Fort Monmouth Thrift store. It fit me well and it looked good. (Pictured at right with baby Raymond, Mom & Pop.
We left Fort Hancock with ambivalent feelings. I enjoyed being stationed at Sandy Hook, but I looked forward to the new opportunities and responsibilities that layahead.Mom and pop with Raymond and me
Waldorf Maryland is in Charles County Maryland, between Upper Marlboro and LaPlata, about 20 miles southeast of Washington DC. Battery "C" of the 75th AAA Missile Battalion was part of the Washington DC defense area. In 1956, the main occupation in Waldorf was tobacco farming. Housing was at a premium. Waldorf, at that time, was a small country town and didn't have much available in the way of housing.
We were fortunate to find a small house that was adequate for our small family. We lived in that house until a leased house became available from the Army. The Army was leasing homes in the area to house for who were considered "essential" personnel of the Battery. There were two Warrant Officers in "C" Battery. Myself and a black Warrant Officer by the name of Jim Jordan. Back in the 1950's, segregation was in full flower in the south and that included Maryland. There was no way that Jim Jordan could find a rent in Waldorf Maryland or any towns nearby. Jim was commuting everyday from Washington DC.
When a new house became available one day, the Army leased it and turned the keysover to Jim and his family. The uproar in the town forced the Army to move Jim back to Washington, and by default, gave the keys to us, since we were next in line. It was a brand new house and while we did appreciate it, it was a terrible loss for Jim and his family. In order to keep missile site personnel close to the site itself, the Army decided to build housing units next to the administrative, or radar, area. So, before the year was out, these units were finished and we moved out of our house and into the housing area. Jim and his family were able to move next door to us and the townspeople couldn't do anything about it; still, they tried.
The Launching area officer was Lt. Paul Reistrup, a 1954 West Point graduate. A very personable guy, with a very pleasant sense of humor. Paul grew up in a railroad family; talked about the B&O railroad a lot. His father worked for the B&O. Paul left the army soon after I did and went to work for the railroad. He became president of AMTRAK in 1975 and only recently retired as V.P. of CSX.
Another officer in our unit was a Texan. (I believe his name was Tony). Now, none of these officers knew anything technical about guided missiles, that was left up to us, the technical people. But this Lieutenant could really cook up a barbecue. He would spend the better part of the day cooking ribs for the whole battery. A guided missile battery is a very close knit group of people; pretty well isolated from other units.
There was a time when I lived on the base in the BOQ. I don't recall why, but I guess Therese went home to CT for some reason. Probably while we were waiting for a house to open up, probably our first house. In any case, at that particular time we had a dog; a cocker spaniel. He stayed with me in the BOQ and became the mascot of the base. One Sunday, after we moved into our home, as I was returning home from wherever, the dog spotted my car from across the street and raced across to meet me. A car following behind me didn't see the dog and hit him. We took him to a vet in Washington DC. This was a Sunday and there was no vet available in Waldorf. Needless to say, the poor dog never made it.
While at Waldorf, I attended the Engineers School at Fort Belvoir VA. Since this was just across the Potomac River from Maryland, I commuted back and forth every day for a month. The purpose of these classes was for me to become proficient in the operation and maintenance of diesel engines, which our launching area depended upon for emergency power. This training also covered maintenance of the hydraulic elevators of our launching platforms.
While in Waldorf, we had a new addition to our growing family. On December 6 of 1956, Raymond was born at the Walter Reed Medical Facility in Washington DC. Therese spent almost two days at the hospital. Raymond wasn't in any hurry to face the world.
At every missile site, there were two civilians who visited the sites regularly. These folks worked for the Ordnance Corps Preventive Maintenance Agency, known as PMA. Their job was to assist in any way they could with maintenance, supply and instructional problems that might occur at the sites. There was one man per area; that is, one at the launcher area and one at the IFC area. Their jobs pretty well paralleled those of the two Warrant Officers, except that they were civilians, they had access to more resources and they made more money than we did.
I soon learned that there was a vacancy in Pittsburgh PA for one of the jobs. So I applied for the job and sent a letter of resignation up the military ladder for a release in August of 1957. Just as with my application for helicopter pilot training, the letter was approved until it got to the top, where again, it was declined. When I accepted my Warrant, it was for 2 years and that wouldn't be up until February, 1958. In addition, they pointed out that our battalion would be going to Red Canyon Range Camp in a couple of months and they needed me there to accomplish the Battery's firing mission. So, that ended that.
The live Ajax missiles that were deployed at our site in Waldorf, as in every other missile site were to be active for but a year. After that year, they were to be dis-assembled and shipped to Red canyon Range Camp in New Mexico for actual firing at targets. This was for training purposes and also to ensure that active missiles were kept fresh , so to speak and up to date.
After our successful firing at Red Canyon, I re-applied for a discharge, which I was granted in February, 1958. Unfortunately, the assignment I was looking for in Pittsburgh was filled and I had no job to look forward to. We were scheduled to leave for Connecticut on Feb 8,1958, but a huge blizzard hit and we had to wait a few days. Of course we were all packed and had very little food, so I had to trudge through hip deep snow to get to a store for some food for the 5 of us. Eventually the roads reopened and a Paul Arvin van came to the house and soon we were on our way to CT, 8 years of army life behind us. Although I was no longer a GI, my career. with the US Army was not over.
