Supporting the 101st during REFORGER 1976

Author's Notes: Okay, while this isn't exactly about the 4/77th in Vietnam, it is about the 4/77th in Germany during REFORGER 76. It is also about me, the images I took and the changes in the 4/77th's mission and purpose.

Also, my apologies.  I posted this a bit prematurely. the part below from my perspective. The actual story about the 4/77th is located here: http://www.rucker.army.mil/avjournal/1970/1976/.

Click on the link to: AVN_DIG_1976_12.pdf.  You will need a PDF reader. The cover, inside cover images and many of the images inside this issue were taken by me. Although I didn't get credit for them, in that specific publication, some of the same images landed in Aviation Magazine and I am given credit for taking them.








If you don't want to read all the great things the 4/77th did that year, please read: Vietnam To Europe, The 4th Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Lives On! article.

During REFORGER 76 the 101st sent tanks back to the stone age.



REFORGER 1976

Sometimes, what appears to be a bad turn in one's military career actually turns out to be the one thing needed to make the rest of the chain events the formula for success.

January, 1976:

The 3rd Combat Aviation Battalion(3rd CAB) is my new home.  I have been here for three months and I am faced with the very real fact that because of my vision problems, I can no longer hold the MOS of 67Y20 -- Cobra Crewchief. That the military could issue me an MOS of a cook and I would have to live with that for the next four years was an unbearable reality.

Totally unacceptable. 

My options were to either accept fate or leave the military under a breach of contract.

I decided that I wanted to let the cards fall where they would and requested command sponsorship.

I also received an Army Accommodation Medal and a Commander's Certificate from the 101st Airborne Division(Air Assault) for my work as a writer and photographer.

Around January 10, 1976, my wife shows up.

One day later, her brother dies.

We fly from Frankfurt to McGuire AFB.  Because we're too late for the funeral and because her family told us not to come all the way down to Louisiana, we staid at my mothers home at 250 S. Church Street in Moorestown, NJ and for 30 days we staid there.

Some images were taken of the Bi-Centennial area over in Philadelphia, PA.

The walk across the Ben Franklin Bridge was interesting. 

Having my wife come down with the Legionnaires' Disease was not.

February, 1976:

By the way, if you've never been on a long flight via one of the Air Force hops, there are no bathrooms. If you have to pee or poop, you do it in a bag.

They also supply you with disposable ear plugs that look more like two pieces of cheap round chewing gum. At first, being larger than the ear, it appeared impossible to use until one of the Air Force crew members showed us how to use them and they worked just fine.

After flying back the way we came, we stay over night on the military side of the Frankfurt Airport. Wife bunked with the ladies.  I bunked with the guys. 

Once back at Harvey Barracks, Kitzingen, Germany, my focus was on getting the Battalion's Public Information System on line and working as it should for an IG Inspection. The wife went to work on finding us a place to live on the economy. The Hotel Garni worked as a staging area.

This is where the world from my perspective turned cold and cruel. Or that's what it appeared.

March, 1976:

According to the IG Inspection, my MOS 67Y20, was mission critical and the job I was doing at Battalion level was not needed. Also, my TA 50 gear that was supposed to come with me over to Germany was stolen. I had documents to prove it.

Despite my explanations on this matter, my CO did not care and served me with two Article 15s.

The second one came with a new job assignment: work at the front gate as NCO of Front Gate Guards.

As it so happens, that the Aid De Camp for the 1 Star General residing at the Harvey Barracks Kaserne saw me, wanted to know what I was doing in my new lofty position. I told him and he responded with:  "That's going to change."

And it did....but not exactly the way I thought it would.

April, 1976:

I am handed the keys to the Harvey Barracks Special Services Photo-lab. Handing me keys to a photo-lab is like handing a kid with a sweet tooth the keys to a candy store.

For the next three months, I would go from knowing how to develop Black and White film, color slides and black and white prints to teaching other photo-lab instructors on how to create cyberchrome prints using a Beseler 23C with a Dichroic Head.

I worked with Leica Focomat enlargers, Omega D11, and a Beseler 45.

I worked with Dectol and Selectol for print developers.

I worked HC110, Agfa Rodinal, D-76, Microdol X, Microfine and Diafine.

I learned how to flatten contrast in a negative and then add additional contrast using various grades of paper.

I also opened up the photo-lab so that many more photographers could use the photo-lab. Sales went from $90/month to $400/month. And I was buying about $100 of that myself.

I encouraged creativity.  One solarized image was used by EURARMY Magazine on the back cover and netted the creative photographer with a $25 savings bond.

The film I started using religiously was Ilford Pan F Plus. Used plenty of Hypo clearing agent, too.

I fell in love with Afga Brovira paper. Single weight.

August 1976:

The advanced party of the 101st Airborne Division(Air Assault) begins to show up at Harvey Barracks. At the same the folks running special services thought it would be a good idea to hire a civilian to work with me.

I also found out that the Division Public Affairs Officer LTC John AG Klose had taken command of the 158th Aviation Battalion. Want to guess who was going to sponsor the 158th Aviation Battalion?

So, I told this to our battalion XO and he threw me out of the Library. He got thrown out of the battalion two months later. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

After working with my civilian counterpart, and convincing the local head of the Special Services that he was able to handle the lab by himself, my attention was turned to taking spectacular images.

Armed with a new set of photography skills I took images of AH-1S Cobras, UH-1H Hueys, OH-58's and CH-47 Chinooks and hundreds of 101st Airborne Division soldiers, and sent the images back to Division Public Affairs, 101st Airborne Division(Air Assault) via the local Bundespost(Post Office).

During the second week of August, LTC John AG Klose arrives and we meet.

"Hello Dick, what are you doing?"

"I'm running a photo-lab, Sir"

"No, no , no, that's not going to happen.  Whose your boss?"

"LTC Gerald E Lethcoe, Sir."

"I'll go talk to him. That is, if it is okay, with you."

Last time I looked, an E-5 generally doesn't have a say so in such things."

"That will be fine, Sir."

"Also have a message for you from Division Public Affairs.  They want to know how you're getting your images to them so quickly, they aren't getting any images from the official photographers and could you include cut lines on your images.

Are you available to work with me, too?"

"Yes, Sir, my photo-lab is here, just below the flight tower."

"Very good."

I saluted and left.

A few weeks later, I was asked to come out with him and some of his pilots who were part of the Air Assault In Action demonstration for all the various country leaders in Europe. That day was basically the last dress rehearsal before the big day and all the invited press was there.

So, as far as I was concerned, my focus was on finding out what my "Enemy" knew about what was supposed to happen.

I was not paying any attention to the man in the middle of the field.

About the time I figure out they were clueless, I hear this "Dick Edwards get over here."

I knew immediately, who that person was in the middle of the field. It was my old boss from the 2/17th Cavalry.  It was LTC Gary E. Luck.

I went to salute him, he offered me a handshake instead.

"Dick, what are you doing out here?"

"I'm here to take pictures."

He got a bit upset with me on that so I told him the truth.  I was running a photo-lab and I was given permission to take images.

He was much happier with that and asked me where my photo-lab was and I told him.

I then saluted him and went back to where the press was located. I then explained to them what was about to happen and then excused myself and placed myself in a position where I would get the best images of the demonstration and waited for the events to take place.

Once back at the lab, I had to take 12 rolls of film, develop them the way I knew would give me what I needed and then printed what I thought were the best of the best.

As I'm drying the prints, a knock on the door occurred three times.  The last being the loudest. There was a sign on the door that said closed. So, I opened it on the third knock. I was looking at a Full Bird Colonel.

"At ease", he said, "are you SGT Edwards?"

"Yes, Sir."

"I'm here to pick up pictures. Gary E. Luck sent me."

I'm sure you can imagine my bit of surprise.  One that an LTC would have a Colonel pick up images for him.  Two,  that Gary E. Luck had enough confidence in me to know I would do exactly what I said I would do and have done exactly what I did.

So, I welcomed him in, gave him the images that had been dried and he helped me finish the last 25. I never saw that Colonel, Gary E. Luck or got confirmation that those images even got to Gary E. Luck.

I created another batch of the exact images, put the cut lines on them and sent them back to Division Public Affairs.

I also contacted USAREUR and 7th Army Audio/Video Department and sent over to them proofs of the negatives along with the negatives. From that a batch of 12 images were created and sent out as part of the press releases.

When it was time to say goodbye to LTC John AG Klose once again, he said, "You did a wonderful job for us. I talked to your boss. You need to talk to him. Dick, thank you."

"My pleasure, Sir."

I saluted, we shook hands. That was the last time I saw him.

By all rights, what I did for the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) was more than a page in the history of that division.  It was as far as I was concerned something I was destined to do. I had seen the AH-1G Cobra go from an Aerial Rocket Artillery platform to a formidable anti-armor TOW Missile platform.