History of Medical Company 22nd Infantry 1951

1st Battalion 22nd Infantry

22nd Infantry - Medical Company 1950-1951

Company History

HISTORY
M/Sgt. Al. Engebretson

Forty-one men sit beside their duffel bags in front of Medical Company, 18th infantry, Aschaffenburg, Germany, on the cold,
dark morning of 1 November 1950. As the 2½ ton trucks come to a stop, there is a general stirring about. The baggage is loaded
and, after a final look at the old, familiar surroundings, the group climbs aboard. Amid waving and shouts from buddies, the trucks
move out toward the Bahnnof. The train already waiting at the station, takes them to Kitzingen where they are welcomed royally
by a band and their processing begins. This group of men are the first members of the newly-formed Medical Company,
22nd Infantry Regiment, of the "Famous Fourth" Infantry Division. Thanks to the superior efficiency of the personnel of Kitzingen
Sub-Post, the processing is fast and painless. Much of the "hurry up and wait" is eliminated-the first lap of their long journey is finished.

The next stop is Bremerhaven-Port of Embarkation. After a few more days of processing, the men board the General Maurice Rose
are homeward bound. For many this is the first trip home in several years. For the more fortunate ones, the tour of Germany has been
very short. But all of them are happy to know that they will soon be once more gazing upon the Statue of Liberty

The General Rose docks in New York, 21 November 1950 and the men board a train for Fort Dix, N. J. Upon arriving at Fort Dix
they are processed once again and the next day leave for Fort Benning, Ga. Thanksgiving dinner is eaten, while, on the train.
Their welcome at Benning was pay and furloughs. At last, the long journey home was completed.

With fifteen days of leave and Mom's home cooking under their belts, the men returned to Benning to await the new men who
were to join them soon. They seem very content as they prepare for the arrival of the new "Recruits" The days are spent
cleaning the barracks, doing a little close order drill and performing the various odd jobs that have to be done. The new
NCO's are given classes in methods or instruction by Sgt. Andersen. Columbus and Phenix City are new to most of the men,
so at 1700 hours every night the men are found standing by the Orderly Room door awaiting their passes. The number of new
and used cars in the Company parking lot increases almost daily

Before too many days have passed, the new men begin to arrive. These men have come from various camps: Fort Jackson,
Fort Dix, Fort Riley, Fort Ord and the Sand Hill area of Fort Benning. This has been the first change of station for most of the
new men and they are curious to know how the new camp will compare with the one from which they have come. They are looking
forwad to this new assignment, for tough it may be just as bad as their former one, they are certain that it cannot be worse.
At personnel they are met by the NCO's who escort them to the Medical Company area, where the meeting of their new
First Sergeant, the Company Officers and the other noncoms, takes place. As they leave the orderly room one by one,
their faces reveal the different impressions they have formed. From the orderly room,they return to the barracks, to exchange
notes and ideas. On the whole, they seem to be satisfied. The first thing that strikes the eyes of the later arrivals is the sight
of the men already in the company, stripped to their T-shirts, taking calisthenics, in front of the orderly room. The comments
are many and varied ..."Tomorrow we'll be doing that." ..."Is that some of our company?" ..."We never had anything like that
in Fort Dix". On the 17th of January 1951, not long after the four barracks are filled and the T/O training program begins, the
company officially start. There seemed to be so many things for the new men to learn, things they never knew existed but as
the days and weeks passed by, these things came to be taken for granted. Of course, there was the ever present dismounted drill,
one hour every day, and an hour of "PT". "PT" seemed rough at first, but, after a short time, the majority of the company began
to look forward to it. For additional physical conditioning, there was double-timing in the Regimental area; and the never to be
forgotten 4½ miles harrier course, which caused big waist-lines to decrease. Physically, the company was shaping up.

Training wasn't all physical exertion, however. In fact, the greater part of the time was use for classes on Medical subjects,
Army procedure, and the many other things that have to be known by any good soldier.

The men were taught Map Reading, Combat Intelligence, Medical Records, Military Courtesy and most important First Aid.
As the training program progressed, the TO & E Equipment was unpacked, and instruction given in the use of all the parts
of the Medical chests and the individual aid kits. The new tents were pitched and struck, re-pitched and re-struck, until tent-pitching
became almost second nature. Road marches were regular occurences, until the men became accustomed to hiking for miles over the
hills of Georgia. At the end of all this came a 16-mile hike to a bivouac area, for a week-long bivouac, during which the training
continued as usual. The long march back to camp, ended the phase of advanced training. It was topped of by an inspection by
General Hartness und his staff. This inspection favorably impressed the inspecting officers, and especially the Division Surgeon.
Inspections were not new to the men of Medical Company They had prepared for them every Friday night and stood them every
Saturday during the eight weeks of advanced training.

During the course of training, the men, after learning the breakdown of the company, had been assigned to different platoons.
The competitive spirit between the platoons was very high. The morale was exeptionally high throughout the entire company,
and the men were proud of the organization. From a large group of men from most States of the Union had been built a
well-integrated organization. There was no doubt in the minds of those who spoke to these men that each individual was sure
that he was an important part of the best company in the 4th Division. That the training had been successful was apparent by the
quick responses given to any question asked of the men concerning their jobs and the training they had received. Shortly after
the training program was finished, the company was moved to the South Harmony Church area. It was a short journey, but it
entailed packing all equipment and clothing. This new area did not impress the men greatly; due to the fact that it hadn't been used
for quite some time, and consequently needed a good policing. The clean-up campain lasted almost a week, then more training began.
Much of this training was a review of the past eight weeks and was given to keep fresh in the minds of the men the things they had learned.
The procedure was much the same as before, from day to day, there were more details to be done, and additional miscellaneous
subjects to be studied. Everyone knew that this was just a fill-in period while the waited for orders to ship to an overseas station.
Rumors were rampant concerning their final destination. Some said Korea, others were sure of going to Germany, or some other
place in Europe for General "Ike's" Army. The rumors flew, but the work went on as usual. Then came the time for furloughs.
No one who desired a furlough was refused and there were nine men left to run the company in the absence of those who had
taken advantage of the opportunity At the termination of the furloughs, the preparation for the overseas move began. There was
much packing to be done. Each man had to be cheked for clothing and equipment, and all records had to be in order before the
company could be moved to a port of embarkation. This was taken care of in due time and the company was ready to move out.
Meanwhile, the rumors had been quelled by definite information that the company was going to Europe.

During the time that the company had been organized, the men had become famliar with the many names and faces in the company.
M/Sgt. Tolbert, the first sergeant, had, of course, become a very familiar figure to all the men of the company As Capt. Scheetz,
their first company commander, Lt. Calmes, Lt. Johnson, Lt. Mitchell, Lt. Van Home and Lt. Jacobs walked about the company area
on tours of inspection, and perfomed their various duties; the men had learned to know them. Capt. Kato, a sports enthusiast in his
spare time, transferred just before the move overseas. Capt. Scheetz, too, stayed behind and Capt. Jones, our present commanding
officer, assumed command. Lt. Frampton joined the outfit a short while before its departure from Benning. The men became
acquainted with the noncoms; Sgts. St. John, Luneack, Brown, Andersen, Atkinson, Whitman, Belle, Engebretson, Bergen, Rahar
and the others. They liked some of them; others, they disliked, depending upon the circumstances under which they had met. It was
only natural that the NCO's became acquainted with the men assigned to them. Such names as Guiliano, Brown, Konchalski,
Lowenthal, Ryan, Heerlyn, Zurawski, Piehler, Johnson, McAdam, Hernandez, Ybarra and Obata became familiar to the various
platoon sergeants. In short, what began merely as a roster of two hundred names had become a company, in which the men knew
each other, and were interested in their duties and their welfare.

At last came word that the company was to move out to Camp Kilmer. It was farewell to Fort Benning. For many, it had been a
rather enjoyable experience, for others, a profitable one. For the men who lived in Georgia, the departure was not particularly
welcomed; the others, had a different opinion. Some would never again see Fort Benning, others might return, if they found
that they liked the life of a soldier. But for the most part, the company was glad to be on the move, especially the old soldiers
who had already spent a hitch in Germany

The company was broken down into groups in order to give Medical support to the various units of the Regiment
during the train trip to Camp Kilmer.

Camp Kilmer was just another camp as far as the men were concerned. One thing that most of them noticed was the way in which
the buildings were painted. Multi-colored walls and roofs greeted the eye as they left the train and lined up on the platform to be
marched to their area. The days at Camp Kilmer were short and utilized for final processing of records. Many of the men who had
never seen New York were given their first opportunity to see the big city. Others who lived in the vicinity visited their families
for the last time before departing for overseas. In all, it was an enjoyable stay.

Again the company was divided into groups in order to accompany the various battalions of the Regiment to which they were
to be assigned. For the majority of them, this would be their first cross-ocean trip. The feelings of the men were varied as they took
one long last look at the "States". A look that would have to last until their tour in Europe was over.

The first hours on the ship were not too bad but as they progressed further out to sea and began to pitch and roll, the faces
that had been so bright just hours before began to change to interesting shades of green, and frequent trips to the rail became
imperative. There were those who were sure they were too ill to die, and others who thought they would never live through the
ordeal. As their stomachs grew accustomed to the movement of the ship, things began to brighten up, until eventually, nearly everyone
felt as good as new. The ship had to be kept clean at all times, and the compartments were inspected daily, so a lot of time was for
policing details. Then, of course, there was KP to be done. The galley became unbearable at times, and the smell of food nauseating,
but this also improved as the ship moved steadily on toward Bremerhaven. To pass time after the novelty of staring at the sea
had palled, the men photographed each other in many poses among the ship s rigging.

The ship's hospital and dispensary had to be operated, and the Medics displayed their proficiency in their work by doing a commendable
job of taking care of the sick, lame, and lazy, as they were to continue to do for the remainder of their first year as an organization.

After nine days at sea, the White Cliffs of Dover were sighted and the travel weary men knew that their journey was almost ended.
A day later the first sight of Germany came into view; the ship increased speed and started the last leg of the journey up the
river to Columbus Quay at Bremerhaven. As the ship tied up at the dock, the men caught their first glimpse of the German people,
the Americans Stationed in Germany, the homes, factories and other facilities of Germany that were to become such a common sight
to all of them in the ensuing months.

Shouldering their duffel bags, the men walked down the gangblank and set foot on German soil. The voyage to Germany had come
to an end. The month of June 1951 had just begun.

Boarding their first German train, the men marveled at the size, so much smaller than Americans trains, and at the way the coaches
were made to seat so many people. As the trip progressed toward their destination, they cursed the hard wooden seats and the crowded
conditions. This was especially true when dusk set in and no more of the countryside could be seen from the train windows.
The train moved on into the night while the men tried to sleep.

Awakened for breakfast they were told that the train was nearing Mannheim Germany. After Breakfast, the train came to a stop;
and looking out the windows, the men could see thousands of tents pitched on a flat plot of ground that had once been a
German Air Field. This was Camp Y-79. A band and the advanced party welcomed them as they left the train. They were taken
to their company area and assigned to tents. Conditions were crowded. There were only two PX's, and the latrine seemed half
a mile away. There was much confusion as the equipment was unloaded and issued to the unit. The company received its full
quota of TO & E equiment, and was prepared to move out. The second Platoon was to be sent to Schweinfurt, the remainder
of the company was to be stationed temporarily in Wildflecken. Schweinfurt was to be the company s permanent station,
but the billets were not quite ready for occupancy The men looked forward to arriving at their new stations. They had been told,
while at Benning, that the barracks over here in no way resembled the quarters in the States. The train ride to Wildflecken passed
quickly. After boarding trucks, the men rode to the buildings on the side of the mountain. As they entered the gate at the foot of
the hill, they could see the sign informing them that they were now entering Wildflecken Sub-Post, the "Wild Spot of Germany".
After a long, winding ride up the mountain, they were unloaded in front of their new barracks which lived up to advance notices,
and the men moved into four and six-man rooms. The dispensary was immediately set up to receive patients. The following days
were filled with arranging the rooms according to SOP. The area was cleaned up and made as neat as it possibly could with
the limited facilities. A training program was started once again. The major portion of time was taken up with problems, classes,
road marches and organized athletics. The softball team was organized again, and continued in its winning form meeting and defeating
all competitors. Volley ball became a very popular sport and was participated in by almost every member of the company officers
and enlisted men. The morale of the company was still very high, and the competitive spirit between platoons continued as before.
After the final regimental field problem the company moved to their new billets in Schweinfurt to join the second platoon. The
Second platoon had fared better than had the rest of the company in that they had more recreational facilities and a place to go on
pass at night. Schweinfurt was a welcome change to the men who had spent the summer in Wildflecken. The town looked good to them,
and the Kaserne seemed nice.

The day after after its arrival in Schweinfurt, the softball team left for Frankfurt to participate in the Division play-offs. Handicapped
by the absence of some of its players, the team, nevertheless exhibited fine spirit. But the handicap proved unsurmountabe and the
team was eliminated in the semifinals by the 4th QM Company. The procedure on arrival at Schweinfurt was much the same as it
had been at their previous stations, the time occupied unloading equipment, setting up the billetts, and cleaning up the area. Again
the company was ready to continue training. The men looked at the beautiful new dispensary on the first floor of their building with
an appraising eye. Within a few days, they were taking care of sick call. As many as one hundred and seventy men were treated daily,
and the men who were fortunate enough to work there were gaining valuable experience. This was the first time they had had an
opportunity to work in all well-equipped dispensary; the others had been makeshift buildings tents or spare rooms that were left
over after everything else had been moved in. The training schedule with some new subjects added to afford more interesting material
for the men continued as usual. They were given classes in cast work, and shown operating procedure with very realistic training aids
to add to the interest of the classes. Classes in cast work were taught and sterile operating technique demonstrated. The use of realistic
training aids augmented interest in the lectures. The touch football team was organized and defeated all regimental competitors, entered
the Division-wide contest and emerged victorious and borne home the spoils - a handsome trophy. A natural sequence to the team's
victory was its vying in the Eucom play-offs. Pitted against the 1st MP CO the team lost the game and its chance at the Eucom
championship, but it did not lose the admiration it had gained by its former victories.

There had been many promotions for the new men during the passing months. Among the first to appear in Sergeant stripes were
Lowenthal, Duerr Trout, and Walling. Numerous other were promoted, as time went by, on basis of their work and qualities as
soldiers. Each month a new list of promotions (always the one most carefully read) was tacked on the bulletin board. Those whose
names were not listed went away with the usual gripes on their lips, those who had received new stripes financed little parties to
"wet down" their new chevrons, endured much back slapping and hand shaking. The attendance at "coffee call" steadily increased
monthly, and more sergeants "rockers" and corporal stripes adorned the sleeves in company formations. The vacancies in T/O
steadily diminished. There was also talk about "re-upping" among the men who had become first three graders some in less than
a year (Pickling finally took the plunge when he became the first "US" to go "RA" for a three year hitch).

The first, second and third platoons visited Wildflecken and Grafenwöhr during the fall and early winter months of this first
year in Germany. They learned to associate both places with cold weather and sleeping on the ground. The weather wasn't
the most desirable, in fact it was rather miserable most of the time that the men spent in the field. But there was always the
consolation of being able to return to the warm, comfortable billets in Schweinfurt after each stint in the field. Collecting platoon
was much luckier since merely a few, who were company aid men had to spend short periods of time on problems with
Heavy Mortar, Tank and Regimental Headquarters companies. For the most part they stayed in the billets and conducted sick call
with monotonous regularity The men in the dispensary from seeing the number on sick call, acquired the ability to know whether
the various companies were having road marches, field problems and inspections, or whether the training schedules called for care
and cleaning of equipment. The clerks became used to a cycle of slow days and busy days. The busiest times where those during
which they had to mull over the numerous figures required to fill out the monthly and weekly reports, the slow times occured when
there were no reports due at the different headquarters throughout and EUCOM and the 4th Division. The supply personnel also
suffered through a never ending cycle of issuing, drawing, turn-in and laundry exchange which took place every week. It became
second nature with the supply sergeant to say "No, we don't have any" to the thousand and one questions directed at him daily.
Hundreds of times every day the mail clerk was asked whether there was any mail, even though the men knew that mail call was at
1400 hours daily. The first Sergeant and his orderly room staff were up to their necks in the usual reports, correspondence, pass lists,
delinquency reports and seven-day restrictions, the plague of every organization in the Army. For these men who were kept busy the
time flew quickly, but for the men who had to sit through classes day after day, the same classes that they had been hearing from the
time they arrived at Benning, the time passed more slowly This was especially true for the ones who were anxious to get out of the army
to return to their civilian jobs and professions. Many men of the company had taken furloughs and three days passes to European
places of interest. They had visited Rome, Paris, Switzerland and other places they had only read about in school, and never expected
to see except in travel magazines and movies. The opportunity proved to be educational profitable and fun for those who took it.
Of course, there were many who had no desire to visit the historical places or to see any of the picturesque places which can be
seen in Europe. These men spent their leisure time reading, playing pool, or just sleeping awaiting the time when they could return
to the "States" and home.

Highlights of the first year in Germany were the Company parties held in December. Two parties were necessary in order to comply
with the regulation that 50 percent of the company had to be present for duty in the billetts. First, Second and Third Platoons had
their party first; and the Collecting Platoon and Headquarters Platoon had theirs two weeks later. The parties were held on Friday
nights, and, needless to say, there were very few men who were actually prepared for duty the next morning.

The company Officers, knowing that this was the case, held very light inspections the two Saturdays which followed the parties.
Everyone could, and did, pass them. And then, before they knew it, the men were in the midst of the Christmas and New Year's
Holidays. Many of the men visited German homes on Christmas day. Others spent their time in the barracks, or visited friends
and relatives, or went on pass to observe the Holidays in various parts of Germany. A great quantity of alcoholic beverages
and food was consumed. The mess personnel really knocked themselves out to provide a good dinner for the men who remained
in the Kaserne, which listed every kind of food possible. Souvenir menus, were sent home by some of the troops. Actually, the
men missed only one thing, the folks at home. The New Year Weekend was a long one. The company was off from Saturday noon
until the following Wednesday. The holidays were observed in the usual manner by the men. They saw 1951 pass and 1952 come
into being, and wondered what the new year held in store for them. Many would soon be returning to the States for discharge,
while others would remain in Germany for several years. Some have grown to like the Army, some merely tolerate it, and the die-hards
would never learn to like regimentation in any form. Those who had grown to like it were undecided about re-enlisting. Some possibly
would enlist during the next year, others would not. Most knew that when this hitch was finished, their life in the Army was a closed
book to be put away on the shelf, and taken down at intervals to be read for the laughs it would provide.

With this, we leave the men of Medical Company. They continue their work and training surrounded by flying rumors of rotation,
and knowing, with justifiable concern, that the men who replace them will find it difficult to fill their vacancies and to maintain
the high level of efficiency which they have achieved.

HIGHLIGHTS
Sgt. Emanuel Sternfeld

November 1950: Forty-one men from Medical Co. of the 18th Inf. leave from A'burg to become cadre to Med. Co., 22nd Regt.
of the 4th Div. As they leave, their buddies wave goodbye and shout out farewells. (So long you old drunk ...Don't worry about
your schotze, I'll look after her etc.)

November 1950: After processing, the cadre set out on the General Rose for the States. Of course, being used to troop ships,
they were all good soldiers. (Oops, sorry, didn't see you leaning on the rail.)

December 1950: The cadre arrived in New York, proceeded to Fort Benning, took their furloughs, and returned to Benning
on Dec. 10th to await the arrival of the men. As the "recruits" arrived, the "cadre" turned to one another and said, "Are these
men soldiers?" As the "recruits" looked over the "cadre", they said to one another, "Are these men soldiers?"

January 1951: The Co. fills up, and the training schedule begins. We plunge into long hours of First Aid, Medical Records,
Map Reading, Military Courtesy, Field Sanitation, etc.. During the break periods, the men enter into earnest discussions and
debate on some point brought up by one of the teachers. (If Sgt. Rahar tries to give us 100 side-straddle hops again tomorrow, I'll quit.)

February 1951: The men are shifted around and are settled finally into their platoons. Soon the men sleeping on either side of you
are your best friends, and as lights go out you say very quietly to your neighbor, "If you snore again tonight, I'll kick you out of bed."

March 1951: Our training continues. We move to South Harmony Church; the men are given assignments in the Co. Some men
go to school in Fort Sam Huston. The team that is to give immunization "shots" to the Regt. is formed, and the happy smiling
infantrymen line up for their "shots" from the experienced medics. (Hmm!!)

April 1951: Furloughs HOME!

May 1951: We leave Fort Benning and head for Camp Kilmer. We're on our way to Germany, the land of milk and honey,
where everything costs so little, where there are three or four beautiful women for every man, and where a man can get
three day passes to see the interesting and historic places. (Absolutely no comment!)

June 1951: The long voyage across the Atlantic with the medics taking care of the soldiers. (No, Oh Carpenter Freeman,
for seasickness you do not give an infantryman Cascara Sagrada pills.) Bremerhaven: The odd German railway coaches;
stay up all night to see what this part of the world looks like; sunrise; the well-tilled neat fields; the painted roofs; the bomb
damage in the cities; the odd sounding language of the German railroad workers in the stations; the leather short pants;
civilians staring at a train full of U.S. soldiers; chow; we arrive-Camp Y 79. We got to see Mannheim while we were in Tent City.

July 1951: Wildflecken-I wonder what that place is like. It's an odd name; probably it's one of those small seaside resort
towns with some quaint historical buildings, prosperous farms and warm weather the year round. Then, as we arrived
at our destination, the order came. "Put on yours gas masks".

August 1951: We had been maneuvering up and down the hills of Wildflecken for a few weeks and the favorite song
of the regiment became "On Top of Old Smoky " (What was that comment about the sheep on those hills?)

September 1951: The regiment comes out of the woods and sets up at our home base in Schweinfurt. Training continues.
Field problems, classes, organizing our athletic teams, etc. Rank is distributed, and soon there are new sergeants. Furloughs
are taken throughout Europe and many stories are told about Paris. As the next few months pass, the aid men begin to find out
what field work really means. The cold wet ground, the wind whistling into the tents, the long, long hikes, the night marches
and problems, learning to give emergency first aid-the medics are soldiers.

December 1951 and January 1952: The holidays. The company parties. One year in Medical Comp. of the 22nd Regt., 4th Div.

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