Michael Belis Page 1

The yearbook for my Basic Training Company at Fort Polk.
I'm in the second row from the bottom, all the way to the left.

Basic Training - Fort Polk rifle range 1969
Me on the right, trying not to get hit by the ejected brass from Dale Barnes' M-14.
OG-107's and steel helmets without covers.

Red arrow points to me - basic Training Fort Polk 1969.
That big guy immediately to the left of the arrow is Bob Atkins. At that time, he was a
defensive back for the St. Louis Cardinals football team. We took Basic Training and AIT together.
He was in the Army Reserve, so when he finished training he went back to being a football player.

OG-107 shirt issued to me in Basic Training.
This is the older pattern, with straight pockets and no cuffs.

Name tags issued to me in Basic Training.
Top plastic printed tag was glued on a footlocker,
bottom leather tag was meant to be sewn inside my leather boots.
The leather tag was also sewn inside my garrison cap.

Student study book from Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) Driver's Course
at Fort Knox, Kentucky September 1969

Name tags for fatigue shirts,
Top & center - embroidered made in Germany for me
bottom- nylon printed, issued to me in Basic Training.

8th Infantry Division SSI issued to me in Germany.
We wore full color on all uniforms, including fatigue shirts,
until sometime in early 1970 when we were issued the subdued
oilve drab for our fatigue shirts and field jackets.

Fatigue shirt I wore in Germany 1969
3rd Model OG-107 with button cuffs and v-cut pocket flaps
Rank = PFC (Private First Class)

My dress uniform that I wore in Germany
Rank = SP4 (Specialist 4th Class), or as we called it " Speck-4"

DUI from above uniform

unique to

Headquarters Company (HHC)

3rd Brigade 8th Infantry Division

1969-1970

Headquarters building for HHC 3rd Brigade 8th Infantry Division
Coleman Barracks, Sandhofen, Germany 1969-1970

Photo courtesy of Greg Galchik who as a Sergeant was a Track Commander in Commo Platoon of HHC 3 BDE 8 INF DIV
Greg and I served together in Germany 1969-1970

M-577 Command tracks of Commo Platoon HHC 3rd BDE 8 INF DIV approaching the facility
at Baumholder, Germany 1969-1970. For about 5 months I drove one of these
tracks for Commo Platoon and that may be me and my track leading the column.

Germany April 1970 - Prinz Heinrich Kaserne at Lenggries, just south of Bad Tolz in Bavaria.
Me on the far left, with three fellow students at the Signal School where we took the course for Communications
Center Specialist. These were three great guys and I'm embarrased to say I don't remember their full names.
Left to right: me, Chick, Waugh and George. This was taken our last day there as we prepared to leave to return
to our individual units. They were going back to non-infantry units while I was going back to my Infantry
Company. Note I am the only one not in dress uniform, instead I'm in fatigues and a field jacket. The Kaserne
was at the foot of the Alps and even in April there was still snow on the ground and the roofs as can be seen
through the window.