REMEMBERING ABERDEEN

[Joe Gopan]

Those of you who were stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground in the mid 50's thru possible in the present may remember seeing bare "I"-Beam structures atop the roofs of a few buildings, they were placed at the edge. Those were for the 75MM Skysweeper AA Guns that the Army planned to ring the USA with. It was short lived and by 1959 or so the Skysweepers were gone. They were an accurate AAA Weapon that was radar controlled.
During the period I was there, there were 26 friendly foreign flags on the lawn, each represented the nationality of the soldiers stationed there at the time.

I was Class Leader, and marched the class twice a day to classes and back to the company area. A courtesy patrol M-38 driven by a crusty old Master SGT would frequently fall in behind and play marching music to help the formation look sharp. He also made sure that Road Guards were properly posted. Our Field First was M-Sgt Vladimir Tickey, a WWII Ranger.I used to drink Coke on Sunday afternoons with Iraqi Army Officers who were attending the US Army Ordnance Officer Orientation Course. One, Ibrahim Aldouri, ended up on the Deck of Cards 25 or so years later. Two of my classmates at the Machinist School, Sgt's Heip and Nam were from Viet Nam. They shared quite a few MV moments and discussed the types of USA vehicles they drove, CJ-3A and CCKW were widely used during that time period (1962).
Got to meet Colonel Jarrett at the Ordnance Museum, during WWII he evaluated enemy captured weapons, a lot of interesting German Armor there, including a V-2 Rocket and General Pershing's staff car. one of my instructors, Mr. Rogers, was a 73 year old civilian who started with Cadillac around 1913 hand scraping Babbitt bearings.
The M-38 with welder and M-38A1 Jeeps were on display at the Machinist school lobby.
There were still a few B-17 and B-25 Aircraft at thhe airfield, they were used for ballistic testing. A .50 Caliber version of the Gatling Gun was being test fired every hour on the hour, it sounded like a chain saw. The evening sky was decorated times at times with flashes of illumination shells. New M-35A1 Multifuel trucks were seen being tested as well as some Italian Army Cross Country Motor Cycles, the new GOER vehicles were being tested. Watched a M-151 with 106MM Rifle go up on two wheels while being demonstrated during Armed Forces Day 1962.
Very interesting post to be stationed at. Our Mess Hall fed the Post HQ and also the WAC's Detachment, their barracks were near a railroad siding, I remember their screams when lightning hit the tracks one night. Boot Blacks would put a 50 Cent shine on your boots while you were getting a hair cut. Some Boot Blacks had Cadillacs.

[AZ Jeff]

Still was an interesting post 25 years later... although the rotting outdoor museum exhibits were a shame. Plenty of talk then about (somehow) financing a modern, indoor museum but it never happened. Now a huge, empty field.

The Edgewood annex still has some neat old structures and an outdoor WW2 Chemical Mortar reminder of the CWS days.

Jeff Q.
AZ

[Joe Gopan]

And, as with any GI training given me, I always tried to leave there smarter than when I arrived. Surprisingly, it usually worked.
My favorite instructors were the WWII-Korea Vets as they could relate to the WWII thru 50's Wheeled and Tracked Vehicles.

Golonel Jarret was still at the Museum when I was goung to Ordnance School.

[Don Shaffer]

I was stationed at APG back in 1966 and I remember guard duty in the Old Museum building. and I took a lot of rare weapons off the wall for a close look ! Those were the days ! Don Shaffer N.E. Ohio

[Joe Gopan]

Aberdeen, fond memories. Will try to find the photo of me on ANZIO ANNIE.