JRTC, Fort Polk celebrate 244th Army birthday

Photo By Patricia Dubiel | The Army birthday cake is cut by the oldest and youngest Soldiers on Fort Polk, Col. Margaret Collier (left) and Pvt. David Sand (right), assisted by retired Sgt. Maj. of the Army Julius Gates.  

LOUISIANA, UNITED STATES

06.21.2019

Story by Chuck Cannon 

Fort Johnson Public Affairs Office

Included were Maj. Gen. retired Erbon Wise, Army Air Corp Soldier Johnny Davis and Navy veteran Jack Jones.
Wise landed at Utah Beach in an assault craft during the invasion of Normandy, France on D-Day and fought to the Ardennes Forest.
“The fighting was tough and there were times when you didn’t know if you were going to make it,” Wise said. “You just stayed focused on the task at hand.”
After World War II, Wise would return to his native Louisiana and serve in the National Guard, eventually holding the top spot as adjutant general before retiring.
Davis served with the 385th Bombardment Group of the Eighth Army Air Corps in England and took part in operations between Normandy and the Ardennes Forest.
“What I remember most about those operations were the antiaircraft fire when we flew,” Davis said. “It would get dicey at times, but we had a job to do.”
Jones was stationed on Battleship USS Tennessee in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii when Japanese attacked on Dec. 7, 1941. The Tennessee was the only battleship that wasn’t sunk that day.
Jones said when the call for general quarters sounded that fateful morning he was confused.
“I wondered why in the world general quarters was being sounded on a Sunda morning,” he said. “This was time for everyone to hit the beaches and relax.”
Jones said he heard a rattling sound coming from outside of the ship so he moved to a porthole to take a look.
“As I looked out, the first thing I saw was a Japanese aircraft flying down the middle of the harbor,” he said.
During a general quarters call, Jones’ mission was to report below deck to help shuttle ammunition to the Tennessee’s guns.
“I missed the whole battle,” he said. “I spent the entire time at my station handling ammo. It was nerve-wracking to be in the ship while all of the fighting was going on around us.”
Also in attendance were Soldiers from Fort Polk’s 1st Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry Regiment, who represented the installation at the 75th Anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France, June 6. They included: Capt. Robert Doyle, Sgt. 1st Class Jerrod Choate, Sgt. 1st Class Ivan Krestyn, Staff Sgt. Joseph Sinicropi and Sgt. Paris Reynolds.
Brig. Gen. Patrick D. Frank, commanding general, Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, welcomed those in attendance and introduced the event’s guest speaker, retired Sgt. Maj. of the Army Julius “Bill” Gates, a Vietnam veteran and eighth command sergeant major of the Army.
“I asked an Army legend who lives and works here among us to speak, retired Sergeant Major of the Army Julius Gates,” Frank said.
Frank listed Gates’ accomplishments, assignments and awards.
“Sgt. Maj. of the Army was a force for professionalizing our Army and focusing formations on the importance of training, exactly what we do here at JRTC,” Frank said. “He’s one of our foundational heroes.”
Gates thanked those in attendance for their service to the nation, and recognized the Color Guard on Warrior Field. He spoke about the different wars the Army has fought for the United States during the past 244 years, earning 190 battle streamers.
“Our Army is an all volunteer force,” he said. “More than one million men and women have volunteered to defend our nation, against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
Gates then shared a couple of war stories before joining Wise, Davis and Jones in placing a World War II/European-African-Middle Eastern/Normandy-1944 battle streamer on the Army colors.
After the streamer was attached, the Army birthday cake was cut by Gates and the oldest and youngest Soldiers on Fort Polk, Col. Margaret Collier and Pvt. David Sand, respectively.

• Date Taken: 06.21.2019
• Date Posted: 06.21.2019 10:31
• Story ID: 328645
• Location: LOUISIANA, US