Ah Spring...! Finally...

ell, I hope that everyone is enjoying the warmer weather. Here in the Northwest the rhododendron are finally blooming. They usually bloom in late March and April, but we have had a very cool and wet winter and early spring. It seems like every area of the U.S. has had its own severe weather experiences this spring.

Changes Changes

There are yet more changes here at the web site. It seems like the more things change, the more it stays the same.

“New” old Charlie Battery members continue to step forward and offer new stories, images, and memorabilia. We would like to thank Jerry Haslett from the "Eastside" of Washington State, Tom Hodges (1965-1967) in Montana, and Jerry Merrick from New Mexico for their contibutions of images, memorabilia, and stories that continue to fill in visual and verbal record of our shared expience. And we are grateful to Fred Van Zandt for writing the IFC cover page.

I have had great conversations with both Jerry,Tom, and Jerry in the passed few months, and it turns out that Jerry Haslett and I were also stationed at the same Nike site in the states before shipping out to West Germany. Yes, the old Delta Battery, 1st Missile Battalion, 52nd Artillery at Camp Hanford was defending the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in the southeast corner of Washington State.

I found an image on the web that clearly documents the site as it was, so please “Click Here” to view that image. It was damn hot in the summer, and damn cold in the winter, so I leaped at the chance when they asked for volunteers to serve in Europe.

Jerry Haslett has also contributed a collection of images that document a NATO Demonstration of high tech weapons held in Munich in 1960. It is a rather unique, and dare I say, and possibly rare collection of images that I couldn't find any where else, at least on the internet. This collection may be found under the NEW navigation bar heading of “Assigned TDY's/NATO”. More about the Navigation Bar changes later.

The Tom Hodges images really give us an idea of how the site changed over the years. They even built a “Bier Garten” just off the canteen, and a stones throw from the main gate. Most of his image can be found in the "Barracks" area, with some great images in “Our Neighborhood”. It seems that in Tom's time at Charlie Battery they actually went into the field. I do remember that towards the end of my tour we were begining to take steps to become mobile.

Tom also contributed some archival material that can be veiwed in the "Archives" section, which hopefully, will continue to expand.

Jerry Merrick's images come mostly from our time at Gerszewski Barracks, and are a combination on post and on pass shots. They are good ones, especially the one of PFC Wheat riding an Ajax in Assembly trying to break it in.