The Babenhausen Kaserne


           36th Field Artillery Group

 5th Bn 77th Field Artillery

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77th FIELD ARTILLERY




Distinctive Unit Insignia.

Description:
A Gold color metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches (2.86 cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned as follows: Gules, five fleurs-de-lis, three and two, Or; on a chief dovetailed at the last a prickly pear cactus Proper; and attached below the shield a Gold scroll inscribed “EN GARDE” in Red.

Symbolism:
The shield is red for artillery. The yellow dovetailed chief symbolizes the formation of the organization from cavalry. The cactus indicates service as cavalry on the Mexican border. The five fleurs-de-lis signify the five major engagements in France in World War I as artillery.


Background:
The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 77th Field Artillery Regiment on 10 December 1929. It was redesignated for the 634th Field Artillery Battalion on 28 July 1944. It was redesignated for the 77th Artillery Regiment on 16 December 1958. It was redesignated effective 1 September 1971, for the 77th Field Artillery Regiment. The insignia was amended to update and clarify the description and symbolism on 12 August 1985.




Coat of Arms.
Blazon:
Shield:
Gules, five fleurs-de-lis, three and two, Or; on a chief dovetailed of the last a prickly pear cactus Proper.

Crest:
On a wreath of the colors, Or and Gules, a mount Vert supporting a falcon Proper.
Motto:
EN GARDE (On Guard).

Symbolism:
Shield:
The shield is red for artillery. The yellow dovetailed chief symbolizes the formation of the organization from cavalry.
The cactus indicates service as cavalry on the Mexican border. The five fleurs-de-lis signify the five major engagements in France in World War I as artillery.

Crest:
The crest is taken from the arms of Montfaucon, as most of the 77th Field Artillery was there when the Armistice was signed.
 
Background:
The coat of arms was originally approved for the 77th Field Artillery Regiment on 10 December 1929. It was redesignated for the 634th Field Artillery Battalion on 28 July 1944. It was redesignated for the 77th Artillery Regiment on 16 December 1958. It was redesignated effective 1 September 1971, for the 77th Field Artillery Regiment. The insignia was amended to clarify the symbolism on 12 August 1985.
 
 

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 CAPT Dick Boes
-1963-


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5th BN 77th FIELD ARTILLERY


The Battalion Commanders




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LTC Edward Burr
1963 - 1964

LTC Robert Morrison
1964 - 1965

LTC Harold Terrell
1965 - 1967

LTC Morris Jack Keller
1967 - 1968

LTC Chelniza
1968 - 1969

LTC Hennessey
1969 - 1970







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Source Facebook ©Ron Bajda

Does anyone remember this Gold Fish Pond?
It was located in front of the Orderly Room of Battery B,
5th Bn, 77th FA during the middle 1960's?



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The Static Arms Display

-1964-



All photos © Walt Leon




A SERGEANT launcher unit, of 5th MSL Bn, 77th Arty





Two 5th 77th FA Sergeants





 





Used with permission from
  Walt Leon ©2010



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5/77 Personnel roster
-1964-



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Brig. Gen. Herbert M. Wassom

December 20, 1938 – August 17, 1988






Brig. Gen. Herbert M. Wassom is one of a few graduates of Western's ROTC program to earn the rank of general in the United States Army. He was killed August 17, 1988, when the plane carrying Wassom, the president of Pakistan and the U.S. ambassador crashed in Pakistan. Wassom came to Western in the late 1950s where he proved himself to not only be a leader in the ROTC, but also on the football field. He was named all-Ohio Valley Conference in 1959 and '60 and was captain of the 1960 squad. After graduating with a degree in industrial arts in 1961, Wassom began his commission in the Army and started a career that took him all over the world. He also earned a master's degree in international relations from George Washington University.

Some of his command assignments included Chief, U.S. Defense Representative to Pakistan; Chief of Staff, 101st Airborne Division; Deputy Director of the Army Staff, Office of the Chief of Staff, Army; and Commander, 528th Field Artillery Group. Wassom also received numerous decorations, including: Defense Distinguished Service Medal; Distinguished Service Medal; Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster; Bronze Star Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters; Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters; Air Medal; and Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster. He is survived by his wife, Judy, who lives in Melbourne, Fla., and two children, Doug and Tara, both Western graduates.
While in Babenhausen, 1964-1966, he commanded B Battery of the 5th Bn, 77th Arty, a Sgt Missile unit.




 



Changing command of B Battery 5th Bn, 77th Arty,
Outgoing was CPT Julian J. Bundy, he passed the responsibility to Capt Herbert Wassom.
This picture was taken at the Rod & Gun club in 1964





Tuesday, August 23, 1988

U.S. REAFFIRMS ITS SUPPORT FOR PAKISTAN'S SECURITY

WASHINGTON - The United States has informed the Soviet Union and India that U.S. support for Pakistan's security remains strong despite the death of President Mohammed Zia ul-Haq.

Separate messages were sent to both Moscow and New Delhi after Zia was killed in an air crash Wednesday - a crash that could have been caused by sabotage. Also killed were U.S. Ambassador Arnold L. Raphel and Brig. Gen. Herbert M. Wassom, chief of the U.S. military group in Pakistan.

A U.S. official - who spoke Monday on condition of anonymity - said, ''The point is we wanted to reassure them that our policy is unchanged and that we are going to stand by Pakistan.''
The tone of the messages and conversations here and in Moscow with Soviet diplomats was more pointed than the U.S. contacts with India, said a second U.S. official, who also asked to remain anonymous. ''With the Soviets, it was more in terms of cautioning them about Afghanistan.''
A third U.S. official said, ''So far, the behavior is quite correct in each case.''
Pakistan under Zia was the closest U.S. ally in central Asia and the conduit for U.S. and Chinese weapons to Afghan rebels in Afghanistan.
So far, U.S. officials said, there is no indication that the Soviets are slowing the pace of their troop withdrawal from Afghanistan or seizing on the death of Zia to raise tension in the area.
''Their hostility to Pakistan has not ended,'' a U.S. official said. ''They haven't backed off. But there is no escalation. I think they understand very clearly our position.''

 United States Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Raphel was buried on a hillside in Arlington National Cemetery amid the graves of fellow Foreign Service Officers, Supreme Court Justices, Generals and Admirals.

"Raphel, 45, was killed in the plane crash last week in which Pakistan President Mohammed Zia ul-Haq and 34 others also died. Among the 750 mourners were Edmund Muskie, former U.S. Senator and Secretary of State; former Secretary of State Alexander Haig; former Senator Charles Percy; CIA Director William Webster and his deputy, Robert Gates; former U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Robert Bork, and Philip Habib, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.

“Services for Brigadier General Herbert Wassom, who was also killed in the explosion, will be held also today. He was the senior Pentagon official in Pakistan. Their bodies arrived in the U.S. on Sunday t Andrews Air Force Base, where Secretary of State George Schultz praised the Americas' work for peace and freedom. Raphel and Wassom died in the explosion of the plane in central Pakistan. Reports from Pakistan have indicated that the plane may have been sabotaged."








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Farewell partys

1964/65


All photos ©
Dick Boes




Farewell party for Lt Col. Burr
(L to R):
CPT George Rowan, Mrs. Burr, Mrs. Morrison, MJR Robert Morrison,
Mrs. Lindy Rowan, Lt Col. Burr, CPT Hubbard Phipps





Farewell for Lt Col Robert Morrison, Commander 5th 77th FA.
On his right, his wife Mrs. Martha Morrison






Dr. John Frederic Blackley ans his wife Alice Anne at the
Farewell party for Lt Col Robert Morrison, Commander 5th 77th FA.




Used with permission from Dick Boes ©2010
 


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5th Bn 77th FIELD
ARTILLERY REGIMENT





-1964-


The Non Commissioned Officers




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SMJ Linus J. Brown

1SG Donald Neiswonger (HHB)

1SG Harvie T. Lawson (A Btry)

1SG Charles W. Miller (B Btry)

MSG Merrill E. Brown (S-2 NCO)

MSG Cecil E. Hurry (S-3 NCO)

MSG Edward J. Shafer (Commo NCO)

SFC Charles W. Burman (Supply NCO)

SFC Franklin L. Rice (Recon Survey)

SFC Jack E. Houge (A Btry)


 



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All photos © Johnny Williams













Note, the Kaserne Housing in the background
-1971-




A Battery firing crew
1969



Training with the missile section in Crete Greece





Johnny Williams about 1999
just before retirement from the Tenn National Guard


Used with permission from Johnny Williams ©2012
 


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Working on the Sgt.
Note the Hawk site in the background
-1963-




SGT. display on Post
The Chapel in the background


Used with permission from
  Dick Boes ©2010


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5th /77th FA convoy in downtown Babenhausen
-1968-



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