The 118th Field Artillery Regiment: A Brief History

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Ga. Army National Guard

 

Soldiers of the 118th Field Artillery Regiment in 1919 and 2023. 2023 photo by Capt. Amanda Russell.

The earliest elements of the 118th Field Artillery were organized April 18, 1751, in Savannah, Ga.[1] The regiment fought during the American Revolution during the Siege of Savannah, during the War of 1812 and began its Civil War service at Fort Pulaski in 1861.

 

Pvt. John Hancock, 1st Ga. Vol. Inf. 1898.
Georgia National Guard Archives.

Elements of the 118th served in multiple units during the Civil War including the 1st Georgia Volunteer Regiment, Wheaton’s Battery, the 13th and 18th Battalion Georgia Infantry. The venerable Chatham Artillery detached from the regiment in September 1861 and served as an independent battery, ultimately surrendering in North Carolina in April 1865.

 

In 1872, the 118th Field Artillery was reorganized as the 1st Georgia Infantry Regiment. Elements of this unit entered federal service in May 1898 during the Spanish American War.

 

In July 1916, the 1st Georgia Infantry Regiment was dispatched to Camp Cotton in El Paso Texas following border tensions with Mexico. Over the next eight months, the Soldiers patrolled the southwest border providing border security in Texas in support of The U.S. Army’s punitive expedition commanded by Brig. Gen. John Pershing who would command the American Expeditionary Force during World War I.

 

Battery A, of the Georgia National Guard's 1st Battalion Field Artillery Regiment on parade at El Paso, Texas in 1916.  Georgia National Guard archives.

Returning in March 1917, the unit began training for overseas service at Camp Wheeler, Ga. in Macon. on September 23, 1917, while stationed at Camp Wheeler, the unit received its present designation as the 118th Field Artillery Regiment.

 

The 118th mobilized to France with the 31st Infantry Division in October 1918 and arrived in the harbor of Brest, where the 31^st Division received orders to break up the division and send its Soldiers forward to augment existing units. While the process of skeletonizing the division was under way, the war ended with Soldiers of the 118^th in Brest and Le Mans. The 118^th returned home in 1919 and was inactivated at Camp Gordon in 1919.[2]

 

Officers of the 1st Field Artillery in Savannah Ga. in 1921. Georgia National Guard Archives.

In 1921, the 118th Field Artillery Regiment was reorganized as part of the post-World War I reorganization of the Georgia National Guard. Headquartered in Savannah, the 118^th was comprised of two battalions with batteries numbered A-F.[3] From 1921 to 1942, the 118th fielded the 75 mm artillery piece which was, until 1934, horse-drawn artillery.

 

In 1941, the 118th Field Artillery was ordered into federal service as part of the 30th Infantry Division. The 118th FAR participated in the Tennessee Maneuvers in from June to August 1941 and the Carolina Maneuvers, which took place in October and November 1941.[4]

 

Coat of Arms of the 230th FA BN.
Georgia National Guard Archives.

On February 16, 1942, the 118th Field Artillery Regiment was reorganized as the 118th
Field Artillery Battalion and 230th Field Artillery Battalion. The 230th was comprised of The Chatham Artillery, who formed Batteries A and C; the Irish Jasper Greens which comprised Battery B, and the German Volunteers, who formed the Service Battery. The reorganization was initiated after the 30th Division was reorganized and redesignated as the 30th Infantry Division. Another result of this reorganization was the reassignment of the 121st Infantry Regiment to the 8th Infantry Division.[5]

 

The 118th and 230^th FA Battalions mobilized to England and arrived in Liverpool February 22, 1944. Traveling by rail, the 118th arrived at Bucks Green and Five Oaks where the men were lodged in Nissen huts – British versions of the venerable Quonset hut. Over the next few months, the 118^th and 230^th  would train for the coming invasion of Europe.

 

On June 8, two days after the D-Day landings, the 230^th was ordered to France to replace a field artillery battalion of the 29th Infantry Division which had lost its field howitzers during the assault on Omaha Beach. These former Georgia Guardsmen turned 30th Infantry Division artilleryman were temporarily assigned to the 29th Division, and within hours, the 230th would become the first Georgia Guard unit to enter combat in France.[6]

 

Soldiers and vehicles of the Georgia National Guard's 230th Field Artillery Battalion move ashore on Omaha Beach. Georgia National Guard Archives.

On June 13, 1944, the first elements of the 118th Field Artillery Battalion went ashore on Omaha Beach. The battalion assembled its vehicles and howitzers in the fading daylight and were guided from the beach under blackout conditions. Like the 230th before them, the men of the 118th FA had been trained to expect every inch of terrain to be mined or guarded by German Soldiers. Thus, as the column of vehicles slowly moved its way to the high ground overlooking the beach the tension was palpable.

 

Reaching a position near Neuilly, France, the Soldiers of the 118th established their first firing positions in an orchard outside of town. Three days later, an observation post overlooking the Vire Et Taute Canal called in a fire mission which was routed to one of the howitzers of Battery C. Thus, on the afternoon of June 16, 1944, with the pull of lanyard cord, the 118th sent its first combat round down range.

 

The next day the battalion displaced to Lison where they were joined by Batteries A and B. Over the coming weeks, the 118th supported the 30th ID’s drive to the Vire River. On June 22, having crossed the Vire and secured the Mont-Martin en Grainges, the 30th ID was ordered to hold a defensive line along the Vire while the 2nd and 29th Infantry Divisions pressed the attack towards St. Lo.[7]

 

Chateau de Cavigny - The 118th FA had its command post in the basement of the chateau. Batteries were stationed on the grounds, July 12-19, 1944.
Photo by Maj. William Carraway.

Subsequent to the landing of the 118^th, the 230^th FA rejoined the 30th ID. In the campaigns in France and Germany, the units earned four Meritorious Unit Commendations and fought with distinction at Saint Lo, Malmedy and Mortain. During the Mortain engagement, the 118^th and 230^th FA howitzers crushed a German attack thanks to the intrepid work of forward observers positioned on high ground overlooking the German advance. In 2020, units of the 30^th ID were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for Mortain.

 

View from a 230th FA forward observer’s position on Hill 314 near Mortain, France. The 118th and 230th FA firing positions were located on the high
ground at center. Photo by Maj. William Carraway.

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the 1-118th FA has mobilized for overseas contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and is currently mobilized in support of operations in the Central Command area of responsibility. In addition to its long history of overseas service, the 118^th has supported response operations at home ranging from hurricanes to Georgia’s coordinated response to the COVID -19 outbreak.

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[1] U.S. Army Center of Military History. Lineage and Honors of the 118th Field Artillery. Department of the Army

[2] Carraway, William “Nescit Cedere: The 118th FA in Normandy,” Georgia National Guard History Blog, July 18, 2019, http://www.georgiaguardhistory.com/2019/07/nescit-cedere-118th-fa-in-normandy.html.

[3] U.S. Army Center of Military History. “National Guard World War I Unit Designations by State” (Unpublished manuscript, n.d., typescript).

[4] Carraway, William “First to Fire: The Georgia National Guard’s 230th Field Artillery in Normandy,” Georgia National Guard History Blog, June 27, 2019, http://www.georgiaguardhistory.com/2019/06/first-to-fire-georgia-national-guards.html

[5] Carraway, William “First to Fire: The Georgia National Guard’s 230th Field Artillery in Normandy,” Georgia National Guard History Blog, June 27, 2019, http://www.georgiaguardhistory.com/2019/06/first-to-fire-georgia-national-guards.html

[6] Carraway, William “First to Fire: The Georgia National Guard’s 230th Field Artillery in Normandy,” Georgia National Guard History Blog, June 27, 2019, http://www.georgiaguardhistory.com/2019/06/first-to-fire-georgia-national-guards.html

[7] Harrison, Gordon A. Cross-Channel Attack,Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. of the Army, 1951, 377-379.

Macon’s 1st Lt. Vivian Roberts: The Georgia National Guard’s only POW of WWI

Private Vivian Roberts of the Macon-based
Company F, 2nd Georgia Infantry Regiment
circa 1907. Photo courtesy of Ms. Tonie Maxwell

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

The United States observes National Prisoner of War / Missing in Action Recognition Day on the third Friday in September. This day allows provides a moment of pause to remember those who have been held as prisoners of war during our nation’s conflicts and those listed as missing in action. One hundred five years ago, the only Georgia Guardsmen held as a POW during World War I began his long journey home to Macon.

Prelude

Vivian Hill Roberts Sr. was born September 29, 1887 in Jackson Ga. He enlisted in the Macon Hussars, then Company F of the 2nd Georgia Infantry Regiment as a private July 26, 1906. Roberts served in every enlisted rank, culminating in a stint as first sergeant of Company F before accepting a commission as a second lieutenant March 1, 1915. He was working as a bookkeeper for Benson Clothing Company in Macon when the Georgia National Guard was deployed to the Mexican Border in August 1916. Returning with his regiment in 1917, Roberts company was redesignated Company A, 151st Machine Gun Battalion and assigned to the 42nd Division which sailed to France in October 1917.

First Sgt. Vivian Roberts with other Soldiers of the
Macon-based Company F, 2nd Georgia Infantry circa 1914.
Photo courtesy of Ms. Tonie Maxwell

As a platoon leader, Roberts led his machine gun sections from the Baccarat Sector near the southern terminus of the Western Front through the fiery Champagne Marne Defensive. He was promoted to first lieutenant May 15, 1918.

Vivian Roberts served as a platoon leader in Company A, 151st Machine Gun Battalion which mobilized for France in October 1917. Georgia Guard Archives

On July 28, 1918, Roberts’ Company was heavily engaged while supporting infantry assaults on German positions near Sergy France. The Soldiers of the 151st MGB were ordered to move forward in support of the infantry regiments of the 84th Brigade, 42nd Division. As the machine gunners were already overly burdened with heavy machine guns and ammunition, Roberts ordered the men to remove unnecessary gear – including packs and canteens. In the assault, the men would only carry ammunition and gas masks.

Capture

Roberts recalled moving forward with four machine guns and establishing firing positions for his sections. Unable to proceed due to the presence of enemy machine guns positioned near the crest of the hill upon which he was advancing, Roberts requested infantry support which came in the form of a company from the Alabama National Guard's 167th Infantry Regiment under command of Capt. Wyatt. Roberts recalls what happened next.

Hill 212 near Sergy France where Roberts was wounded
and captured July 28, 1918. Photo by Maj. William Carraway

“As we reached the crest of the hill, instead of the five or six Germans I had been firing upon, a solid line of Germans arose stretching all across the hill. Machine guns opened up on us from the woods on the right and from the church steeple and buildings from the little village of La Ferte on our left, pouring a terrific fire into our ranks. Hearing a groan at my side I turned and saw little F. H. Dent from Macon, his shirt on fire; a bullet had struck a clip of cartridges in his belt, exploding them, setting his shirt on fire as well as badly wounding him. I put the fire out, gave him first aid and sending him to the rear took his rifle… A German plane swooped down over our line strafing, mowing down it seemed about every sixth man in our line. A bullet struck me in my right thigh breaking the bone and passing on through the leg and lodging in the lower leg… I asked two infantrymen to carry me back. They tried to do it but as my right leg was dangling giving me so much pain and bullets were singing all around us, I asked them to put me in a shell hole and make their escape.”

Roberts was found by German Soldiers. One gave him a blanket and told Roberts that they would come back for him that evening. When they returned it was only to leave Roberts once more with the knowledge that the Germans anticipated an American attack to come in the morning. Roberts remained in the shell hole for 30 hours without food or water and with three exposed wounds before a German non-commissioned officer and three Red Cross men found him and bore him into German lines in a shelter half. His wounds were dressed, and he was taken via stretcher to a horse-drawn ambulance while American artillery shells crashed all around. Roberts grimly recalled the ambulance ride.

“As my leg had not been put into a splint you can imagine the condition I was in after about a two hours’ ride. We arrived at what I took to be Fismes; here we were taken to a German Field Hospital. And my leg was set and put in a splint. As the hospital was being evacuated that night due to the advance of the Americans, I was soon put into an automobile ambulance with three wounded Germans We travelled all night arriving early in the morning at what I took to be Laon.”

In Laon, Roberts along with wounded French and German Soldiers were loaded onto freight rail cars on pallets of blood-soaked straw and blankets for transport to Formies, France near the Belgian border. Here he was asked by an English-speaking nurse when his wound had last been dressed. As jarring as this was, Roberts soon discovered that he was one of 800 wounded Soldiers being treated at the hospital by one doctor and two nurses.

 Vivian Roberts recuperates  at Walter Reed Hospital
circa 1920. Photo courtesy of Ms. Tonie Maxwell

On August 25, 1918, the U.S. Army reported Roberts missing in action. Roberts’ family endured weeks of uncertainty tuntil September 13, when  newspapers reported that the 151st Machine Gun Battalion  had listed Roberts as killed in action. It was not until November 1 that Roberts’ family learned that he was indeed alive and being held in a prison at Langensalza Thuringen, Germany.

Roberts' Return

Roberts would remain at Langensalza until December 21, 1918, when he began his journey home. Arriving at American Base Hospital Number 45 December 24, 1918, Roberts realized his earnest wish to be free by Christmas. He did not return to the United States until February 25, 1919. 

Roberts would remain hospitalized due to the effects of his wound until December 22, 1922, when he was released from federal service. While still a patient at Walter Reed Army Hospital, Roberts married Antoinette Lipgens. For more than 20 years Roberts served as the Clerk of Bibb County Superior Court in Macon. He died August 24, 1946, at the age of 57 and rests in Riverside Cemetery, Macon, Ga.

Vivian Roberts in his American Legion uniform.
After the war, Roberts served as the Clerk of Bibb County
Superior Court. Photo courtesy of Ms. Tonie Maxwell

The Georgia Guard Response to the Flood of 1994

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

ALBANY, Ga., July 7, 1994 - Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers of Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion 121st Infantry Regiment construct 

a protective sandbag wall around the Palmyra Medical Center in Albany, Ga. following Tropical Storm Alberto. 

Photo by Spc. Mike Carr, 124th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Operation Crested River

In July 1994, the Georgia National Guard conducted its largest natural disaster response in history up to that date. On July 3, 1994, Tropical Storm Alberto began tracking north across Georgia inundating the state with unprecedented rainfall. Twenty-one inches of precipitation was recorded in 24 hours in Americus Georgia. With the ground already saturated from previous rains, Alberto swiftly overloaded streams and rivers with surface runoff. Flooding was widespread from the southwest Georgia counties to Atlanta. 

MONTEZUMA, Ga. July 8, 1994 - Flood waters from the Flint River flooded downtown Montezuma to the rooftops leaving approximately 2,000 residents 

stranded. Georgia Guardsmen with the LaGrange-based Company C, 560th Engineer Battalion repaired bridges so that water and food could be delivered. 

Georgia National Guard photo by Spc. Rob Hainer

By July 6, the rain had washed out roads and dams, and the Georgia National Guard had opened six armories as shelters for people displaced by floodwaters. The next day, the units of the Macon-based 48th Infantry Brigade under the command of Col. William Thielemann began to mobilize. By the end of the July, more than 3,600 Guardsmen had been called to active duty. They came from units ranging from Toccoa to Valdosta and from Savannah to Columbus. They came together with one mission — to help Georgians in need. The response became known as Operation Crested River.[i]

The Infantry Company Executive Officer[ii]

Lieutenant General Thomas Carden, former Adjutant General of the National Guard, was

 Soldiers of Headquarters Company, 
2-121 constructed a sand bag dam to protect
an emergency power generator at an Albany, Ga.
hospital.  Photo by Spc. Mike Carr, 124th MPAD.

a first lieutenant when Alberto struck in 1994. As the executive officer of Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, Carden was responsible for a detachment of Soldiers at the Georgia National Guard armory in Tifton. Following a declaration of a state of emergency by Governor Zell Miller, Carden and his detachment reported for duty.

“We rallied at Cordele and were sent to Albany,” said Carden.

Upon reaching Albany, the 2-121 Soldiers were tasked with building a sand-bag dam for a local hospital.

“Some of the patients were too weak to evacuate,” recalled Carden. “The power was out and the critical patients at the hospital relied on a generator to supply power to ventilators and life support. “If that generator went out those people would not have survived.”

Thanks to backbreaking effort, the dam constructed by the Soldiers of 2nd Battalion held, and the patients were saved.

The Army Veteran on His First Guard Response Mission[iii]

Retired State Command Sergeant Major Phillip Stringfield was also assigned to 2-121 during Crested River. Having recently transferred into the Georgia Army National Guard from the 82nd Airborne Division, Stringfield was on his first disaster response mission.

“It was my first call out as a Guardsman for state activation,” said Stringfield “It was a unique experience because I will always remember how the service members, whose homes were destroyed, reported for duty. That was so amazing to me, and that will always remain in my mind as an example of the true character of our service members and what we do in this organization.”

Despite the passing of time, Stringfield still vividly recalled details of the flood response.

“I remember driving through Albany and feeling amazed at the destruction of all those buildings,” said Stringfield. “The cries for help from the people in the area were devastating.”

Stringfield was among the first Guardsmen to reach Albany. With 24,000 evacuees in the area, large public facilities were converted into temporary living quarters for displaced families.

“I was assigned to a shelter that I worked at during the day,” Stringfield said. “We provided security and brought hot meals for citizens who had been displaced. Once the permanent housing became available, we transported them there.”

With trucks and tactical vehicles capable of negotiating damaged and debris-strewn roads, transportation became a key component of the Georgia National Guard response. In areas such as Leesburg that were completely cut off by flood waters, Georgia Guard helicopters delivered relief supplies and transported residents and medical personnel.[iv]

A UH-1 Iroquois of the Marietta-based 148th Medical Company delivers relief
supplies through southwest Georgia following Tropical Storm Alberto.

“We also transported doctors and first responders who couldn’t get to their jobs because of the flood,” noted Stringfield of operations in Dougherty County.

The Engineer[v]

Retired Lt. Col. Matthew Shannon was a captain with the Statesboro-based 648th Engineer Battalion (now the 177^th Brigade Engineer Battalion of the 48^th Infantry Brigade Combat Team). Working as the battalion's assistant operations officer, Shannon relayed assignments from the 48th Brigade to subordinate units.

“(The operations center was) located on a college campus and we were tasked to assist local police,” Shannon said. “Part of the mission was recovering bodies that had come up through the graves because of the flood.”

Shannon described how the Soldiers of his unit recovered bodies dating back to the Civil War while also ensuring artifacts were recovered.

“I remember them saying they recovered a lot of sabers, other weapons and artifacts from the Civil War,” he said. “They would then take everything to a central location for graves registration. Their goal was to try to put as much back together for re-burial.”

Shannon recalled how strange it was to have so much flooding in the south when much of the rain had fallen in the north of the state.

“It was such an oddity because there was a lot of sun and a lot of water,” he said. “It’s not something you would have expected to see.”

Engineers of the Georgia National Guard assess roads in southwest Georgia
following Tropical Storm Alberto.

Engineer units of the Georgia National Guard were pressed into service surveying damage and repairing roads. Soldiers of the Columbus-based 560th Engineer Battalion worked around the clock to construct a berm around an ammonia tank in Bainbridge. Had flood waters breached the berm the entire town would have had to evacuate.[vi]

By July 18, command and control of response operations shifted from the 48th Infantry Brigade to the 265th Engineer Group. Throughout their portion of the response, the Soldiers of the 48th Brigade operated more than 500 vehicles filled nearly 55,000 sandbags and transported more than 400,000 of drinking water.

The Operations Sergeant Major[vii]

The Georgia Guard coordinated the statewide response from the tactical operation center in Atlanta. Retired Sgt. Major Jacqueline McKennie was assigned to the TOC Emergency Operations Center during the flood relief.

“The EOC was the central command and control facility over all of the National Guard units—both Air Guard and Army Guard—throughout the state of Georgia,” said McKennie.

McKennie was responsible for personnel control. She assisted with the mobilization of units and made sure the units knew where they were supposed to go while maintaining accountability for personnel. Once the units were dispatched, the EOC handled the command and control for each of them.

A Soldier with the Georgia Army National Guard's Decatur-based 170th Military
Police Battalion provides directions to citizens following Tropical Storm Alberto.

From July 6 to August 5, a myriad of units with specialized equipment and capabilities were dispatched across the state. The Decatur-based 170th Military Police Battalion augmented law enforcement in impacted areas. Airmen of the Georgia Air National Guard’s

A Georgia Air National Guard Airman of the
116th CES monitors water filtration
at Lake Tobesofkee in Macon.

116th Civil Engineer Squadron were dispatched to Macon after the city’s drinking water source was overwhelmed. The 116th conducted water purification operations with the assistance of 20 Alabama National Guard Soldiers of the 1,200th Quartermaster Company as well as the Fort Stewart-based 559th Quartermaster Battalion.[viii] The massive purification and distribution mission resulted in the production of nearly five million gallons of drinking water for Bibb County residents.[ix]

“It was kind of hectic at first, because the flood hit so hard and so fast that it caused so much death and destruction,” said McKennie. “But things eventually returned to normal once we got people into place where help was needed.”

The Aftermath

Flooding from Tropical Storm Alberto claimed 30 lives in Georgia[x]. The ages of the victims ranged from 2 to 84 years old. The storm forced more than 35,000 citizens from their homes and caused more than $203 million in infrastructure damage. The Georgia National Guard responded by mobilizing nearly 3,700 Guardsmen - nearly one third of the state’s force. In the weeks that followed, These Guardsmen, in partnership with first responders and civil authorities from impacted counties, distributed more than 10.2 million gallons of water, served 154,000 meals and repaired hundreds of miles of damaged road.[xi] For those who served, the memory of the response remains, and the lessons learned have been applied to ensure that the Guard remains ready to respond.

In the years following the flood of 1994, the Georgia National Guard has honed its ability to respond to natural disasters. From Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to Hurricanes Matthew, Irma and Michael of recent memory, the Georgia National Guard has responded and partnered with state and local agencies to assist Georgia’s citizens in times of emergencies and to minimize the impacts of natural disasters. For those who participated in the response in 1994, the memory of Operation Crested River remains fresh.

“It does not seem like it was so long ago,” said Carden. “Helping our fellow citizens is one of the most rewarding things we do in the National Guard.”[xii]

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[i] “The Georgia Guard Response: Our Communities Under Water." The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, September 1994, 4.

[ii] "Interview with Col. Thomas Carden." Interview by author. May 19, 2014.

[iii] "Interview with Command Sgt. Major Phillip Stringfield." Interview by author. May 20, 2014.

[iv] The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, 20.

[v] "Interview with Matthew Shannon." Interview by author. May 11, 2014.

[vi] Operation Crested River. Produced by James Driscoll and the124th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. https://www.flickr.com/photos/georgiaguardhistory/48191055782/in/album-72157645103919701/.

[vii] "Interview with Jacquelin McKinnie." Interview by author. May 22, 2014.

[viii] The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, 8-9.

[ix] Georgia Department of Defense Annual Report 1994. Marietta, GA: 1994, 19.

[x] "Flood-Related Mortality -- Georgia, July 4-14, 1994." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed July 02, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00032058.htm.

[xi] The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, 24.

[xii] "Interview with Maj. Gen. Thomas Carden." Interview by author. July 3, 2019.

The Georgia National Guard and the Korean War

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

Captain Barney Casteel (left) at the controls of the first F-84 assigned to the Ga. ANG (right) in June 1950. Georgia National Guard Archives.

Three Blissful Weeks in June

In June 1950, with summer approaching, Soldiers and Airmen of the Georgia National Guard were preparing for annual training. The 128^th Fighter Squadron of the Georgia Air National Guard’s 116^th Fighter Group received its first jet-powered aircraft, the F-84, replacing the World War II-era F-47 Thunderbolt. The 128^th was the second squadron of the Ga. ANG to field jet aircraft after the 158^th FS replaced its F-47s with the F-80C Shooting Star in 1948. The first of the 26 F-84s assigned to the 128^th was flown to Dobbins Air Force Base by Capt. Barney Casteel, a 27-year-old native of Atlanta. A 1948 graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology, Casteel flew 81 combat missions over Germany in World War II and was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross. [1]

Col. Roy LeCraw in 1950. Ga. Guard
Archives

As Casteel was winging his way to Dobbins, State Senator Roy LeCraw was ensconced in his Atlanta office. The former mayor of Atlanta and World War II veteran additionally served as commander of the 216^th Air Services Group and personnel officer for the Georgia Air National Guard. Colonel LeCraw was anticipating a busy annual training season, not knowing he would soon be called to active duty, along with Casteel, to serve as the executive officer of the 116^th Fighter Bomber Wing.

Halfway between Atlanta and Savannah, the Georgia Army National Guard’s Battery D, 101^st Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion spent their June drill at their armory in Waynesboro preparing for annual training which was to be held at Camp Stewart August 6 to 20[2]. The battalion would compete with its rival, the 250^th AAA Battalion, in crew drills and firing efficiency for bragging rights as the top guns in the Savannah-based 108^th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade. First Lieutenant Paul Stone, a 25-year-old platoon leader and business owner, born and raised in Waynesboro, had already gained a reputation as an effective officer. A veteran of the Air Corps in World War II, Stone left the Air Corps Reserves March 13, 1949 to serve with his hometown Guard unit. As he finished up paperwork from the June drill, Stone prepared to return to his civilian job and looked forward to the hot humid annual training at Camp Stewart.

War

Just weeks later, on June 25, 1950, North Korean Army units, backed by Soviet and Chinese equipment and assistance, advanced in force into South Korea. In response, the United Nations Security Council authorized the formation of the United Nations Command. On July 5, elements of the 24^th U.S. Infantry Division moved to engage forces of the Korean People’s Army near Osan. Lacking anti-tank weaponry, the U.S. force was overwhelmed by Korean Armor[3]. The 24^th fell back steadily. Over the next seventeen days of constant combat, the American units suffered more than 30 percent casualties[4].

Protecting the Homeland

With the action unfolding on the Korean peninsula, Georgia National Guard leaders began to prepare their units for possible mobilization. Brig. Gen. Joseph Fraser, commander of the 108^th Antiaircraft Artillery Brigade, was faced with the prospect of serving in his third war. He served in France during World War I and had commanded the Ga. ARNG’s 101^st AAA Battalion in the Pacific during World War II. His present command encompassed the 101^st as well as the Augusta based 250^th AAA BN which had also served in the Pacific during World War II.[5]

Fraser’s executive officer was Col. George Hearn of Monroe, Ga. Like Fraser, Hearn had commanded an anti-aircraft unit in the Pacific during World War II. Returning home from the war, Hearn had been elected mayor of Monroe and was preparing to begin his term as the commander of the American Legion in Georgia in 1950[6].

Brig. Gen. Joe Fraser (second from left) and Col. George Hearn (second from right) brief Maj. Gen. Ernest Vandiver, Georgia's Adjutant General (center)
on the mobilization of the 108th AAA Brigade at Fort Bliss in January 1951. Georgia Guard Archives.

On August 14, 1950, the 108^th AAA was activated for federal service[7]. In addition to the 101^st and 250^th AAA Battalions, the 178^th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Operations Detachment and 420^th Signal Radar Maintenance Unit rounded out the brigade. With a combined strength of just over 1,000 men, the 108^th was dispatched to Fort Bliss Texas and assigned to the 8^th U.S. Army. In November 1951, the 108^th was dispatched to the Midwest with the 250^th arriving at Fort Custer, Michigan and the 101^st garrisoned at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. From these bases of operation, the Georgia Guard batteries were independently assigned to cities and industrial areas from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania to provide anti-aircraft capability against the threat of Soviet missile and aircraft attacks. First Lieutenant Stone’s battery of 90 mm guns was assigned to protect the skies over Chicago.

In December, Maj. Gen. Ernest Vandiver, Adjutant General of Georgia, dispatched the state’s C-47 cargo aircraft to bring Georgia Guardsmen home for Christmas from Camp McCoy and Fort Custer. While the Georgia Guardsmen of the 101^st were able to rotate home for Christmas, cold weather prevented the Guardsmen of the 250^th AAA from rotating home from Fort Custer.[8]

Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers of the 101st AAA Battalion stand in the frigid cold of a Chicago Winter while waiting for their C-47 transport plane
to refuel and bring them home for Christmas in 1951. Georgia National Guard Archives.

The guns of the 108^th AAA remained on station through the spring of 1952 before

Brig. Gen Paul Stone in 1963. Ga. Guard
Archives.

receiving the order to rotate home. The Waynesboro Battery remained in position through April 1952 with Stone rising to command the battery. After demobilizing at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, the 101^st AAA Gun Battalion returned home. Over the next seven years, the Waynseboro battery earned six consecutive superior ratings and Stone received the Georgia Distinctive Service Medal and promotion to major.[9] After a brief tenure on the staff of the 108^th AAA, Stone transferred to the Ga. ANG. He retired in 1971 as a brigadier general having served eight years as commander of the Georgia Air National Guard[10].

Brigadier General Joe Fraser was appointed to command the Ga. ARNG’s 48^th Infantry Division in March 1952 but did not return from mobilization until May. He saw the 48^th through its transition to armor and served as the first commander of the 48^th Armor Division. Fraser retired as a lieutenant general in 1956.[11]

George Hearn was promoted to brigadier general and succeeded Fraser in command of the 108^th AAA. In 1954 he was appointed to serve as Georgia’s Adjutant General. He served two non-consecutive terms as adjutant general for a total of 15 years and retired in 1971 having served the longest of Georgia’s Adjutants General.

Ga. ANG Pilots in Early Action in Korea[12][13]

In October 1950, the Georgia Air National Guard’s 54^th Fighter Wing was activated along with Col. LeCraw, Capt. Casteel, and other Ga. ANG pilots of the newly redesignated 116^th Fighter Bomber Wing. As had happened to the Ga. ARNG units in the early months of World War II, many of the pilots of the Georgia Air National Guard were individually selected for other units. Among those was 1^st Lt. James Lawrence Collins of the 128^th Fighter Squadron. On May 8, 1951, Collins, a 26-year-old native of Atlanta was on a mission with the 49^th Bomber Wing over North Korea. While maneuvering his F-80 into position for a dive bomb run, Collins was hit by antiaircraft and crashed. He was declared missing, later killed in action.

Captain John Franklin Thompson of the 54^th Fighter Wing was another Georgia ANG pilot to see service over Korea with the U.S. Air Force. On June 11, 1951, while flying with the 18^th Fighter Bomber Wing on his 75^th mission, Thompson, having expended all his ammunition, was flying at low altitude attempting to locate targets. His P-51 Mustang was struck by enemy groundfire which caused it to hit the ground and explode, killing Thompson on impact.

Nine days later, a Georgia Air National Guard pilot scored his eighth kill. Lieutenant J. B. Harrison, formerly of the 128^th Fighter Squadron, shot down a Russian Yak 9 fighter over Korea June 20, 1951 adding to seven confirmed kills he had received in World War II.[14]

On June 21, 1951, 1^st Lt. Clyde White of the 8^th Bomber Group had taken to the skies over North Korea in his F-80. The 32-year-old native of Savannah had served in the 158^th Fighter Squadron before his transfer to the 8^th FB Group. Coming under heavy antiaircraft fire near Twijae, White maneuvered into a dive and struck a ridge. His aircraft exploded on impact.

The 116^th Deploys[15]

The remaining Georgia Air National Guardsmen, except those assigned to the 128^th Fighter Squadron, departed for Korean service in July 1951 aboard the aircraft carriers Sitkoh Bay and Windham Bay and reached Japan July 27 where Col. LeCraw served as commander of the 116^th Air Base Group. The Guardsmen provided air defense for Japan until December when the units were ferried to Korea to participate in missions in the skies over North Korea.

Pilots and groundcrews of the 158th Fighter Squadron scramble for an air defense mission at Misawa, Japan in 1951. Georgia National Guard Archives.

Captain David J. Mather, a former member of the 128^th Fighter Squadron and native of Atlanta was one of the pilots of the 116 to enter combat over Korea. While conducting an armed reconnaissance mission following a dive bombing of enemy supply lines near Sairwon North Korea, Mather’s F-84 was hit by ground fire. He was seen to crash and was listed as missing, later killed in action.

On Jan 21, 1952, while assigned to the 136^th Bomber Wing, Capt. Barney Casteel was conducting an armed reconnaissance mission north of Pyongyang. While strafing vehicles, Casteel’s F-84 aircraft was hit by ground fire. Casteel was unable to free himself from the aircraft seat and was killed on impact. He was the last Georgia Air National Guard Pilot killed in Korea.

Ga. ANG pilots killed in action in Korea. Left to right: Capt. Barney Casteel, Lt. James Collins, Capt. David Mather, Capt. John Thompson, Lt. William White.
Georgia Guard Archives.

The following month, the Ga. ANG units returned to Japan and began demobilizing to the United States. By July, all the units of the 54^th had returned to Georgia. The 128^th Fighter Squadron was briefly mobilized to France in 1952 but did not see service in the skies over Korea. Nevertheless, many of its pilots, such as Capt. Glenn Herd, were brought into service with the U.S. Air Force in Korea. Herd ultimately flew more than 100 missions before returning home to serve as operations officer of the 128^th Fighter Squadron under Major, and future Adjutant General Joel Paris.[16]

Major Joel Paris, commander of the 128th Fighter Squadron confers with Capt. Glenn Herd, operations officer of the 128th. Georgia Guard Archives.

Colonel Roy LeCraw returned home to a hero’s welcome. On July 19, 1952, LeCraw learned that he had been awarded the Bronze Star for “exceptionally meritorious service for distinguishing himself by performing outstanding administrative functions connected with the activation, reorganization and command of Air Force Units[17].” Major General Ernest Vandiver, Adjutant General of Georgia, presented the Bronze Star to LeCraw during a ceremony honoring Korean War Veterans in January 1953.[18]

 

Colonel Roy LeCraw receives the Bronze Star Medal from Maj. Gen. Ernest Vandiver, Georgia's Adjutant General during a ceremony honoring Georgia's
Korean War Veterans. Georgia National Guard Archives.

[1]The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, June 1950, 4.

[2] “Training Dates Set for 48^th Div, 108^th BRIG”. Georgia Guardsman Magazine, February 1950, 2

[3] Fehrenbach, T. R. This Kind of War: The Classic Korean War History. Dulles, VA: Potomac Books, 2008.

[4] Fehrenbach, 101.

[5] “Brilliant Military Career of Lt. General Joseph B. Fraser Ends after 38 Years.” Georgia Guardsman Magazine, July 56, 12.

[6] “Did You Know?” Georgia Guardsman Magazine, May 49, 7.

[7] Hylton, Renee. Where Are We Going: The National Guard and the Korean War 1950-1953, 51.

[8] “Our Cover” Georgia Guardsman, February 1952, 1.

[9] Brig. Gen. Paul S. Stone Becomes Asst. Adj. Gen. for Air.” Georgia Guardsman, January 1963, 5.

[10] “Retirements”. Georgia Guardsman, May 1974, 20.

[11] “Brilliant Military Career of Lt. General Joseph B. Fraser ends after 38 Years’ Service”. Georgia Guardsman, July 1956, 12.

[12] Ridley, W. E. Georgia Air National Guard History, 1941-2000. Charlotte, NC Fine Books Pub, 2000.

[13] “Last Accounts of Air Guard Pilots Reveal Their Courage and Daring”. Georgia Guardsman Feb 1953, 10.

[14] “Former Guard Pilot Downs Russian Plane.” Georgia Guardsman, November 1951, 13.

[15] “Last Accounts of Air Guard Pilots Reveal Their Courage and Daring”. Georgia Guardsman February 1953, 10.

[16] “Major Paris, Capt. Herd Pilot 128^th FTR-INTCP SQ” September 1952, 2.

[17] “Col. LeCraw Awarded Bronze Star”. Georgia Guardsman, September 1952, 1

[18]“Georgia National Guard Goes All Out with Thunderbird Premiere.” Georgia Guardsman, January 1953, 7.