70 Years Ago: Operation Minuteman Demonstrates Effectiveness of National Guard

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

Left: Notice in the Macon Telegraph April 10, 1955. Right: 1st Lt. Arthur Manning of the Georgia Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Bomber Squadron
 in Savannah prepares to take off on the night of Operation Minuteman. Georgia National Guard Archives.

In April 1955, the National Guard’s 400,000-strong force responded to an unprecedented activation exercise. Operation Minuteman, conceived by Maj. Gen. Edgar Erickson, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, successfully mobilized nearly 320,000 National Guardsmen in an age long before e-mail, social media and smart phones.

 

This 1955 Cartoon by Bill Canfield illustrates the reach
of Operation Minuteman. Georgia Guard Archives.

“Considering this was the first time that a nationwide alert has been held by a reserve
component of the armed forces, the National Guard made a great showing,” said Maj. Gen. George Hearn, Adjutant General of the Georgia National Guard following the conclusion of Operation Minuteman. “The people of the state and nation became instantly aware of the potent force we mobilized in such a short period of time.”[1]

 

The purpose of Operation Minuteman was to test the speed and efficiency with which the National Guard could mobilize en masse in the event of a national emergency. Additionally, the operation was intended to demonstrate to the public the efficiency and readiness of the National Guard while stimulating local interest and boosting recruiting. Widespread coverage of Operation Minuteman in media outlets across the United States also provided a key deterrence message to nations of soon to be Warsaw Pact which was signed just 24 days after Operation Minuteman.

 

“We welcome this test alert,” said Col. Roy Hogan of Macon Volunteers, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 121^st Infantry Regiment.” Because it will give us a splendid opportunity to test the speed and efficiency with which our units can be mobilized in the event of an emergency.”[2]

 

At 3:30 on the afternoon of April 20, 1955, the alert notification was dispatched from Washington D.C. to the adjutants general of the 48 states and Alaska Territory.[3] In towns across the country, local armories were flooded with National Guardsmen responding to the exercise alert. One Georgia National Guard Soldier left his gas station job while in the process of pumping gas, handing the customer the hose with the words “Take care of the station for me ‘til I get back home!”[4] Another Georgia National Guard Soldier of the 48^th Military Police Company rushed from the hospital delivery room directly to the unit’s armory in Springfield.[5] A Massachusetts Guardsmen, brought his one-year-old son to the armory rather than wait for his wife to return home.[6]

 

Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers rush to the Atlanta Armory during Operation Minuteman. The Soldiers are from the 122nd Infantry Regiment,
179th Field Artillery Regiment, 48th Signal Company and 878th Engineer Aviation Battalion. Georgia National Guard Archives.

A company commander in the California National Guard reported 70 percent of his personnel had reported within one hour of the alert, ninety percent had reported by the second hour, and all were present within three hours of the alert notice.[7] Numbers were similar in Georgia. Sixty Soldiers of the Valdosta-based Company E, 121^st Infantry Regiment were on duty within one hour of the alert.[8]

 

After assembling, the Guardsmen were dispatched on simulated missions. Units of the Atlanta-based 122nd Infantry Regiment established protective cordons around vital infrastructure including power stations, water works and radio stations. Curious citizens witnessed Soldiers of the local 560^th Engineer Battalion establishing security points bristling with machine guns in front of businesses and government buildings in Columbus, Ga.[9] The 215th Medical Battalion of the Tennessee National Guard set up four hospital tents near their Memphis armory and ambulances were dispatched to receive simulated patients.[10]

 

A 57 mm recoilless rifle squad from the Rome-based Company E, 122nd Infantry Regiment secures an intersection during exercises as part of Operation
Minuteman April 20, 1955. Georgia National Guard Archives.

In addition to the myriad of Army unit movements, the Air National Guard also responded in force. Georgia Air National Guardsmen of the 116th Fighter Bomber Wing launched 24 aircraft within the first hour of the alert. While he declined to give official numbers due to operational security concerns, Brig. Gen. Winston P. Wilson, Chief of the Air National Guard, noted that hundreds of aircraft participated in the exercise.[11]

 

Operation Minuteman represented the first time in the history of the National Guard that a national level alert was executed. While the National Guard had previously conducted large-scale domestic mobilization efforts, such as those for Mexican Border service in 1916, those mobilizations were incremental.

 

Trucks of the 179th Field Artillery Regiment, 48th Armored Division, Georgia Army National Guard move out from the Atlanta Armory during Operation Minuteman
April 20, 1955. Georgia National Guard Archives.

Erickson, formerly the Adjutant General of Massachusetts, chose April 20 as the date for Operation Minuteman as it was the date that the Minuteman Companies of the Hampshire County Militia Regiment began marching to Boston following the battles of Lexington and Concord.

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[1] George J. Hearn, “The Adjutant General’s Message,” Georgia Guardsman, Mar Apr May 1955, 1. 

[2] “Georgia Guardsmen Ready For “Operation Minuteman,” Macon Telegraph, April 10, 1955, 4.

[3] United Press, “Operation Minuteman: Estimated 400,000 Join in Alert,” Madera Tribune, April 21, 1955, 1.

[4] “Operation Minuteman Proved Zeal of Troops to Answer Duty’s Call,” Georgia Guardsman, Mar, June, July 1955, 1. 

[5] Operation Minuteman Proved Zeal of Troops to Answer Duty’s Call,” Georgia Guardsman, Mar, June, July 1955, 1. 

[6] “Took Baby Along,” Atlantic Journal, April 21, 1955, 19. 

[7]  “National Guard Alert Successful,” Healdsburg Tribune, Enterprise and Scimitar, April 28, 1955, 4. 

[8]  “Valdosta National Guards Move Out Quickly To Take Vital Posts in Minuteman Alert,” Valdosta Daily Times, April 21, 1955, 3.

[9]  Dick Berger, “Guardsmen Rush to Posts 400 Mobilize in Columbus,” Columbus Ledger Enquirer, April 21, 1955, 1. 

[10] Buck Patton, “MP and Medical Units Respond, Memphis Press-Scimitar, April 21, 1955, 4.

 [11] “88% Army, 80% Air Personnel of Ga.NG Responded to Alert, Georgia Guardsman, Mar, Apr, May 1955, 8.

A Short History of the Georgia Hussars

By Major William Carraway, Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

The Georgia Hussars as Troop A, 108th Cavalry recruiting in Savannah in the 1920s. Georgia National Guard Archives.

Shortly after the founding of the Georgia colony, Lord James Oglethorpe realized the need for a mounted troop to provide security for the fledgling colony. Accordingly, Oglethorpe raised a troop which was originally dubbed “The Rangers.” The Rangers’ mission was to patrol the outlying boundaries of Savannah against incursions by the Spanish and neighboring Native American tribes.[1]

The Rangers fought alongside Lord James Oglethorpe against the Spanish at the Battle of Bloody Marsh in 1742. When the colonies rebelled against Great Britain the Rangers, subsequently known as the Georgia Hussars, tendered their services and were engaged during the Siege of Savannah in 1779.[2]

The Georgia Hussars during a military review on the Mexican Border in 1916. Photo by 2nd Lt. Vivian Roberts.

The Hussars fought in the American Civil War and were called to active duty on the Mexican Border from 1916-1917 as Troop A, 2^nd Squadron of Cavalry. The unit was redesignated Headquarters Troop of the 31^st Division in September 1917 and mobilized to France with the division in October 1918. The 31^st arrived too late to take an active part in combat operations and the Georgia Hussars and other units of the Georgia National Guard returned to the United States in 1919.[3]

Captain Lester Henderson, commander of the Georgia Hussars, Company A, 108th Cavalry Regiment leads his Soldiers in a parade in Savannah, Ga.
on the eve of activation for World War II service. Georgia National Guard Archives.

In the reorganization that followed World War I, the Georgia Hussars were reconstituted as Troop A, 108^th Cavalry Regiment September 13, 1920. The 108^th was reorganized to form the 101^st Coast Artillery Battalion October 12, 1940. The 101st AAA mobilized to the Pacific Theater in March 1942.[4] Reaching Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea May 3, 1942, the battalion assumed responsibility for air defense over Port Moresby’s airfields.[5] In recognition of its role in the defense of Port Moresby, the 101^st was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.[6] Eight members of the unit were individually recognized with the Silver Star. The 101^st would subsequently serve in the Philippines where it was awarded the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.

PORT MORESBY, New Guinea, September 10, 1943 – Senator Richard Russell of Georgia shakes hand with Cpl. Ellis Page of the 101st Anti-Aircraft
Artillery Battalion during his tour of inspection. To the right is S. M. Griffin, commander of the 101st AAA, and a future Adjutant General
and Governor of Georgia. Photo 231963, National Archives Records Administration.

As part of the post-World War II reorganization the Georgia Hussars were organized and federally recognized as Headquarters Battery, 108^th Antiaircraft Artillery Brigade and 178^th AAA Operations Detachment May 12, 1947.[7] [8] [9]

CAMP STEWART - A 90 mm gun of the 108th AAA Brigade reloading during a firing exercise
at Camp Stewart circa 1954. Courtesy of the National Guard Education Foudation,
Washington, D.C.

The Hussars were awarded the Eisenhower Trophy February 17, 1950 in recognition of its status as the most outstanding unit in the Georgia Army National Guard.[10] The Hussars underwent a series of unit redesignations until 1975 when the unit was designated as Service Battery, 2^nd Battalion 214^th Field Artillery. The following year, Service Battery, along with the Chatham Artillery, then serving as Headquarters Battery of the 118^th Field Artillery Group, were recognized during a ceremony honoring units with continuous service from the American Revolution. The August 29, 1976 ceremony was held in at the Washington Monument in Washington DC with the Secretary of the Army presiding.[11]

With the 1993 reorganization of the Georgia National Guard, Service Battery, 2^nd Battalion 214^th Field Artillery was consolidated with Headquarters Battery, 1^st Battalion 118^th Field Artillery.[12]

 

[1] William MacD. Lloyd, “Bloody Marsh to Tokyo,” Georgia Guardsman, April 1950, 10.

 

[2] William MacD. Lloyd, “Bloody Marsh to Tokyo,” Georgia Guardsman, April 1950, 10.

 

[3] William Carraway, “Post War Reorganizations of the Georgia National Guard, 1900-1946,” December 2022.

 

[4] Donald Mees, interview by Gail Parnelle, Atlanta, September 1992, Georgia National Guard Archives.

 

[5] Richard W. Titus, A Chronicle of Georgia’s 101^st Separate Coast Artillery Battalion, Antiaircraft, Automatic Weapons Limited to the Period February 16, 1942 to January 1, 1944. First American Ground Troops in New Guinea (Crabapple, GA: Richard Titus, June 1986), 2-31.

 

[6] War Department, General Orders. No. 21. May 6, 1943.

 

[7] “Did You Know,” Georgia Guardsman, May 1949, 7.

 

[8] “Hussars’ Heritage,” Georgia Guardsman October 1949, 4 and 11.

 

[9] National Guard Bureau, RA 73-59, June 10, 1959.

 

[10] “Eisenhower Trophy Presented to 178^th Opns Det at 214^th Anniversary of Georgia Hussars,” Georgia Guardsman, March 1950, 6-7.

 

[11] “Ga’s Revolutionary Militia Units Honored,” Georgia Guardsman, July-September 1976, 3.

 

[12] National Guard Bureau, OA 169-93, Washington DC, August 9, 1993.

Profiles In Georgia National Guard Leadership: Brig. Gen. Wyont Bean, Longtime Ga. ARNG Artillery Officer

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

A 1939 image of 1st Lt. Wyont Bean of Company F, 122nd Infantry Regiment is flanked by original brass insignia of the 122nd and 179th
Field Artillery Regiment to the eft and the distinctive unit crest of the 179th FA to the right. The 122nd Infantry was reorganized as the 179th FA July 1, 1939. 

Colonel Wyont Bean, retired from the Georgia Army. National Guard November 1, 1962, after a 38-year military career. Upon retirement, Bean was elevated in rank to brigadier general.

Wyont Battle Bean was born November 11, 1905, in Orangeburg, S.C. to Perry and Hattie Bean. Bean’s father worked as a railroad roadmaster to support Bean and his six siblings of whom Bean was the third.

Insignia of the 122nd Infantry Regiment.

After graduating from Tech High School in Atlanta, Bean began his career in the Ga. Army National Guard Feb. 22, 1924, upon enlisting in Company C, 200^th Infantry Regiment at the age of 18. His captain was Thomas Lamar Alexander who would command the regiment after it was redesignated the 122^nd Infantry. Bean rose through the enlisted ranks to serve as company first sergeant before accepting an appointment as a 2^nd Lieutenant in the same company, then designated Company C, 122^nd Infantry Regiment.

On May 24, 1929, Bean married Agnes Estes. At the time, Bean was employed as an engineer by the city of Atlanta. In 1933, the couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Patricia.

Bean qualified as an expert rifleman in the 1933 rifle matches at Camp Perry, Ohio. On Sept. 21, 1936, Bean transferred to Company G, 122^nd Infantry Regiment and accepted promotion to 1^st lieutenant. That year he again scored as an expert rifleman at Camp Perry.

The Georgia National Guard marksmanship team at Camp Perry, Ohio 1937. Georgia National Guard Archives.

On July 1, 1939, the 122^nd Infantry Regiment was redesignated the 179^th Field Artillery beginning Bean’s long association with the field artillery of the Ga. National Guard. Shortly before entering federal service, Bean was promoted to captain. Bean entered active federal service February 14, 1941, and remained on active duty for five years during which he participated in the Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns. Bean commanded the 694^th FA Battalion and served as the intelligence officer of the 472^nd Field Artillery Group, 9^th Army.

Howitzers of the 179th Field Artillery in 1939. Photo by Pfc. Matthew Starnes.

Upon leaving federal service, Lt. Col. Bean served in the Officers’ Reserve Corps until May 2, 1947, when he assumed command of the newly reactivated 945th Field Artillery Battalion of the Ga. ARNG’s 48^th Infantry Division Artillery. The following year, the unit was redesignated the 179^th FA BN and received the Croix de Guerre with Palme from the French government during a ceremony at the state capitol.

 

Lieutenant Colonel Wyont Bean swears his son, Wyont Bean Jr. into the Georgia National Guard in September 1953 while Col. Roy Norvell,
commander of the 122nd Infantry Regiment observes. Georgia National Guard Archives.

Bean commanded the 179^th for ten years. In 1953, Bean’s son, Wyont Bean Jr., enlisted in the Ga. ARNG and Lt. Col. Bean administered his oath of office. Four years later, Bean swore his son into the Ga. ARNG as a second lieutenant. Lieutenant Bean transferred to the Iowa National Guard in 1959 to attend Palmer College of Chiropractic but rejoined the Ga. ARNG after his 1963 graduation.

Upon the retirement of Maj. Gen. Patrick Seawright, commander of the 48^th Armor Division in 1957, Bean was promoted to colonel and assigned as the executive officer of the 48^th AD Artillery. He served as president of the National Guard Association of Georgia in 1960.

Bean retired from the Ga. ARNG November 1, 1962, and was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. Following his retirement, Bean continued to serve as a planning engineer with the City of Atlanta until retiring from civilian employment in 1966. That year, his son, Captain Bean commanded Battery D, 179^th Field Artillery Battalion.

Brigadier General Bean died July 26, 1970. He rests in Crest Lawn Cemetery in Atlanta.

 

MG Terry Nesbitt Succeeds LTG David Poythress as Adjutant General of Georgia

By Major William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

Lt. Gen. David Poythress, outgoing Adjutant General of Georgia, reviews troops with Governor Sonny Perdue; Maj. Gen. Terry Nesbitt,
incoming Adjutant General, and Brig. Gen. Larry Ross, commander, Land Component Command, Georgia Army National Guard and commander of
 troops for the change of command ceremony at Fort McPherson, Ga. Oct. 28, 2007. Georgia National Guard Archives.

Lieutenant General David Poythress relinquished the office of Adjutant General of Georgia to Maj. Gen. William T. Nesbitt during a ceremony at Fort McPherson October 28, 2007. Under Poythress’ leadership from 1999 to 2007, the Georgia National Guard:

·       Deployed nearly 10,000 Soldiers and Airmen to Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and other locations around the globe

·       Mobilized Guardsmen to the Mexican border in support of Operation Jump Start

·       Mobilized more than 5,000 personnel to support the G-Economic Summit in Sea Island, Ga. in 2004

·       Mobilized more than 2,000 Georgia National Guard personnel in the wake of Hurricane Katrina

·       Acquired the Naval Air Station Atlanta property which now serves as the Clay National Guard Center

Poythress, who led the Georgia Department of Defense since 1999, retired in November 2007 following a 44-year military career and entered private business as the chief executive officer of American United Bancorp, Inc.

Lt. Gen. David Poythress, Governor Sonny Perdue and Maj. Gen. Terry Nesbitt. Georgia National Guard Archives.

“Lt. Gen. Poythress has been a devoted, committed servant to our state,” said Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue at the ceremony marking the transition of responsibility.[1]

Perdue also praised Nesbitt, who had served as Georgia’s eleventh Assistant Adjutant General-Army. He was the first ATAG-A named to serve as a dual-status commander, the first ATAG-A promoted to major general and the first since Brig. Gen. Charlie Camp to be appointed to serve as Georgia’s Adjutant General.[2]

“General Nesbitt Brings with him a wealth of knowledge and more than forty years of military experience,” said Perdue. “He has demonstrated deep commitment to helping Georgia meet the challenges of the future.”[3]

Nesbitt served as Georgia’s Adjutant General for four years and retired in 2011. During his tenure, the Georgia Army National Guard added the 648^th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade and the 560^th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade to its force structure.[4] The Georgia National Guard Language Training Center opened its doors in June 2010[5] and the Georgia National Guard began construction of key facilities such as the Joint Force Headquarters facility at the Clay National Guard Center and regional readiness centers at Fort Benning and Cumming, Ga.[6] Georgia received the Region IV Homeland Response Force mission in 2010[7] and began a three-year commitment to the Afghanistan Agribusiness Development Team mission in 2011.[8]

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[1]“Governor appoints new TAG.” The Georgia Guardsman, Fall, 2007, 10.

 

[2] William Carraway. “ATAGs of the Ga. ARNG.” January 15, 2020. Georgia National Guard Archives.

[3]“Governor appoints new TAG.” The Georgia Guardsman, Fall, 2007, 10.

 

[4] “Army National Guard.” 2009 Annual Report of the Georgia National Guard. 2009, 8-9.

 

[5] “Language Training Center.” Georgia Department of Defense Annual Report, 2010. 2010, 41.

 

[6] “New National Guard Facilities come to Georgia.” Georgia Department of Defense Annual Report, 2010. 2010, 46.

 

[7] “78^th Homeland Response Force.” Georgia Department of Defense Annual Report, 2010. 2010, 17.

 

[8] “Agribusiness Development Teams.” Georgia Department of Defense Annual Report, 2011. 2011, 37.

April 1955: Operation Minuteman Demonstrates Effectiveness of National Guard

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

A 57 mm recoilless rifle squad from the Rome-based Company E, 122nd Infantry Regiment secures an intersection during exercises as part of
Operation Minuteman April 20, 1955. Georgia Guard Archives

In April 1955, the National Guard’s 400,000-strong force responded to an unprecedented activation exercise. Operation Minuteman, conceived by Maj. Gen. Edgar Erickson, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, successfully mobilized nearly 320,000 National Guardsmen in an age long before e-mail, social media and smart phones.

This 1955 Cartoon by Bill Canfield illustrates the reach
of Operation Minuteman. Georgia Guard Archives.

“Considering this was the first time that a nationwide alert has been held by a reserve component of the armed forces, the National Guard made a great showing,” said Maj. Gen. George Hearn, Adjutant General of the Georgia National Guard following the conclusion of Operation Minuteman. “The people of the state and nation became instantly aware of the potent force we mobilized in such a short period of time.”

The purpose of Operation Minuteman was to test the speed and efficiency with which the National Guard could be mobilized in the event of a national emergency. Additionally, the operation was intended to demonstrate to the public the efficiency and readiness of the National Guard.

At 3:30 on the afternoon of April 20, 1955, the alert notification was dispatched from Washington D.C. to the adjutants general of the 48 states and Alaska Territory. In towns across the country, local armories were flooded with National Guardsmen responding to the exercise alert. A company commander in the California National Guard reported 70 percent of his personnel had reported within one hour of the alert, ninety percent had reported by the second hour and all were present within three hours of the alert notice.

After assembling, the Guardsmen were dispatched on simulated missions. Units of the Atlanta-based 122^nd Infantry Regiment established protective cordons around vital infrastructure including power stations, water works and radio stations. The 215^th Medical Battalion of the Tennessee National Guard set up four hospital tents near their Memphis Armory and ambulances were dispatched to receive simulated patients.

 

Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers rush to the Atlanta Armory during Operation Minuteman. The Soldiers are from
the 122nd Infantry Regiment, 179th Field Artillery Regiment, 48th Signal Company and 878th Engineer Aviation Battalion. Georgia Guard archives.

In addition to the myriad of Army unit movements, the Air National Guard also responded in force. Georgia Air National Guardsmen of the 116^th Fighter Bomber Wing launched 24 aircraft within the first hour of the alert. While he declined to give official numbers due to operational security concerns, Brig. Gen. Winston P. Wilson, Chief of the Air National Guard, noted that hundreds of aircraft participated in the exercise.

Trucks of the 179th Field Artillery Regiment, 48th Armored Division, Georgia Army National Guard move out from the Atlanta Armory during
Operation Minuteman April 20, 1955. Georgia Guard Archives. 

Operation Minuteman represented the first time in the history of the National Guard that a national level alert was executed. While the National Guard had previously conducted large-scale mobilization efforts, such as those for Mexican Border service in 1916 and for WW II service, those mobilizations were incremental.

Erickson, formerly the adjutant general of Massachusetts, chose April 20 as the date for Operation Minuteman as it was the date that the Minuteman Companies of the Hampshire County Militia Regiment began marching to Boston following the battles of Lexington and Concord.

Sources:

Georgia Guardsman Magazine, March-May 1955 edition 

Healdsburg Tribune, Enterprise and Scimitar, Number 32, April 28, 1955

Madera Tribune, Number 317, 21 April 1955

On This Day in Memphis History, G. Wayne Dowdy