B Battery, 3rd Missile Battalion, 61st Artillery Regiment Limestone, Maine

Lies, lies, all lies! The recruiting sergeant told me that right after basic training at that garden spot of Army basic training centers, Fort Carson, Colorado, I would be going to Fort Bliss, Texas for advanced training. What happened that June of 1958 was that I went to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for basic and then was ordered to Limestone, Maine where I was assigned to Battery B of the 548th AAA Battalion for OJT. Two airmen and I got off the Greyhound in Caribou. It was August, but we were cold, having come from warmer climes. The A Battery driver was there and asked me if I were going to A Battery. When I told him "No", he said, "Too bad, A Battery's the soldierin' battery, all spit and polish." Right away I felt better and the driver for B Battery, Pfc Counts, soon showed up. The first thing that caught my eye as we turned onto the access road to the IFC area was the big "B" with a missile through it on the MTR tower. It was similar to the logo on this web page. A couple of years later I opined that it would be a good idea to repaint it as it had faded. This was where I learned one of life's lessons, he who suggests something is the one who will wind up doing it. Yep, that's me on the ladder and you know what? There was a battery beer party going on while I was up there. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. I reported for duty to the battery commander, 1st Lt. John Wenzel. The first sergeant was MSgt. A. G. Grivois. So this was my home for the next two plus years and at the end I was sorry to leave it. In fact, I insisted that those who were riding with me in my pink Rambler stay long enough to have supper at the mess hall. They were having spaghetti that night. I couldn't miss that. Anyway, come on back. This is a work in progress. Pete Tustison