Chapter 4: 1943-1944, Training a soldier

Buford Hendrix had been introduced to the United States Army at Fort McClellan, Alabama in 1943. Now he was on his way to Camp Hood, Texas. The trip had been a long and monotonous one, and his feelings of separation and homesickness were accentuated by the move. After all, Texas was a long way from Alabama.

2 Camp Hood was a brand-new facility, and the signs of construction and expansion were everywhere apparent. The post had been named in honor of Confederate General John Bell Hood, a scion of the same Callaway clan that had settled Kentucky with Boone. Here, Buford and his buddies would learn about machine guns and tanks.

3 As the bus pulled through the gate at Camp Hood, Buford sat straight up in his seat and began to notice the landscape outside the window next to him. Then the bus came to a stop, and everyone began to stand and stretch and retrieve what belongings they had carried with them. As Buford stepped off the bus, the first thing that he noticed about the place was the big blue sky and sunshine. It seemed to be everywhere.

4 “Get your gear and lineup over here,” a sergeant shouted. That was all it took to break the spell and bring him back down to earth. He and his comrades quickly complied with the order and were assembled in neat ranks within minutes. After the roll was called, the troops were marched to the barracks that would be their new home during their training.

5 The next morning, Buford took his place in formation and saluted as reveille was played from somewhere in the distance. After breakfast, they were marched into a small building whose interior was lined with wooden benches and folding chairs. There was a large screen hanging at the front of the room and a projector was facing it on the other side of the room.

6 “Take a seat, gentleman,” the sergeant began. “In order to properly handle the equipment which you are about to be issued, you must first be trained in the safest and most efficient use of that equipment. The films which you are about to see will introduce you to this equipment.”

7 “You will pay close attention to everything that is said, and everything you see on that screen. You will not get tired. You will not sleep. If you do, you are likely to feel a sharp slap on the back of your head. Gentlemen, is that understood?” he finished. “Yes sir!” the men all shouted.

8 The film was all about machine-guns. The narrator talked about fields of fire and primary and secondary missions. He talked about how to use cover and explained the difference between the terms defilade and enfilade. He talked about primary and alternate positions and the importance of looking for opportunities to support the riflemen which they would accompany in theatre.

9 They learned about the safety limit. It was stressed that they must understand how troops could be placed in danger of being hit by their own supporting fire. The respective responsibilities of squad, section and platoon leaders were outlined. Finally, the mechanics of the weapon itself were described. The impact of the rate of fire on the weapons ability to cool itself and sustain fire was also explained.

10 Slowly, it began to dawn on Buford and the other privates that this was life and death stuff that was being discussed. Even for those who had been exposed to weapons before, this wasn’t like anything that they had experienced at home.

11 Then, finally, it was time for them to go to the range and actually fire a machine gun. Everyone was nervous. On the ground before them, there were a dozen Browning machine guns mounted on tripods facing down range. The men were divided into teams of two and assigned a position.

12 As Buford stretched out on his stomach and placed his hands around the weapon for the first time a tingling sensation ran up his spine. By the time Buford removed his earplugs, he was numb. He was a certified machine gunner now.

13 When that was over, they were marched into the building where they had seen the training films. Once again, the army provided them with some more of its “innovative and entertaining” films on the proper use of its weaponry. This time, it was tanks.

14 The following day, Buford and his comrades were loaded into trucks and taken to the field – the training area away from the barracks and other buildings of the main post. There before them were parked two medium tanks about 200 feet apart. An instructor stood in front of each one of the tanks, and the men were divided between the two instructors. Buford’s instructor was a short, no-nonsense looking man who stood there for a few minutes silently surveying his new trainees.

15 “Pay attention,” he began. “I’m only going to say things once - I don’t like repeating myself. Everything I tell you is going to be important. Some of the things that I tell you may save your life someday,” he continued.

16 “When is lunch?” someone near the back of the formation asked. A few of the soldiers chuckled, but Buford swallowed hard when he saw the look on the instructor’s face. “Who said you were going to get a lunch today, private?” he said softly. There weren’t any other interruptions.

17 The Texas sun was hot as the man explained the advantages of a medium tank over a light one. He emphasized how important it was for them to be able to accurately judge distances.

18 “This tank will easily traverse a seven to eight-foot-wide trench, but you may get into serious trouble if you attempt anything wider than that.” He showed them the large 400 HP engine, and how to take care of it.

19 He explained the startup procedure, shifting gears and the steering levers. He also went over maintenance procedures and explained the responsibilities of each one of the tank crew’s team members.

20 Then, after several days of instruction, it was time for Buford and the other privates to get some practical experience inside the tank. In the weeks that followed, it seemed like they drove those tanks all over Texas. Fort Hood was, after all, a big place.

21 Every evening, they would march back to the barracks exhausted and covered in dust and dirt. Buford had never been so tired and hungry in his entire life. And then, suddenly, after months of hard training, it was over.

22 Buford was a professional soldier now. He was certified by the United States Army to be proficient in the operation of machine guns and tanks.

23 “What’s next?” he wondered. They all knew what was next. He took the small Bible out of his pocket which had been issued to him a few months before and rubbed his fingers over it. “You’re coming with me,” he softly whispered to himself.

24 In the meantime, back in Washington, another scion of the Marshall family, General George C. Marshall was serving as Chief of Staff for the United States Army under Roosevelt. Buford’s distant cousin had been busy too. While Buford was training with machine guns and tanks, Marshall had been planning and coordinating the Allies’ invasion of Nazi occupied Europe. By the time Buford made it to Italy, that invasion was a part of history; and the Allies were well on their way to defeating Hitler’s Germany.