Engineer Memoirs
would be put into Royal Allison's place. It was a job I didn't seek and didn't
want. I thought it would set back my Army career, which in fact it did. But
Jackson always lectured me on "Duty, Honor and Country." I knew in my heart
he was right and couldn't say no to him. But I'm getting well ahead of my story.
Q ..
To get back to Fort Benning, did you look for officers who had tours of duty in
Korea to be instructors at the Infantry School?
A ..
Yes. I inherited a number of good instructors but got others through a very
elaborate screening process. Teaching at Benning was a very popular assignment
and many good officers wanted to teach at the Infantry School. As a result, the
Infantry School had an outstanding group of instructors. One, the head of the
weapons department, was Frank Mildren. He had been my regimental commander
in Korea. Another was Bill Lynch. Still another was Fred Weyand, a
contemporary of mine, who went on to become the chief of staff of the Army.
We completely rewrote the Army field manuals for the regiment and battalion in
attack, and regiment and battalion in defense. It was a busy and fruitful time.
This helped push into the back of my mind the fact that I had been silenced and
that my career might suffer. The courses of instruction were completely turned
around during the couple of years I was at Benning.
Q ..
How long was the course at the Infantry School?
A ..
The regular course of instruction was nine months. But we also conducted
refresher courses for officers being assigned to Korea since the Korean War was
still going on. General Young convinced the chief of staff of the Army that all
future battalion and regimental commanders should take a month-long course to
familiarize them with the unique problems of Korea. This meant extra work for
the instructors, but we felt it very worthwhile to have newly assigned commanders
oriented before they left for Korea.
Q ..
Did you get any feedback from them?
A
Yes. All battalion and regimental commanders, upon completing their tours in
Korea, were ordered to Benning for a two--week debriefing session. We told them
our new ideas and asked them to critique what we were teaching at Benning. It
was a dynamic learning experience. It also gave us a chance to size up the better
battalion and regimental commanders for teaching jobs at Benning. It was a good
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