Edward L. Rowny
train them hard. I gathered that for a short time he was very popular with the
troops. But they soon became bored and unhappy.
Q ..
Who had been in command of the 24th Division before you? Did he serve a full
two year term?
A ..
My predecessor was Major General William A. Cunningham III. He was relieved
by General O'Meara after about a year in command. The Army commander had
gone to inspect the division on a maneuver. The troops were doing poorly and
referred to one another as "Cunny's Bunnies." General O'Meara, looking for
Cunningham during a critical part of the maneuver, found him comfortably seated
in his van. That was enough for O'Meara.
Q ..
When you took over the command, did things change?
A ..
Yes, in large part because the troops themselves were ready for a change. I
instituted a hard regime of training and maintenance. They responded beautifully.
Our ratings soon began to rise and we went from the bottom of all the divisions in
Europe to a position after a year when we were number one or two in every
category. It was a great joy to command the division.
Q ..
How were the officers below and above you?
A ..
I was given a degree of latitude to choose my brigade and battalion commanders.
My three brigade commanders were outstanding officers as were six or seven of
my nine battalion commanders. I had a fine deputy commander, an excellent chief
of staff, and a good artillery commander. My immediate superior, the VII Corps
commander, was Lieutenant General T. J. Conway, who had been my division
commander when I was an ADC [assistant division commander] in the 82d
Airborne Division. He was later replaced by Lieutenant General Frank Mildren
who had commanded the Rock of the Marne Regiment in Korea where I had been
his deputy. These were two of the best officers in the Army. Both rose to be
four-star generals. It was fortunate that I had worked for both of them and knew
what was expected of me. The Army commander was General A. P. O'Meara.
I had not worked for him but knew of his reputation. He was a highly demanding
commander. He was death on officers who could not produce results, but gave
those who could a great deal of leeway and strong support.
Q ..
Were you getting new equipment or was it, at that point, all going to Vietnam?
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