The 3/508th was started as a levy unit in the Canal Zone,
meaning other units gave troopers they didn't want to staff
it. I arrived in Jan '64 to the toughest outfit there was
at the time as the first shipment of replacements, and
stepped off the transport into a full blown riot.
My outfit never lost that anger and really never got along
with the other units, nor cared to, never thought much of
them, as the battles on J & K streets will attest.
The 508th trained 5.5 days a week, and was the titanium
point to the strike force of Southern Command.
In hindsight we could have been better, but passed over
twice for promotion commanders kept us a little more like
mad dogs than professional troopers. |