Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 15, 1991 TAG: 9102150653
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: J. ROBERT SLAUGHTER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
At the time, no one believed we soon would be going overseas, much less into battle. Europe and Asia were embroiled in conflict, but President Franklin D. Roosevelt had stated emphatically that "no American boys would be sent to fight on foreign shores."
Guardsmen drilled one night per week; a private was paid a whopping "greenback" dollar per drill. An added incentive for enlistment was a two-week summertime bivouac at Virginia Beach.
A contingent of the 29th (Blue and Gray) Division, the Virginia Guard's 116th Infantry Regiment traced its lineage to 1760 and claimed descent from the 2nd Virginia Regiment.
During the Revolutionary War, the 2nd routed British Redcoats from Virginia soil at the Battle of Great Bridge. The 2nd also was part of the "Stonewall Brigade," commanded by Brig. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson at the First Battle of Bull Run, and fought throughout the war for the Confederate cause.
Today, the 116th Infantry of Virginia continues, part of the Guard's 29th Light Infantry Division. Will today's Virginia infantry guardsmen see action in the Persian Gulf conflict?
"At present, there is no indication that we will be mobilized," said Maj. Roy Crosse, executive officer of the 1st Battalion of the 116th. "Our role in the scheme of things is a small mobile force, used primarily in mountain operations and urban terrains."
But, said Crosse, "we're ready . . . to go anywhere and do an excellent job."
In 1941, hand-me-down uniforms and weapons left over from World War I doughboys were issued to guardsmen. The basic infantry weapon - not enough to go around, after the 1940 draft began - was the Model 1903 Springfield, bolt-action rifle. The 37mm anti-tank gun, nicknamed "Tank Killer," was outmoded. The ubiquitous Jeep was still on the drawing board.
The Bedford County Courthouse Armory was home to the regiment's Company A, a rifle company. This company was to be, on June 6, 1944, one of the spearheads of the Normandy invasion, and suffered almost 90 percent casualties. Its membership roster was typical: farmers, lumbermen, store clerks, factory workers, mechanics, and high-school and college students.
Company B received word in Lynchburg to put business affairs in order and report for duty. This rifle company drew from Lynchburg and neighboring Amherst and Campbell counties.
In Roanoke were regimental headquarters, as well as headquarters of the regiment's 1st Battalion. Also based in "The Magic City" were Company D, a heavy weapons company (.30- and .50-caliber heavy machine guns and 81mm mortars); the 116th Band Company; and a unit of the 104th Medical Detachment.
Other elements of the 116th were housed throughout Virginia.
On Feb. 3, 1941, guardsmen by the hundreds reported for duty at Roanoke's old American Legion Auditorium, across the street from the Hotel Roanoke. The men slept on rows of cots set up on the arena floor, and marched up Jefferson Street to the Manhattan Restaurant for their meals.
For some, this was the beginning of almost five years of Spartan military living. Because of age, hardship or health, other inductees couldn't pass muster and were discharged.
On Feb. 7, a farewell parade for the 116th was given by the city of Roanoke. "Some of the veterans who stood on the sidelines had heard similar words shouted to them years ago," reported The Roanoke Times, "and they were noticeably stirred by retrospection."
On Feb. 13, after 10 days of encampment on the Legion Auditorium floor, the troops boarded a Norfolk & Western passenger train and steamed north to Fort George G. Meade, Md., a sprawling military reservation between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.
What transpired over the next 51 months is another story. During its 11 months of hard combat, the 29th Division was to suffer the third highest casualties in the European theater: 1,137 officers and 19,531 enlisted men. (A World War II infantry division had approximately 15,000 men.)
The Virginia guardsmen - and the thousands of drafted comrades who swelled the ranks and replaced the casualties - kept alive the spirit of old Stonewall Jackson, and left a legacy for the current 29th Division guardsmen to build on.
If the Gulf War ends quickly, Virginia's infantry guardsmen likely will play no role. In any case, it is doubtful that the 29th Light Infantry will be sent as a unit. But if the war drags on and casualties are high, some of its men could be sent to the gulf as replacements.
The gulf conflict has taught us that war is not a thing of history. Balancing the federal budget at the expense of our national defense is not yet a safe investment. Deja vu.
by CNB