Glad to hear things went so well. I would have loved nothing more than to be there, but with everything going on here it was not possible. When I come back from Iraq I should be moving to Quantico in mid 2010 (sounds so far off doesn't it? It's 2010! Where's the flying cars??!!) Hopefully, I would be able to make it up there (assuming it is somewhere in the vicinity) for the reunion.
Col Savre approached me and asked, "If all expenses were paid, including airfare, would you be willing to fly to Fort Hood to show your documentary....?" WHOA!!! It was like, "You mean ME?" Yes, he said he will arrange to have me flown there, and he wants me to give a presentation to the troops. He wants to make sure they know all about their proud history.
I'm glad to hear this. I think the Army, as an institution, doesn't emphasize it's history as much as it should. Take the advertising, for example, you can tell the Marines are keen on their heritage just by the commercials that we generate. I've only seen one Army commercial that focused on their history, and I thought it was great (especially for being in the wake of the awful "Army of One" ads.) I have also come in contact with a good deal of soldiers who didn't know anything about their history! I often know a great deal more than they do - even about the history of the unit patches they are wearing!
The Army has a awsome heritage! They should tout it more often. Once again, I'm glad the colonel is taking a proactive step to embue his soldiers with a love for their history. I hope this is happening more often than I realize.
Interesting note: Even with all the modern conveniences and inventions since WWII, we learned they STILL use that old-standby, the Bailey, on occasion. That was cool to hear!
I guess there is only so much you can improve on a big chunk of steel spanning two banks, big enough to drive on. The AVLB is a newer piece of gear (relatively) at 21 years old.
But the concept is not new. This is the German version (ours is very similar to it):
This is the British version. It was one of Hobart's Funnies:
It was obviously not necessarily for spanning streams, etc.
All in all, I guess the Bailey proves that if something ain't broke. . . !!