LESSONS LEARNED

After graduation I continued working at North American Insurance, 209 S. LaSalle, in the Rookery Building. I still had six months before active duty and the timing was good because several of the ladies in the Limited Accounting Department retired. I was offered the opportunity to manage the section of 8 women. The salary was $425 a month. It was a unique experience to take over an organization that had just lost employees with over 130 years of experience. The position offered an excellent opportunity to supervise and gain managerial experience.

January came and it was time to leave for Fort Benning, Georgia. This time I took a train with a compartment. I wasn’t going to repeat the traveling experience of going by train to Fort Riley. I still hadn’t discovered air travel. Fort Benning was the Home Of The Infantry. Its motto is “Follow Me”. For the next two months I would be attending the Infantry School. I was to be instructed in the skills of becoming a United States Army Infantry Officer. The new officers were housed in dormitories, no more barracks. We had maid service and no GI Parties. We were transported by bus or truck. As an officer you were required to pay for meals, except those in the field. We were paid $425 a month. For breakfast you would go to one of the Officer Mess Halls and off hour meals were served in the Officers Club. The mess halls were named after World War II Battles, Normandy, Salerno etc. I was now an officer and was treated as an officer and gentleman.

The training was excellent. The Training Officers were skilled and energetic. We fired all types of weapons, endured a variety of combat exercises and night maneuvers. Most exercises took us through the briar patches and red clay of Fort Benning. One night we came upon an unexpected fire. The fire was quickly put out preventing a forest fire. One of the most realistic exercises was Escape and Evasion. The objective was to escape from behind enemy lines and return to your unit. We were organized into teams of 4 or 5 men. The exercise required good map reading skills to navigate thru the terrain back home. One member of the team had excellent skills and was our team leader. We made our way through enemy territory that was patrolled by guard dogs, enemy fire and the dense forest at night. Some teams were captured and returned to enemy control. We made our way safely back to friendly territory. It was realistic and exciting.

My most embarrassing moment came when I was to position a jeep mounted 105 recoilless rifle on a hill to support a hypothetical attack problem. It was an exercise which used a helicopter to land the vehicle. I was accompanied by a driver and a Major that observed and graded my actions. I acted stupidly; I relied on what I thought was the drivers past exercise experience instead of my own training to position the weapon. The vehicle got stuck in the mud and had to be towed. The Major’s comment was. “This won’t be your first or last mistake, Lt.” He was right.

My training at Fort Benning ended with the extravaganza at Boom Hill. It was a demonstration of military power that cumulated our training with a big bang. The exercise was viewed by all of the graduating students to end the training program. . This concluded 2 months of training. My next assignment was to report to Fort Leonard Wood as a Training Officer. After a two week furlough I reported to C Company 5th Battalion 3rd Brigade. It was March and cold. Georgia had been warm and comfortable; I even came home with a sun tan. In Missouri we needed Pile Caps, Winter Boots and Warm Lined Jackets. I arrived with three weeks remaining in the training cycle. This meant the troops had already gone through 6 or 7 weeks of training. The Company Commander was Art Wichman and the Executive Officer Lt. Cocoran. Before the end of the cycle Lt. Cocoran was transferred and I became Executive Officer. The major effort was to maintain discipline, train and get the troops to various training sites. My responsibility was to teach drill, PT and Bayonet Training. I especially enjoyed PT and Bayonet Training. It was conducted in a large field from a large stage with a PA system. The sound was awesome. It was like music as you created a rhythm and cadence to the commands. On occasion someone would stop to compliment the spirit of our training. What’s the spirit of the bayonet, “KILL”?

While at Fort Leonard Wood, I encountered a few unforgettable experiences. The first was when the first cycle ended and the troops had left, we failed rifle inspection. The final rifle inspection was a disaster. Along with the Non Commissioned Cadre we had to clean 200 rifles. Lesson learned, every rifle must always be ready for inspection.

The end of every month was payday. As Executive Officer it was my duty to secure the payroll. I was responsible for every penny. We paid cash. Any shortages would come out of my pocket. The procedure was to go to the comptroller’s office and count out and sign for the company’s payroll. Upon return and after breaking down the pay, each member of the company would report, to the Executive Officers Office, to receive pay. The procedure was to enter the room, salute, state your name: “Sir, Lt. Tarasuk, reporting for pay.” Everyone followed the procedure except Mess Sgt, Besseck. Sgt Besseck was a 20 year veteran and came in lazily, with a sloppy salute. I kicked Sgt Bessick out of the office and told him to come back when he was ready to report properly. Sgt. Bessick came back, reported properly, and was paid. He was testing me. Sgt. Bessick became a good friend: from then on I was extremely well fed.

Remember when I was at Benning and the Major said I would make more mistakes. Well, he was right. It was not long after coming to Leonard Wood that one of my assignments was to move the Company from the bivouac area to the Grenade Range. The Company Commander told me the route was the same as going home. Well, I had never gone home and believed that the Sgts knew the way. Wrong again, it was my responsibility to know the route. Just like the placement of the recoilless rifle I was depending on others for actions that where my responsibility. On the way out of camp we turned left instead of right. We left at 7:30 and were to arrive at 8 AM for the scheduled class at 8:30. By 8 I knew we were heading in the wrong direction. The troops were wearing snow boots and loaded down with equipment. By 8:30 we had turned around, too late for training. By this time the command was frantically searching for us. The assumption was that we were in a weapons impact area. A jeep hastily drove up with a Captain asking if I was ever shown a map directing me to the training site. The answer was no. We were in trouble! When we returned to the Company Area the Captain was upset. I along with my Sergeants were debriefed. This incident led to the closing of many ranges and the loss of training time. This was a serious mistake. As Officer In Charge I took full responsibility. We quickly became known as “The Lost Charlie Company”. The seriousness of the incident could have had dire consequences on my career. Fortunately the command was reasonable and forgave my actions. The Major’s prediction had come true and my second lesson was learned. This type of mistake could be made during training but could have had detrimental consequences in combat. In the future I never traveled to a training site unless it was reconnoitered or visited... The troops looked upon that incident as the most exciting moment during their basic training.

After a tough start everything settled down and with a new group of recruits my performance began to change. The mistakes had been made; I now became confident of the environment and knowledgeable of my surroundings. It was time to build a company of combat ready soldiers. I needed to redeem myself. That we did, C5/3 was rated the number one company in the battalion. We were tops in barrack inspections and drill competition. I worked hard and rescued my reputation and confidence. I learned from my mistakes and vowed not to repeat them again. Don’t look back, go forward.

When July rolled around it was time to go home. It was time to begin a new military experience with the Illinois National Guard. Prior to going on active duty I signed with the 1st Battalion 131st Infantry. Its headquarters were located in the armory at Rockwell and Madison Streets. My first assignment was as Weapons Platoon Leader of Company A. Coming out of the Infantry School was like coming out of West Point. Most NG officers received their traing and commissions from the Illinois National Guard’s Officer Candidate School. There was a big difference in training and preparation to serve as a 2nd Lieutenant. This became evident in my relationship with my Company Commander. After a year I was transferred to Captain John Drover’s Company. Drover was organized and a good leader. John was an overall good guy and a pleasure to serve under. John also served as Postmaster for LaGrange Park. In time Ralph Gauer joined the unit and we developed a professional infantry company. Gauer was a graduate of Loyola’s ROTC Program and a Green Beret/Ranger. Ralph had had previous active duty time as an Infantry Officer. After a short time Ralph returned to active duty as a career Intelligence Officer. Ralph became a career officer with expertise in Russian Intelligence and rose to the rank of Colonel. Sgt. Johnny Hon, another member of our unit, also returned to active duty. Sgt. Hon served in Viet Nam and was killed in action.

The 1960’s were plagued by riots. The first riot occurred near a firehouse on Pulaski Road. Someone had been killed by a fire truck which created conditions to set off the riot. The 131st Infantry was called out. We were on duty for 10 days. Nothing happened and we were released. I remember the unit being activated for a march in Cicero. The march was led by Robert Lucas; Mr. Lucas had a permit to march down 22nd street. Because of the racial history of Cicero the authorities feared the worse. We had air support, tanks, snipers on roofs and 2 battalions ready to go. Lucas came with less than 30 marchers. After spending several million dollars and several hours on duty nothing happened and we were released. During the 60’s we had several more Riots and again the 131st Infantry was called too duty. The most memorable was when we were patrolling West Side Alleys and on one occasion we came upon General Kane, the Commander of the Illinois National Guard, and Sun Times Columnist Irv Kupicient. We reported that everything was normal and there were no problems. In 1967 we were called to duty for the Oak Lawn Tornado. This was a compelling story as we patrolled the streets of Oak Lawn to prevent looting. Trucks and buses were turned upside down like toys. The Community High School was ripped in half. It was one of the worse disasters to hit the Chicago area.

In 1966 I was promoted to Captain and became Company Commander and Commandant of Headquarters/ Headquarters Company of the 1st Bn. 131st Infantry. I was fortunate to have an excellent staff of Officers and Non Commissioned Officers to assist me. I was responsible for several million dollars of equipment and property. I oversaw the Motor Pool, Administration, Heavy Weapons Platoon, Food, and Medical. We developed an outstanding company of which we were proud of its accomplishments and men.

I served the 131st until 1968 when I resigned. I made the decision because of the conflict between employment, family life and Guard time. I was getting married in June and felt it was not in the best interest of my family to stay in the military. After resigning from the Guards I still had 6 months to serve and was assigned to a Reserve Unit on 22nd Street. During my time with the Guards I met many interesting and competent people. The most memorable was Vincent Kriemeir. The first time I met Major Kriemeir was after a Monday night drill. I was tending bar and Major Kreimeir wanted to discuss a problem. The Major was looking to buy a steel mill and wanted to talk with someone about his dilemma. At first I didn’t believe it. The next drill I asked Lt. Ed Fleming about the Major. He told me he was real. Major Kreimeir was President of Leakfinder, a company guaranteed to find leaks any where in the world. Lt. Fleming referred me to an article, published in Time Magazine, describing the Major’s invention of Ballite, a material that was stronger than steel. The article described a building, made of Ballite, on the Hawaiian Islands that withstood a hurricane. This material was so good that bullets supposedly bounced off of tanks. Major Kreimeir lived in Ginger Creek in Oak Brook and also asked about buying a jet plane. During a Summer Camp, at Camp McCoy, I spent a lot of time with the Major. I learned that his family were early settlers in Illinois and helped to found many Evangical Organizations. Major Kreimeir was an amazing man. I had hoped that he would be Battalion Commander, but that never happened. During that Summer Camp we ran the Live Fire Exercise, along with Captain Lopez, and received many compliments and commendations for our performance.

There were other people that stick out in my mind: Ed Fleming who became my lawyer and friend. Two former Tuleyites served in the 131st,, Bob Wasilowski and Don Ahrnstrom. As Company Commander I trusted and relied on my First Sgt., Al Malchiodie and Warrant Officer Ed Goniakowski. The Motor Pool was in the good hands of Jim Fucillo. A reliable friend was John Czarnik who tried to talk me out of resigning. I was sort of a mentor to John. John helped me film the story of summer camp 1964. That film and soundtrack was given to the Illinois National Guard Museum in Springfield. John Czarnik was dedicated and enjoyed serving his country; he continued his military education and rose to the rank of Lt. Colonel. A tradition of the 131st was the drinking of gin and bitters to mark the beginning of the day or special occasions. It was a tradition handed down from the English in World War I. After downing a shot of the gin and bitters we would shout “Fire In The Hole.”

After 4 years of High School ROTC, 4 years of College ROTC and 8 years of Reserve and Guard Duty it was time to move on to other challenges and ventures. Thus ended my military career.