Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-04-07
Army Day
CONTINUED From First Page.)

Later, when Gen. Gavin reached
the reviewing stand, the men spun
their bayoneted rifles in complete
circle before coming to present
arms
Gen. Gavin led the men of the
S2nd down the avenue. He had been
with them almost from the start of
the war. He was commander of the
5O5th Parachute Infantry Regiment
IN the invasion of Sicily, was assist
ant division commander in Nor
mandy, and led the division in its
operations in Holland, on the Sieg-
1rled Line and in Germany. Behind
him marched Brig. Gen. William
Gilmore, assistant division COM
mander. Then came the officers of
the 82nd's general and special stats,
most of whom have been with it at
least since Normandy.
These were followed by the divi-
slon's special troops and then, in
order: the 504th Regimental Com
bat Team-consisting of the 504th
Parachute Infantry, the oldest air
borne outfit in the Army, the
376th Field Artillery, and the 325th
Combat Team, consisting of the
325th Glider Infantry, which served
lat Salerno and Normandy, and the
320th Glider Field Artillery. A pic
! tureSque element of the parade at
this point was the 49th Infantry
Scout Dog Platoon, now attached to
the 82nd Airborne for training. They
looked gentle in the hands of their
trainers but are vicious animals
against the enemy and each one
usually can be handled by only one
man. Almost all these dogs had seen
at least three years service. One
was a Intoxicating dog in the
Italian campaign.
ArmOred Cavalry in Line.
OF special interest were the
32Oth'S los howitzers with cut down
barrels, which makes it possible
to load them in gliders Each gun
weighs ton and goes into battle
| with l20 rounds of 4-inch shells
with a range of about a mile and
half.
The colored infantrymen of the
18th Regimental Combat Team
which followed the 82nd not only
was representative of the largest
arm of the service, but of the
Pacific theater where it served in
the Northern Solomons and the
Philippines. The 25th Infantry is
one of the Oldest regiments in the
Army, having been organized origin
ally In New Orleans in 1869.
Almost as representative of the
new. type warfare as the para
troopers themselves was the armor-
ed cavalry outfit-cavalry in name
only-Whlch followed the infantry
1t fought over more territory than
any other cavalry outfit in Europe
Altogether it was in action 26O DAYS
IN France and Germany and was the
eyes" of the highly mobile goth
corps, which spearheaded for the
ISL Army. 1t was reorganized from
part OF the old Bird Cavalry Regi-
ment, which was originated in 1886
UnderSecretary of War Kenneth
Royal headed a group of notables
in the reviewing stand, which in
Guided Gen. Thomas T. Handy.
Acting Chief of Staff; Mai. Gen.
Frank w. Milburn, commander of
the 5th Army Corps; Brig. Gen.
Albert L. Cox, acting national COM
mander of the Military Order of
World Wars, which sponsored the
Army Day celebration, and congress
sional leaders.
Many Other Activities.
Although the parade was the most
spectacular part of the Army Day
observance here, concurrent activi-
ties attracted attention at many
Army establishments in the area.
A display of transport aircraft
drew an estimated 1900 visitors to
the Air Transport Commands
area at National Airport, where
aerial Photographic equipment also
was available for inspection.
More than 1000 visitors poked
about engineering equipment at
Fort Belvoir, Va, during an open
house" at the base.
Walter Reed Hospital reported
more visitors than usual to wards
accommodating those still suffering
from the effects of war.
More than $500 persons attended
Army Day open house" at Andrews
Field, Md, to watch helicopter in
flight, see parachute demonstrations
and view Army Air Forces equip
ment and war trophies.
Supplies Dropped by Parachute.
The helicopter, type used for
rescue work by the 62nd Base Squad
ron at the field, arose, remained
virtually motionless in the air and
descended slowly while crowds lined
runways. The performance was re-
peated at regular intervals through
out the afternoon.
Visitors also were shown the
! method of dropping supplies by
parachute, when dummies were
showed from a CAT transport over
the field.
Examples of various Army Air
Forces fighters, bombers and trans
ports were lined up in a hanger
and on the concrete apron before it,
A Bog Super fortress was among
the most popular exhibits. The VIC
itors also were able to compare
engines of AAF and japanese planes
on display in the hanger.
| A twin-engined japanese Nick"
and single-engined German Feis-
ler-Storch observation plane were
the prize war trophies shown. Tires,
guns and other items, as well as
tractors, cranes and vehicles used
about airports also were available
for inspection.
The public was permitted to take
photographs in the exhibit area, and
souvenir copies of the field news
paper, containing greeting from
! Col. C. D. Sluman, commanding ON