He said there are very vivid memories that many Soldiers share about their time at Fort Knox. One of those who attended basic training during the Vietnam War era is Paul Urbahns, a local historian who went through signal corps advanced training after graduating basic at Fort Knox in 1970. "The Cold War helped secure the Armor Branch's role in the Army and the Armor Center continued to fulfill the role of producing capable and highly trained armor personnel." "By the late 1960s, more than one million trainees had completed one or more training programs in the Fort Knox Training Center since its inception in 1940," according to historical records at the Fort Knox Cultural Resources Office. Gerald Follmar, who would later graduate from Officer Candidate School and receive his commission. So many Soldiers passed through the gates of Fort Knox in basic training that in 1968, leaders celebrated their one millionth graduate there - a Pvt. That same year, Reserve Officer Training Camp's Basic Camp opened at Fort Knox. Soon after, the center received yet a new name, this time as the "Armor Center" and "Armor School."īy that time, trouble in Southeast Asia, specifically Vietnam, began and gradually increased over a period of years that began with non-combatant military advisors for the South Vietnamese army and phased into the introduction of regular combat troops in 1965. Army Training Center- Armor, and comprised about half of the entire population of Fort Knox. Under new authority, it became known as U.S. Then in 1955, the center was again activated to resume training before 3rd Armored Division moved to Europe the following year. The Army Organization Act of 1950 saw armor and cavalry merged into the Armor Branch. ![]() During their time at Fort Knox, they would train more than 300,000 Soldiers for war. The goal: to train "Soldiers in specific areas such as armor tactics, tank gunnery, communications, and maintenance," according to "History of Fort Knox" found on the Fort Knox website at Caution-In 1947, Army leaders reactivated 3rd Armored Division at Fort Knox to assume command of the replacement training center. In fact, the Army established the Armored Force School and Armored Force Replacement Center in October 1940. "It was armor associated in World War II. "It all kind of started in 1940, then morphed into the U.S. "Many of my quick reactions in Vietnam, if I didn't have the training I had here, I might have gotten myself killed," said McCloughan.īasic training started a bit vague during the buildup to a war, said Matthew Rector, Fort Knox historic preservation specialist. He admits that he had to adjust his attitude and mindset before starting basic training. Jim McCloughan credits Fort Knox basic training with saving his life.Īfter graduating college, the former Army combat medic and Medal of Honor recipient attended basic training at Fort Knox in 1968 under the draft when there were no deferments handed out. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL 5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL 4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. ![]() Army) VIEW ORIGINAL 3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL 2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. 1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S.
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