Other Items of Interest

Tank Hill, Ft. Jackson, Columbia, South Carolina

Please note the lower left hand portion of the photo.  The Barracks second from the left is where I lived for two months in January-February of 1972 for Basic Training.  I was on the second floor on the left side of the barracks second set of bunks from the end facing you..  I was the upper bunk.  Glen Kerr was below me.  The water tank for which Tank Hill got it's name is still there.  The WWII era barracks have been torn down and replaced with more modern structures.    This photo is looking to the North West up Hampton Parkway which is a boulevard.  My scans converge at the top.

My barracks in this photo is in the upper right hand corner second from the right back row.  This photo is looking south.

The field to the left of the barracks is where we did PT and bayonet practice.  The Buildings on the right parallel to Hampton Parkway were the mess halls.  Company HQs and the Arms rooms were to the left of them.  Again my barracks is the second from the left bottom row.  When I returned to Ft. Jackson about 10-12 years later my barracks was still there along with many of the others.  However, they were no longer in use for troop living accommodations.  Mine was being used by the Army Reserve.

To the left of the water tank was the PX were we all went for Pizza and other non mess hall food.  I remember getting foot long hotdogs there.  To the right of the water tank was a path that took us down hill to the ranges.  On the way back at the end of the day it climb was known as "Drag Ass Hill" because that's what you did to get back up it.

Because of today's modern transportation systems:

• On a Sunday afternoon at home while preparing some ground for new grass, I discovered an arrow head left by someone that was hunting on my property long before I arrived.  This is the first one I have ever found.

Further investigation with a person more familiar with these indicates it is more likely a side notched knife point that has had considerable re-sharpening.  The point is over 1-1/2 inches long which indicates normally a knife.  It appears to be from the Archaic Age which would make it 5,000-8,000 years old.

• The next day I can be in El Paso, TX on business for four days.  On Wednesday evening I can photograph the NASA "Supper Guppy" at the El Paso Airport.

• On Saturday I can be at Ft. Campbell, KY for its air show.  There I can see a tank with a missile stuck in the turret and a brand new CH-47, just delivered the week before, in the new desert paint scheme.

• Sunday morning finds me at the Ft. Donelson National Battlefield in Tennessee viewing not only the battlefield, but Mom and Pop bald eagles perched along the Cumberland River looking for something to feed the chicks.  I was able to photograph two of the three chicks in the nest.  The third one stayed down in the nest.

• Sunday evening returned us to home, but only after stopping by the LST-325 in Evansville, IN (no photos) and then stopping by the Columbus, IN airport to take photos of the F-4 Phantom there. (see Indiana Gate Guards for photos)