I started out as a High Speed Radio Operator and got my Amateur Call in 1962.  General Davison thought that he was the first one to make a call on the new station but we had made a lot of test runs before we let him talk to his wife in DC,

I got started in MARS at Fort Rucker, Alabama when I was assigned to the post MARS station.  I had an amateur call my personal MARS call then was AD4RMX.  Left Fort Rucker and went to Germany in 1964.  I opened the MARS station for the 93d signal battalion in 1966  NCOIC until I returned stateside in 1967.  I was the 199th Infantry Brigade Communications Chief.  When I returned from leave in January 1969 BG Davison (Army's first black general to command a combat unit) asked me if I knew anything about MARS.  Just happened that I did and it got me out of the field and back to Brigade Main Base (BMB) (Redcatcher).  I got the equipment from Long Binh post and the 7th Support Battalion built the building for me and set the pole for the LP antenna.  We mounted the antenna with a UH-1 helicopter (Lt Olson was the pilot).  The day we mounted the antenna SSgt Reynolds was on the pole when they lowered the antenna made it the first time the only thing wrong was that the crew chief dropped the straps.

Ira Crowder, E-6, 1969                   Back to Top