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Brief Military File
of
DAVID W. DEMMY, SR.
SERVICE NUMBERS
US 51 517 758
YEARS & MONTHS
SERVED:
US Coast Guard - Cape May, NJ 1966.
PA National Guard 1967.
US Army 9 Feb 68 -- 29 Jan 70.
US Army Reserves 1970 -- 1979.
Honorable Discharge
Honorable Discharge
Honorable Discharge
Honorable Discharge
WHERE SERVED:
Ft. Jackson, SC; Ft. Ord, CA; Ft. Knox, KY; Ft. Dix ,NJ;
Ayers Kaserne, Kirchgöens, FRG; near Butzbach, Germany.
Fort Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA.
MISCELLANEOUS:
(experiences, rank, awards, etc.)
EXPERIENCE:
Advanced Infantry Training; Armored Personnel Carrier Driver;
3rd Armored Division, NCO Academy Staff Personnel Sergeant.
441st Personnel Service Co., Personnel Management NCO, USAR.
Adjutant General Personnel Training.
RANK:
Sergeant First Class.
AWARDS:
Army Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon.
Sharpshooter Badge, With Auto Rifle tab.
Marksman Medal, With machine gun tab.
1 Good Conduct Medal with bronze clasp bar.
2 USAR Achievement Medal.
3 National Defense Service Medal.
4 Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal.
5 U S Army Cold War Victory Medal.
6 Overseas Service Medal.
7 US Army Service Medal.
Letters of Appreciation.
Cold War Certification.
4 Honorable Discharge Certificates
GENERAL COMMENTS:
Good
Conduct
Born in Harrisburg, 1947 and raised in Colonial Park.
Graduated from Central Dauphin High School 1965.
Harrisburg Area Community College
Inducted into US Army in February 1968.
Boot Camp: Fort Jackson, South Carolina
Advanced Infantry Training: Fort Ord, California
Track Driver school – Armored Personnel Carrier, Fort Knox, KY
Departed Fort Dix, NJ - Arrived overseas in July 1968.
On Stand-By Alert: Russia walked into Czechoslovakia,
Fall of 1968.
Personnel Staff NCO at 3rd Armored Division NCO Academy.
Attached to 1st Brigade Headquarters Ayers Kaserne, KG
Departed Germany, January 1970; joined U S Army Reserve.
Received another Honorable Discharge, 7 February 1979.
USAR
Achievement
National
Defense
Armed
Forces
Reserve
Cold War
Victory
Overseas
Service
US Army
Service
Welcome to the Rock,
Ayers Kaserne
(U. S. Army Post)
Outside of the small village of
Kirchgöens, Germany
Front Gate
Tank in front of 1st Brigade Headquarters next to Flag Pole at Parade Field.
3rd Armored Division
Non-Commissioned Officers Academy
AETFON
My home for a while!
Aerial Photo of Ayers Kaserne, "The Rock", taken in 1996
by the Stadt Government of Hessen, Germany.
Note that this photo of Ayers Kaserne which was the home of the largest combat
brigade in Europe during the cold war years, was taken after the US Army downsizing and retirement of the 3d Armored Division, thereby forcing the closure of the
Kaserne by the US Army and subsequent return of the facility back to the German
Government where it has deteriorated into tall grass and broken glass.
NCO Academy, indicated below by blue rectangar item,
located across street from Post Movie Theater!
Ø
Bar and Grill
outside of Kaserne!
This photo is viewed from the front gate at bottom of photo; the parade field is visible
in the center. To the immediate left of the parade field is the brigade headquarters
buildings and the post flag pole and the two tanks. To the immediate right of the
parade field which for those veterans serving on Ayers Kaserne in the 1950's, 60's,
and 70's remember being a vacant field is the barracks and admin buildings for the 2/3
Field Artillery which were constructed in the early 1980's when the 2/3 FA moved from
Schloss Kaserne in Butzbach to Ayers Kaserne.
In this photo the motor pool is
empty since the brigade no longer existed when the photo was taken.
Ayers Kaserne movie Theatre
The NCO Academy was located two doors to viewers left, catty-corner from theater.
Rod and Gun Club was several blocks to the right and then an immediate right turn!
When not working in the Orderly Room of the NCO Academy as the Personnel Staff NCO,
David W. Demmy worked part-time evenings and weekends at the Rod and Gun Club. An
employe there could have passed for Rob Dixon of ABC-27. Another employe was Ron
Moody and he resembled someone I have seen in Central Pennsylvania. A fellow who did
quik-draw shooting against TV stars like James Arness of Gunsmoke fame was stationed
with us at Kirchgöens. He had to have a special permit from the Army to transport his
double six-guns from duty station to duty station. We always enjoyed his trick gun and fast
draw antics.
The weather was generally dry and mild all year round; not harsh winters like in
Pennsylvania. Hardly any snow; more like cool autumn in Harrisburg year round. Winter,
gloves were welcomed, but heavy duty coats were not necessary in this area. Summer time
was cool, not really warm enough for swimming. The Fulda Gap was a different story.
Parkas were needed there to keep warm and 2 sets of long johns too.
The trooper, facing the camera above, could easily have been the Personnel Staff NCO,
David W. Demmy, of the Noncommissioned Officers Academy, during 1968, 1969, and 1970;
however, David’s boots were always highly spit-shined and his uniform was always heavy
starch and freshly pressed.
David was always one ‘Strac’ Trooper!
Strac is Army slang for very sharp, with high military bearing!
Always squared away, ready for anything!
Image of Kirchgöens Rod & Gun Club Patch available to members of the club.
The KG Rod and Gun Club located at the rear of Ayers Kaserne near the obstacle course and
Class VI store was a source of relaxation and enjoyment for many service members through the
years stationed at Ayers Kaserne. Although the physical facility was small, it housed a bar,
which offered American, and German Beer (Leicher was the house favorite), sodas, various hot
and cold sandwiches and others snacks. It also had a jukebox with the favorite country-western
tunes of the day.
The KG Rod and Gun Club also had a gun store, which carried a good supply of rifles,
shotguns and pistols for sale. If they didn't have the weapon you desired in stock they would
order it for you at reasonable prices. They would also assist service members in preparation
and shipment of, personally owned weapons, back to the United States.
The KG Rod and Gun Club was more than just a bar with a jukebox. Across the street from
the Club there was a skeet and trap range where members routinely practiced the sport and
more often than not several local German friends from the villages of Kirchgöns, Pohl Göns,
Butzbach, and even Geese frequented the club and joined the Americans at the skeet and trap
range and later into the club to enjoy a warm beer. Many of the American members were
routinely invited to join their German neighbors to hunt in the German countryside with them
during the particular seasons, and did.
The KG Rod and Club periodically held skeet shoot competitions with other Rod and Gun
Clubs through Germany and USAREUR. The Hanau, Giessen, and Graf Rod and Clubs were
routinely visited by members of the KG Rod and Gun Club.
Continued
This is not the end, but a preview of “The Rock Soldier” by David W. Demmy, Sr.
GI Joe on his way to becoming a Noncommissioned Officer
This is a view of my desk in my room
Bed headboard shown in background
Circa 1969
This is not the end, but a preview of “The Rock Soldier” by David W. Demmy, Sr.