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A veteran of the post-World War II occupation returned to his former offices on Panzer Kaserne and Rhine Ordnance Barracks, as well as the scene of his marriage and much of his youth.
Retired Maj. James Beckworth revisited the 21st Theater Sustainment Command headquarters, surrounding facilities and Kaiserslautern July 15 during a remarkable journey through time.
Born in Baxley, Ga., Dec. 20, 1928, Beckworth spent his teen years in a world at war. It was in this postwar environment in 1947 that Beckworth graduated high school. Coming from a patriotic family, he volunteered for the U.S. Army right out of school.
“At that time, I never could imagine that during my career, I would participate in actual world-changing events and that I would see Gen. Douglas MacArthur not once, but twice in my life,” Beckworth said.
As an 18 year old, he had no idea that from his humble beginnings he would eventually travel the world, from the United States to Germany, and to the far East and back.
Beckworth attended basic training in Fort Jackson, S.C., then went directly to Korea. He was assigned to the 52nd Signal Battalion and worked in personnel. Pvt. Beckworth was still there on Aug. 15, 1948, during the division of Korea.
“That was the first time that I saw the great General Douglas MacArthur,” Beckworth said. “MacArthur and the U.S. Ambassador were there when Syngman Rhee became the first president of South Korea.”
Beckworth transferred to Yokohama, Japan, in August 1948 to work with the 8th Army Signal Command.
“It was a peaceful time — the Japanese were very friendly,” he said.
While in Japan, Beckworth said he was “privileged” to be present for the Independence Day Parade held July 4, 1949 at Independence Palace Plaza in Tokyo. Some 40,000 troops, he said, participated including personnel from the 1st Cavalry Division, the 11th Airborne Division and his unit, the 8th Army Special Troops.
“I’ll never forget that day,” Beckworth said. “I once again saw Gen. MacArthur — this time he had his pipe, his limo and his own honor guard. I had a direct line of sight to the general as he viewed the troops. I was within 50 yards of him when he was on the reviewing stand. It was such a thrill to be so close to him.”
In April of 1950, just prior to the outbreak of the Korean War, Beckworth returned to San Francisco, re-enlisted and went to Fort. Bragg, N.C. That July, he requested reassignment to Germany and in November was assigned to ROB, then known as Rhine Ordnance Depot. Beckworth worked at ROD through the winter of 1951.
Driving through ROB some 64 years later, Beckworth commented that it looked quite different than he remembered.
“When I was here in the 1950s, there were two fences surrounding the entire perimeter of the depot, and in between the fences there were Army guard dogs for additional security,” Beckworth said. “Also, all of the buildings were prefabricated —not permanent. In fact, there weren’t enough barracks to house us back then so we lived in tents.”
In January 1951, the Army tasked Beckworth’s unit with establishing Panzer Kaserne.
“At that time in history, everything west of the Rhine was still occupied by the French,” he said. “All of the kasernes in this area had also recently been under French control. This was the beginning of what would be known as ‘Rhine Military Post.’”
On Panzer, Beckworth continued his career in military personnel. His office was located in Bldg. 3001. The first two floors of Bldg. 3002 housed the Women’s Army Corps Detachment, the WACS. Beckworth had a number of WACS working for him in personnel.
Beckworth stayed in Germany until April 1953. On Dec. 31, 1952, he married his wife, Erna, a German citizen and resident from Landau, Germany, at the Lutheran Church in Kaiserslautern.
In April 1953, Beckworth and his bride transferred to 3rd Infantry Division headquarters in Atlanta. He worked as an information and education adviser with the 3rd ID troops who were returning from the Korean War. He then was assigned to artillery in Fort Sill, Okla., for a year and a half.
Beckworth then changed course and went to Officer Candidate School in Fort Benning, Ga. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in December 1955.
Beckworth helped train troops until February 1958, then deployed with the 3rd ID back to Germany. They were replacing the 10th Infantry Division in areas around Würzburg and Bamberg.
“Incidentally, the 1st infantry occupied the road from Nürnberg to Grafenwoehr,” Beckworth said. “They painted spades on the rocks alongside of the road to let everyone know they were there. You can still see some of the spades on that road today.”
In 1959, the Air Force requested the help of the 3rd ID to train pilots in escape and evasion techniques.
“We set up a dungeon on base and ‘captured’ the pilots,” Beckworth said. “If they were a little ornery, we would put them in the dungeon and take their clothes away for the night. They weren’t so ornery when the morning came.”
Beckworth and the 3rd ID stayed in Germany until the Berlin Wall went up in September 1961.
“When the wall went up, the 7th Army had to go to their war positions in case the East Germans, the Russians and the other Warsaw Pact countries decided to make a move to the west,” he said. “All of our families were prepared to evacuate to France in case the U.S. had to go to war. We remained ‘on the ready’ for two weeks.
“Also during this time the autobahn leading into East Germany was closed,” Beckworth continued. “The U.S. Army sent a battle group to break up the roadblock.”
In 1963, Beckworth attended Intelligence School in Fort Hollisberg, Md. He then attended the Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Center in Monterey, Calif., to learn Vietnamese. He also worked stateside during the war.
From March 1964 through September 1965 he was stationed in St. Louis, Mo., as the logistics commander for Army Aviation Command. He was the chief of the “Red Ball Express.”
“We had a hotline from Saigon to St. Louis to send airplane and helicopter parts to Vietnam,” he said. “We had that line available 24/7, and we were able to get any part on a ‘lowboy’ to Travis Air Force Base within 24 hours.”
In 1965, Beckworth again attended DLIFLC, this time learning the Thai language. He then went to Washington and worked for the Military Materiel Advisory Program, then returned to Vietnam for his third and last tour, during which he served as a Vietnamese/Thai liaison officer.
Beckworth retired in 1972 after 25 years of serving his country. During his quarter-century of service, he earned two Bronze Stars, two Army Commendation Medals and a Joint Service Commendation Medal.
“I am proud and honored to have served in the U.S. Army,” Beckworth said. “I certainly have a lifetime of memories to reflect upon.”
