100,000 Men Command Post Exercise ~ San Luis Obispo ~ July 1941

Lee writes:

Kathy: This news article is describing the war maneuvers of Aug 1941. For these war games Mt Pleasant’s Btry D 222nd FA Regt motored north to Western Washington from San Luis Obispo. A year earlier, summer of 1940 while still a National Guard unit, the Btry went by rail from Mt Pleasant to a tent camp near Centralia Washington for a similar exercise.

A story to go with the maneuver article. In August 1941 of the four Btry D gun Sgts I was the junior Sgt. The Btry had just been issued three big 4 ton Diamond T’s to pull our 155mm howitzers . As the jr sgt, my section got a small 2 ½ ton 6x6. As we were getting ready to move out on this 2000 mile road march the Division Commander called me over and asked if our small truck was up to the job. I told him that with DelRay Sorenson as our driver it would be no problem. It wasn’t. The commanding general was Maj Gen Ernest J Dawley who went on to command the American VI Corp in the invasion of Italy. A photo of the gun section, with DelRay, was posted earlier on this site and well after we had a Diamond T truck.

Headquarters Corps and Army Insignia ~ July 1941

"This Is The Way We Wash Our Clothes.....tra..la.la.la.....at San Luis Obispo.

Military Pomp and Ceremony~ 222nd Field Artillery

Lee R. Christensen adds: Kathy: I do not recognize any of the enlisted troopers in the photo. But Joe Buys who was probably the Officer of the Day inspecting the group was well known to North Sanpete and Wasatch Academy football players. He was the coach at Richfield and I don't remember either school beating them in my day. When the Utah National Guard mobilized in March 1941 a good number of high school coachs were mobilized with it. Both Mt Pleasant schools , Brunger from Wasatch and Fuller from Noth Sanpete went into service along with Buys, Richfield and Wade ,Salina just to name four. lee 

Division Insignia ~ June 1941