At the conclusion of the Longhorn Maneuver, we were airlifted to our new duty station, Camp Atterbury, Indiana. We first went by motor convoy to Camp Bowie where all equipment was thoroughly cleaned before loading into the aircraft. Again, each flight arrived at Atterbury Air Force Base without incident. Our heavy equipment went by convoy through the country and at each point where the convoys bivouacked the local citizens were extremely nice and entertained them in various ways.

Throughout these two airlifts. our men performed so well and attracted so much attention all over the country that the division received much favorable publicity there from our highly publicized band went through the country also and gave a concert in each town in which it stopped for the night. I made sure that one of the stops would be Greenville so that our home town folks could see and hear our Dixie Division Band. It made quite a hit with all the people as it gave a concert at the high school stadium and did some of their fancy marching on the football field. Needless to say, they made a hit everywhere then went, North or South.

Although Camp Atterbury was not as close to a large city as Fort Jackson had been, it was more centrally located. Indianapolis was the closest city and was about 30 or 40 miles from us. Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio weren't too far away, nor was Chicago. Columbus, Vincennes, Terra Haute, and Bloomington were medium size Indiana towns which also offered some type of recreation or entertainment for our boys. 

While stationed here, we managed to take in a few major league baseball games as well as college football games, and in August drove up to Chicago to see ice College All-Stars take on the Los Angeles Rains, champs of tile National Football League. Bob Waterfield was then the quarterback of the Rams and e had two pretty good receivers in Elroy "Crazy Legs' Hirsch and To,, Fears. Bobby Dodd coached the college players that year and had Babe Pirilli from Kentucky as his starting quarterback.

Just as in the South, our band stole the show everywhere it went in Indiana. They would open each concert with `Dixie" and then play "Back Home In Indiana". The people really loved that. We had many, many requests for our band to march in parades, play concerts, and appear at gatherings of various types. I always tried to let them go if at all possible and was only too glad to get these opportunities.

The band did a good missionary work for us and brought much credit not only to itself and our division, but to the Army as a whole. I'm sure it was the best known organization in tire Army. General McAuliffe, of Bastogne fame, wrote me that he had never seen a band play as well, march as well, or appeal to the public as much as the Dixie Division Band. It goes without saying that the members of the band individually took a tremendous amount of pride in their general appearance and in their organization as well as their musical performance.

I have already mentioned that the band played in New York and Miami several times, but I think that they received them greatest tribute when they were invited to be the Honor Band at the Kentucky Derby and play "My Old Kentucky Home" just before the start of the race. The playing of this song is a tradition at the Derby and it was quite a thrill for me to watch my band play it while 100,000 people stood and sang.

On another occasion the band was invited to play "Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair" at the world premiere of the movie by that name in Indianapolis (home town of the male star). The theatre manager offered $500.00 to have our band play on the stage of his theatre before the beginning of the show. However, this was a bit too commercial and we had to turn him down on his offer.

Our famous Dixie Division had many followers and boosters. Two of these were General Charles B. Surnmerall, former Chief of Staff of the United States Army and Frank Pace, Secretary of the Army at the time we were in service. When someone complained to him about our band wearing Confederate uniforms and our division wearing a Confederate Flag as our insignia he promptly replied that both of these had been approved by his office and they were official as far as he was concerned.

Our division had a pretty fair baseball team during the spring and summer we were stationed at Atterbury. We won the regional title in our area which made us eligible to go to the National Semi-Pro Tournament held 11 a year at Wichita, Kansas and finished third in competition with teams from all over the country.

Some of our boys went into the major leagues after they were released from the service. I can't remember all of them nor can I remember the ones who played AA and AAA ball and never quite got to the majors, but here are two or three names I shall never forget. Frank Lary from Northport, Alabama was one of our star pitchers and later made a big with the Detroit Tigers. He won 20 or more games several seasons and was one of the few pitchers with a consistent winning record against the Yankees when they were tops in the American League year after year.

Another or one of our pitchers, Art Dilators pitched for the Yankees at this time and won several World Series Games for them in the years he was with them. Hugh Pepper, who played on our Fort Jackson football team, also pitched and played the outfield on our baseball team. He wound up with the Pittsburgh Pirates and had a number of good seasons with them. Tommy Brewer was a standout pitcher for the Boston Red Sox for several years be fore leaving with a sore arm.

We also had a softball team which was about the best I have ever sec We won the Fifth Army championship and if my memory serves me correctly, I think we won the Army championship as well. I can't remember the losing a game. We had a pitcher who could throw a softball almost as hard as anybody else could throw a baseball. The opposing batters just could, hit him and he would strike out sixteen to eighteen men or more in one seven inning game. He was a sensation and was not a ringer. He was one our soldiers and a good one at that.

One of the ice skating shows came to Indianapolis while we were at Camp Atterbury and we had the pleasure of entertaining such celebrities as Sonja Henie and Barbara Ann Scott, both of whom were lovely girls and were champion skaters. We met all the "lesser lights" among the outstanding skaters who were plenty good of course, but not as well known as these two stars.

The people of Indiana were good, solid Hoosier folks, and we grew like them very much. We found out that if they liked you, there was nothing they wouldn't do for you and there was nothing good enough for you.' made many friends in that fine state including the governor. Soon after arrival at Atterbury, Governor Shricker proclaimed May 5 as Dixie Day; invited me and my staff to have lunch with him, the mayor of Indianapolis and several newspaper people. They planned a welcoming ceremony for us front of the large Union Monument in the center of the city. I brought public relations unit, my band along with me and they marched around the circle in front of the Monument playing "Dixie". I'm sure the Union soldiers to whose memory the Monument was erected would have turned over their graves had they known of this. But we also played "Home in Indiana; I presented the governor with a Confederate Flag and in turn he gave the flag of the state of Indiana. We had a most enjoyable time and ram, her most pleasantly Governor Shricker and our contacts with him.

For most of the time while we were at Camp Atterbury, I wore two hats. Not only was I the 31st Division Commander, but I was the Post Commander as well. On the whole I enjoyed this dual role. However, one of responsibilities as Post Commander turned out to be quite a headache.  Our camp was the main stockade for the area and all the prisoners from other camps in our area were brought in and confined in our stockade. Of course this was an added burden on me and the Post Provost Marshall since some of these men were pretty tough customers. This was a distasteful but one that had to be done. Guards were maintained over the prisoners the time and our security was the very best We had trouble every now then with one or two of them, but we had good methods to get them straightened out again.

I haven't said much about the camp itself or our training while were there. The reservation was small and our training areas and firing ran were extremely limited. The barracks were good, however, and the men were well quartered. There were some on-base quarters for the married men had their families with them. We trained only enough to keep up to date everything and to keep everybody busy. During the last few months at Jackson we had lost a lot of our personnel who were sent as replacement lb, Far East Command, some to Japan but most to Korea.  In their place we began to get those coming back home from Korea and just waiting until their time was up so they could be discharged from the Army.  We also got old regulars who had found a home in the Army and seemed to be waiting around until retirement time caught up with them. In any case, we didn't work to hard, but kept busy and had a good recreation program in progress.

Since we had originally been called into the federal service for a period of twenty-one months, all the 10,500 men from Mississippi and Alabama still in the division would be eligible for discharge during October, 1952. This meant that those boys who had left school to enter the service with us would have to wait until the following January before going back to school. Therefore, I requested and received permission to let those boys out by the end of August if they had a letter from a school stating that they had been accepted in the semester beginning in September. By doing this, many of our Guardsmen were able to get back to school and complete their education. Galla Boy, or should I say "Sarge", was one of these and after his discharge to late August left to return to Washington & Lee to finish his college education.

The time had come for me to decide what I would do in regard to staying In or returning home. Ruth was perfectly willing to stay in the service and, as a matter of fact, she rather liked it. However, I felt that my business had done without me long enough and if I was ever going back to it and continue to be a success in it, I would have to do it now. I had made many warm friends in this tour of duty and had enjoyed my active duty as commander of the Dixie Division so it was with mixed emotions that. I asked to be relieved of duty and returned to National Guard status.

On the day of our departure from Atterbury, we received a most pleasant surprise. General "Hap" Gay, who had arrived earlier to take over as Post Commander, had arranged a very heart warming departure for us. We were picked up at our house in a convertible complete with driver and aide. Ruth was presented with a large bouquet of flowers and we then proceeded to the main gate with a MP motorcycle escort. Troops from my division - about 10,000 of them, lined each side of the road and came to attention as we drove by. Planes flew in formation overhead and as we approached the gate, the Dixie Division Band struck up "Dixie". What a wonderful send off this was! Our car was at the gate and after a farewell and thank you to General Gay, whom I had come to like and admire very much, Ruth and I left Camp Atterbury and active duty for the last time. As we drove off, Ruth remarked that she felt like a "Queen for a Day". The exact date of my release from active duty escapes me now, but it was in October, 1952.

This active duty period during the Korean War had been a most interesting experience which certainly had been challenging in every way. In some respects it was very rewarding. Naturally, there were some disappointments too.  Nevertheless, there were many happy moments which we shall always remember with a great deal of pleasure.

In closing out this chapter in my military career, I would like to pause long enough to pay tribute to the fine young officers who served as my Aides-de-camp both on active duty and on reserve status at home. Their
services were most commendable. 

These Aides were Colonel G. V. "Sonny" Montgomery who later became one of our Congressmen from Mississippi; Captain James Robertson from Indianola; Captain Bob Fain from Montgomery, Alabama; Captain Jim Sutherland from Birmingham, Alabama; Captain John Dale and later his twin brother, Captain Sunnis Dale; Captain Giles Crisler who later became head of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol: Captain Jimmy Williams; Captain Jimmy Strain; First Lieutenant "Jeep" Simmons and Lt. Matt Virden, a home town boy, from MO.

Article supplied by former 31st Division Band member, John Nielsen
(date unknown)

General Paxton Demoted to Hoosier Corporal

Maj. Gen. Alexander G. Paxton has been 'demoted' again.  Or maybe he was 'promoted.'  It's all in the way you look at it.

Gen. Paxton, who is Commanding General of both Camp Atterbury and the 31st Infantry Division recently was made an honorary Kentucky Colonel at impressive ceremonies at the Louisville, Ky., Services Club.

The rank of Colonel, of course, is two grades below the two stars Gen. Paxton wears.

This week, he was made an honorary 'Hoosier Corporal.'

"This rank," according to Mr. J. B. Manson, of New Albany, Ind., "is two degrees above a Kentucky Colonel -- and much more exclusive too."

At the same time, the entire 31st Division Band was elevated to the rank of Hoosier Corporal.

It all came about when Mr. Mason met Gen. Paxton at Louisville's Service Club and heard the Dixie Division Commander was made an honorary Kentucky Colonel on the staff of the Governor of the Blue Grass State at that time.

"However," Mr. Manson said, "the boys in the band received only applause for their work.  That's the reason I'm promoting all of the boys in the band and the photographer who accompanied them.  We Hoosiers won't be outdone by our neighbors across the Ohio River."

Now the question is: Was Gen. Paxton 'Demoted' or was he 'Promoted?'

Whatever the answer, he's still a two-star General in the United States Army.