Galaher Family

Pueblo, Colorado seemed to be full of bars. Bars, as any soldier can tell you, are as good places to find out about men as any, and the stop-over was used in casing the joints and listening to each others' stories.

Lt. Patterson was no drinking man, but he had a lot of interesting stories. He had been a Park Ranger at Mount Rainier National Park in civilian life and during the summers from 1936 to 1941 he was employed for mountain rescue work and had been the official who passed on all climbing parties before they were allowed to make an ascent of the mountain. In the Army he had been ski instructor, and as OIC of the 87th. Mountain Infantry School had taught rock and ice technique to the mountain troopers. At Kiska, he lead one of the first assault teams ashore.

Conveniently enough for the men, the train always made a four or five hour lay-over in the evening. This was just long enough in Kansas City to let the men order huge steaks and do a little Christmas shopping.

Lt. Weldon may not have looked like a trencherman, but his appetite was soon to become famous. He was District Park Ranger at Mount Rainier National Park, Washington from 1940-42 and had previous experience in the mountains of Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Idaho, Colorado, and Wyoming. His civilian experience in skiing qualified him as a ski instructor in the Army School at Cooper Hill, Colorado.

Perhaps a train trip does something to a soldier's point of view, but it seemed to the members of the detachment that the town of Atlanta, Georgia was full of beautiful women. Despite competition from OCS candidates and paratroopers, hunting was good, and the men came back to the train reluctantly.

Lt. Clement saw a lot of funny sights in town, or told about his evening in a way that made it sound funny. He had climbed and skied in New England, but most of his mountaineering was done in the Alps. He spent most of his summers in France and following his graduation from college lived in the Haute-Savoy area. During the first part of the war he joined the American Field Service in France, earning the Croix de Guerre from the French Government. After the fall of France he remained in the country working for American Field Service until after Pearl Harbor, then made his way through Portugal to America. He took part in the Kiska invasion, and upon his return was designated as the best platoon leader in the 87th. Mountain Infantry Regiment.

Miami Beach, jammed with soldiers and civilians might have been a good place for officers, but it certainly was not a soldiers town. Prices were high and girls were officer-conscious. In Miami there was a good deal of processing routine to go through and not much time to see the town or buy presents, for no one knew just when the detachment would fly south. The morning roll call at the Fleetwood Hotel was always good for a laugh, because the C.Q. never called anyone by his correct name. T/Sgt. Pringsheim took the worst beating.

Peter Pringsheim had come to America in 1936. Between college and university course he had time to ski and climb throughout Europe, entering major competitions from 1931-36. During the winter of 1932-33, before Hitler's rise to power, he had been a civilian instructor to German Mountain Troops. In the Army his ability to speak German, Swiss and Italian with his general education had qualified him for military Intelligence school. He served with the Intelligence (Hq. Co.) platoon of the 87th. Mountain Infantry Regiment in the Kiska invasion.

The detachment flew out of Miami in three separate planes, leaving December 23,24, and 25 and spent Christmas at various waypoints along the route between Miami and Natal, Brazil. It would have been a dreary Christmas had not the army provided a turkey dinner for everyone, reminding them that they had not been forgotten.

Herb Rasor had a field day taking pictures along the way. He was to become the most useful man in the detachment. His five years in the National Guard and Army had made him familiar with the army quirks, and he was an expert in any of the delicate repair details that stumped the rest of the men. In civilian life he had been a climbing guide, an instructor of First Aid for the Red Cross and a leader in the National Ski Patrol. He had climbed the Grand Teton in Wyoming, all the major peaks in the Pacific N.W. and had in three successive years made the first winter ascent of Mount Hood, Oregon. His service in the army included assignments as rock climbing instructor in Buena Vista, Va., and ski instructor at Cooper Hill, Colorado. He also took part in the Kiska invasion.

In Natal the members of the detachment stood in line with Air Corps men buying the boots that were to be the trademark of air crews in North Africa and Italy, and took a trip to the long crescent beach outside the airbase where they bathed under the hottest sun that ever blistered white winter skies. Several C-87 transport caught fire after the take-off. They returned to the base safely, however, and in another plane made the long trip over the South Atlantic to Dakar.