A Failed Maneuver

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Jack and a few other men were selected from Camp Perry to help form the 9th Armored Division in Fort Riley, Kansas (Jack Nemerov, We Remember History Oral Interview). The officer personnel at Fort Riley had no concept of modern-day warfare, which was why Jack and his outfit were tasked to convert the 7th Horse Cavalry into tanks (Jack Nemerov, We Remember History Oral Interview). Jack was assigned to the Ordnance Department.

The training was vigorous, and their outfit was very involved, as keeping the tanks running demanded continuous effort. Four months into training, the 9th Armored Division was ordered out to Funston Flats on maneuvers. By now, Jack was a Corporal. He and the rest of his outfit were going to bivouac right above the Funston River (Jack Nemerov, We Remember History Oral Interview). The plan for the maneuver was; the combat engineers were to build a pontoon bridge across the river, the Mobile Infantry was to rush across to establish and hold a bridgehead, and the Armored Division would cross, and attack (Jack Nemerov, We Remember History Oral Interview).

The maneuver turned out to be a catastrophe. As the bridge was being assembled, tanks were collectively breaking down. In the meantime, a tank had begun to slowly cross the pontoon bridge. When it reached near the middle, the bridge collapsed entirely and the tank crashed into the river (Jack Nemerov, We Remember History Oral Interview). The crew within the tank managed to get out safely because the river was not deep. In the meantime, tanks were breaking down all across the west side of the river (Jack Nemerov, We Remember History Oral Interview).

As Jack observed the aftermath of the failed maneuver, he noticed maintenance men in the river trying to revive the tanks and get them moving again. Jack was frustrated by their wasted effort; he knew the plan would never work in active combat. Jack made a comment out loud about how “stupid” the plan had been. Immediately, he heard a stern voice respond to his comment, "What is so stupid about this Corporal?" (Jack Nemerov, We Remember History Oral Interview). To his shock and dismay, it was a full Colonel. The Colonel repeated the question and when Jack did not answer, an Aide took down his name.

The very next day, Jack was ordered to report to the Colonel’s office (Jack Nemerov, We Remember History Oral Interview). When inside, the Colonel repeated his question from the prior day for the third time. Jack explained how the entire division would have been killed if those had been real combat conditions. He continued by suggesting the idea of having engines set aside and ready to replace the engines in the tanks as a possible solution. When the Colonel asked Jack where he would obtain all the rebuilt engines, Jack answered “set assembly lines in the rear echelon, take these engines that broke down, and rebuild them as if you're building a new engine,” (Jack Nemerov, We Remember History Oral Interview). Jack proceeded to explain the details of his solution to the Colonel until he was dismissed.

A few days following, Jack was ordered back to the Colonel’s office. The Colonel addressed Jack as Sergeant and Jack corrected him, as he was only a Corporal. After hearing the colonel respond, “I Said Sergeant,” Jack realized he had received a promotion (Jack Nemerov, We Remember History Oral Interview). The Colonel continued to ask Jack what his three choices for Officer Candidate School were. Jack gave him Armor first, Signal Corps second, and Field Artillery third. Despite his three choices, the Colonel told Jack, “Army regulations stipulate that you have to make three choices, you're going to Ordnance” (Jack Nemerov, We Remember History Oral Interview). There was no further discussion on the topic.