The Island - P&S: Louisiana, Mississippi, Beaumont/Port Arthur, TX

[vl100butch]

I've been doing some research over the last few days before starting this thread as a stand-alone.

The quickest way I can describe this timeline is to think of it as a mixture of the Old Breed (US Marine Corps) and friends (aka military retirees from all services) with a dash of the Bayou Perdu Knights of Columbus thrown in for irreverence...the POD will be mid 1983 when Gen Barrow and BGen McIlhenny start looking at preparedness issues...

the old guys with long memories will start a scrounging operation when mobilization begins and start heading to Avery Island...they are going to have one big advantage in helping out and re-establishing command and control...they will not be restricted by Title 32, USC (National Guard) and they will be able to cross state lines...

The real life cast of characters already in the mix:

Walter S. McIlhenny, Brigadier General, USMCR (Ret), awarded the Navy Cross on Guadalcanal, president and CEO of the McIhnenny Company (Tabasco sauce)...

Archbishop Philip M. Hannan of New Orleans, WW2 veteran, regimental chaplain in the 82d Airborne Division, had to run relief efforts to concentration camps after liberation in 1945...

Robert S. Barrow, General, USMC, retiring as Commandant of the Corps in June, 1983...

Senator Russell Long, Huey's son and ranking member of the US Senate from Louisiana...

and remember what Jeff Foxworthy says about people from Louisiana...put them next to a drainage ditch and they'll never starve...

 

[vl100butch]

Anyway, I'm not a particularly good writer of dialogue, so this will be written as an article for a military staff journal...so here we geaux again

From Military Journal, Joint Command and Staff College March 2014
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Joint Forces Command South Central United States
A Study in Military Unorthodoxy

We're from Louisiana, we do things different...

The virtually uninterrupted control of state government in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and into the southeastern corner of Texas was due to several factors besides the good fortune of having several cities with key industrial and natural resources surviving undamaged.

Discussions over the summer of 1983 which led to activating a Joint Forces Command Headquarters built around the Naval Reserve Forces Command, Marine Reserve Forces Command and 4th Marine Division, 377th Theater Area Support Command, and the Louisiana and Mississippi National Guard. By the time of the nuclear exchange, a command post had been established on Avery Island, Louisiana. Other command and control elements were set up in Hammond, Louisiana and Brookhaven, Tupelo, and Grenada in Mississippi. After the nuclear exchange and reestablishment of communication with southeast Texas, an additional command post was established in Beaumont.

The use of overlooked personnel resources such as retired military members and Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets from area universities and high schools provided cadre for a federal and state military capability when most of the Selected Reserve was mobilized and deployed.

The stories that are told of how this force was equipped and later trained will be covered as well as can be as there are very few survivors alive from a group of men where someone in their late fifties was a youngster. The knowledge of virtually forgotten stocks of weapons and equipment meant that forces were well equipped, even if with second and third line items. The supply runs to Anniston and Red River Army Depots in January, 1984 are legendary and the subject of several books and a movie now in production.




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[vl100butch]

The 1983 Offsites

The first offsite was an invitation for the Marine Corps to hold a General Officer's meeting at Avery Island, Louisiana. Avery Island is home to the McIlhenny family and TABASCO sauce. The president of the company in 1983 was Brigadier General Walter S. McIlhenny, UCMCR (Ret), who was very well known for his support of the Marine Military Academy and other such endeavors. As the world situation deteriorated in 1983, several other offsites were held focusing on reserve forces and started to include the Navy and Coast Guard.

The critical offsite was held in September of 1983. In order to get all the people who needed to be there, Brig Gen McIlhenny visited Russell Long, who was the senior senator from Louisiana at that time, and had the Corps present a nuclear strike scenario for Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Arkansas. As the briefing progressed, Senator Long became convinced that a contiguous area of Louisiana and Mississippi could survive and the two states needed to cooperate. He then called Trent Lott, his Mississippi counterpart and asked him to come over to his office on a matter of the utmost urgency.

After the briefing Senator Lott asked several questions, among them was what was the National Guard going to be doing? He was reminded that both Mississippi and Louisiana had enhanced brigades that would probably be gone from the states. The only National Guard elements from either state that could be available was the 159th Tactical Fighter Group out of New Orleans, which had the Gulf Coast air defense mission. At that point Brig Gen McIlhenny told the senators that the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard were working together on plans, but to make the plan effective they needed to bring in the Army and Air Force, in particular the Adjutant Generals of both states. Some political arm-twisting need to be applied through political channels to get the Adjutant Generals together to talk about joint planning.

Some other additions were rather serendipitous. While driving across the St. Claude Avenue bridge in New Orleans, one of the planners for the meeting saw a sign for the Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District. When he got to Jackson Barracks to speak with his Louisiana National Guard counterpart, he asked and learned that Corps had (and still has a large operation in New Orleans). After the September offsite, "Maybe we need to talk to them too", became the unofficial motto of the planners.
​

 

[vl100butch]

Maybe we need to talk to them too
Autumn, 1983

Organization of command and control was not something that came quickly until the war began in Europe. Throughout the autumn of 1983, the best way things could be described was baby steps. Word went out through law enforcement and emergency management channels to the parish and county sheriffs and emergency managers: do you know who your counterpart is across the state line and to all the other counties/parishes you border?; do you ever talk to them?; how do you communicate with them?; if you don't, start now.

Some local governments caught on faster than others, Plaquemines Parish in Louisiana proved particularly obstinate. The parish president was called in and told in no uncertain terms that if he didn't get on board, command and control would happen through NAS New Orleans and martial law would be declared. He was also reminded that it wouldn't be the first time that the state had to send troops to make them behave, during WW2 Governor Sam Jones had to send the State Guard in.

College football turned out to be a means for the state police forces to really talk to each other. Anytime you see a college football game on television, you see that the head coach is always escorted by a state trooper or two. It just happened that during football season in 1983, whenever schools from Louisiana and Mississippi played each other, there were a few extra state troopers accompanying the football team and band. Part of the procedure that evolved was for the troopers from the other state to visit the local state police headquarters. HBCU football turned out to be just as an effective means of setting up communications as the major schools of the Southeastern Conference.
​

 

[vl100butch]

Snippets
(will be put into the proper place as the timeline progresses)

WWL radio in New Orleans is a 50,000 watt clear channel AM station. Prewar, at night, the signal could be picked up through most of the continental United States and into Canada.

(Author note: this may be stealing some thunder, but I think it's a good integration point between the various timelines)

During the nuclear exchange, the station antenna farm had some damage that took about a month to repair. WWL went back on the air but only at 2500 watts and was told to hold off increasing power. This was more of an OPSEC measure than anything else. WWL pre-exchange was one of the base stations for Louisiana State University football and was well equipped to be the post-exchange net control station for Gulf States Emergency Radio.

The following is a transcript from the Gulf States Emergency Radio broadcast of XX May, 1984, when WWL went back to full power.

This is WWL, 870 kilohertz AM broadcasting from New Orleans, Louisiana as part of Gulf States Emergency Radio. And now, our National Anthem...

After the completion of the anthem:

WWL is now broadcasting at 50,000 watts as authorized by the Federal Communications Commission. I'm David Tyree and would like to introduce the Governor of Louisiana, Dave Treen.

Treen's remarks, he then introduces the governor of Mississippi, who then introduces the governor of Alabama. Southeast Texas is represented by the Mayor of Beaumont who all make short remarks.

Back to Tyree, who introduces General Robert Barrow, USMC, Commander in Chief, United States Gulf States Command.

"Good evening fellow Americans, I'm Robert Barrow, a United States Marine...it is my privilege to announce tonight, that we have a new President. Elizabeth Dole was sworn in as the 43d President of the United States..."

After the announcement, a panel discussion took place with the elected officials who all recognized Mrs. Dole as the lawful President.
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[vl100butch]

(this is simply just fun)

Some people just plain don't get it

Samedi Gras, 1987 (the Saturday before Ash Wednesday), Krewe of Endymion assembly area, Orleans Avenue next to City Park.

A joint decision was made between the state governments and localities that a limited Mardi Gras celebration would be allowed. In New Orleans, there would be weekend parades with Rex and Zulu returning to the streets on Fat Tuesday.

The Krewe of Endymion would be the first parade of that season, parading down their traditional Mid-City route. In years past, the lead marching unit was an active duty military band (either the 4th Marine Division or the 5th Mechanized). In 1987, neither were available, so the Jesuit High School Marine Corps Junior ROTC band led. This group of young men had distinguished themselves in defense of one of the early relief trains headed to Oklahoma and Nebraska. As a result, they were allowed to carry their .30 carbines slung across their backs whenever they paraded. This was well known throughout the Gulf states and a particular point of pride to New Orleans.

Of course, this would not go unchallenged by outsiders. The most colorful incident involved Major James F. Burns of Joplin, Missouri, who was part of a Missouri State Guard group performing a liaison mission. Major Burns loudly questioned the cadets about why they were allowed to carry weapons. After he was told why the cadets were under arms and who had authorized them (Gen. Barrow), Major Burns went on to make the fatal statement, "Sure, and the next thing you're going to tell me is that you have a Rabbi as well." The senior NCO instructor told him, "Sir, we certainly do have a Rabbi and an Archbishop as well." Chaplain (COL) Hannan, in civilian life and his other job, Archbishop of New Orleans, and Chaplain (CDR) Blackman, Chief Rabbi at Temple Sinai in New Orleans had come out to the assembly area to greet the participants before the parade got underway. The end result was that Major Burns was put on the next train out of New Orleans and told to stay out of Louisiana and Mississippi, in terms much stronger than described here.




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[vl100butch]

What in the world are they doing down there?
September 1983

The Marines and to a somewhat lesser extent the Navy and Coast Guard weren't going to wait to set up a command facility on Avery Island. Personnel and equipment from New Orleans started moving there and began to set up infrastructure. A company of Seabees was deployed from Gulfport and one of the first actions was to set up a couple of RV parks. Additional housing on the island would be needed and this was a relatively inexpensive way to do so and provided a good cover story.

One of the first officers assigned to Avery Island was a Seabee Captain. He and even more so, his wife, were excited about the assignment as they researched the history of Avery Island. His liaison visit to Vicksburg initially stirred up a tempest in a teapot, but in the long term found still more useful assets.

As a civil engineer, he knew all about the Waterways Experiment Station (WES) and the Mississippi Valley Division, US Army Corps of Engineers but had never had the opportunity to visit. Like most people at that time, he was unaware that a supercomputing center was located there and had never heard of ARPANET much less the existence of nodes in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Monroe, Lafayette, Ruston, Oxford, Hattiesburg, and Starkville.

On top of finding a place pretty much in the middle of nowhere with several universities worth of PhD engineers, he found all sorts of things you wouldn't immediately think you'd find at an engineering lab. WES owned several reasonably modern armored vehicles that they drove around for roadway testing. There was also a cadre of demolition experts, people who blew up stuff for a living on a daily basis.

When he called on the Division Commander, he found out that the Army had not been brought on board to what was happening in New Orleans. Fortunately, the Captain called his boss in New Orleans and got the wheels turning for another fateful E-ring meeting.
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[vl100butch]

What in the world are they doing down there?
Part 2

After one of the weekly "tank" meetings, GEN Wickham asked Gen Kelley if he could come over to his office for a couple of minutes for a cup of coffee and to talk about some things he heard from the Chief of Engineers.

After the normal pleasantries, GEN Wickham asked what was the Corps up to in Louisiana and Mississippi. Gen Kelley told him that the sea services were working on a contingency plan to maintain continuity as well as command and control for the central Gulf states, primarily Louisiana and Mississippi. When GEN Wickham asked "Why there?", Gen Kelley handed GEN Wickham a bottle of TABASCO and asked him to read the label. Kelley then began to explain about Avery Island, what was there, and exactly who Walter McIlhenny was and what sort of political connections he had.

"You mean to tell me his father was a Rough Rider, commissioned by Teddy Roosevelt himself? His uncle caught a 19 foot alligator, the biggest ever in Louisiana? And then, he lives on an island paradise with a huge underground salt mine and oil wells?" Gen Kelley answered in one word, "Yep".

Gen Kelley invited GEN Wickham down for a quick weekend visit and suggested that he have the Mississippi Valley Division Commanding General stop down at the same time. GEN Wickham asked the critical question, "What exactly are you planning to do?" The short answer was to have a command and control element in a place that would survive the worst case scenario.

"Walt McIlhenny was on Guadalcanal, he understands what a shoestring operation is," said Gen Kelley. He continued on saying that this was going to be an operation that had to use whatever was on hand and that the Army Engineers in Vicksburg were part of that.

"If this does go to Hell, who will be in charge?" asked GEN Wickham. "Bob Barrow," answered Gen Kelley, "he's from down there." GEN Wickham thought about it for a few seconds and said it made perfect sense.

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[vl100butch]

this is for information.....

forces available for airlift in May 1984 (if airlift can be found and sent)

Number 3 Battery, Louisiana State Guard (2ea. M-102 105mm...used for salutes and left behind when 1/141 Field Artillery was mobilized) one gun is named "Dominique" the other is "Renalto" (one clue, Charles Boyer played Dominique in the movie...and he was real)

Vicksburg Armored Engineers - 1 M-56 Scorpion and 2 Walker Bulldogs manned by personnel from the Waterways Experiment Station

2ea M-42 "Dusters" twin 40mm tracked AA guns....crews from all over...

4 ea quad .50 machine guns on various military trucks....

Mortar Platoon, 9 ea WW2 type 60mm mortars manned by New Orleans area Vietnamese (these guys can shoot)....each carried on a M-151 and trailer....

Command and control support....USMC jeep monunted commo teams...4 of the Navajo code talkers are available but are not to get anywhere close to the front line...(remember, when the Marine mafia gets moving, they get moving)

a company's worth of infantry...scraped up platoons of Army and Marines from various places in the area....each platoon has a 106mm recoilless on a jeep....

all are armed with WW2 weapons....Garands, Carbines, grease guns....

APOD - Chennault Airport, Lake Charles, LA...lots of fuel

wheels can be there within 18 hours of notification, tracks in 36 hours....

 

[vl100butch]

Unbelivable
October 1983

GEN Wickham's trip to Avery Island was disguised around a visit to Fort Polk with a stop at Jackson Barracks (the former Army post in New Orleans used as Headquarters for the Louisiana National Guard). To say he was amazed was to put it mildly and realized that not only the Avery Island salt mine, but all the salt mines in south Louisiana were assets. Over coffee on a porch with an amazing view, the four generals (Wickham, Kelley, McIlhenny, and the Mississippi Valley Division CG) discussed ideas of setting up for survival.

They realized that this location was in the public eye and assigning active duty military would rapidly bring more attention to the buildup on the island. Not only would command and control be required, but institutional knowledge to rebuild. The idea of calling up some retirees and putting together a list of others to be called up seemed to be an obvious solution after the suggestion was made.

(another future snippet--you'll meet the not-so-young-anymore Captain's parents later--this excerpt will NOT be from a military staff journal)

Coming Home
November 5, 1985

The train was a few minutes late coming into Laurel when the green-eyed girl and her mother got on the train to New Orleans. They were going down to for the girl to interview for a job as an operating room nurse and to hopefully then find a place for her to live. The old Pullman commuter railcars used for this service had seen better days and they were crowded.

The only place they could find to sit was in a spot where the seats faced each other. The spots closest to the window were taken up by a sleeping soldier wearing well worn BDUs with his cap over his eyes. What looked to be the soldier's worldly possessions were in a duffel bag under his legs and an ALICE pack on the other seat. As the train started moving, the solider stirred and quietly asked where was the train and how much further to New Orleans.

The girl answered "Laurel and about three hours." The soldier mumbled thank you and went back to sleep. When the train left Hattiesburg, the soldier woke up and started to look around. He was amazed at the undamaged countryside and people getting on with the normal business of living. The soldier finally noticed the green-eyed girl and her mother and said hello. The girl asked the solider where he was going and he said, "Home." She asked where was home and he told her, "New Orleans, actually Belle Chasse on the Westbank, but most people have never heard of it." TO BE CONTINUED
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[vl100butch]

The Hurricane Preparedness Group
October-November 1983

Governors Treen and Winter held a news conference in mid-October 1983 announcing the formation of a coordination group and study of how the two states could work better together when hit by a hurricane. They were pleased to announce that the recently retired Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Robert Barrow, agreed to head the working group. Like politicians everywhere, they were even more pleased to announce that the Federal government would be providing all the funding.

On the E-ring, there was a mixture of relief and irritation about activist Congressmen coming up with projects that didn't seem to make sense with the world situation. However, the reactions of the Chief of Staff of the Army and the Commandant of the Marine Corps quashed most of the bureaucratic questioning.

Funding started to flow to the counties and parishes in both states to work on plans for not if but when a major storm would hit. Efforts over the past couple of months to get local government officials to talk to each other paid off as the more aggressive local governments had a good idea of what worked and what didn't.

Evacuation plans from the coastal towns and cities were dusted off and refined. Local governments relooked what outside help they would need to house evacuees for several months. Even though the world situation was worsening, the creaking machinery of bureaucracy was starting to move on what looked like on the surface to be something totally unrelated.

At the same time, a group of retired military personnel started heading to Avery Island.

​

 

[vl100butch]

Coming Home - Continued
November 5, 1985

As the train crossed the Rigolets and entered Orleans Parish, the soldier got up and headed to the restroom. The green-eyed girl and her mother noticed that he walked with a noticeable limp. As the train went through New Orleans East and Gentilly, his mood seemed to lighten. When the train pulled into the Union Passenger Terminal, the soldier asked if they would like to share a ride across the river although he didn't know if they'd need to get down to the ferry or find a ride across the bridge.

As they walked down the platform toward the terminal, an older man with two boys in uniform came up to the soldier and saluted him. The soldier stood at attention and returned the salute. The older man asked his name, the soldier told him "Kerner, James W., Captain, Field Artillery".

"Captain, we've been waiting for you, the cadets will take you bags," said the older man.

"Thanks Chief, I need to get a ride over to the West Bank and I'd like these two ladies to come with me. Someone in my family must have made it through, so I need to find out who. How did you know I was coming?" asked the soldier.

"We've got pretty good comms throughout the command area now, something called the ARPANET. Don't ask me how it works, but the computers at all the colleges can talk to each other. When you checked in at Tuscaloosa, they sent a message to New Orleans. Your ride is taken care of, a lot of people are glad to see you home," responded the Chief.

As they walked into the terminal, a couple a bit older than the mother came up to the soldier. The woman hugged the soldier and the tears began to flow. "You actually made it home," she said, "Happy Birthday, Jimmy."

The soldier smiled at his mother and looked at his father, "Where you at, Daddy?" The soldier's accent had unconsciously shifted back to the "Yat" dialect of his childhood. His father said he was doing fine now. The soldier introduced the green-eyed girl and her mother and explained what they needed. His mother said they could help them out.

Like any mother, she then asked her son if he had eaten and if he wanted something to eat. The soldier asked if Cafe Du Monde had made it through. His parents laughed and said of course it's still there, "Beginets?" asked his mother. "Yep," answered the soldier.

"Captain, next Monday call over at the Naval Air Station. We'd like to debrief you about what you've seen and how you got back," said the Chief. "They're probably going to want you to go to Avery Island for a couple of days."

"Avery Island?" asked the soldier.

"Yes sir," answered the Chief. "Been a lot of crazy things going on since the balloon went up. But since today is your birthday and your first day home, that can wait."

One more soldier made it home. TO BE CONTINUED





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[vl100butch]

Professionals study logistics
November 1984

The first working group meeting between the "Hurricane Preparedness Group" and representatives of the various active and reserve components took place in mid-November 1984. The Air Force was largely left out of the initial preparations and when the representative from Keesler AFB left the meeting, he immediately got on the phone and contacted his counterparts at Barksdale, England, and Columbus AFBs. Bottom line, you need to have someone at the next meeting who can speak for your commander and can make some decisions was the word conveyed.

The two major issues surfaced at the first meeting were food and equipment. Both states had enhanced brigades that were early mobilizations. Other units were expected to be called out of both states as well. The only unit guaranteed to stay behind was the 159th Tactical Fighter Group because of the air defense mission. Both Property and Fiscal Officers (USP&FO) agreed that the local defense and relief mission would rely on the State Guard and whatever Federal assets were left behind.

The State Guard forces in both states were poorly equipped. Planners thought that the state would have time to adjust after mobilization and to organize a follow-on force. Everyone agreed that all forces should be equipped with similar weapons but it also would depend on what they could get their hands on. The old Master Gunners, Warrant Officers, and Sergeants Major took to this mission with a vengeance. Forgotten stockpiles of weapons were found in all sorts of places and were shipped to the USP&FOs in Jackson and New Orleans.

State Guard cadres were formed in counties and parishes were issued weapons from these stocks. Additional weapons, in some cases in cosmoline from World War 1, were stored in salt mines and similar places. Representatives from the working groups visited Anniston and Red River Army Depots, knowing that all sorts of things could be found if you knew what you were looking for. A good example was the M-151 with 106mm recoilless rifle mounted. This had a different stock number than the M-151 and the 106mm recoilless rifle separately.

It was totally amazing what was available, if you knew what questions to ask. The equipment was obsolescent at best, but in a lot of cases it was brand new. Even as the mobilization pipeline was starting to crank up, planners were looking for more modern equipment. Personnel at the depots were glad to have someone who wanted the stuff, simply to get rid of it. Quantities were identified and earmarked, the stage was getting set for the great January supply runs.

Rations were a bit more difficult, MRE production was ramping up and slated for the mobilized components. Brig Gen McIlhenny contacted the Baumer company in New Orleans, competitors in the hot sauce business but a long-time supplier of C Ration components. Baumer was getting out of the ration business as it was too much "feast or famine" but with some help from Senator Long and Governor Treen, they agreed to begin production of a "Hurricane Ration". The "Hurricane Ration" was more like the British 24 hour pack. Although available in limited quantities before the nuclear exchange, it proved popular and is still in use today.

Small arms ammunition came out of the forgotten stockpiles, but again discovery of another existing asset, the Red River Army Ammunition Plant east of Shreveport provided a source for new manufacture munitions before the nuclear exchange. Although relatively lightly damaged after the exchange, production was not resumed until the late 1980s.



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[vl100butch]

The Hurricane Preparedness Group
Unintended Happy Consequenses
November-December 1983

An anticipated consequence of forming the Hurricane Preparedness Group was it focused state and local government to prepare for a problem which they understood intimately. After complaints in the legislatures and by local governments, the preparedness group expanded to look at tornado preparedness across the central and northern sections of Louisiana and Mississippi. The fact that actions necessary to prepare a community for a hurricane or tornado was an 85-90% solution to prepare for a nuclear attack was ignored by the more disruptive elements within state and local government as they lobbied to get their entities more funding.

Once the group got underway, they were contacted by emergency preparedness officials in Alabama, who wanted to someone at the table as well. Word had filtered back to Montgomery about the Mississippi border counties setting up emergency contacts with their Alabama counterparts and the merits of such an obvious idea just made common sense. Texas of course was another story entirely, with the normal mentality of "We're Texas, we're bigger and better than you." Other than establishing links with cooperative local officials, Texas was not a player, a move that Texas would later regret.

Evacuation plans were refined for coastal areas, but required 48-60 hours notice to fully implement. Shelter in place was determined to be the best solution for people in the tornado belt. The unmentioned 500 pound gorilla in the discussion was how would you be able to evacuate places like Shreveport, Jackson, Alexandria, and Montgomery. Those with a military background understood that Shreveport and Montgomery would be primary targets and would targeted by multiple nuclear warheads.


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[vl100butch]

Beginets - Part 1
November 5, 1985

A happy group left Union Passenger Terminal, the soldier got in a pickup truck with his parents and the green-eyed girl and her mother were shepherded into a crew-cab with the cadets and the Chief.

"You probably have a whole lot of questions and I'll try to answer some of them before we get to Cafe Du Monde. My job today is to make sure that young Captain gets home," the Chief explained.

"It seems like y'all have made quite an effort for him and to have his parents here," asked the mother.

"Well, his father is the senior captain of the Freeport Sulphur Company boats, he's been keeping a lot of people supplied and things running down below Venice," answered the Chief. "Now that young Captain, he's the first soldier we've seen here that went through it all in Germany."

"So the limp?" asked the green-eyed girl.

"He was probably wounded, we don't have that much information other than his name, where he came from, and where he was heading," answered the Chief.

In the other pickup truck...

"Have you heard anything about Jane?" asked the soldier's mother.

"She's gone, she was in London when the bombs hit," answered the soldier. "There are limited communications between whats left of BAOR (British Army of the Rhine) and what's left of UK. I was able to ask and was told that very few if anyone even got of London, I know she was on shift when it happened."

"Anyway, I need to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. Not much use for someone that knows how to shoot cannons any more," said the soldier.

The soldier looked down Canal Street as they headed down to Decatur and into the French Quarter.

"Seems pretty busy?"

"Yep," answered his father. "Gasoline and diesel were never a problem around here, Norco and Alliance came through undamaged and they are trying to piece together what they can salvage to get Exxon in Baton Rouge running again. Even Oronite (fuel additive plant) came through undamaged"

The soldier started laughing, "Gawd, of all things to survive and of course it still stinks?"

His parents laughed, the soldier's disgust at the smells coming from that plant began as a very young child, it was the least favorite part of going to Port Sulphur.

As they drove down Decatur toward the Cafe the solider asked, "Seems a lot less touristy now. Guess there aren't a lot of people coming down any more?"

"Well, there are a couple of flights a day out of Moisant but you're not going to get much further than Beaumont or Birmingham if you drive," answered his mother.

The sure sign that things had changed for the soldier was the ease in getting a parking place. The second pickup pulled up close by and everyone headed toward the green awning that was still there.


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[vl100butch]

Meanwhile, back in Washington DC
December 1983-January 1984

Senators Lott and Long settled into a pattern of a couple of meetings a week as the world situation deteriorated. They would discuss issues and decide who would take the lead. Through their staffers, they maintained contact with the Chief of Staff and the Commandant. By early January 1984, due to mobilization they felt it was time to see the GEN Vessey and the President.

GEN Vessey had heard of the Hurricane Preparedness group and thought it was a good idea, but seemed to be a bit out of synch with what was going on in the world. Senator Long smiled and said the magic words, "You do know that most of what we're doing to get ready for hurricanes and tornadoes is applicable to civil defense in case of a nuclear attack."

Senator Long continued on the vein that if things went badly, he wanted to make sure General Barrow had legitimate authority to command. Senator Lott then told the Chairman that they wanted to create a new Unified Command under mobilization authority which included all military forces in Louisiana, Mississippi, and contiguous areas. The senators wanted to have a nomination list ready for confirmation by the beginning of February. For public consumption, the headquarters would be located at Barksdale AFB in Shreveport. In reality, the actual command post would be at Avery Island.

Like everyone else, the Chairman asked why Avery Island. The senators laughed and handed him a bottle of TABASCO. They also said that they wanted to go straight to the President with this and avoid his staffers and needed the Chairman's help. When the situation looked serious enough, they would run a list of appointments through the Senate for confirmation. For the moment, they wanted to keep things moving at the local level and announce the new organization at the last possible moment.

The Chairman was able to get the Senators into a quick meeting with the President in late January, 1984. Although records of the meeting were later found, keeping the staffers out left a knowledge void which was not fixed until the events of May 1984. After recall of the Nebraska and Kansas congressional delegations, the Senators brought the list up to the remaining quorm for confirmation. The list was confirmed on a voice vote with no comment.

Later on, while Senator Long was underneath the Greenbrier, Strom Thurmond asked him what exactly was going on with that nomination list. Being almost as good a storyteller as his father, Russell Long told the story of the United States Gulf States Command that he and Trent Lott brought into being. Then to much laughter, he explained that besides appointing General Barrow, the list promoted several other people, among them the Archbishop of New Orleans and Chief Rabbi at Temple Sinai in the Army and Navy Reserve respectively. The catch was, the Archbishop and the Rabbi didn't know they were on the list. "I wonder who's going to tell them?" asked Senator Long to much more laughter.


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[vl100butch]

Whaaaaat?
January 1984

Even though a shooting war was about to begin in Europe, the everyday bureaucracy of the military ground on. So when the Senate confirmed the nomination list for US Gulf States Command, copies were forwarded to the services for action.

Two men on the list caused considerable befuddlement within the personnel communities. A Catholic Archbishop and a Rabbi were confirmed as a Colonel, US Army Reserve and Commander, US Navy Reserve respectively. Part of the problem was that no one could find any records on them. So, a series of phone calls were made, some to New Orleans and later to the records depository in St Louis.

Their personnel files were found in the repository and after having reviewed the individual files, the logic of these appointments was clear. Archbishop Hannan had served as a regimental chaplain in the 82d Airborne and Rabbi Blackman had served with the 2d Marine Division. Appropriate appointment packets and a copy of their Senate confirmation were put together and sent to them via US Mail. At the same time, the appropriate religious authorities were notified.

The New Orleans Archdiocese got a phone call from the Archdiocese of the armed forces. Rabbi Blackman got a call from from the Navy Chief of Chaplains office. The reaction in both places was, "WHAT?", followed by, "you've got to be kidding!"
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[vl100butch]

Beginets - part 2
November 5, 1984

The group went under the green awning and as the area was only about half full, pulled a couple of tables together and sat down. Cafe Du Monde has it's own pace about how soon a waiter will come to your table and the soldier noticed that hadn't changed.

The soldier read the menu on the napkin container and looked up at the waiter who just walked up, "Chocolate Milk?" he asked.

"Haven't had any in a while," answered the waiter. "But we did get a milk shipment in this morning, you want a glass?"

"Glass?" asked the soldier. "What happened to cartons?"

"Can't get them any more, so we get it in big cans," answered the waiter.

The soldier smiled, and told the waiter "I would love a glass of milk. I guess we need 7 orders of beginets and whatever everyone wants to drink."

The green-eyed girl looked at the saucer and the pile of powdered sugar on the beginets and wondered how are you supposed to eat them. The soldier laughed and told her to knock the excess sugar off first, but to be careful because they were probably very hot.

The soldier asked the two cadets where they were going to school. The first answered "Jesuit" and the second answered "Newman".

"Newman?" asked the soldier. "That's different."

"Yes sir," answered the cadet. "All the schools here offer JROTC now. As the Chief says, 'we have to teach you enough to stay alive.'"

The soldier's mother broke in with a change of subject. She told the green-eyed girl that her brother was an administrator at West Jefferson General and that the hospital kept a couple of rooms for when people came in from out of town. The mother said she'd call and make sure things were set up.

A voice from behind the soldier said, "Sergeant, take Mrs. Kerner over to the Cathedral and let her call her brother. Welcome home son." Colonel (Archbishop) Hannan waved to the Chief and the cadets to stay seated.

"Jimmy, good to see you," said a second voice. "The good archbishop here said even though I knew you, you were one of his." That voice belonged to Commander (Rabbi) Blackman, who taught a history course that the soldier took his last semester at LSU.

The story of how the two clergymen found themselves back in uniform was a source of much amusement in the New Orleans area and throughout Gulf States Command as they went around ministering to both their military and civilian flocks. Archbishop Hannan ended up in charge of the Catholic Church not only in Louisiana, but in Mississippi and southeast Texas. Rabbi Blackman ministered to small Jewish congregations in a couple of places in Mississippi where Jews outnumbered Catholics (and were totally outnumbered by Baptists). Some of the "high-water" Baptist ministers who became State Guard chaplains suffered some culture shock when they found themselves working for an Archbishop and a Rabbi.

When they had the chance to work together, their good-natured grumbling was a source of laughter and good cheer to all they met so they told the story of how they ended up back in uniform. The soldier laughed with them as they found themselves caught up in the wheels of a military bureaucracy that didn't care how old they were or what their jobs were, they were still somewhere on the reserve rolls.

As they talked, students of human nature that good clergymen are, they determined two things: the soldier would have a rough time for a while, but he'd find his way; although it would have been nice if the green-eyed girl was a couple of years older, she was interested in the soldier.

The soldier's mother came back and said everything was set at West Jefferson. His father said that he had to be at Harvey in the morning to meet up with the boat. As they were about to go their separate ways, the soldier's mother invited the green-eyed girl and her mother over for dinner tomorrow evening. She was making a shrimp gumbo for her wayward son. The women glanced at each other in a way that the soldier and his father never noticed, but both mothers signaled their approval and the green-eyed girl said they'd be glad to come.

The green-eyed girl never found out that a couple of phone calls were made later that evening. Although everyone liked her and wanted to hire her anyway, the word from up high was to make sure she got a job at West Jefferson.

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[vl100butch]

Professionals study logistics-part 2
January 1984

What became the J-4 (Logistics) of US Gulf States Command began as a logistics planning group in New Orleans, simply because the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and Louisiana National Guard had headquarters there. A group from Mississippi joined them and by mid-month a liaison team from Alabama showed up as well.

By early January, individual small arms and ammunition were in place at the county/parish level in both states. Alabama was a latecomer to the process but in the counties that bordered Mississippi, small arms were being distributed to emergency planners and state guard cadre.

The issue became, what else did they need? What heavy weapons should they get, and could they get them and the ammunition as well. The first consensus from all was that you couldn't have too many .50 caliber machine guns. Armored vehicles came next, no one thought that they'd fighting the fifth echelon along the banks of the Mississippi River, but having a couple of dozen light tanks and armored personnel carriers would be useful.

Lightweight, mobile firepower is what the planners focused on and of course the old soldiers, sailors, and marines who knew where all the bodies were buried came through. Several dozen jeep mounted 106mm recoilless rifles were found in depot. Some of them were still on the old M-38 jeep, which was largely phased out in the 1970's. A large quantity of old 60mm mortars and ammo was located. Then, a couple of thousand M-79 grenade launchers were found and shipped to Anniston Army Depot.

Everyone agreed that getting the M-79s distributed was high priority so a joint team headed up to Annistion to get them. While there, they explained what they were looking for and they were shown some towed quad .50 machine gun mounts, some Walker Bulldog tanks that were supposed to be prepared for a Military Assistance action, and some M-42 Dusters that had recently been returned from West Germany. When asked about getting the machine guns for the mounts, their guide laughed and said that thousands were stored at the Depot. The Coast Guard Chief Gunner's Mate asked about ammunition for the Duster. He was told that all the ammo he'd ever seen for that system was Navy ammo.

You could almost hear the gears turning in the thought process as the group looked at each other. "We need to come get this stuff." The biggest worry was 76mm for the Walker Bulldogs, but the ammo people thought they could find some.


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[vl100butch]

We may be stuck in a salt mine, but we're going to eat well
January 1984

While the group in New Orleans worked on weapons and equipment, BrigGen McIlhenny and a group at Avery Island started to look at what it would take to provide food after a nuclear exchange. Both states could feed themselves easily under normal circumstances and the group started to look at reserves and how long they would last. The Agriculture Schools at LSU and Mississippi State were contacted and asked to ensure that seed reserves were placed at all their extension service offices statewide.

Food stocks at Avery Island were built up and stored in the salt mine as well as all the other salt mines and appropriate places in Mississippi. Considering the circles that BrigGen McIlhenny moved in, it should have been expected that Paul Prudhomme would show up to experiment with recipes for the "Hurricane Rations". The military personnel and their families on the Island knew that nowhere else would they be eating as well.

The suggestion that alligator meat be added to the ration pack was pushed by the Landry family from Pierre Part. Alligator didn't make the final cut, but as a prank Al Baumer had a couple of hundred cans of Alligator Sauce Piquante made up and sent to Avery Island.

The initial "Hurricane Rations" were a work in progress at the time of the exchange, however they were available and were rapidly distributed.
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