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Show Utah Guardsmen Cain Leaves for Holidays New Year's will be extra happy this holiday season for most of the Utah Army National Guardsmen called to active duty in October. About 1,200 of the 1,600 Guard on duty at three military bases in the U.S. received leaves for the holidays. Most will visit families and friends in the areas of Salt Lake, while others will visit in other parts of the nation. Men from units in Ft. Hood, -Texas; Ft. Lewis, Wash., and Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo., have been arriving in the Beehive state for the past week. Utahns stationed in Fort Hood are members of Headquarters XI Corps Artillery and the 1st Target Tar-get Acquisition Bn. From Fort Leonard Wood will come members mem-bers of the 144th Evacuation Hospital and from Fort Lewis the men from 115th Engineer Bn. and 116th Engr. Co., and the 3659th Ordnance Co. The Utah Air National Guard is playing a big role in seeing that this wlil be a happy holiday season for the Guardsmen. An Utah Air Guard C-97 made the flights to the three forts and flew to Salt Lake City 65 soldiers from each. Maj. Gen. Maxwell E. Rich, Utah Adjutant General, said the leaves for the holidays greatly, boost the morlae of the units. Gen. Rich, Brig. Gen. Maurice L. Watts, Commissioner L. C. Romney.and a group of newspaper, news-paper, radoi and television men visited the Utah units stationed at Fort Hood last week. "I was proud of you when you were called to active duty, and I'm even more proud of you now," Gen. Rich said. , The party was briefed on the work and mission of the 1st Target Tar-get Acquistion Bn. and XI Corps Artillery. Then they interviewed soldiers from the two units and heard their comments. Lt. Bernie Bills, Ogden, of the 1st Target Acquisition Bn., best explained the reason for complaints com-plaints the men had. "We've smiply had too much to do in too short a time. Since we've been here we've had to get all the men qualified with varoius weapons, get additional immunizations, check out field equipment and still pass Army training tests. There were no complaints about the food snice the cooks, after several years in the Utah Guard and twomonths on active duty are proficient. Most of the soldiers intervewied in their barracks complained of not having hav-ing enough to keep them busy, of just sitting around too much, but Lt. Bills' answered these statements. |