796th Military Police Battalion
Stiftskaserne, Vienna
APO 777
 
BATTALION HEADQUARTERS
(Source: "796th Military Police Bn, 1947-1948 Yearbook", courtesy Mike Keefe)
 


Sherman L. Watts
Lt. Col._______Inf
Commanding Officer
  


Jerry M. Wimberley
Major ________FA
Executive Officer
 
S-1 Section
S-1 is responsible for the supervision of the battalion's administrative functions. The Adjutant is responsible for the proper execution of all orders by the Bn. Commander, or his Executive. The Sergeant Major coordinates the various duties within the battalion and checks to see that all correspondence is correctly written and placed in the proper channels. The office's Administrative Clerk writes all correspondence on a battalion level. The Message Center Clerk acts as a courier between higher command echelons, other units, and the battalion. He also keeps a daily log of all correspondence entering and leaving Battalion Headquarters.
 
S-3 Section
The S-3 Section controls the operations of the Bn. All plans are studied here, men are assigned to a service school for study, and training classes are supervised to raise the efficiency of personnel on Military Police duty. Before an operational mission is undertaken by the battalion, it is scrutinized here, and corrections in the original plan are made.
S-4 Section
S-4, Battalion Supply Section, supervises the breakdown of all articles requisitioned for use by the battalion. At least 50,000 different items are requisitioned by this office, such as operational equipment, office equipment, rations, fuel, weapons, vehicles, ammunition, and articles of clothing.
 
Headquarters Company
Hq. Co. is responsible for the personnel working in Battalion Headquarters, the various Staff Sections, and the Vice Squad. The Medical Detachment is assigned as part of Hq. Co. Usually, the men in Hq. Co. enjoy more regular working-hours than the men of the other companies. A large percentage of personnel from Hq. Co. are D/S to various sections, performing specialized duties.
COMPANY "A"
(Source: "796th Military Police Bn, 1947-1948 Yearbook", courtesy Mike Keefe)
 
The Company's strength consists of 110 Enlisted Men, who are responsible for the 1st Bezirk Station, the 19th Bezirk Station, and the Linz Road Block. The men of Co. "A" also guard the Manner Food Dump; Hq. Command, USFA; the Provost Marshal's Office; the WAC Detachment; and the gates of the Stiftskaserne.
 
COMPANY "B"
(Source: "796th Military Police Bn, 1947-1948 Yearbook", courtesy Mike Keefe)
 
Company "B" is responsible for the 17th and 18th Bezirk Station, Motorcycle and Traffic Patrols, guarding the Tobacco Building, the Arsenal Warehouse, the Class 2 & 4 Warehouse, the Franz-Joseph Bahnhof, and the Stiftskaserne. Men of Co. "B" also serve as Foot Patrols in the 1st Bezirk every 4th month.
 
COMPANY "C"
(Source: "796th Military Police Bn, 1947-1948 Yearbook", courtesy Mike Keefe)
 
Company "C" is responsible solely for the efficient operation of the International Patrols and Radio Patrols. Because of its "round-the-clock" duties, the Company strength is much greater than those of the other comapnies. There are 130 men in the company.
COMPANY "D"
(Source: "796th Military Police Bn, 1947-1948 Yearbook", courtesy Mike Keefe)
 
Company "D" is responsible for the 7th & 8th Bezirk Station, the 9th Bezirk Station, guarding the American Legation, the Astoria Garage, Hernales Motor Pool, the Vienna Sales Commissary, the Vienna PX, and placing Foot Patrols in the 1st Bezirk every 4th month. The Company strength consists of 116 men.
 
STAFF SECTIONS
(Source: "796th Military Police Bn, 1947-1948 Yearbook", courtesy Mike Keefe)
 
Personnel
The Personnel Officer, WOJG Royce E. Logston is responsible for for the proper handling of all records and correspondence pertaining to the organization's personnel. M/Sgt Henry D. Rodgers, the Personnel Sergeant Major, is in direct charge of the 10 personnel clerks, 2 from each Co. The Personnel Clerks make out the monthly Company payrolls, individual allotments, enter data in service records, type board proceedings, and take care of the many details involved with keeping an individual's records up-to-date.
 
Mess Hall  


Pfc Ralph F. Breen, cook, is shown dishing out chow


Bn personnel during chow-time in Bn Mess Hall
 
Special Investigation Section
The Special Investigation Section is a small, but highly efficient law-enforcement agency. The 21 men in the group have the difficult task of impartially investigating all delinquencies involving government property, or American personnel and their personal property. All cases such as attempted rape, larceny, embezzlement, sex offenses, illegal entries, illegal use of weapons, and assaults are investigated by a Field Agent, whose job is not to acquit or convict, but to accurately and objectively report all relevant to the incident.

Work as an Investigator is a "round-the-clock" job, and the personnel in this section are picked, because of specific qualifications. The majority of the men in the section at present have had prior police or investigative experience, and all of them are in top physical condition.

Between the period from 1 January, 1947 to 31 December, 1947, the section investigated 431 criminal cases in the Vienna area. From 1 January, 1948 to 1 May, 1948, 238 cases were handled by the section.

SIS personnel who are unmarried mess and billet separately in a private house in the Eighteenth Bezirk. There are numerous persons in Vienna who can thank the SIS for quick recovery of stolen personal belongings, and without a doubt, the apprehension of many a criminal has been due to the unceasing vigilance of these invetigators.
 
Motor Pool
The Motor Pool Section of the battalion is without a doubt one of the most important sections in the unit. Personnel of this section are responsible for the maintenance and efficient use of all vehicles assigned to the organization. The personnel in this section consist of Captain Edwin F. Gracie, Motor Officer; T/Sgt John Domokas, Motor Sergeant; S/Sgt Lee G. Kuntz, Asst. Motor Sgt.; T/Sgt Jessie B. Sherrod, Truck Master; Motorcycle Maintenance Sgt, S/Sgt Nickolas J. DeMicke; Maintenance Inspectors T/4 Carl R. Bost and T/4 Edward Zellny; an Administrative Clerk, T/5 Orval R. Layton; a Records Clerk, Cpl Jan O. Giltjes; a Parts Clerk and his assistant, T/5 Chester Kerstetter and T/5 Gerald J. Durant; a Gas Clerk, Sgt Bill Cohea; eight Mechanics, T/3 Clarence H. Turner, Cpl James R. Harrison, T/5 Harold E. Merchant, Pfc Robert W. Hansen, Pfc Walter L. Crutchfield, Pfc Gene L. Fletscher, Pfc Karr, and Pfc Geiser; and three Dispatchers, Pfc Donald Brown, Pfc Blair J. Carlson, and Pfc Joseph H. Wilson.

There are 139 vehicles assigned to the battalion on the T/O&E. There are 65 jeeps, 16 weapon carriers, 19 command & reconnaissance vehicles, 1 ambulance, 8 2½-ton trucks, and 30 Harley-Davidson motorcycles. All of the above vehicles are assigned to Capt Gracie as Motor Officer. All of the Enlisted personnel are assigned to Headquarters Company, and work an average of 50 hours per week per man.

Each company furnishes a certain number of drivers who perform the 1st Echelon maintenance on their vehicles before, during, and after operation. The drivers also accompany the vehicle during 2nd Echelon maintenance which is done by the mechanics with the assistance of one of the 17 Austrian civilian mechanics working in the Motor Pool.		  


796th MP Bn Motor Pool
 
Special Service Office
"Special Service" is a term which has a broad meaning in the battalion, for numerous problems are solved by the office, which is run by Capt Hugh Basse, Bn. Special Service Officer, and T/5 Bernie Fineman, Bn. Special Service NCO. The original function of the section was to requisition and distribute athletic and recreational equipment to personnel of this unit. Skis, parkas, ski boots, basketball and baseball uniforms, boxing equipment, radios, writing tablets, ping-pong sets, fishing tackle, phonographs, games, day-room furniture, and various other items have been obtained for the battalion.

Hotel and train reservations are obtained for battalion personnel upon request. Tickets for operas, movies, and important athletic events have also been placed at the disposal of personnel.

One important function of the section has been to promote publicity for the battalion, and attempt to keep its activities in the spotlight. Hardly a week passes without a picture or a story about the unit, or its personnel, appearing in some publication.

The section has also supervised activities by an Austrian university students group, which has received financial and material aid from the battalion. The 796th AYA students group occupies two rooms in the rear of the Cafe Batzenhausl, at 10 Karl-Lueger Ring, across from the University of Vienna. The AYA rooms are used by the students as a place to relax and forget their studies for a few moments. The food and other items the battalion has donated to the group serve as a supplement to the meager diet of the students, and has helped many of them to continue their studies, appreciative of the American desire to help the Austrian people to help themselves.
 
Library
Pfc Eugene J. Burnol, Battalion Librarian, is shown glancing through one of the latest novels received in the Library. The Bn. Library contains over 1500 books, of which 350 are in circulation most of the time. A total of 117 of the latest stateside magazines are received by the Library each month.
 
I & E Centre
1st Lt Ira D. Morrell, Bn. I & E Officer, is shown pointing to an important place on the Current Affairs Map in the I & E Centre. At the right is S/Sgt William D. Dawson of Hq Co.

The I & E Centre offers USAFI self-teaching and correspondence courses to men interested in furthering their education. Weekly I & E lectures are presented by T/Sgt John H. Galiger, Bn. I & E NCO, and informative literature is distributed to the men. In addition there are 20 "on-duty" courses which personnel can study to improve their efficiency.