37th Armored Infantry Battalion Diaries
Personal note from Evan O. Lawson
A question was asked of me about the 3d Armored Division and why it was activated.
I believe the Division was activated to give Europe, Germany in particular a strong force as a deterrent to the USSR. The 4th Infantry Division had been in Germany since taking part in the war and was a fine Division, but the armored threat that the Soviet Union had needed to be meet by a strong armored force. The 3d Armored Division had a great war time record, one of the best fighting divisions in WW II. During basic and advanced training it was clear we had a division we were going to be proud to be part of. Moral was always high, discipline was good and we had some of the best cadre that any soldier could ask for. Our training was hard and we had long runs that you think you would drop, but you never quit. With half our units being Regular Army (RA's) and the rest draftee's (US's), this gave us a stability that is not seen anymore. The older draftees took the sometimes younger RA's under their wings and made them men. In the three-plus years I don't know of a single AWOL from my company. As a {just turned July 24th,1955}17 year old, I was assigned to the division when I joined on July 27, 1955. I had never been away from home before and this 136 lb. kid was ready to tackle the world. I had lots of friends that to this day I have not forgotten some 44 years later. The 3d Armored Division will always be that one special division for me, and in my nine years I was in several. Just a few words to tell my comrades of the division, the 37th Armored Infantry Battalionexpressly, thanks for the memories.
Sgt. Evan O. Lawson
Co. B 37th Armored Infantry Battalion
Fort Knox, KY and Ray Barracks, Germany
July 1955 through October 1958