In 1962, as a junior grade Army officer in South Korea, Bob was tasked to develop a hand grenade range for the 1/5th Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division, to be located in the so-called ‘spoonbill’ area north of the Imjin-Gang River and just south of the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone). Bob did this in record time, receiving instructions and probably ‘brainstorming’ with his Commanding Officer and others, then launching himself into the Army ‘FMs,’ or Field Manuals for further guidance on design. He designed the 5 stage course, supervised it’s construction, wrote the training program, and was the PI (Principal Instructor) for this program resulting in superb training for about 1200 men, inclusive of both American and Turkish troops.
During this training, again, conducted to both American and Turkish troops, there were neither injuries nor fatalities, allowing that the 5th phase took place with live hand grenades. This is also with the awareness that the Korean ‘spoonbill,’ which more or less surrounds the US Army location in that area, was heavily mined against North Korean invasion.
The Project received high accolades from many quarters.
