8 January With Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista fleeing the country for the safety of the Dominical Republic, Castro’s guerilla army occupied the city and took control of the government and military. Within days he began executing thousands of members and supporters of the Batista regime, seized all U.S. and other foreign holdings, and established a communist government aligned ideologically with the Soviet’s.

     By the end of the month the U.S. imposed an economic embargo against the island. President Eisenhower recognized the immediate threat of the spread of the communist revolutionary ideology by Cuba to the rest of the hemisphere, and initiated a counterinsurgency program for Latin America. He proposed a multi million-dollar budget to fund health, education, and agrarian improvements, as well as military aid and advisors for the counterinsurgency program, the military aid was denied by Congress.

11 February The battalion Basketball team lost to 35th Engineer Group by a score of 65 to 35 dropping them to the losers bracket in the Post-III Corps League standings. In their next game they defeated the 46th Engineer Battalion 76 to 57 giving them a second chance to for the championship. On the 14th they again faced the 35th Engineer Group in the final game and lost 61 to 55 ending their chance for the Post-III Corps League championship.

13 February The 1st (Provisional) MP Company organized on 27 December 1957 pursuant to General Orders No. 118, HQ, Fort Hood, now only a paper organization TC 19-55R, was ordered deactivated with receipt of General Orders No. 36, Pacific Area Command, HQ Fort Hood, of the same date.

     "Fort Hood brings back wonderful memories. When I arrived in 1959, I was still just 18 years old, and fresh from the farming area of Seymour, Texas. But I had met a great bunch of men in PMGS (Company G) at Fort Gordon, and they were sent to Company B, 720th MP BN with me. There were Fields, Hyland, Donnell, Crist and myself, and we were all starting our military service together. I don’t remember a lot of names from the unit. There was Miller and Calhoun, and our 1st Sgt, E-8 Edward G. Rector. We nicknamed him “R.A.” Rector, because he was strictly Regular Army!

     As Privates, our pay was either $74.00 or $78.00 a month before taxes, and we were paid once a month. That means we had to stretch those few dollars for thirty days! After we bought necessities, there wasn’t much left for our personal use. Back then we reported for our pay every payday. A Pay Officer would be set up, surrounded by desks occupied by people like the 1st Sgt, Company Clerk, a flunky lieutenant, Field First Sgt, maybe a few others. Each one wanted donations “after” we received our pay. One month in particular comes to mind, when my money ran out before payday, and I was gigged for needing a haircut at Guard Mount. When I got off duty, I asked Fields to shave my head. I figured that was the only way I could make it till the coming payday. Early the next morning, an Orderly Room flunky came in our barracks (open bay), and told me the 1st Sgt wanted to see me 'On the double!'

     I’ll never forget Rector. At 28 in 1959, he was one of the youngest E-8s in the Army at the time. With only eleven years in the Army, he was a walking poster for the MPs. Spit shined shoes that you could use as mirrors to shave, and creases in his uniforms that were sharp as knives. Really spit and polish Army! As I walked in the Orderly Room, he called me into his office, and I took off my hat as I entered the room. That’s the only time I ever saw him crack up laughing! He had called for me about the gig I received at Guard mount for a haircut violation, but when he saw my baldhead shining under his light, he couldn’t contain his laughter.

     Unfortunately, he still gave me company punishment for the gig. I was ordered to paint the benches in the company yard on my off-days! In the twenty years of my military service, that was the only gig I can recall. But I’ll never forget the incident. The look on “R.A.” Rector’s face when he saw my baldhead is priceless, and will forever remain in my memory. It was men like me who kept the company benches painted."   PFC (SSG Ret.) Thomas E. Johnson, Bravo Company, April-November, 1959.

3 March In cooperation with the Military Police Association (MPA), the military police of Fort Hood sponsored the 3rd Annual International Golf Tournament at Fort Hood and local courses from 3 March through 2 April. Golfers, both military and civilian, were invited to join the members of the MPA in promoting local charity and international goodwill by entering the tournament.

8 April All Strategic Army Corps (STRAC) units at Fort Hood were visited by MG R. F. Sink, the commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps and head of all STRAC units within the United States. Members of his staff, and representatives from 4th U.S. Army Headquarters accompanied MG Sink on the inspection tour. During his inspection of the battalion cantonment they observed the STRAC readiness status and training process.

5 May First assigned to Fort Hood in April 1954, III Corps Headquarters was deactivated during budget cuts of the era.

14 May The Battalion Chaplain (CPT) Elwin G. Edwards spoke to the Temple, Texas Rotary Club about religious activities at Fort Hood. As the director of religious education at the post, Chaplain Edwards was one of several to regularly appear before nearby civic and civilian groups.

     The Chaplain is a graduate of Hillsborough High School, Tampa, Florida, and of Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. Before entering the military he was the pastor of Satsuma Baptist Church, Satsuma, Florida. He joined the Army in July 1952 after leaving the U.S. Marine Corps in 1948 to complete his theological training.

16 May As part of the 2nd Armored Division Combat Command “A,” U.S. Army Garrison, the battalion was one of five units in the Garrison Command that joined a review parade of 2,000 soldiers from all post commands to honor Armed Forces Day festivities. The troops in parade under BG Franklin F. Wing, Jr., Commanding General, Combat Command “A”, 1st Armored Division passed in review before MG Earle G. Wheeler, 2nd Armored Division and Fort Hood Commander, and central Texas dignitaries.

31 August Bravo Company First Sergeant Edward G. Rector age 28 from Fort Hood, and PFC James F. Carter age 19 of Battery B, 7th U.S. Army Training Battalion at Fort Bliss, Texas were named 4th Army’s Outstanding Soldiers of the five-state 4th Army area. Both were sent to serve five days as enlisted aides to Lieutenant General G. S. Meloy, Jr., 4th Army Commander in San Antonio, Texas where they were provided special accommodations’ at the Crockett Hotel.

Exact Dates Unknown For the second consecutive year the battalion was honored with the award of the Installation Commander’s Maintenance Inspection Award for support type units of Fort Hood. The battalion’s overall score was 95.96. MG Earle G. Wheeler, Fort Hood and 2nd Armored Division commander presented the traveling trophy to LTC Ward B. Waits at a formal ceremony. In presenting the award trophy, which is retained until the end of the fiscal year 1960, MG Wheeler praised the officers and enlisted men for their work.

4 September SP/4 Bernard Branhunt of Alpha Company was honored as Fort Hood’s Soldier of the Month for August. Branhunt received a Certificate of Achievement from MG Earle G. Wheeler, the Fort Hood and 2nd Armored Division commander.

18 September The Fort Hood Open Senior’s, and Women’s golf teams went to Fort Sam Houston to represent the post in the 4th Army Tournament. Battalion MSG John Dyeus was present to represent the Open Division, and Battalion Commander LTC Ward B. Waits the Senior Division.

2LT J. C. Cummings, Jr. was named as the battalion’s 1959 Fort Hood United Fund Drive “Keyman."

     The Battalion HQ & HQ Detachment was selected as one of three units to be awarded the 2nd Armored Division Post Office Beautification Contest. The second place trophy was presented by MG Earle G. Wheeler the Fort Hood and 2nd Armored Division Commanding General. Accepting the award for the detachment were CPT Lloyd Powell the commanding officer, and 1SG (MSG) Jack Chaney. The award was inscribed, “For outstanding initiative in the planning, care and maintenance of grounds.”

9 October The Fort Hood Military Police Officers Wives Club held an informal coffee meeting at the home of Mrs. M. C. Miller who decorated the house in an informal Japanese motif. Coffee and pastry were served after which Mrs. Miller, the honorary chairman, welcomed all newcomers to the club.

12 October A composite group of 6 officers and 12 enlisted men from HQ & HQ Detachment, Alpha and Bravo Company were deployed from Fort Hood to Fort Brag, North Carolina for to assist in the preparation for a STRAC war game named Exercise DRAGON HEAD, also known locally as Operation DANVILLE. Six weeks of planning, and one week of field preparation was provided prior to its start in November.

     MG Earle G. Wheeler, Fort Hood and 2nd Armored Division Commander presented the battalion with the Post Commanders Safety Award Plaque for the third quarter. Accepting the award at the weekly commanders conference was battalion commander, LTC Ward B. Waits.

      A young military police NCO home on emergency leave from Yakima, Washington arrived at the Fort Hood Provost Marshals Office, and reported that his father in Temple, Texas was critically ill and need an emergency blood transfusion. He asked if the MP’s at Fort Hood could help. MSG Aciel M. Sulcer of Bravo Company at the Provost Marshal Office put out a call for assistance. Volunteers from the battalion and the 502nd MP Company (2nd Armored Division) started lining up at the post hospital, and within two hours provided 15 pints of blood. MSG Sulcer drove the blood donations to Temple where the hospital attendants were waiting at the door.

2 November Planned by the Continental Army Command at Fort Monroe, Virginia to test the Army’s ability to fight a “brush fire action,” the exercise involved the forces of a neighboring aggressor country capturing the capital city of Danville, (Virginia) its friendly neighbor, and imprisoning their government until liberated by “friendly troops” of the 82nd Airborne Division.

     The exercise was ended on 4 November with the Army conducting an open house for the citizens of the city, hosted by the troops that included a hands-on display of their weapons and equipment. The U.S. Army as a training, and public information documentary called

     The battalion composite detachment’s exact assignment and duties during the exercise were not specified in the yearly historical summary.                                                                                                   The Big Picture - Operation Danville, filmed the exercise in its entirety. >

Exact Date Unknown MG Earle G. Wheeler, Fort Hood and 2nd Armored Division Commander presented the Reenlistment Award Plaque for non-divisional unit participation, December 1959, to LTC Ward B. Waits, commander of the 720th MP Battalion.

4 December During the year the Fort Hood military police units responded to a total of 230 vehicle accidents, 21 resulting in fatalities, 90 in injuries. There were 2 training fatalities, and 258 injuries, and all other causes totaled 272 injuries with 8 fatalities.

11 December In post Basketball League action the battalion was in third place in the 6-team American League Division with a record of 3-2 .

     "For three days Company B conducted the honor guard, funeral, and graveside services for Walter Williams [age 117, 14 Nov 1842-19 Dec 1959], the last surviving veteran of the Civil War. Dressed in the gray uniform of the Confederate army days, he lay in state in Houston, Texas, and was buried in a country cemetery near Victoria, Texas.

     I was the operations sergeant of the honor guard detail and the pall bearers. 1SG Edward G. Rector conducted the firing squad, and looked to other attendant details. The whole operation was know as Operation Drummer Boy. Walter Williams had been a drummer boy whose job it was to tap out cadence and commands on his snare drum, over the din of battle."    MSG Ret. Richard E. Jarvis, Jr., Bravo Company.

      Editors Note: On 5 February 1960, Bravo Company received a Letter of Commendation from LTG Edward T. Williams, Commanding General of the 4th U.S. Army, for their exemplary performance during the funeral services of Mr. Williams.