Veteran's Corner - Richard Appel

COLFAX - Local veteran Richard Appel, 85, was going to WSU during the Korean war.

"Since the war was coming, I decided to go through ROTC there at WSU," he said, adding that when he came out, he went into the service in 1959.

Appel went to Oklahoma at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma, where he spent three months learning about tactics, techniques, and procedures for using fire support systems in combat.

"I was in what was called the S3 classification," Appel explained, noting that they were operations directors in the artillery service.

Appel explained that young second lieutenants would be at the front of the war, and they would monitor to see if anything needed to be blown up with a howitzer. A howitzer is an artillery weapon falling between a cannon and a mortar.

They would send their message back to FDC," Appel explained, noting that FDC stands for Fire Direction Center.

"We would then plot where the target was," he said, explaining that the lieutenants would send information to the guns hiding information in the woods.

Appel was a first lieutenant, so he would plot out the target and send information to the guns, who would, with the help of a safety officer, make sure everything was safe to shoot.

"They'd look out on their markers and figure out where it would go," he said.

Appel explained that the lieutenant on the front lines would see the rounds hit the ground. If it were 200 yards from where it should be, he'd say drop 200, and the information would come back to them so they'd know how to reset the guns and what setting they should try again until they bracketed in.

"Maybe they'd end up a hundred yards on the wrong side, and they'd redo it again," he said.

Appel would then spend his time in Fort Hood, Texas, to keep six guns ready for service.

"They threw a secondary mission on our shoulders, and we were training eight weeks basic," Appel said, "200 new troops every eight weeks."

Appel explained that the recruits he trained came from Texas, New York, and Oklahoma, noting that they'd then have them for seven and a half weeks.

"We'd get them ready for the firing lines," Appel said, adding that it was depressing to them all because they also had guns to maintain that hadn't been fired since 1946. Appel was there from 1959 to 1963, he stated.

Appel shared that at this time, they were sitting there with about one-third of their strength and teaching young kids how to fire the M1 when they received word that they were on 24-hour notice of being shipped to the Berlin Wall.

"We were possibly going to war," he said, noting they had their wills made out.

"I'd tell my wife every morning, maybe I'll see ya tonight, maybe I won't," Appel said, adding that they had already shipped their 105 howitzers overseas to Germany.

"We knew it was real, that it could easily happen, but it didn't," Appel stated.

Appel is a farmer and longtime Colfax resident. He loves the community and has played a role in many city happenings. Appel has a large family and several grandkids-a couple who have served in the armed forces. In addition, he had several uncles who served in WWII.

Appel advises anyone currently serving or planning to serve in the military that it isn't the wrong way to spend your time. There are many benefits, such as healthcare and the chance to learn discipline.