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Thomas A. "Tom" Browning has a photo showing him "When our ship got to France, a German plane came
. standing next to General Eisenhower and General Patton in over and was shot down and fell into the sea next to us. One of
ov Frankfurt, Germany. How he got from a farm outside LaPorte, the men questioned if that was really a German plane when one - -
Texas, to that photo with World War II leaders is an interesting of my men from Montana told him that it sure as hell wasn't a
st journey. submarine."
. "I left school in 1934 in the big middle of the The war had begun for Browning and his men.
Depression. I tried to find work wherever I could with a salary When Patton hit the beach, he hit it running. Browning :
ranging from 25 cents to 40 cents per hour. I finally got a job and his MP Company were part of Patton's headquarters group
working for Brown and Root at Anahuac, Texas. I had to pay and their first job was to help keep the supply lines open and
them room and board, so I had nothing left when I got paid, round up any Germans that were being bypassed by Patton's
but I did get something to eat and a place to stay. 3rd Army. si
In 1936. the Brown and Root job ran out and I ran into "We and the other combat military police had to clear
,, a recruiter from the army. He was recruiting for the 12th the towns and other areas where Germans were left behind
Cavalry. He told me I. would have three meals a day, a bed to Sometimes that was easy, sometimes it wasn't.
sleep in and my own horse to ride. I had ridden horses on the "Patton would make 60 miles a day sometimes. He was imi
farm and I sure was interested in having three meals and a bed moving so fast that he had to be re- supplied by air as the fuel
and thought this would be a good deal." trucks couldn't keep up. We finally halted at Orleans, France
Browning reported to Ft. Brown at Brownsville, Texas, in The Germans brought up Big Bertha, which was a large artillery
November 1936 and became a member of the 12th Cavalry. piece. You could hear it go off and you hoped it didn't land near
: "I found out early on that I really hadn't ridden horses you."
until I was trained as a cavalryman. I enjoyed the cavalry. I was Browning stayed with Patton's headquarters unit for the
on remount detail, which meant taking the new rough -broke remainder of the war, including his meeting the Russians at the
horses and training them for remount duty." Elbe River. MI
Browning left the cavalry and the army in 1938 but "Patton wanted to continue the fight against the
remained a member of the regular army reserve. In 1941 he Russians and he let everyone know what he thought should be
In was called back into the army and back into the cavalry. done. That's when General Eisenhower came to visit. iii
We all recognized that the horse cavalry was going "When General Patton heard Eisenhower was coming,
away, so I tried to volunteer for the mechanized cavalry. One he knew it would be to chew him out, so he wanted to soften
day the first sergeant asked me if I would like to be part of a Eisenhower up some. He asked me to find 20 guys who had
new military police company being formed from the cavalry clean uniforms and form a red carpet honor guard for General -:
and I said, Yes. Anything to get off a horse." Eisenhower. I could only find 14 and that was when the photo '.
h Browning became part of the first combat military police was taken. During the inspection of the honor guard, General r.::.
" • unit being formed at Ft. Sam Houston. Because of his previous Eisenhower stopped in front of me and asked me what my unit
military experience. Browning helped with the training of the had been. He knew we har been cavalry before the war. He was ..:
new recruits, eventually becoming a staff sergeant. With the nice to me, but I think v.:1en they got behind closed doors, he
war they started the draft and Browning was asked to help chewed out General Patton real good."
form the 503rd Military Police Company as its first sergeant. Browning was able to return home shortly after the war
"It was an interesting experience and an interesting time ended and was discharged in 1945. When he went home, his
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training these men to be military police but in a combat setting. dad told him the draft board wanted to see hug. He reported
C. We were told that we would be leaving for Europe in January the next day and was told that as one of the first returning vet - Is
E. 1944. We left Boston on the USS Elizabeth C. Stanton, a con- erans, Humble Oil and Refining Co. wanted to hire him.
verted refrigerator ship, for the trip to England. It was rough "I went to work two days later and worked there until 1
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seas all the way and everyone got seasick, including me. We retired."
landed at the Firth of Clyde in Scotland and were immediately In September 2004, at Ft. Lewis, Wash., Browning was
loaded aboard a train to Peover Hall, England, where General the guest of honor for the 50th anniversary of the formation of
�` Patton's 3rd Army was being formed. the Military Police Association and the 63rd anniversary of the
"Shortly after arriving, General Patton called all his offi- formation of the combat police from the cavalry. He was the
cers and senior NCOs together and told us in that squeaky only original member remaining who could be found.
voice of his that we were going to be part of the largest army "It was something that I enjoyed very much, and it is a
to be formed in WWII and we were going to rid the world of the history that I am proud to be part of."
Nazis. General Patton's speeches were always memorable. He Thomas A. "Tom" Browning's name can be found on the
tt. would often use colorful language. but he also could quote Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial. For more information, to czi
`' scripture with the best of them." make a contribution, or if you know a• World War 11 veteran
Browning and the 3rd Army followed the D -Day landing whose story needs to be told, contact the BWM at ww vet- Ito
tz, in France by a few days. erans-memorial.org, or Bill Youngkin at 979 - 260 -7030. ZN