Longtime Yankton printer Don Modereger recently loaned me a history of the 147th Field Artillery Regiment that was assembled in 1990 by Robert G. Webb. It mostly focuses on the unit's WWII adventures.

One of the early anecdotes is about Capt. Theodore A. Arndt, adjutant of the 2nd Battalian (and later the Adjutant General of South Dakota). It reads like this:

Arndt had an experience that demonstrated how tough South Dakotans could be. One day he was standing behind a heavily loaded kitchen truck, one of the new two and one-half ton models, when it backed up without warning, knocking Arndt down and running over him full length. At this point a bystander informed the driver that he had just run over someone. So the driver drove the truck forward, again passing over Arndt with the full length of the 6x6. The ground was the typical Fort Ord sand, and Arndt was pushed down into it, which undoubtedly saved his life. He was hospitalized for a considerable length of time after the incident but recovered sufficiently to rejoin the regiment prior to its sailing overseas. Arndt may be the only person in military annals to have been run over twice by a two and one-half ton truck and to have survived.

The 147th's troops saw a lot of violent action in four years of service. General MacNider, commander of the 158th RCT, called the 147th the best gunners he ever saw. "No infantry ws better served by any group of gunners in any army. It was a privilege to be associated with that magnificentgroup fo South Dakotans who brought honor to their state and nation and to everyone who fought along side of them."

Even higher praise came from PFC Carl Thrum of Indiana, who told a Chicago Tribune reporter about the precision of good artillery. "Maybe you don't know artillery," he told the writer. "Take a look at the best artillery outfit in the world — that's the 147th. We love those boys. They are so good we let them fire 40 yards ahead of us."

Thrum then yawned and stretched lazily. "I'm getting drowsy," he said. "When the 147th gets going, I can sleep like a baby."

Of course, when the 147th was de-activated after WWII and then re-activated as the South Dakota National Guard in 1947. "Coyote" soldiers are once again overseas, defending the USA in the Middle East.