 In October of 1963, the largest trans-oceanic Army Air Force deployment ever made was translated from a Pentagon-drawn blueprint into an actual fact. This was exercise Big Lift, a maneuver whose scope and breadth of conception challenged military minds and fired the imagination of the entire country. Big Lift was designed to prove and demonstrate in realistic terms the U.S. military capability of dispatching joint Army and Air Force strike forces anywhere in the world in a short space of time. It involved the unprecedented transportation of a full armored division of approximately 15,000 combat-ready men to pre-positioned equipment areas in Germany from which points they were to push out and engage in simulated battle. In this real-life drama, the Second Armored Division, the famed Hell on Wheels outfit based in Fort Hood, Texas, was selected to play a starring role. Major roles were also to be played by the combat units furnished by the U.S. Strike Command, as well as the Seventh Army Support Command in Germany. Altogether, approximately 16,000 soldiers and airmen, 116 combat aircraft from the Tactical Air Command, and over 200 Matt's troop carriers were to be committed to the most daring peacetime maneuver in military history. As if this mission were not staggering enough in its complexity and size, the Joint Chiefs of Staff laid down the dictum that the entire airlift had to be accomplished in the almost unbelievable time of 72 hours. Could it be done? In one of these tanks, four men asked themselves this same question. They are a tank crew in Company B First Battalion 66th Armored Regiment. They are a part of big lift. This man is Sergeant First Class Harley J. Everett, tank commander and professional soldier from Temple, Texas. Sergeant Sesta Ayers, tank gunner, 38 years old from Houston, Texas. Private Charles B. Napier, Austin, Indiana, driver. And Hugh L. Denton, Private, 24, gunloader from Madisonville, Tennessee. Shortly before midnight on October 21st, General Burba and his staff of the Second Armored bordered a Matt's jet at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Texas. Minutes later, the plane lifted off the runway to mark the official beginning of Big Lift. Point of the spear is the story of Exercise Big Lift and the men who were a part of it. This is where it all began. Fort Hood, Texas, home of the Second Armored Division. After the order came that sent Big Lift into motion, Major General Edwin H. Burba, Division Commander, spoke to four of his tankers about the operation. It's going to be a wonderful experience for every professional soldier that has a chance to go and all of the citizen soldiers, too. We'll be remembering this long time. I'll see you over there. Aware of the need for speed and readiness, the men of the Second Armored went into action. The first step was the mothballing of armor and equipment to be left behind. When your people are staying back here, I want this tank left alone, no parts taken off of it. And when we come back, I want it exactly the same shape it is right now. Scenes like this were commonplace at Fort Hood this day. Vehicles were greased, oiled and put in storage against the day their occupants would return. In a foreign country, 5,400 miles to the east, an identical tank is waiting. At Fort Hood, there were many signs of things to come. Drivers were quickly conditioned to German signs and rules of the road. Their machines would be the same type, only the places and the names would be different. Since there were many who had never been overseas before, they anticipated the problems to be met. Everybody crammed. It was serious, but it had its lighter moments, too. I don't understand. Ich versteh nicht. I don't think so. Ich glob nicht. Customers are usually friendly toward Americans, though you may have to make the first move. Wait a minute. Maybe you ought to read this first. Every time a fighting man goes away, he must put his house in order. For some, there were two houses. Sergeant Everett was given orders of a non-military nature, but they were equally important. The final goodbyes having been said? A full division is poised to move. For the second armored, the first actual movement begins with the converging of units on nearby Air Force bases in Texas. Over 200 Matt's troop carriers are standing by to execute the biggest airlift in history. Before this operation is concluded, the fuel consumption alone will have mounted into several millions of gallons. Air Force pilots receive final briefings on the mission. The primary offload bases for the Army troops will be Rhein-Main, Sembach and Ramstein Air Force bases in Germany. Some additional troops will be offloaded at Schombli and Toul-Rosier air bases in France. From these terminal points in Europe, the troops will be moved to areas containing pre-position combat equipment, will marry up or collect the equipment and move to a forward assembly area near Darmstadt, Germany. As the long, cigar-shaped carriers take on their human cargo in round-the-clock loadings, the faces of the men of the Second begin to reflect the seriousness of their mission. The business-like drone of the huge carriers and the proximity to takeoff time bring home to them the awesome fact that they are on the eve of making history. A few moments later, they are airborne and the dramatic race against time begins. Fighter planes also make the long journey across the Atlantic. For the men in the troop carriers, there are hours to kill and a notion to cross. Soldiers will always find their own ways of amusing themselves. The ways are familiar. Only the place is unusual. Music in the air. Outside the carrier, in another part of the sky, a fighter makes rendezvous with a tanker and refuels high above the Atlantic. The hand in the card game is being played out. Soon, the music will fade. In a few minutes, these men will touch down at Rhein-Main air base and go about their business. During this first day, Matt's troop carriers will land a plain load of army troops at Rhein-Main and other bases once an hour around the clock. High-ranking officials of the Defense Department, Air Force, Army and NATO are on hand to analyze and evaluate the mammoth joint operation. Secretary of the Air Force Eugene Zucker, already on the scene, greets Army Secretary Cyrus Vance on his arrival. The second armored division is now a vital part of the German scene. A few short hours ago, it was in Texas. For the division, this marks a return to German soil. It was in World War II that it was given the name of Hell on Wheels. Trucks will soon take the men to a Bivouac area along the Autobahn, where they will be fed a hot meal with steak heading the bill affair. This is the pre-positioning area near Kaiser's Louder. Waiting here for the men are tanks, guns, ammunition, carriers and trucks. They are outfitted with the same type tanks and armored personnel carriers they left behind in Fort Hood. They also quickly discover how much thorough and intense preparation has been made for their arrival. After they marry up with their equipment, they will load up and move out to the forward assembly area. Our four tankers have found their land legs and are adjusting to their new environment. Still, even in a strange country, a soldier wants something familiar around him. NATO observers watched with keen interest this demonstration of U.S. capability for reinforcement of NATO forces in a hurry. And they liked what they saw. Marrying up operations were being accomplished almost 24 hours ahead of schedule by the fast-moving men from Texas. The second armored was proving it was worthy of its proud name, Hell on Wheels. They were ready to roll. The famed German superhighway, the Autobahn, soon became a river of tanks and weapons carriers. With the river stretching on for miles, refueling stops were made with efficiency along the Autobahn. American MPs and members of the German police force did a remarkable job in directing this stream of men and arms. The working harmony was such that civilian and commercial traffic went on as usual, with scarcely a break in the traffic routine. Lieutenant Colonel Clark L. Shoemaker, Provo Marshall, discusses this phase of the maneuver. I'm the Provo Marshall of Second Armored Division, responsible for discipline, law and order within the division proper. I have also the prime responsibility for traffic control of this division here in Europe. To accomplish this mission, I have 177 military policemen and seven officers assigned. Now, some of our problems have been taking these long tracks, these long columns, giving an example of how long this outfit is. The division alone will stretch out something like 200 miles, both combat and support elements have placed in a single file. Doing this, we have placed this on a road net with German traffic on holidays and in no way interfere with the German traffic proper. One of the prime concerns in the maneuver phase of Big Lift was the control of damage to privately owned property. The final result showed that damage claimed during Big Lift was low, and conversely the safety factor was high. Also on the plus side, the German-American relationship of friendliness was maintained. The German people turned out to welcome our men, and as always the children headed the reception committee. While the men of the second armored were undergoing their orientation, the third armored division, the aggressor force, had moved into position for the imminent battle. At their Bivouac area, the men of the second were taking on the energy they were going to require for the action ahead. The meals were good, steak again, and the meals were hot. Major Charles E. Turek of Johnstown, Pennsylvania tells of the challenge presented in feeding a full division of troops. For breakfast this morning, the troops at Exercise Big Lift, second armored division people who have just come overseas to Germany for their two weeks' stay, had bacon, 4,000 pounds of it. When the language barrier got rough, Sergeant Ayers and his buddies knew there was always one place where they could understand and be understood. On payday, a universal language was spoken. They didn't require a book for that. Foreign country or no, a soldier always gets paid. By the evening of October 26th, the last unit of the second armored had moved out of the pre-positioned sites and was on its way to the assembly area. On the next afternoon, the entire division was assembled and ready, a full day ahead of schedule. For nearly a week, the war phase of Exercise Big Lift was a seesaw affair that saw first the aggressor, the third armored, then the NATO or friendly forces take the initiative. The aggressor made his big push just before dawn on November 5th. This was hit hard by enemy advance elements. Frontline reports indicated that they had rolled with the punch according to plan and suffered a minimum of casualties in the initial action. Rivers were crossed and machines were moved. Some were towed and some swam. The carriers resembled prehistoric monsters in the gray dark light. Waiting in the wings for their cue to go into action, our four tankers have lunch and talk over the situation. After being held in core reserve, General Burba and his men of the second armored counter-attacked in full force. The U.S. Air Force went into action. Gradually, the men from Texas pushed the enemy back. The presence of important military officials from seven NATO countries, the Hell on Wheels division blasted out a decisive end to the war game. At this breather stage, the four men of the BDI were seeing Germany the hard way. I better get my book out on this one. I don't see it in the book. No, it's not in this book, but I believe it means keep out. That's what I think of me. The process of cleaning up began. The equipment must be left as the man had founded, serviceable and clean, as clean as if they had been a division of ghosts who had never been seen rolling their strange looking war machines over the German countryside in the mists of night and early mornings. The tactical aspects of the maneuver now written into the official books, the men of the second awaited further orders. Captain Walter G. Washington delivered the good news. Here once we get the vehicle and the equipment turned in, then special service has been good enough to provide us with tours of Garmisch, Birches Garden, Heidelberg. I do my utmost to get as many people as I can on pass and out to see some of the scenic German towns. As their reward for a job well done, the men were given a little time off before their return to Fort Hood. Some visited relatives and some went on conducted tours through Germany, while others, being true men of action, went off on their own. Excuse me, please. What is this? Oh, this is the famous Heidelberger Schloss. It was founded in the 12th century and many gentlemen have already lived there. In addition, there are many Americans coming here to see it. Many have already turned me over. Ah, I don't understand. I don't understand. Well, what my girlfriend is trying to tell you is that this is a very famous old castle and it has been built in the 16th century. And actually, you should know it because many American tourists come here and I think it's quite well known in the States. Exercise Big Lift and its accompanying war maneuver were a definite success. The largest and most daring peacetime military operation in history demonstrated that the United States could count on an army and air force to move a full division of men to a trouble spot anywhere in the world under certain conditions. Instead of 72 hours, the lift was accomplished in 63 hours and 10 minutes, more than eight hours ahead of the deadline. Big Lift was an affirmation of the words of our late president, John F. Kennedy. We have the strongest peacetime army in the history of our country and one which can meet its responsibilities all around the globe. To make it more mobile, to increase its training and competence, to make it more responsive, to make it better able to fulfill its mission. These are the assignments of the army and I believe that a strong army can mean a strong America. We must continue to meet our responsibilities. We must continue to have a strong country and a strong alliance and a strong free world. And to do that, we need a strong army, which is the point of the spear.