European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 15, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Saturday september 15, 1990 the stars and stripes crisis in the gulf101st digs in for another Slot in history by Vince Crawley staff writer Forward operating base Bastogne saudi Arabia a spec. Eddie Watkins was the army a Northern most Soldier in saudi Arabia on wednesday morning. He Wasny to the Northern most american. The marines a dug in Well beyond the Low dunes in front of Watkins a took that Honor. And just to the left of a Hill that creased the otherwise level horizon Watkins and his Bunker mates could just see the rear most vehicles of a saudi mechanized division several Miles to their front. This let them know there were still Many layers of arabian men Between the . Army and Saddam Hussein. Watkins 21, comes from Prestonsburg by. He a a .50-caliber machine gunner for the 101st airborne div air assault based at fort Campbell by. And Watkins was one of four men inside a 5-foot-deep Bunker dug into the Sand. They a been there a Day and would stay three More before being relieved by the next watch. Paratroopers from the 82nd airborne div originally dug the Hole. Then they abandoned it and the 101st moved in. A the 82nd might be dug it a said spec. Don Smith 26, of Hart Texas. A but we re taking credit for he pointed to a 101st div Emblem that had been scratched into the bunkers hard Sand Wall. Someone a i wish i could be a lot closer. I really would like to see what the iraqi army looks a sgt. Jack Battan had also honoured a woman named Beth carving her name in similar fashion. The Bunker looked like an excavation from world War i. Running North South its floor was 8-to-10 feet Long and about 4 feet wide. Inside were stacked Rucksacks Field ration boxes and ammunition cases. The roof was made of scrap lumber covered with Sand but there were openings at shoulder height for the men to see outside. No one had a thermometer but the air inside Felt 10 to 15 degrees cooler than outside. A thermometer at a nearby command Post Only went up to 120 degrees and had already maxed out. Watkins machine gun nest was in a shallow adjoining cellar burrowed into the trenches North Wall. There was just enough room for him to crawl in and sit on a Sand ledge beside his weapon and go through the Dull routine of watching the horizon outside. On tuesday head killed a scorpion he said. But that was nothing compared to the Camel spider that had stalked him inside the machine gun nest. A i took a .50-Cal ammo Box and just went running after him a Watkins said pointing to the scene of the Battle. A the jumped from that Wadi to that one and Down to the Watkins said he hit the insect three times with the ammo Box before it was dead. He used two shovels to Send the scorpion to its Fate. Smith the texan said he heard about a Camel spider that bit into a steel cleansing Rod for an m-16 and dented it. The Bunker at Forward operating base Bastogne is so comfortable that All the deserts creatures visit it at night. So the four men crawl out and sleep under the stars. During their four Day stay they said they a eat nothing but res. Maj. Gen. . Binford Peay Iii division commander Calls the 101st a National treasure. Its soldiers were the heroes of the Battle of the bulge and Forward operating base Bastogne is named after the belgian town where they withstood the unexpected Christmas 1944. German onslaught Over the division also had a Forward base in Vietnam and that too was named for Bastogne. Its possible that this third Bastogne in the saudi desert could also earn a Page in the history books. A i wish i could be a lot closer a said sgt. Jack Battan a 26-year-old from Loris s.c., As he looked North. A i really would like to see what the iraqi army looks these men May find desert invitation a wish you were Here by Vince Crawley St Lff writer Forward operating base Bastogne saudi Arabia a just two months ago spec. Tyrus Waters was heading Back to the United states from his assignment with the 8th inf div at Baum older West Germany. A i Hadnot been in the states for a month and in a Back overseas a said the 22-year-old infantryman from Bel air my. He was standing in front of his Sandy Bunker at the 101st airborne dives Northern most outpost in the saudi arabian desert. A and i thought Baum older was bad a Waters said. A in fact a said his buddy spec. Don Smith a fellow dragon anti tank gunner a my Hometown looks a Little bit like this. But its slightly hotter Smiths Hometown of Hart Texas must be a Bleak place indeed. The 26-year-old said he was a Farmer before he answered the Call of the infantry. Back Home he raised wheat Cotton and Corn. All that this part of Arabia can manage to support is a single kind of squat Shrub that freckles the dunes. Even the goats and camels have strayed away scared off by the soldiers who be dug into their desolate pasture. Smith also just finished a tour in Germany with the 1st army div in Bamberg. He a been a news Junkie Ever since the Gulf crisis began. A this is the most in be Ever tried to follow the news a he said. A Aback at fort Campbell Byi was watching can every night and hoping i have to come out his Friend Waters added a if they were taking volunteers to come Over i have volunteered. But in a Here and in a not Gonna Bitch about Smith was confident a almost optimistic a that he would see combat before he left the arabian Peninsula. A i know its coming a Smith said. A the Saddam Hussein is just that crazy from what in be read in the a i wish a said Waters repeating the infantryman a lament that is becoming so common Here in operation desert shield a somebody would do something rather than having us sitting around sitting in a Waters leaders answer that waiting for War is by nature Boring. Smith said he a read in the papers that a the Gator Rade corporation was supposed to Send thousands of bottles of gatorade out Here. But we Haven to seen instead they drink warm a fruit beverage from a dry mix that comes in res or meals ready to eat. Their unit co a 3rd in 502nd inf regt got its first shipment of ice wednesday morning but Smith had already mixed his beverage. Other soldiers in the battalion said the local police chief recently traded some cold cokes for a couple of screaming Eagle uniform patches. And someone from the Village told Smith that the King of saudi Arabia had offered a Bonus to the american soldiers Over Here but that president Bush had graciously declined. A King fahd came on to to offer each Soldier an extra $1,000 for just being Over Here a Smith said he was told. A and president Bush said a no thank you. We re not mercenaries. We re just soldiers doing our a a a in a not saying anything bad about president Bush but we done to make a lot of Money As it is a Smith said. A Bush flies around in a Brand new 747 with a cellular Telephone. He ainu to got the kind of Bills we do. A Bush should come Over Here and live a couple of weeks in there a Smith continued pointing to the Bunker. A a he a think twice about turning Down that thousand the two of them returned to their Bunker to escape the midday Sun. A Tell everyone in Germany we said a his a Waters said. A and wish you were a amps Vinca Crawley spec. Tyrus Waters front and spec. Don Smith of the 101st airborne div escape the heat inside their Bunker
