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Stafford Agee reflects on years of military service in Guard, Army
By Neoma Foreman
Special to the Daily Mail
With a total of 42 years and 6 months military service, Stafford Agee of Nevada, Mo., retired in 1995. He joined the National Guard in 1953 after he graduated from high school. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1955 and served three years of active duty. His basic training began at Camp Chaffee, Ark.. Later, he was sent to Ft. Knox, Ky. for advanced training. He was a tank commander and was chosen to stay another cycle to train others to do the same job. He taught them how to drive a tank, take care of the tank, and how to fire the gun and use the range finder. When he first joined the National Guard, he was trained with the old tanks that did not have range finders. He considered the range finder a great improvement. He spent a year and a half there.
He was sent to Ft. Hood, Texas, with the 1st Armored Division for about four months then on to Camp Polk, La., on a joint Army-Air Force maneuver after which the fort was reopened at this time. He became a battalion clerk typist there. At that time there were no computers, only an old Underwood typewriter with carbon paper and white out. His next duty was serving as court martial clerk. When there was a special court martial, it was done within the battalion and he set up the court room. He kept a record of the proceedings and trial. He didn't know shorthand so had to transcribe it quickly before his handwriting got cold. Most of the court martial cases were because of AWOL and disobeying orders, but one he remembers was a soldier who lived off base in a trailer court and played his radio too loud for his neighbor's comfort. They kept badgering him and he got out a rifle and threatened them. They called the police, but they turned it over to the military police. The soldier was unhappy about the outcome and got a civilian lawyer who brought up that "a man's home is his castle." The young man got off free. Another time, a group of guys were in stockade and making moonshine out of potatoes. They got some more time added to their stockade stay.
In his three years in the Army, he got to do a lot of different things that trained him for work later. He took correspondence courses through the military and continued his education. One of most enjoyable classes was during his engineer officer advanced training course when he was sent to Ft. Belvoir, Va., for engineer training.
Agee said, "I enjoyed military service and my only regret was that I didn't get to serve overseas. I was under the Bt. Sgt. Major in Court Martial and he didn't want me to go so every time my name came up, he pulled me off." Stafford was discharged a specialist five after serving his three year enlistment.
Even though Agee had found military life to his liking, he didn't want to stay in full-time service. He wanted to marry and didn't want to move his family so he joined his father in servicing refrigeration and air conditioning equipment. However, he re-enlisted in the National Guard, also where he re-ceived training on weekends and the annual summer camp. During this time, he was called out on State Emergency Duty at least five times. The first was at Carthage when a powder plant exploded. Twice, they were called to Kansas City because of firemen on strike. That got rather hairy when they had to take fire hose on dump trucks because the fire trucks had been sabotaged. Another time was doing duty during a flood in Kansas City; another was during an ice storm in North Kansas City which lasted so long that people couldn't get out of their homes for food. He spent five days during that time. Probably the tensest time was during the race riots in Kansas City in 1968. They were camped at the Brush Creek Boulevard Reserve Armory. It had an open area at the side and they stayed in pup tents there. Agee's job was to make sure everyone had proper ammunition. As soon as the guys came back, he collected the ammo for the next group going out. He also made sure they had food. "That situation was handled very well. Governor Hearnes put a lid on the riot by calling in the National Guard. There was a curfew and if any one was out after that time, they were grabbed, no exceptions. I couldn't believe how quiet Kansas City was at night during that time," Agee said,
He also served on the Missouri National Guard Rifle and Pistol Team for 20 years and went to national competition at Camp Perry, Ohio, five times. He was the leading shooter for a number of years.
Agee took over the refrigeration business from his father in 1970 on his father's retirement, but sold it to his brother in 1973 and went to work full time for the National Guard in Kansas City, Mo.,, as a unit administrator. His duty there with the 110th Eng. Bt. was in enlisting, record keeping and supply procurement. He transferred to Camp Clark in 1980 where he became the engineer in charge of all facilities, buildings and grounds which he found "very enjoyable." During the time Agee was at Camp Clark, all the water lines and main, sewer lines and a new lagoon were replaced. They also did a lot of work on buildings. He worked up the ranks and retired as chief warrant officer, CW4, whose duty during that time encompassed all aspects of engineering.
When Agee was only 9 years old, during World War II, he went to Camp Clark with his dad to help with refrigeration. He had heard newsreels about the prisoners of war and "thought it was a scary place, but found out it wasn't so bad. The prisoners were treated well and it was a strict camp. After the Italians left, some of the elite of the German Army were brought there. But they were just people like everyone else." Little did Stafford ever dream that someday he would be working there.
One of the accomplishments about which Agee is the proudest is when he was in charge of building the non-denominational chapel at Camp Clark. This was done with donations from mostly guardsmen and friends of the Guard, no tax money was used. It was built by Missouri National Guard as a training exercise to enhance their skills as construction engineers.