Guns, Marble Knives, and Militaria Auction
Lot 2250:
This fuze was used to shoot the last training round of the “Davey Crockett” tactical Nuclear bomb. It comes directly from the 82nd Airborne solider who was part of the top secret program. It was so secret, the government told the Davy Crockett crews very little about their weapon’s destructive power. And yes, the crews were within the destructive range of the weapon they were firing. The story of its acquisition is below certifying its authenticity from the veteran. He is also willing to be interviewed by any museum or collector that acquires this incredibly rare and historical cold war piece of history. Greg Keylock’s military experience from 1967-1969 is as follows and 2 notarized copies are included with this fuse:
“In 1967 at the end of my second year of college, which I attended with little purpose except to avoid the draft, I let my hours drop below the draft exempt level of 15 and was very quickly drafted into the army in June of 1967. After eight weeks of basic training at Ft. Lewis WA I was surprised that I was assigned to infantry AIT (advanced individual training) at Ft. Lewis when almost all the other draftees were sent to infantry AIT at Ft. Polk LA and then Vietnam. Midway through my eight weeks of AIT I was sent to administration where a captain asked me to volunteer to attend additional training at Ft. Polk LA as a gunner for a Davy Crockett tactical nuclear weapon (google Davy Crockett nuke for additional info). I initially refused, but eventually relented to his pressure. Upon completion of AIT I was immediately sent to Ft Polk. Arriving at Ft Polk the administration had no knowledge of a Davy Crockett training program and we were told that we would be reassigned and deployed to Vietnam until a few days later when one of our instructors located us. After completion of training in December of 1968 the 10 of us that were trained as gunners were assigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell KY. When we arrived at Ft. Campbell most of the 101st had just been deployed to Vietnam and they knew nothing about a Davy Crockett unit so they were planning to deploy us with the remaining 101st to Vietnam. A few days later we were put on a Greyhound bus to the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg NC in early January of 1968. When we arrived at Bragg nobody knew anything about a Davy Crockett unit until a Sergeant came a few days later looking us. At Bragg 5 of us were part of the newly formed 55th infantry platoon and 5 the 56th infantry platoon (Google ‘Davy Crockett 55th infantry platoon’ for additional info). As the Brigades we were attached to were deployed to Vietnam, we moved from the 1st to the 2nd eventually the 3rd brigade of the 82nd. In mid-1968 the 55th and 56th platoons were deactivated and we were all reassigned to other units, mine being a basic training administration section. At the breakup of our unit, I was gifted the detonator from our last training fire mission by one of my gun crew. This was the last time a Davy Crockett was fired by an active army unit. I would make note that several years after my discharge, I learned that the commander in Vietnam, General Westmoreland, had wanted to have tactical nuclear weapons options in part to destroy the Ho Chi Minh Trail which allowed N. Vietnam troops and supplies to move through Cambodia into S. Vietnam. When President Lyndon Johnson learned of Westmoreland’s plan, he quickly shut it down (google “operation Fracture Jaw”). I believe the 55th and 56th Infantry Platoons were formed in part for the “Fracture Jaw” operation. The time frame of formation and deactivation of the 55th and 56th Platoons fits the operation ”Fracture Jaw” time frame perfectly.”
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