14 Welcome to the U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr. are capable of housing more than 42,000 troops. Developed in the early 1950s, the Honest John Rocket, the first U.S. battlefield, close support nuclear weapon was fired with weighted dummy warheads. 1953 March Soviet General Secretary and Premier Joseph Stalin dies. 1954 January U.S. Soldiers at the GTA are regularly shown government training films at the local movie theater throughout the Cold War years. 1955 May The Soviet Union creates The Warsaw Pact, a military-treaty organization of eight nations initiated and sponsored by the Soviets. It is the Communist Bloc counter to NATO. November The German Bundeswehr is officially established. West Germany joins NATO. 1956 July West Germany introduces conscription, and activates the Bundeswehr (German Armed forces). One month later, the first German Bundeswehr soldiers arrive and are billeted at Camp Normandy at GTA. Although early plans for the Bundeswehr called for separate bases, the U.S. establishes a co-use agreement for Camps Algiers and Normandy for joint training and maneuvers. October The Soviet Union invades Hungary occupying the capital, Budapest, following Hungary’s decision to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact. Hungarian resistance is crushed by Soviet troops and tanks. 1957 January U.S. Forces across central Europe, including those stationed in France, are using the Grafenwoehr Training Area by this time. August Bundeswehr tanks and soldiers take to the Grafenwoehr Ranges. 1958 November Pvt. Elvis Presley, the King of Rock & Roll, visits Grafenwoehr for six weeks of winter training with his unit. 1958 through 1959 A newly remodeled Grafenwoehr Post becomes the headquarters of the Seventh Army Training Center. In addition to the Grafenwoehr Training Area, the Hohenfels Training Area is consolidated under the command. The Seventh Army Training Center becomes the largest training complex in Germany. Rose Barracks becomes the home of the Seventh Army Combined Arms School. 1960 February Elvis Presley returns to Grafenwoehr to train and participate in the NATO exercise “Winter Shield”. Maneuvers involve 60,000 men of the U.S. Army and German Bundeswehr. Elvis, now a sergeant, shuns exceptional treatment and duty. In his free time Elvis occasionally visits local taverns in the city of Grafenwoehr, just past the front gate, where he signs countless autographs and patiently sits for photos with his German fans. History of the Grafenwoehr Training Area
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