Weston, Logan Ernest, COL

Born January 5, 1914, Logan was one of five children and spent his childhood moving with his family every couple of years - Ohio to Michigan to Idaho to Pennsylvania - and back again. During the Great Depression, Logan drooped out of school in the eighth grade to help the family try to make ends meet by working odd jobs - milking cows, sweeping floors, helping farmers with crops and livestock. When he got older Logan found work in a mine, a sawmill, and as an electrical appliance repairman, at the same time he attended night school to make up for the education that he had missed.

In 1939 at the age of 25 Logan enrolled in the first class of the new Transylvania Bible School where he was the oldest of nine students, four men and five women. While in his junior year Logan received his orders to report for induction into U.S. Army on January 3, 1941, just 2 days short of his 27th birthday.

Logan began his basic training and military career by being assigned to H Company (Heavy Weapons) of the 145th Regiment of the 37th Infantry Division at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. After almost a year of training on December 7, 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor the unit was ordered out of Camp Shelby and assigned to guard against sabotage at strategic points along the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. It was during this time that Logan began his rapid rise in the enlisted ranks to the rank of Staff Sergeant. In January 1942 the Unit shipped out of San Francisco, aboard the ship Uruguay, on there way to their first overseas assignment, the Fijian Islands.

While on the Fijian Islands the 37th Divisions job was to set up coastal defenses and to patrol the islands looking for Japanese radio relay stations that where reporting on allied shipping and troop movements in the area. In January 1943 the 37th received new orders to move to Guadalcanal. Just before receiving these orders Logan was given a battle field commission to the rank of Second Lieutenant.

Logan led his company onto Guadalcanal to secure the beach for the rest of the battalion, following close behind. On Guadalcanal the unit was used mainly for patrol duty in the mopping up of the Japanese. While on one of these patrols, Logan had his first face to face encounter with the enemy and recorded his first three enemy kills. On July 3, 1943 the unit was on it's way to New Georgia Island.

The unit was suppose to spearhead the assault on New Georgia Island along with the Marines and again Logan's company was chosen the lead the Battalion ashore. But while preparing to load aboard the landing crafts, the ship they where on was hit and every one had to abandon ship, it was going down fast. Swimming to other landing craft and boats Logan's company made it ashore and established a beach head. Only about one third of the battalion made it ashore, the rest being driven back out to sea by the heavy enemy fire. It took a day of grueling fighting before the rest of the unit made it ashore and the beachhead began to expand. During the ensuing battle for the heavily defended island of New Georgia, Logan's battalion was twice surrounded by the Japanese once for over 30 days at a place they called starvation ridge, fighting a blocking action they survived by eating whatever eatable vegetation they could find and dried rice taken from the dead enemy troops, with only the rain water they could collect in their canteen cups to drink. After the battle for New Georgia the unit moved back to Guadalcanal for rest and refitting.

37th Division

After only 3 days back on Guadalcanal a call for volunteers for a secret, dangerous and hazardous mission was sounded. Logan and a lot of his men answered the call. Within 24 hours they found them selves on a boat bound for New Caledonia. Once they arrived in New Caledonia they were consolidated and organized, along with volunteers from all divisions who had fought in the South Pacific, into a battalion of combat veterans. After 3 weeks the battalion boarded the ocean liner Lureline which had sailed from San Francisco with two other battalions of volunteers. Now the almost 3,000 volunteers set sail for Bombay India, arriving over a month latter in September 1943. During the long trip Logan and the other combat veterans were used to train the other two battalions in the ways of jungle combat.

During the next four months this unit trained at different sites in India, learning guerilla-type tactics and honing their skills as a unit. The unit was designated the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) and latter became known as Merrill's Marauders, named for its leader Gen. Frank D. Merrill. During this time Logan was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and given the job of Platoon leader for the I & R Platoon of the 3rd battalion. In January of 1944 Marauders moved to Ledo India in preparation of it's mission to spear head the drive into Northern Burma, to clear the way for the building of the Ledo Road, wich would connect with the Burma Road and create a much needed land route to help supply the Chinese. In early February 1944 Logan's I & R Platoon led the Marauders on the march into Burma.

While in Burma Logan's I & R Platoon had scouted about twelve hundred and fifty miles of jungle trails. They fought 18 battles, experienced a total of four men killed and five wounded and were estimated to have killed over twelve hundred and sixty enemy soldiers. The whole time in Burma the Marauders were supplied by air drops whenever possible, The unit was most of the time underfed, exhausted and pushed beyond a point believed to be humanly impossible. During the Marauders final battle for the town of Myitkyina Logan was evacuated to a hospital in India after being found in his fox hole passed out, suffering from exhaustion, malnutrition, malaria and hand grenade wounds. After only a couple of weeks in the hospital Logan was sent back to Myitkyina to help with the final mop-up operations. After six more weeks of combat he was again evacuated for battle injuries, At that time there were only a couple of hundred men of the original three thousand Marauders left.

Merrill's Marauders

After Several months in the hospital at Ledo India, Logan was ordered back to the states for complete recuperation, the long journey back had finally begun. Once back in the states Logan was assigned to the Infantry Replacement Training Center, at Anniston, Alabama. A couple months later Logan was reassigned to the Infantry Training Center at Fort Benning, Georgia. where he taught officer candidates the tactical concepts he had developed while behind enemy lines in Burma.

After World War II came to a close, Logan was sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, were he received his discharge from active duty as a Captain. He signed on with the inactive reserves an re-enrolled at Transylvania bible school, but because of constant bouts of recurring attacks of malaria, he found it difficult to concentrate on his studies. Logan decided to accept a pastorate at a little Methodist church in southwestern Pennsylvania, and completed his theological degree by correspondence. It was while in this position that he met and married his lovely wife Mary on February 14, 1948 (Valentine's Day). After 3 years Logan finally finished his degree and requested a return to active duty in the hopes of being able to transfer to the Chaplain Corps.

March 1948 found Weston back in the service of his country stationed at Fort Mead, Maryland as the Post Information and Education Officer. Weston applied for a transfer to the Chaplain Corps, but due to a technicality his transfer was denied and had to remain in the Infantry. Weston remained at Fort Mead for two years and then in 1950 received new orders to go to Japan.

Once in Japan Weston was assigned to be the Company Commander of H-Company, 17th Regiment, 7th Division. H-Company was a machine gun and 81-millimeter mortar company. After six months with H-Company Weston and most of the company were transferred to 25th Division and began to prepare for shipment to Pusan, South Korea to back up the 24th Division, the Korean War had just begun.

7th Division

Once in South Korea Weston was sent to a town called Taegu and assumed command of Alpha Company, 27th Regiment, 25th Division (Known as the "Wolfhounds"). Early in the action while near a town called Masan, Weston was wounded three times (thigh, arm, and chest) as he led his men in blunting an advance by a North Korean assault unit. Weston received the first wound (thigh) while single-handedly he engaged the attackers as his radio man was sent to get help from the rest of the company. His second wound (arm) came as he was directing the company into defensive positions. He then went to the aid station to be patched up and immediately return to the action crawling and dragging a box of fragmentation grenades with him. Weston's third wound, a chest wound, came as he was leading a counter attack on the enemy's flank. Weston bleeding profusely from his chest wound was still able to get on a radio and direct the 4.2in. mortar platoon fire on a column of North Korean reinforcements. With the situation under control Weston organized the wounded and followed them to the aid station where he was evacuated to Pusan with the other wounded men and then sent to Japan for further surgery. The action by Weston and his company was instrumental in halting the advance of the enemy on Pusan. This battle was latter to be called one of the main turning points in the war. For his action in this battle Weston was recommended for a Congressional Medal of Honor, but the regimental commander knocked it down, Weston did however receive the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions.

25th Division

After recovering from his wounds in Japan, Weston returned to South Korea in September 1950. Around November 1950 Logan was promoted to Major and assigned to the 27th Regiment as Battalion Plans and Training officer. The United Nation forces were close to total Victory at this time, Weston's battalion was now in the mountains separating North Korea from Manchuria in China. The battalion had set up an outpost near a town called Chinsong-ni overlooking the Yalu River. The battalion was the first unit to be hit when the Communist Chinese forces came streaming across the border. Some of these Chinese Officers and men were the very same men that Weston had fought side by side with while he was in the Merrill's Marauders in Burma fighting the Japanese during WWII. The following months were filled with constant fighting against an overwhelming number of Communist Chinese forces, often involving hand to hand combat. During this time Weston continually distinguished himself in the face of battle against the Chinese forces, and was awarded a Silver Star. The Communist troops were eventually pushed back across the 38th parallel and then unexpectedly Logan received new orders to return to the U.S.

It didn't take Weston long to settle into his new assuagement as Commander of a officers training battalion at Fort Benning Georgia, and fill in for a local minister while the minister was away on an extended vacation. Because there was a shortage of chaplains on post he was also aloud to take charge of a chapel on post. During this tour of duty at Fort Benning Weston with a little prodding from his young sons, applied for and was accepted into Jump School at the age of 40 years young. It was while at jump school that Logan received new orders for Germany.

While in Germany Logan was assigned various positions, 1st as Associate Trainer (G-3) with the 43rd Infantry Division, then as the Regimental Plans and Training Officers, and finally the Commandant of the Division NCO Academy, before be reassigned back to the U.S.

Weston's first assignment back in the states was as a Division Plans and Training Officer at Fort Carson, Colorado. He then was sent to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to undergo training in an advanced course for field grade officers at the Command and General Staff College. After completion of the advance course Logan was assigned to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.. This assignment at the Pentagon lasted three years. During this assignment Logan was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel while on an inspection tour of the 101st Airborne Division at Camp Cambell, Kentucky. In 1961 Weston completed 20 years of service in the army and was given a choice to retire or take another assignment, he chose a command position with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

82nd Airborne Division

Weston was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division as the Executive Officer of the 325th Battle Group and a few months latter was promoted to the Commanding Officer of the battle group. While with the battle group Logan would often join the group in exhibition jumps. Weston was then ask to join the newly formed Green Berets which he accepted. He then developed the plans for Special Forces Counterinsurgency course. After the fifth class had gone through the course Logan received top secret orders for reassignment to Laos as Special Force Advisor to Military Assistant Advisory Group Laos (MAAGLAO for short).

Green Berets

In Laos Logan and the Green Berets job was to advise the neutral Laotian forces on military operations, and to keep headquarters informed on the progress of the Communist North Vietnamese were making on the construction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In performing the second part of their assignment the Green Berets where often placed under attack by the Viet Cong, who where being advised by the Russians. After a period of time Logan and the Green Berets were pulled out of Laos and sent to Bangkok, Thailand. While in Thailand Weston formed a joint Green Berets and Thai forces exhibition jump team, the team would go around Thailand putting on exhibitions and raised enough money to build thirty-two new schools, enlarge four additional schools and equip two hospitals. The building of these schools greatly enhanced the standard of living in these communities and gave the Thai people a sense of community. Due to a family medical emergency Weston asked for and received a transfer to Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Logan finished his illustrious military career at Fort Sam Houston and retired in 1968 as a Colonel. Upon retirement from the army Weston took a job at Texas A & M University as the Secretary of the YMCA and Coordinator of Campus Religious Life which he held for 13 years until retiring once again. While at the University Logan completed his Masters and Doctor of Bible Philosophy Degrees. In his retirement Logan spends his time volunteering along with his wife, to man the phone at a Christian counseling service, enjoying his family and the occasional speaking engagement.

"I thank God for the opportunity we have to use our freedom of religion, obtained at so great an expense. I also thank God that allowed me the opportunity to fight for this freedom. Perhaps this is why it means so very much to me. " (Colonel Logan Weston, U.S. Army Retired)

A large portion of the information on this page is from "The Fightin' Preacher" by Logan Weston, published by Vision Press. The information is copyrighted and is used with the permission of Colonel Weston.