Inter-Service International
Pistol Championships

Benning Will Host Seventh All-Service Shooting Event

By Lee LaCombe

The seventh annual Inter-service International shooting championships, sponsored by Continental Army Command and hosted by The Infantry Center, will be conducted at Fort Benning May 12-31.

Support for the matches will come from the competitive marksmanship division.

Army competitors will be defending championships in eight team events. Air Force shooters captured five team matches and four individual titles last year. Three individual crowns were taken in 1966 by Marine Corps shooters. They failed to win any of the team competitions.

Shooters in each event will received one day of practice firing before competing for record.

The only individual double winner last year was WO David Boyd of the Marines who topped the field in the 50-meter, smallbore kneeling match and went on to win the three-position aggregate for International smallbore rifle.

The first event this year, to be fired May 13, will be the free pistol competition, a 60-shot, 50-meter match won by Sgt. 1.C. William Blankenship of the Army last year. The Army also won the team title.

M.Sgt. William Krilling is defending individual titlist and the Army defending team champion in the smallbore rifle prone event. This match is scheduled May 15.

Sgt. 1.C. Lawrence Mosely, and the Army team are defending champions in the rapid fire pistol match slated for May 15.

Also on May 15 is the international skeet competition. 2nd Lt. Allen Morrison of the Marines won last year and the Air Force took the team title. It will end May 16.

Completing the day's heavy firing schedule will be the running boar shoot. This was won in 1966 by Staff Sgt. Richard Brown of the Air Force and the Army netted the team crown.

The Bayonet, Friday, May 5, 1967

Air Force, Army Share Team Wins in
Opening Events of International Competition

By Lee LaCombe

High scores and close matches characterized the first event of the seventh annual Interservice International Shooting Competition which opened at Fort Benning last Saturday.

The yearly matches, which attract the best shots in the Armed Forces, are hosted by The Infantry Center and sponsored by Continental Army Command.

By Tuesday, the Air Force captured a pair of team titles and the Army one in the early events. The Air Force, Army and Marines chalked up one individual victory.

Air Force shooters, sparked by the individual effort of Maj. Franklin Green, captured the team trophy in the free pistol match Saturday, edging the Army 2199 to 2181. The Marines were third with 2155.

Topped Field

Green's 560 easily topped the field of 42 shooters. Navy PO Donald Hamilton was second with 557 and Sgt. 1.C. Emil Heugatter of the Army was third with 562.

Joining Green on the winning Air Force squad were Tech. Sgt. John Ditmore, 547, Staff Sgt. Arnold Vitabro, 544 and Staff Sgt. Leslie Foster, 548.

The Army nailed its first victories Monday when world famed M.Sgt. William B. Blankenship, Jr. outdistanced the field in the rapid fire pistol match with a 590 to take individual honors.

Rifle Team

On the smallbore rifle range, Army's Blue team outshot the Air Force, 2340 to 2327 in the 50-meter prone event.

Firing on the winning Army rifle team were Maj. Tommy Pool, 580, Staff Sgt. Martin I. Gunnarsson, 587, Capt. Bruce Meredith, 585 and Capt. Presley Kendall, 588.

The airmen took the rapid fire pistol team match however, but were forced to outlast the Army in a shoot-off to win.

Both squads finished the regular course with identical scores of 2326.

Staff Sgt. Alfred G. Richards, Air Force, was runner-up to Blankenship with a 589 and Maj. William McMillan, Marines, was third with 588. Maj. Sallie Carroll of the Army was high lady shooter with 556.

Marine High

The individual crown in the smallbore English rifle match went to WO David I. Boyd of the Marines who posted a terrific 594 out of 600. Runnerup was Airman 2.C. Robert L. Randle, Air Force. First Lt. Margaret Thompson of the Army nabbed third place with a 590.

Firing ends Sunday. Other events scheduled are running boar, skeet, clay pigeon, smallbore rifle, three-position and free rifle and center fire pistol.

The Bayonet, Friday, May 19, 1967

Interservice

Army Cops Top Honors At Matches

By Lee LaCombe

Army shooters snared the lion's share of individual awards at the seventh annual Interservice international shooting championships hosted by The Infantry Center here, last week, but had to settle with a split with Air Force sharpshooters in the team competition.

The soldiers chalked up eight individual titles, the Air Force netted four and WO David I. Boyd of the Marine Corps nabbed a pair of first place awards.

The Army and Air Force each captured six team crowns. It was a letdown for the soldiers and an improvement for the Air Force over last year's shooting. In 1966, the Army gained eight team championships to four for the Air Force.

Three Army firers were double winners this year. The total of four double first place winners far surpassed the results of last year when only Boyd managed to get into the winner's circle twice.

Notching first place victories were M.Sgt. William B. Blankenship, Jr. in the center fire pistol and rapid fire pistol; 2nd Lt. John Writer, three-position, smallbore rifle aggregate and the prone match of this event; and Maj. Tommy Pool, free rifle aggregate and the kneeling event of this match. All three are assigned to the U.S. Army Marksmanship Training Unit.

Other individual winners for the Army were Staff Sgt. John P. Kingeter in running boar and Capt. Presley Kendall in free rifle prone.

Boyd notched his pair of victories in the smallbore rifle English match and the smallbore rifle kneeling event.

The Bayonet, Friday, May 26, 1967