William Brown Mitchell

West Point, 1965

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Bob Frank, L-1 & B-1 on January 28, 2008:

Mitch and I were in the same Ranger School class, which started in October 1965. His Ranger buddy was our fellow Classmate Emory Pylant, who was from Mississippi. These two Southern outdoorsmen were a perfect combination, so much so that in the Mountain Phase of Ranger School, Mitch and Emory performed the same two functions for every patrol we ran. Mitch was the point man, counting the pace (the way we kept track of distance traveled) and Emory was the compass man, keeping us headed in the right direction. These were the two critical jobs for every patrol, since getting lost would cause a failure for the patrol leader. There was only one time where a patrol got off track. Mitch recognized something wasn't right. He recommended that the patrol leader call for simulated artillery fire on a certain mountain. When it went off in an unexpected location, Mitch and Emory quickly adjusted our course to get us back on track. We got to the objective on time, and the patrol leader received a passing grade. Mitch and Emory also had other critical skills. Ranger School is a time when the students are deprived of food and sleep. As a reward for success on one of our long patrols, we received a live chicken or two and a rabbit. Mitch knew exactly what to do to get the chicken ready to eat, and Emory took care of the rabbit. It was an education watching them employ their outdoorsmen talents, and we all felt much better with some fresh meat in our stomachs! Though Ranger School was a serious endeavor, Mitch always found ways to lighten the atmosphere. His smile and Tennessee twang could have us laughing despite our hunger and lack of sleep. He was a great soldier and wonderful comrade.

admin