Marking Time: Churchill’s visit sparks forceful display                            Susanne Kappler      Leader Staff

Just 48 hours after British Prime Minister Winston Churchill learned of the fall of Tobruk in North Africa –– a crushing defeat that almost forced him to resign –– his spirits were lifted by a show of force from troops on Fort Jackson. Churchill was in the United States for a conclave with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and took some time off to visit Fort Jackson on June 24, 1942. He arrived by train and was greeted with a19-gun salute, in accordance with protocol for a prime minister’s visit. The visiting party also included other British dignitaries, as well as U.S. officials, to include Secretary of War Henry Stimson and Gen. George C. Marshall.  After inspecting the troops, Churchill witnessed what was then called a “mass calisthenics drill” and obstacle course training. The highlight of the visit was a battle demonstration on the parade field. Almost 600 paratroopers jumped from 40 planes at a rate of one per second. After the jump, they joined an additional 1,400 troops on foot and in tanks for a simulated battle. For added realism, the battle included artillery fired from behind the stands where the dignitaries were gathered. It concluded after 45 minutes with a two-column tank offensive. The prime minister said he was “enormously impressed” by the display. After watching the Fort Jackson Soldiers, he expressed confidence in their abilities and said “they’re just like money in the bank.” Churchill left Fort Jackson after six hours, but news of his visit was not released to the press until he was back in England three days later. The Army Times, Fort Jackson Edition called Churchill’s visit “the greatest (day) in Fort Jackson history.”   Staff Sgt. Edward Peters, a clarinetist with the 113th Field Artillery Band on Fort Jackson during Churchill’s visit, was involved in the capture of Churchill during the Second Boer War in South Africa in the early 1900s. He was a soldier in the Boer Army then and assigned to the company that captured the future prime minister, who was a news correspondent at the time.