Change of Command, PIO, HHC, 13th Spt Bde, 20 May 1971

One of the duties of Stan's Army Newspaper Job (Public Information Office, Headquarters Company, 13th Support Brigade, Ft. Hood, Texas) was covering significant Brigade Change of Command Ceremonies. Important changes got pretty elaborate, with troops marching around and presenting colors and other razzmatazz. We dutifully photographed and reported these august events to the Post Newspaper, the Armored Sentinel.
So it should come as no surprise that when Specialist Fourth-Class Kenneth Fortenberry (above, right), then acting as the non-commmissioned officer in charge of the section, exited the Army on May 21, 1971, that a ceremony suitable to the occasion was mocked up for the camera. We didn't have the usual unit flag to hand over, so a blue editor's pencil was substituted and presented to the new chief (Stan) on the left. He ran the unit until February 20, 1972, reporting on dozens more unit events.
A photograph of this goofy event surfaced this week when Specialist Four Robert C. Morecock, now a psychologist and Lieutenant Colonel in Houston, Googled his old Army buddy to renew old times. He sent Stan a trove of memorabilia, (more on that later) along with best wishes, and this photo.
The guy in the center wearing the fake Brigadier General stars is Specialist Pieper. We have no idea where he is today, but had fun speculating.
This photo was forwarded to Mr. Fortenberry in North Carolina where he and his wife own a newspaper. He was suitably amused as well.

Three months after we took this photo of  the office rookie interviewing Col.
Fred Frog, Bob Morecock was ordered to Vietnam, serving at the Armed Forces
Network, Saigon, anchoring the evening news broadcast. A historic clip
of him announcing the cessation of hostilities is now on YouTube.
(For those of you who notice these things, yes, Morecock has his
steel pot on backwards.)