BROOKINGS – Col. Mason Wheeler, Unitd States Army Reserve (Ret.), began and ended his military service right here in Brookings. And except for a tour of active duty in the Regular Army, he spent his entire life in Brookings.

On June 6, 1960, Wheeler, now 83, graduated from South Dakota State University with a degree in history and political science. Additionally, having completed then mandatory training and been honored as Distinguished Military Graduate from Army ROTC, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Regular Army and “fully expected to be a full-time, lifetime military man.”

On June 9, he reported for active duty at Fort Hood, Texas, where he served as an armor officer. As an additional and secondary duty, he served as a battalion mess officer. He enjoyed what he did at Fort Hood and found military service rewarding. He was there for 2 1/2 years, through the armor units wartime-readiness mission. During that time came the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in April 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. In late 1962, Wheeler received orders to Korea. 

I Corps, Reserve, the Guard

He would serve in Korea from December 1962 to December 1963. Initially, Wheeler was assigned to I Corps Headquarters, commanded by a lieutenant general (three stars), as the motor officer. One day a call from the general’s chief of staff (a colonel) would change his status.

“Hell, I didn’t even know what a chief of staff was,” Wheeler said, laughing heartily. He found out “the CG had his own dining facility; it was a beautiful place.” It was overseen and operated by a warrant officer who had “a problem with wine, women and song” and was being relieved.

The chief noted that Wheeler had been a battalion mess officer at Fort Hood and asked him if he’d take the job “for no more than six weeks.” He did. It would be six months before a replacement for him was found. 

“When I look back at it now, it was a good time,” Wheeler said, smiling. “We ate like kings. When you feed a three-star general and his staff – they ate very, very well.” Additionally, visiting “high mucky mucks,” such as the Commander-in-Chief Pacific (CINCPAC, a Navy four-star admiral), also received the royal treatment if they came for an official visit.

Add to the above: “movies after the evening meal, a nice big bar with all the liquor you wanted.”

But not to be forgotten is that during Wheeler’s tour in Korea, I Corps was the tip of the spear. Had the North Korean hordes, possibly reinforced by the Red Chinese Army, come swarming across the 38th parallel and the DMZ, I Corps would have come in harm’s way.

“If something had happened, it wouldn’t have been a good spot,” Wheeler said, succinctly summing up the whole military situation.

While he had considered a 30-plus years career as a regular, for a variety of reasons he decided to leave the Army and return to South Dakota and farm with his father and brother.

The farm, the Guard, the Reserve

In 1963, Wheeler resigned his Regular Army commission; however, he owed Uncle Sam a total of six years of military service. He checked with the Army Reserve and found a unit that drilled in Sioux Falls.

Instead, he opted to join the South Dakota Army National Guard in August 1964, after finding a unit closer to home. His first assignment was as a platoon leader in a transportation company, drilling in De Smet. 

He continued to work his way through the ranks. He next assignment was as a company commander in a unit in Brookings. In time he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and served as commanding officer of the 139th Transportation Battalion for seven years.

Wheeler next transferred to the Army Reserve, so he could be promoted to colonel. 

“I had to get out of the Guard and join the Reserve again, to get a colonel’s slot. I was the 6th Army liaison to the Guard and Reserve units; there was one in Sioux Falls and one in Aberdeen. I stayed in that and retired in August 1992. I had 28 years of Guard and Reserve time and 3 1/2 years active duty.”

Meanwhile, he continued to farm. 

“I was farming with my dad and my brother since I came home from Korea in late 1963. We had a pretty sizeable operation out northeast of Brookings.” 

He and his wife Janie, a retired English teacher in the Brookings School District, retired 20 years ago and moved into Brookings. They stayed active and were busy, traveling a lot. And Mason worked, with much of what he did tied to agriculture.

“I drove truck for the farmers co-op, spring and fall, hauling fertilizer, which was a fun job for me,” he said. “I enjoyed it because I got out in the country and wandered around.” 

Additionally, he drove truck for Mark Jensen Produce. Someone was needed to go to Watertown and Aberdeen twice a week.

“I said I can do that,” Wheeler explained. “So for seven years I drove truck hauling seed corn, green beans and whatever other produce to stores in Watertown and Aberdeen and occasionally I’d go as far as Miller and once in awhile Huron. Once in awhile they’d send me on a route to Vermillion, Yankton and Sioux Falls. That was a fun job, too.” In time the work took a toll on his health. He had to unload corn bins with a pallet fork. 

”But that got to the point where that was more work than I could do. I had a heart attack, and I quit.”

Looking to the future, Wheeler sees the Guard continuing to improve over the years as it contributes to the concept of a “total force.”

“We’ve been used to supplement the active component on a regular basis,” Wheeler explained. “And the level of training in the Guard has increased considerably since when I joined.”

“The Guard has been able to function and shown over time that we can step right in and work and serve side-by-side with the active component. We might need a little beefing up, a little refresher because we only train a weekend a month and two weeks a year. We’ve proven that we can do the job, whether it’s the Army Guard or the Air Guard.”

Contact John Kubal at jkubal@brookingsregister.com.