4/18/2009:
The war in Korea was raging in the spring of 1951, but North Dakota guardsmen from the 164th infantry and the 188th field artillery units were still in the states, training at Camp Rucker, Alabama. On this date in ‘51, F.J. Froeschle reported the North Dakotans were doing well. In fact, many had gained as much as 25 pounds, thanks to the ample amount of food being served in the mess halls.
Brothers Orville and Virgil Shipman, of Bismarck, took part in preparing hearty meals for Company A. Led by Mess Sergeant Alois Holzer, the Shipman brothers and nine other men were up by 3:30 each morning preparing meals for 248 men - work they didn't complete until 7:30 at night.
When asked about a recent report that Camp Rucker had a pepper shortage, the men told Froeschle pepper was plentiful. It was pepper shakers they were lacking.
Dakota Datebook by Merry Helm
Source: The Bismarck Tribune. 18 Apr 1951:1.