Hall of Fame

2004 Inductees

Grant Bacon

CW4 Grant (Pappy) Bacon served in the Army National Guard of New Jersey. He was the first Head Coach of the All Guard Pistol Team in the late 60's and early 70's. He was a driving, dedicated coach who demanded the best of his team members. Through his leadership, he developed the teams that were victorious at the All Army and National Levels during this time. He also laid the foundation for the follow-on coaches as he developed a coach’s manual and led the training of the personnel that would take his place following his retirement. He was a distinguished rifleman in the late 30's and became Double Distinguished in the 60's and thus was one of the first, if not the first, NG Double Distinguished shooter. He was dedicated to the National Guard and the shooting program and spent many hours of non-compensated time with personnel, both at the all-guard and local levels assisting them in honing and increasing their skills.

Pappy passed away shortly after his retirement from the National Guard and thus we lost one of our pioneers and a valuable supporter of our program.

Franklin D. Smith

CW4 (Ret) Franklin Smith served in the Arkansas Army National Guard. There are National Guard Rifle Shooters who can out shoot Frank Smith, but there is no one in the whole National Guard inventory who can come close to building match rifles (M-14s) as good as the rifles accurized by Frank Smith. He came out of active duty from the Army in 1967 as a shooter and gunsmith. He was so good at making rifles that had the capability of shooting extremely small groups that when the All Guard was formed, LTC Pearson requested he move from South Carolina to Tennessee to take over the Rifle Shop. In a twenty-year period, under Frank Smith’s supervision, over 3,000 rifles were accurized. WO-4 Smith would not accept a rifle that would not shoot two minutes of an angle or less, and after the heavy barrels came in to fashion, that tolerance was cut to one and one half minutes of an angle. That is 3 inches at 200 yards, Frank pushed to obtain an underground test facility where rifles could be tested using a machine rest with no wind to affect the test. The test range was built, and the MTU rifles improved. Frank was receiving so many requests from state MTUs to work on state rifles that he suggested that the shop put on a workshop for all state MTU armorers from the fifty states and the four territories. It was at this time the individual state National Guard Rifle teams began to win rifle matches all across the national and the All Guard became a team to reckon with. The All Guard won the National Rifle Championship at Camp Perry twice and also won the Inter-service Championship twice. The All Guard set and still holds the Infantry Trophy record with the M-14 rifle at Camp Perry, Ohio—with all rifles rebuilt and accurized by Frank Smith’s shop. He and Dave Mattice wrote the manuals that were used in the All Guard six-week courses to teach armorers the tricks of the trade for accurizing the M-14 rifle and the 1911 pistol. He holds the Distinguished Rifleman Badge and the Chief’s Fifty Badge.

Ron Fleischhacker

CW4 Ron Fleischhacker serves with the Alaska Army National Guard. He has been instrumental in the success of the Marksmanship program in the Alaska Army National Guard since his involvement began in 1986. In 1986, he received the Distinguished Rifle Award. In 1995, he received the Distinguished Pistol Award and in 1999, was awarded the Top National Guard Service Rifle in the nation. He has been an active member of the State Marksmanship Program and has competed on the state team numerous times since 1986. He consistently finished in the top 2 during the State Combat Matches held each June. Ron has been on the President's Hundred three times, on the All Guard Rifle Team since 1986, and has a High Master NRA classification (which by class alone is in the top 1% in the nation). He has distinguished himself with significant awards and honors but most of all, he continues to coach and mentor the soldiers within the AKARNG. His passion for the sport enables him to teach the fundamentals of marksmanship to a new shooter, coach a team during a combat match, and mentor the soldier who possesses a strong desire to be the best shooter. Ron can always be counted on to support the State Combat Matches; he is a permanent member of the match council and always volunteers his own time so that the matches are not only successful but that each shooter has enjoyed the experience. He is a strong advocate of the marksmanship program and continues to recruit new shooters. The AKARNG is very proud of his accomplishments, his character, his love of the sport and his dedication to fellow soldiers. Ron without a doubt brings great credit upon himself and the AKARNG.

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