As a U.S. Army cavalry scout, I spent many hours manning observation or listening posts on German borders during the 1980s. When something important came up, we sent a radio message in a SALUTE format: Size, Activity, Location, Unit, Time, and Equipment.

I still use this format when researching a project. I spell SALUTE vertically down the left side of a paper and leave a few lines between each letter. Then I start filling in the information from books, the Internet, movies, museums, and sometimes interviews with people who were there. The deeper you look into each letter, the more accurate the diorama becomes. For example, working up the letter U on an M12 155mm self-propelled gun, I found a gentleman living about 60 miles away who was assigned to an M12 battalion during World War II. We met and had a detailed discussion about his unit and the M12.

Along with the SALUTE format, I use the letters WTV: Weather, Terrain, and Vegetation. All play an important part in any diorama.

So, while you can make an M3 halftrack look good, it’s even better to know that your M3 belonged to B Company, 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion, attached to the 1st Infantry Division during the Battle of El Guettar, March 23, 1943, in Tunisia.

Tip submitted by:
Bartley Bass, Staff Sgt. U.S. Army (ret.)Minden, Texas