Spring - 70th Infantry Division Association

The citizen -soldier 

answers his country's call

Off-year reunions are announced 

It's billed as the Western Mini-Reunion. 

But the only thing "rnini"about it is the word that distinguishes 

this gathering from the biennial Reunion of the Association. For this 

Golden Anniversary get -together is going to be big by any measure 

ment. 

The big event will be a three-day affair just like the Louisville 

gathering was: Friday, April 30 through Sunday, May 2. Grand 

Junction, in a most scenic section of a most scenic state, is the site 

and the Ramada Inn on Crossroads Boulevard will house the event. 

Although it will certainly draw most of its attendance from the 

states west of the Mississippi, there are already indications that 

many of the more eastern states will also be represented. Colorado 

is just about a perfect vacation destination and several members 

have already set their sights on it, combining a great holiday with 

the always wonderful fellowship of Trailblazer gatherings. 

The inn has offered a special rate of $42 a day, single or double. 

Up to four people may occupy a room and the cost is $7 per 

additional person. Reservations must be made before April19. The 

hotel's address is 2790 Crossroads Blvd., Grand Junction, Colorado 

81506. You may phone to (303) 241-8411. In all cases, refer 

to Group #111590. Credit cards are accepted. 

Four airlines serve the city. Because plane fares are fluctuating 

all over the chart these days, you are advised to contact your travel 

agent as soon as possible. There is good Amtrak service as well as 

excellent Greyhound schedules. Ramada has free shuttle service 

from air, train and bus terminals. 

2 

Reunion registration fee is only $30 per person -and you'll sure 

get your money's worth. 

Thursday offers early registration - and those nice Ramada 

rates. Bailey's Lounge, in the hotel, offers free hors d'oeuvres 

during happy hour, Monday through Friday. There are also three 

free RV parking spots with electrical hook-ups only. First come- 

Friday the hospitality room opens with facilities for showing 

your memorabilia. There will also be souvenir sales. 

That afternoon an optional bus tour will show the scenic wonders 

of Colorado National Monument and then there will be a barbecue 

at the "spread" of John and Margy Hartman, B/276. 

Saturday will see the general meeting and taking the group 

picture. The hospitality room will be open at 9 a.m. and there will 

be a cash bar in the adjoining lounge. A festive banquet, with door 

prizes and lots of fun, will highlight Saturday evening. 

Sunday the group will decide where the 1994 Mini will be held 

and there will be a memorial service to close the event. 

There are far more attractions in the area than we can list here. 

Whatever your taste - scenery, shopping, art galleries, wineries, 

history- you'll find it here. The climate is great; at mini time you 

can expect temperatures from the mid 50s to low 70s. Sweaters, 

jackets or coats are advised for the evenings. Daytime dress is light 

and informal; there will be a lot of levis and this is your chance to 

bust out the bolo tie, western shirt and 1 0-gallon hats. You won't be 

ostracized if you wear business clothes and the ladies can gussy-up 

all they wish for the Saturday banquet. 

There are six RV parks near the city with full hook-up services. All Trailblazers, whether or not they are members of the Asso- 

The 

Trailblazer 

is published four times a 

year by the 70th Infantry 

Division Association and 

friends. Subscription: $12 

annually. 

Editor 

Edmund C. Arnold 

3208 Hawthorne Ave. 

Richmond, VA 23222 

(804) 329-5295 

Associate Editor * 

Chester F. Garstki 

2946 N. Harding Ave. 

Chicago, IL 60618 

(312) 725-3948 

* 

Staff Artist 

Peter Bennett 

3031 Sir Phillips Dr. 

San Antonio, TX 78209 

Volume 51 Number 2 

Spring, 1993 

Founding father, 

Kruse dies 

It is a sad duty to compile the "Taps" list 

that appears in each issue of this magazine. 

Whether or not we personally knew these 

departed men, they were all our brothers-inarms 

and we mourn them as such. 

This report, though, has an additional note 

of sorrow. For Clint Kruse, who died Nov. 6, 

1992, in his home town of Topeka, Kansas, 

was not only a founding father of the 70th 

Association, his extraordinary efforts and 

total dedication kept it alive during the lean 

early years. 

Core of the Association was the 275th's 

Service Company that held its own reunions 

in the western states where most of its members 

hailed from. Those men later invited all 

Trailblazers in the area to join in the fun. 

When it was decided to go Division-wide, 

Gus Comuntzis of Service was named president. 

He gathered a task force of Clint, Merritt 

Dick, Jim Kyle and Eugene Peterson as his 

major assistants. They did yeoman duty, 

devoting huge amounts of time, effort and 

personal funds to nurturing the new organization. 

Clint was editor of the "Trailblazer" from 

1964 until the mid-70s. He served in many 

capacities and was involved in planning all 

the conventions in the early years. He was an 

auditor for the State of Kansas until his 

retirement a decade ago. Condolences may 

besenttohis wife,Doris,at5628W.l8thSt., 

Topeka, Kansas 66604. 

Lifersthe 

numbers grow 

Still they enroll! 

Life members now number 609 

with the addition of the following 

names to the roster: 

Francis Adams, F/276 

Louis Brazier, B/370 Medics 

Walter Cieslin, HQ!lst Bn/27 5 

William Sampson, V276 

Casimir Strzempa, E/27 4 

William Tramel, V276 

Juanell Williams, 70 MPs 

70th Division Assn. TRAILBLAZER

ciation, are warmly invited. And you are invited to contact any 

member of the committee for further information or help in making 

reservations: 

John Hartman, B/276, is chairman. 1048 R. Road, Mack, 

Colorado 81525; (303) 858-7299; 

Bob Crothers, B/275, 1000 S. Main Street, Salina, CA 93901; 

(408) 484-9358; 

Henry Clarke, AT/274, 20410 Thelma Ave., Saratoga, CA 

95070; (408) 867-3184; 

Gene Lim, C/884, 4030 Soelro Court, San Jose, CA 95127; 

(408) 258-7738. 

George Company of the 27 4th * will have a reunion in Asheville, 

North Carolina. September 16-through-19. Joe Priest is chairman. 

This is probably the advancest notice you'll receive this 

year. 

The company- Casey Cassidy commanded it in the ETO - 

had a great time on their '92 tour back to the battlefields. Thirteen 

folks, including a second-generation Trailblazer went back to the 

ETO. Highlight was Wingen-sur-Moder where the company had 

All'Blazers invited 

for Wood plaque ceremony 

In the summer of l 943, Fort Leonard Wood 

greeted the 70th Division with the biggest 

welcome party it had ever thrown. Post personnel 

and civilians from the whole region 

joined in making the newcomers feel right at 

home. 

In the summer of 1993, the post will again 

be host to the 70th. And while the circumstances 

are decidedly different, the greetings 

will be as warm and the hospitality as inviting 

as they were half a century ago. 

On June 12, a Saturday, the 70th Division 

Association will unveil a plaque on the fort's 

Wall of Honor. There it will be displayed 

along with those of every other unit that 

trained at that busy Ozark encampment. 

A full day's activities are being planned. 

The dedicatory ceremony will be the highlight, 

of course. But there will be a spectacular 

demonstration by the troops now stationed 

there so the old 'Blazers can see how their 

Army has evolved. There will also be a luncheon, 

possibly in a familiar mess hall but 

probably at a service club. 

All 70th veterans are invited. Missouri and 

its surrounding states are home for hundreds 

of 70th men. It is easily reached on Interstate 

44, about a hundred miles west of St. Louis. 

For those travelling longer distances, the 

Waynesville Ramada Inn will offer special 

rates of $42. The hotel is at the gate to the fort, 

off I-44 at Exit 161. Reservations should be 


fought so brilliantly in' 45. A big crowd greeted them there. There 

was a contingent of young men in full American Army gear, '45 

vintage. Also on hand was WolfZoepf, who like Co. G had first 

visited Wingen in January '45. Openly he was on the other side 

of the railroad tracks. He was adjutant of the 6th SS Mountain 

Division, our foe at the time. 

At Bousbach, a group of Frenchmen loaded the 'Blazers into 

restored WW2 military vehicles and toured them through the 

streets, after taking them to the top of Cassidy Hill. Armistead 

Leggett says it was the first time he ever rode in a Jeep since PFCs 

always walked. 

No sooner was this written than * Item Company of274 comes 

up with an advance announcement. It will have its Mini Sept. 17- 

19 in the Quad Cities-Davenport, Rock Island, Bettendorf and 

Moline, Illinois. It will be Friday evening, leaving Saturday night 

open for a dinner cruise on the Mississippi. The bluffs in that area 

are particularly colorful with autumn foliage at that time and 

there are gambling boats if you want to keep Illinois green with 

your paper money. 

Byron McNeely, who puts out the company newsletter, is VP/ 

East for the Association, has more info. His address is on page 23. 

made directly to the hotel, l-800-2-RAMADA 

or (314) 336-3121. Reservations are also asked 

from those people who will be there just for 

the day and don't need to stay over. This is 

so the Post Commander can set up accommodations 

for the ceremony, the troop 

demonstration and lunch. Those reservations 

- at no cost, of course - should be made 

with Bob Soden, PO Box 648, Taylorville, Illinois, 

62568. His phone is (217) 824-4815. Bob 

has been representing the Association in all 

the arrangements. 

Many 70th men joined the Division at 

Leonard Wood. The 70th had come to Missouri 

from Camp Adair, Oregon. Its ranks, 

which had been depleted of privates and 

PFCs who were sent to the Pacific, were filled 

again at Wood. Intense training continued 

all the while until the Division moved on to 

the East Coast for embarkation to the ETO. 

More details will be given in the Summer, 

'93 issue but there is a strong probability that 

the postal service won't deliver that issue in 

time for members to make plans. So - DO 

IT NOW! 

3

4 

70th Division 

50th Anniversary Commemoration 

July 16-17-18,1993 

Friday, July 16 6 pm-9 pm 

No Host Social, Novi Hilton Hotel 

• WWII Uniform Display • 

* 

Saturday, July 17 Ford Athletic Field, Livonia 

Afternoon: Division Pass in Review 

Memorial Service 

• Static Weapons Display • 

* 

Evening: Dinner Dance- Burton Manor, Livonia 

Speaker: Alex C. Johnson 

President, 70th Division 

Association 

Sunday, July 18 9 am -11 am Brunch- Novi Hilton 

Speaker: BG James A. Pocock 

Commanding General 

70th Division (Training) 

• HOSPITALITY SUITE-Novi Hilton • 

Novi Hilton Special Rates: $59 Single $69 Double 

Phone 1-800-HILTONS for Reservations (Mention Trailblazers) 

RESERVATION FORM 

70th DIVISION 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION- JULY 16-18, 1993 

Please enter my reservations for: # __ Dinners @ $25.00 ea. 

Dinner Entree choice: # __ Chicken Kiev 

(enter number each) # __ Prime Rib Total enclosed: $ ___ _ 

Please enter numbers of persons attending "No Host Social" ___ _ 

Make check to: "Trailblazers Association" 

Mail reservation form and check to: 

Trailblazers Association 

P. 0. Box 51144 Livonia, MI 48150 

For phone information: Thomas Harris (313) 458-6405 

ciation has conferred Honorary 

Member status upon Mrs. Faye 

Hill. She is a Gold Star Mother; 

her son John Lacey, A/276, was 

killed in action. During World 

War II, families displayed a 

special flag in their windows, 

with a blue star for each son or 

daughter in the service. A gold 

star indicated one killed in action. 

Mrs. Hill was honored at the 

Western Mini-Reunion in 

Monterey, California where 

Association President Alex 

Johnson did the honors. 

The Patriarchs 

Who are the "Patriarchs of the 

Paradegrounds"? 

Edson Larson, B/276, thinks the 

oldest 70th man may be Col. Frank 

Arnbrecht, who commanded the 

882nd Field Artillery. He's 90. We 

all missed him at the Louisville Reunion; 

he had had a light stroke but 

he's doing OK now. 

As it always happens, as soon as 

someone claims a record, there's a 

challenger. So we open a letter and 

F. Berne(notBernie) La Bar,Sv/276, 

mentions in passing that he is 89. 

Who's the next challenger? All the 

real old timers are invited to register 

as a Patriarch whether or not they're 

older than Berne or Frank. You should 

be at least 83 years old. Please includeyourbirth 

date when you report 

to the editor. 


The Seasons 

of a Soldier 

The seasons of their lives were only two - 

A springtime far too short, 

A winter for too soon. 

For they were only boys 

when first they saw men die. 

* 

Their Spring was late. 

They had no time to dream those dreams 

That boys have always painted 

in their minds: 

Of worlds awaiting for explorers' feet 

Of girls to smile upon 

and brides to kiss. 

The greening hopes of youth 

unblossomed died, 

Within a pall they call "hard times." 

Too late, too short that spring of theirs. 

Too few the hours to dream 

Then came a war. 

The Big War, 

The Good War, 

The Just War they called it. 

But-simpler in diction- just "War." 

* 

Like some gigantic dynamo * 

That hurls electric arcs 

from pole to pole 

The cataclysmic force of strife 

Propelled their lives to Winter, 

straight from Spring. 

No Summer theirs to plant * careers 

and take a wife 

To build a family where hearths were laid 

While zest of life beat like the drums 

in a parade. 

No Autumn harvests ripened * as reward; 

No golden days to sit as patriarchs; 

No nights to smile on grandchild 

at their knee. 

* 


For Winter of the war 

Brought Winter to their lives 

* 

We saw them die. 

The surly Vosges wrapped them 

in shrouds of snow; 

The sullen Saar became their River Styx 

In rubbled streets of old Alsatian towns 


Their blood made tints in sulking streams 

And stippled fields of early flowers 

Or stained the peak of cruel Falkenberg. 


When they were young and we were young. 

* 

We saw them die when we were youths. 

Now gray, we- 

Like the elders of a clan 

Are huddled over dying coals 

to seek within 

Those embers of our solemn memories, 

To warm our hearts, 

Those hearts that all too often hear 

Once more the weeping elegy of "Taps."

F ROM the timeless valleys of the 

Euphrates to the New World's Yucatan Peninsula, 

ancient ruins hint at the stories of 

mighty cities that flourished, then vanished 

into the haze of history. Their lifespan often 

stretched across centuries. 

But the life of the second largest city in 

Oregon covered only the few years of World 

War II. But as its 50th anniversary is celebrated, 

it has a special place in the poignant 

memories of70th Division men-and their 

ladies. 

Camp Adair! 

This was the birthplace of the 70th Infantry 

Division. Although half of the men who 

wore the axe-head shoulder patch-perhaps 

even more - never served at Adair, it has 

strong sentimental attraction for all Trailblazers. 

And its short history is a microcosm 

of much of America's efforts during World 

War II. 

For a hundred years - 1943 was the 

centennial of the Oregon Trail - the 

Willamette Valley was aplaceofquiet,fruitful 

farms. It was the frontier, the last great 

American frontier. The site of the future 

6 

Our birthplace 

fades away ... 

camp nestled at the eastern foothills of the 

Coast Range mountains. Farther to the east 

were the Cascades. It was a few miles north 

of Corvallis, site of Oregon State University, 

and about 90 miles farther north was Portland, 

the state's metropolis. 

The place-names made homely poetry as 

they blended the native Indian with the memories 

of the original Trailblazers: Airlie, 

Philomath, Alpine, Siletz, Monmouth, Noti, 

Pedee and Luckiamute. 

Adair's story starts February 18, 1941. 

With Europe ablaze in war and the Japanese 

reaching octopus arms across the Pacific, the 

United States was still officially neutral. But 

American sympathies were strongly for the 

victims ofHitler's blitzkrieg and it was inevitable 

that this country would become 

enmeshed in actual combat. To be prepared, 

Congress had created the universal draft in 

TAPS FOR THE TROOPS- Just before lights-out, the 

"city" of Camp Adair rests in the Willamette Valley 

of Oregon. Staff photographer Chester Garstki made 

this photo 50 years ago from the top of Coffin Butte, 

just across Highway 99W and southwest of the cantonment. 

the fall of 1940. The Army immediately 

drafted plans for training bases all over the 

country. Two of them would be in Oregon, 

one in the high desert where Camp White 

would rise, one in the Willamette Valley. 

That February of '41 the Army sent out 

specifications and in September the Corvallis 

area was chosen. This was a great lobbying 

victory as almost everyone-inc! uding Army 

architects - believed that the camp would 

be in the vicinity of Eugene, farther south and 

home of the University of Oregon. Pearl 

Harbor revved up the tempo. Construction 

contracts wereletinJanuary, '42. They called 

for an "impossible" achievement: The first 

buildings had to be erected in 20 days! They 

were! And - almost unbelievably! -the 

camp's 1,700 buildings were ready in May 

for the first troops. As many as 8,000 men 

labored on the project which included bar- 


acks and mess halls in the hundreds, seven 

chapels, five movie theaters, social centers 

operated by the u.s.a., a hospital, bank, post 

office, stores, warehouses and railroad freight 

halls, dozens of office buildings and a bakery 

that turned out 35,000 loaves of bread daily. 

It was truly a self-contained city. 

B EFORETilAToouldhappen,though, 

one of the many heartbreaks that war brings 

was the removal of dozens of families from 

farms that had been their families' for a 

hundred years, farms they had laboriously 

chopped out of the virgin wilderness. Most 

wrenching, perhaps, was the decision to relocate 

400 graves in pioneer cemeteries. The 

whole village of Wells was bulldozed. 

Although most farmers accepted the 

Army's offer of market value for their land, 

many resisted and all were devastated. It was 

a true sacrifice they all made in the name of 

patriotism. 

The huge project, the greatest in Oregon 

history, was a boon to many people. The $23 

million that construction poured into the 

local economy fmally broke the back of the 

Great Depression and created 9,000 jobs, 

temporary but economically invigorating. 

(A million dollars in '40s money was about 

six times as great as in today's currency.) 

With a peak population of 45,000 the 

camp became larger than any state city except 

Portland. (Corvallis at that time had a 

population of 6,800.) 

Four Infantry divisions trained at this en- 

• • • 

campment named for Lt. Henry Rodney 

Adair, Oregon's heroicfustKIA in the Mexican 

border campaign of 1916. The first unit 

to train there was the 96th (Deadeye) Division 

that went on to memorable amphibious 

campaigns in Okinawa and the Philippines. 

The others went to the ETO: the 1 04th 

(Timberwolf) fought in Belgium and Germany, 

the 91st (wearing the fir tree emblem 

and calling itself "Powder River") and the 

Trailblazer Division itself. The Fir Tree furnished 

the cadre around which the 70th would 

be formed. It was the on! y one of the four that 

had fought in World War I. In the Second 

World War it had a long tour; in April '44, it 

went to North Africa for more training, then 

to Italy. It attacked the German Gothic Line 

in '44, and crossed the PoRi verthe next year. 

It stayed in Italy for the rest of the war. 

There were 65,000 acres on which the 

troops labored. Original specifications called 

for at least 2,000 level acres for building the 

cantonment. Also needed were "rolling hills, 

light woods and an area of at least 5x 10 miles 

for artillery practice." Adair had them all. 

Also essential were a nearby railroad, water 

supply and sources for electricity. Not necessary 

but highly desirable would be a nearby 

town where off-duty soldiers could find recreation. 

Corvallis, Salem and several other 

small towns did that. 

All was not beer and skittles, though. 

Since World War II, America has been in 

constant mobilization to some degree. The 

Korean and Viet Nam wars, the Berlin and 

Cuban crises, the continuing Cold War, incursions 

into Lebanon, Grenada, Panama 

and Somalia and the brief combat in the Gulf 

desert required a large standing military force. 

So uniformed people are not strangers in any 

area. 

But in the 25-year period between the two 

World Wars America not only ignored its 

armed forces, it scorned the men in them. 

(Women had not yet been accepted into the 

regular services.) That scorn of the soldier 

was still strong before Pearl Harbor. Many 

early draftees recall signs in bars, taverns and 

restaurants that decreed "No Dogs or Soldiers 

Allowed." One of the publicly declared 

oppositions to building the Willamette camp 

was the fear of many rural citizens that their 

teen-age daughters would be put in peril by 

lascivious soldiers. In fact, leaders of Benton 

and Polk Counties formed a Trouble Prevention 

Committee. It was charged with lobbying 

for legislation against such disreputable 

establishments as dance halls and beer parlors. 

(Continued on next page) 

STILL STANDING GUARD- And this is how Trailblazers 

saw Coffin Butte from their encampment. It 

is the only element of Camp Adair that has not 

changed in the past half century. Thousands of 

trainees hiked up the nearby hills and the steepest 

slope of this butte provided a demanding test for jeep 

drivers. 

but the hills endure

-- 

B UT SUCH FEARS did nothing to 

mar the war hospitality that Oregon extended 

to soldiers. A wide assortment of civic organizations 

provided many kinds of wholesome 

recreational facilities and the Adair area was 

remarkably free of the shady joints that ringed 

so many other military posts. (There is a 

legend that there was an illicit trailer camp 

that offered services of dubious probity in a 

nearby gravel pit. No eyewitness has ever 

attested to that, though.) Special trains - 

with $2 fares - ran up to Portland, a city 

notably hospitable to military people. 

Although Oregon is notoriously rainy and 

prompted the name "Swamp Adair," actually 

the weather was quite kind to the 70th. 

Until well into the autumn, skies were brilliantly 

blue and a light snowfall dusted the 

landscape during field exercises between 

Christmas, 1943, and New Year's. 

The only inhospitable native was poison 

oak, which grew profusely. There was no 

way to avoid its virulence and the Medics 

brought the only palliative - calamine lotion-bytherailroadtankcar.(Thisstatement 

is presented under oath!) 

The 70th was the last division to train at 

Adair, leaving in the summer of '44. After 

the Trailblazers departed for Fort Leonard 

Wood, en route to France and Germany, 

Adair's reason to live had passed. It did 

remain a military installation for a few more 

years. 

The hospital was taken over by the Navy 

and treated casualties of the Pacific campaigns. 

The camp also housed German and 

Italian prisoners of war although that activity 

maintained a low profile and few civilians in 

the area were aware of it. 

Neighbors find 

70th mutuality 

Norman Gauch, Sv/276, runs the Red Eye Tackle Company in 

Rochester, New York. A few blocks away Frank Schwan runs an 

auto repair shop. The two men belong to the same VFW post and 

their paths had often crossed. 

In the Fall issue of this estimable magazine, Norm ran across a 

familiar name, Frank Schwan. "I noticed that his address was 

Brockport, New York, not far from here, and wondered if it was the 

same fellow. Sure enough; Francis (Frank) Schwan was with D/274 

and had taken a picture at the infamous CP-2 at Marseilles, France, 

that had been printed in the magazine and in the History book. 

Norm has been unable to attend Division Reunions because they 

always coincided with a trade show that he had to attend. But 1992 

offered a clear calendar and he was looking forward to Louisville. 

But-Norm had surgery to repair a hernia in August, expecting to 

be up and at 'em by Reunion time. But the day he came back from 

8 

Camp Adair was once 

Oregon's 

second largest city 

When the war ended, Camp Adair, like the 

men who had trained there, quietly went back 

to civilian life. The Army offered thousands 

of acres of land and many buildings for sale, 

first to the original farmer owners, then to the 

general public. The heart of the camp, the 

1,682 acres where the barracks and most of 

all of its buildings were, was bulldozed and 

deeded to the state of Oregon. Later it becarne 

the E. E. Wilson Wildlife Refuge. 

A small area in the south remained in 

military hands. From 1952 to '68 the Air 

Force operated a missile tracking station 

there. That, too, was sold and in 1976 was 

incorporated as the town of Adair Village. 

Today little remains of this once bustling 

place. On Route 99W, once the main coastal 

highway to California, now displaced by 

Interstate 5, stand brightly painted wooden 

signs hailing the divisions that trained there. 

But you have to search to find other remains. 

Where the barracks stood are the pleasant 

middle-class homes of the 540 people who 

inhabit Adair Village. Concrete pylons that 

once were the footings for barracks still lie 

like ancient ruins. The rifle range is a regional 

garbage dump. 

The only thing that stands unchanged is 

Coffm Butte, the brooding hill just west of 

the barracks. 

A three-year observance, sponsored by 

Benton and Polk Counties and the city of 

Corvallis, is marking the brief but colorful 

life of the Trailblazers' birthplace. 

SHIPS AHOY! SHE'S AHOY! 

The launching of the SS Trailblazer 

in Portland, Oregon in 

1944 was the first time a vessel 

had been named for an Infantry 

Division. It was occasion for a 

holiday for 2,500 70th troops who 

marched in the pre-ceremony 

parade. This cartoon also pays 

homage to the many women 

who joined the labor force to 

replace the men who were in 

service. Typified as "Rosie, the 

Riveter", the women were a 

major factor in the ultimate victory 

over the Axis. 

the hospital, his wife Dorothy had a heart attack. When she came 

home Norm had to have some scar tissue removed from his retina. 

Fortunately all surgery went well and Norm and Dorothy are now 

looking forward to St. Louis. 

* 

Good stories often come in twos. So hearken unto Michael 

Castrilli, A/27 5: 

"I recently received from Secretary Lou Hoger a list of Association 

members in New Jersey.lmagine my pleasure and amazement 

- right above my name was that of Norman Fell, B/275. He 

resides in Bedminster, a community about as small as mine and only 

four miles away. 

"But that isn't the end of the story. I am Quartermaster ofVFW 

Post 7585 and Norman is a fellow member! I have known Norm but 

never knew we were fellow-Trailblazers. We had once exchanged 

phone calls and letters about his misdirected dues. He had sent them 

to the state organization rather than to me. We would have been 

much more 'charitable' to each other if we had known our 70th 

relationship. 


Count off! How many were Trailblazers? 

How many men wore the axe-head shoulder 

patch? 

The strength of a triangular division like 

the 70th in World War II was about 15,000 

men. So we start with that number. 

At the end of basic training, all privates 

and PFCs were sent out as replacements for 

PacificTheatercasualties. Their replacements 

add 7,000 to the roster. Most of the 755 

Trailblazers who were killed in action were 

replaced by men fresh from the States. There 

were 3,164 casualties in addition. Of them 

1,578 were returned to duty. That leaves 823 

who had to be replaced. By now we tote up at 

least 23,000. 

All these can be considered veterans of the 

70th Division. 

There is another group that wore the red, 

white and green patch. At the end of the war, 

all 70th low-pointers were replaced by men 

from the 3rd (Rock of the Marne) Division 

who had earned far, far more points than 

needed for immediate discharge. Officially, 

they were Trailblazers when they came home 

on the SS Queen Elizabeth in the Fall of' 45. 

They don't consider themselves 70th men; 

their allegiance is solely to the 3rd, as it 

should be. 

But that still leaves thousands of men out 

there who are eligible for membership in the 

70th Division Association-and who probably 

would be tickled pink to know such an 

organization exists. 

How does this formula shape up when 

compared to hard, provable numbers? Let's 

look at some figures compiled by Tom 

Higley, once the top-kick of C/275. 

He and Harold Lewis, vigorous recruiters 

* 

Another body found 

Through a minister in the town where he 

lived during World War II, I finally located 

Remo Tedeschi in Deposit, New York. 

This past week I had a call from him and it 

was exciting to be in touch with him again. 

He was a clerk-driver in Divarty headquarters. 

He did not know about the 70th 

Association and was glad to hear about it. 

Will you please send him a copy of the 

magazine? 

James McGugin 

HQ/Divarty 

(Ed. note: We're always happy to send 

copies to prospective members and tell 

themthatyouaskedus todothis.lt' sa great 

recruiting device.) 


for the Association, have verified 509 men 

who were on Charlie Company's roster over 

two years. Harold is confident that many 

more than that passed through. (Incidentally, 

they have verified 46 men killed in action; the 

company had 60 KIAs, believed to be the 

highest in the Division.) 

The company T /0 called for 187 men and 

officers when it shipped out for Europe. 

(There were 10 additional men in their contingent 

but immediately on landing in France, 

they were sent up to the Ardennes to replace 

casualties of the Battle of the Bulge there.) 

That means that some 322 other men joined 

the company at a later time. This does not 

include the 3rd Division veterans, either. So 

the original number was increased by 172%. 

Now Charlie Company had a high casualty 

rate. Its KIAs were 34% of company 

strength; 48 of them have been verified. But 

IF THEY LOOK LIKE Gis 

IF THEY DRESS LIKE Gis - 

THEY MUST BE - 

Nope! They're not Gis! They are members of a group 

of young Frenchmen who reenact World War II 

battles. This contingent represents the 70th Division. 

They wear the axe-head shoulder patch on their 

authentic American uniforms and drive beautifully 

restored military vehicles which carry Trailblazer 

identification. Two recent public exhibitions were 

staged in Raon L'Ettape and Houemelon, France. 

Associate member Christopher Villers of Strasbourg, 

France, sent these photos. 

if we were to use Co. C's percentages for the 

whole Division, we'd come up with some 

25,800 replacements and a total of some 

40,800 whose names were on a 70th duty 

roster at some time. That, of course, is unrealistic. 

For it was the Infantry regiments that 

took almost all the casualties. Losses in Special 

Troops were few. 

So we'll take only the 36 rifle companies' 

numbers: 6,732 on the T/0. By Higley's 

formula, they'd have needed 18,311 replacements. 

Add that to the origi nal15 ,000 and the 

grand total is 33,311 men who were 'Blazers. 

So the 23,000 estimated up there in the third 

paragraph looks reasonably conservative. 

At any rate, there are thousands of potential 

members of the Association, most of 

whom probably don't know the organization 

even exists. The editor invites your 

opinions -and your calculations.

The Editor's 

Barracks Bag 

David and Jane Davis, AT/275! 

There! Now their names have been properly 

reported in these columns. 

By error they were omitted in the last 

issue. Dave and Jane were co-chairmen with 

Archie and Evelyn Smith, E/274, of the 

Sales Committee at the Louisville Reunion. 

That energetic group netted some $1 ,700 for 

the Association and has an inventory worth 

about $3,000 more. I'm happy to make this 

significant addition to a roster of mighty 

hard-working folks. 

We now have two * members in Alaska, 

John Jigliotti, F/276, joined just before 

attending the L 'ville Reunion where I had a 

swell conversation with him. He had stayed 

on for a military career and retired as a 

Chief Warrant Officer. 

He told me that John Van Duinen, F/ 

274, who also lives in Anchorage, is doing 

A-OK. That pleases me because I think of 

John so often. When I did a seminar up 

there, he came over to my hotel and we had 

a couple beers together. He gave me a 

handsome pewter statuette of a dog-sled 

musher that sits on my desk and brings back 

those good memories. 

If you ever drive * across Southern Missouri 

on Route 60 (it runs from Cape 

Girardeau to Joplin) take a little detour 

north to Bloomfield and see the newly 

erected monument to veterans of World 

Wars I and II, Korea and VietNam. There's 

also a "Stars & Stripes plaque." 

Roy Shirrell, C/276, sends us a dedicatory 

program and notes that "the first' Stars 

& Stripes' was printed in Bloomfield." 

That really intrigues me as I worked for 

"Stripes" in Nancy, France, and thought 

that it was a strictly overseas operation. I'm 

waiting for Roy to send me more details. 

Just as this copy was * ready to go to the 

printer, comes a letter from Roy. He tells 

us that during the Civil War, "Stars & 

Stripes" was printed there. 

Then comes a most interesting account. 

'While reading the weekly newspaper 

'Puxico Press', I learned about the proposed 

monument. It listed the names of all 

Stoddard county veterans of the four wars. 

But one name was missing! I remembered 

reading on page 126 of my book 

'L'Operation Nordwind at Wingen-sur- 

10 

Moder' by Col. Wallace Cheves. It told 

thatTech Sgt. Thomas P. Johnson, Co. F, 

27 4, of Dudley, Missouri, was killed in 

action Jan. 6, 1945." 

"The small town of Dudley is in Stoddard 

County. I realized I had to act quickly to 

get his name on the monument. So I took 

my book to Bloomfield, the county seat, 

and showed it to a man from the Historical 

Society. He told me I would have to bring 

him Sgt. Johnson's Army serial number." 

"I remembered reading in the "Trailblazer" 

that Secretary Louis Hoger could 

give a lot of information like this. Yes, he 

tound the number for me. I immediately 

drove the 31 miles from my home in 

Zalma to Bloomfield and did get the name 

on the monument. At the dedication there 

was a large crowd on hand. They told me 

that they hadn't been able to find any 

survivors of Sgt. Johnson and asked if I'd 

sit in as a 'relative' during the ceremony. 

I did." 

I hope this reaches you before the 

deadline. I'm mailing it on my 67th birthday." 

It looks worn by time * and elements-as 

befits a 50-year Trailblazer veteran. And it 

is cherished as a veteran should be. 

It's the sign that hung over the 276th 

Regimental Post Office at Camp Adair and 

Identified! 

That photo of the 'Blazer cook-out 

on the back page of the Summer 

"Trail blazer" has been identified. 

Dale Iliff says the men are from his 

70th Recon Troop. "The man at the 

left, passing out the hot dogs, is Sgt. 

Hobe. The middle one is PaHerson, a 

cook. At the right is Sgt. Richard Lillie 

of the 2nd Platoon.! am sure this was 

at Fort Leonard Wood as Little's wife 

Marj was with him there and that's 

her drinking a glass of water. 

"Dick Little was wounded near 

Forbach and lives in Washington 

State somewhere. I replaced him after 

he was hit and evacuated. Recon 

men took the lead in cutting through 

Saarbrucken and going cross-countrY 

to meet the 3rd Division coming in 

from the northwest." 


at Fort Leonard Wood. F. Berne La Bar, 

Sv/276, sent it to me to keep with Axe-head 

Archives. Berne (not Bernie) took down 

the sign each time the Division moved in 

'44. 

He tells us that he recently lost his wife of 

63 - yes, 63 - years and how he misses 

her. We feel for him. He says he was with 

Service as company clerk during his whole 

Army hitch and at the end was actually 

doing the first sergeant's job. 

He knows he's a Yankee * Doodle Dandy, 

born on the Fourth of July. July 4, 1926 to 

be exact. But Vernon Bergstrom, I/274, 

wants to know if he is also a "BOB"- a 

Baby of the Battalion. Vern, young feller, 

you are the seventh youngest Trailblazer on 

our records. Hope you live long enough to 

be the Oldest Living Member! 

I always knew that * I hit a lot of keys on 

my typewriter - now my computer - 

while preparing an issue of this magazine. 

So I hit the word-count key and found out 

that the Winter issue had 16,330 words. As 

the average for American English is five 

letters per word, that means I hit 81 ,650 

keys. On top of that are all the extra tapping 

necessary to tell this electronic monster 

what to do. For a hunt-and-peck artisan like 

me, this is quite a feat. This starts the 11th 

year that I have had the pleasure of editing 

your magazine. It started out as an 8-pager, 

went to 16 a year and a half later and since 

'89 has been in its 24-page fonnat. 

I remind you that this is your magazine 

and your comments about content are welcome. 

One member complained about the 

Archives section. He says he's tired of 

reading about Joe Blough being inducted, 

discharged and having upteen grandkids. 

He didn't suggest what he'd prefer instead. 

The Archives are time-consuming; it takes 

as long to do a 6-line item of this sort as to 

write a third of a column of a regular story. 

But I personally am interested in who my 

fellow- 'Blazers are and I figure you are, 

too. If not, let me know. If so, let me know. 

The "Trailblazer" * got a compliment from 

a source that makes it very special. In 

"Military" a top-flight magazine, publisher 

Armond Noble had this to say in his personal 

column: "Edward Kraus, Afton, 

Missouri (Co. F, 274th Inf. Regiment) was 

kind enough to pay my dues for a year as an 

Associate Member of the 70th Div. Association 

(Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, 


Central Europe) so I could see 'what a real 

association publication looks like.'" 

"Well he sure did that (thanks) and it is a 

truly spectacular magazine. We'll be asking 

them if we can borrow some articles and 

pictures." 

That has already happened. "Military" 

has run the piece by Tom Krakowiak, C/ 

275, "The Big Fox Hole" that was in our 

Winter, '92 issue. 

When you send me * written material or 

photographs, please make sure that your 

name and address are affixed thereunto. I 

have five file drawers plus several boxes of 

Trailblazer stuff and it's easy for things to 

get lost in the paper maelstrom. Someone 

has asked me to return "a picture of five 

men standing in a row."Lordy! I must have 

a dozen pix of five men standing in a row. 

I know that such mementos have great 

sentimental value to you, and I do my 

damdest to safeguard them. But unfortunately 

I am not clairvoyant. 

* 

Many members send their dues checks to 

me and I dutifully forward them to Seck 

Trez Lou Hoger. During such a transaction 

there was a mix -up of names and we couldn't 

figure out if it was Gene or Joe Wojnarowski 

who sent me Associate Member dues. Lou 

and I each wrote to a different address to 

find out. We did. 

Mrs. Joseph Wojnarowski tells us that 

she and her husband were touristing in 

Commerce City, Colorado. In a parking lot 

they saw a 70th Association license-place 

holder on a nearby auto. Excited, they waited 

for the driver to appear. (He has not been 

identified and we hope he'll make himself 

known.) From him they learned of the Association 

and the Louisville gathering and 

immediately they planned to attend. Unfortunately, 

Joseph, who had been with the 

270th Engineers, died April 23, 1992, before 

he could become a member. So his son 

Gene enrolled as an Associate and sent his 

check to me. His mother had gotten my 

name from the unknown 'Blazer. 

Talking about checks * reminds me that I 

am supposed to remind you that 1993-94 

dues are due July I. Please send your check, 

not to me, but to Lou or Cal Jones, assistant 

secretary treasurer. Their addresses are on 

page 23, last column. These exchequers of 

the treasury tell me that there are a lot of '92 

dues still in arrears. If you would send in 

any late payments of yours, we'd have 


enough to pay the printer for this magazine 

and be able to put one out this summer. 

I never want to become * a crotchety old 

geeser who thinks the world is going to hell 

in a jet-propelled handbasket and sneers at 

anything that happened later than 1950. But 

I must say that occasionally I get teed off 

with current events. 

For instance, when then-President Bush 

went to Somalia he was greeted by a bunch 

of soldiers who had been there just two 

weeks. And what did they want of the 

commander-in-chief? "When do we go 

home?'' 

Go home? After two weeks? Hellsfire 

and damnation, I spent that long waiting for 

a train to get me home from my separation 

center in '45. 

And I am ready to regurgitate when this 

President keeps his sacred promise to homosexuals 

(and blatantly refutes promises 

made to the great mass of Americans). I 

Here comes the bride 

Firstto respond to a request in the last issue 

that 70th war brides report in is Anne Verrier 

Skutt, a French woman. 

She is the bride of Robert Skutt, E/274, 

our only member in Canada. "We were married 

in Nice, France, in June, 1946, and in 

August of that year I joined him after coming 

over on the SS Goethals." 

"I would love to meet other war brides at 

the next Reunion or hear from them directly." 

Their address is: 434 4th Street, 

Petrolia, Ontario NON 1RO CANADA. 

The first Trailblazer to take a bride in 

Europe was Stephen Guter, HQ/276. He 

married Galina, a Russian girl, who had been 

a forced laborer in Germany. 

don 'tthink homosexuals should be harassed. 

And they wouldn't be except for their own 

insistence. I think what happens in a bedroom 

should stay in a bedroom. I don't 

think we ought to make public announcement 

of our favorite laxative or hemorrhoid 

cure, the disposition of our prostate or our 

sexual play-by-play. If the homosexuals 

kept their mouths shut, there couldn't be 

any discrimination against them any more 

than there is to people with inverted belly 

buttons who just don't disclose their anatomical 

facts. Trouble is, they don't want 

toleration; they want approval. 

It looks like the people who have been in 

uniform are almost completely unanimous 

against lifting the ban on homosexuals. If 

William Jefferson Clinton and Congressman 

Pat Shroeder, in their great wisdom 

and sublime ignorance of military life, are 

so sensitive to the tender feelings of this 

minority, why not understand the feelings 

of the great majority to whom it is a moral 

issue backed by the teachings of both J udeo 

and Christian religions. 

I recommend to you * a hilarious book, 

"Wits of War" by Ed Swineford. It's a big 

collection of jokes, anecdotes and cartoons 

of the war years and is a bargain at $15. It 

wouldmakeaswell giftforaGibuddy. Tell 

Brother Swineford that I sent you. His 

address is: Kilroy Was Here Press, PO 

5462, Fresno, CA 93755. - (209) 439- 

0756. 

Hy Schorr, H/274, * has been working 

with television producer Richard Kaplan, 

who is looking to do a documentary that 

would be released to coincide with the 50th 

anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. Hy 

has been reminding him that Operation 

Nordwind was an integral part of the last 

Hitler offensive. I've told them that I'd be 

happy to cooperate by making Axe-head 

Archives available to them. 

Every 70th man should use all the influence 

he has to make damn sure that the 

Trailblazers are not overlooked again. We 

got shuffled out of recognition for our 

Vosges victories because we were a task 

force and dido 'toperate as a Division. Let's 

make sure that the story of Nord wind and 

our pivotal part in ultimate victory is not 

ignored in all the hoopla that will prevail 

over Bastogne and the Ardennes. 

I'm happy that several * publications have 

asked permission to reprint the poem, "The 

(Continued on next page) 

11

- 

I 

Editor 

(Continued) 

Hey, Riflemen! 

There ith THUMBthing wrong 

with thith thituathion 

- 

Seasons of a Soldier" and the Homily that 

was given at the Louisville Memorial Service. 

And, to answer a few inquiries, I did 

write both of them. Veritably a labor of 

love. 

"Where's Rosie?" * asked an article in the 

Fall, 1991 "Trailblazer." It took a year, but 

an answer did come. J. H. Satterlee, Medic, 

3rd Bn Aid Station/276, made the inquiry. 

He now reports: 

"Carl Settle, called me to report the 

death of Gert (Rosie) Rosenthal who was 

the aid man with that company. Carl had 

just learned of the death and had contacted 

Paula, Rosie's wife. My wife Margy and I 

had been good friends of the Rosenthals in 

Oregon and at Leonard Wood but had lost 

contact over the years. We phoned our 

12 

Combat Infantryman's Badge. 

But our staff artist, Peter Bennett, rifleman/scout 

with HQ 2nd Bn/276, doesn't 

hold still for that. He sends me a bunch of 

pictures that show the thumbs-around grip . 

. . . that he used quite successfully. 

The editor is neutral. He carried a carbine 

through the ETO. So he defers to the rifleman. 

Please tell him who's right: Roberts or 

Pete. 

condolences to her and learned that Rosie 

had suffered a stroke and died suddenly at 

their home on Nov. 20, way back in 1970." 

"We sent her some photos and a copy of 

the 'Trailblazer' which had been printed in 

Germany in 1945 and had a piece about 

Rosie. And we sent her the current magazine 

with that article." 

* 

Washed mess kits 

were 'must' in Lyon 

I like Pete Bennett's art. It's a great 

addition to the "Trailblazer." 

The sketch in the lower-left comer of 

page 6 in the Fall, 1992 issue convinced me 

he must have gone through the "repple 

depot" at Lyon, France 'way back when. I 

did, on my way back to I st Bn Hq/274 after 

recovering from a shrapnel leg wound. The 

place was a mess. The system of ditches or 

canals which, I was told, had been dug to 

carry water used in the manufacture of silk 

fabrics, had been turned into a GI sewage 

system, with latrines empyting directly into 

them. 

That's one time the immersion of mess 

kits into boiling water was an absolute 

necessity, and still no 100% guarantee of 

safety. Ugh! 

Henry Norton 

HQ 1st Bn/274 

* 

Book II should chart 

70th organization 

In the second History book I would like 

to see a detailed organization chart of the 

70th Division. As a dogface soldier I never 

did have a clear picture of the whole Division 

and how its various parts related. Of 

course having a clear picture of anything 50 

years ago just didn't happen. Through the 

"Trailblazer" magazine, though, the picture 

is beginning to come into focus . 

Irwin Cone 

A/275 


Associate member designs 

Remagen Bridge patch 

A few months ago, as a surprise, I signed 

up my uncle Ray Webber l/275, the 70th 

Division Association. He dido 't know of 

the association. It opened up a whole world 

of interest to him; is very enthusiastic about 

the association. As a surprise, Ray signed 

me up as an Associate Member. I am very 

interested in the WWII European Campaign. 

Perhaps I can contribute some historical 

information. Advancing against the 45th 

Division and Task Force Herrin 70th Division 

at the Bitche Salient was the German 

veteran 6th SS Mountain Division "Nord". 

The 6th SS Mountain Division was formed 

in Austria and consisted of Volksdeutsch 

mountaineers. It was composed of the 11th 

SS Mountain Infantry Regiment "Reinhard 

Heydrich" and the 12th SS Mountain Infantry 

Regiment "Michael Gesimar". The division 

was commanded by SS Lieutenant 

General Karl Heinrich Brenner. The division 

was cut off on the wrong (western) side 

of the Rhine River by the rapid American 

advance. It fought against the 70th Division 

in the Wingen-Wimmenau-Rosteig areas. 

Also the battles for Forbach and Oeting, as 

well as the Saarbruecken-Stiring Wendel 

275th also plans 

plaque in Vosges 

Each Regiment of the 70th will have a 

memorial in Europe. 

The 275th voted at the Louisville Reunion 

to erect a plaque in Philippsbourg, France. 

There and at nearby Baerenthal, it turned its 

baptism of fire into victory. On the left flank 

of Task Force Herren, the high command of 

the German offensive, Operation Nordwind, 

decreed that P'bourg had to be taken. Their 

drives had been successful everywhere else 

along their front but the stubborn 275th caused 

a bend in their line that would expose them to 

a flanking counter-attack. 

But the German drive couldn't take the 

village; W reeker - 27 5th's telephone code 

name-held! 

Dedication of the memorial is set for July 

17, 1994, as part of a tour organized by Don 

Docken. Townspeople are planning an impressive 

ceremony and celebration. Negotiations 

are going on now with the village as to 

the design and exact location of the plaques, 

one in English, one in French. The committee 

consists of Docken, chairman, William 


actions. The hard-hitting SS Division was 

captured April 2, 1945. 

In the 70th Division Trailblazer history 

book are shown illustrations of the three 

regimental crests. Two of the crests, the 

274th Beaver/Cross of Lorraine and the 

276th Bloody Axe do not indicate their 

colors. What are the colors in these two 

crests? This information is important to 

some research I am doing. 

I have just completed a book I am writing 

titled "Gunfire At Remagen". I have been 

writing and researching this book for three 

years now. I am an associate member of the 

9th Armored Division, the 9th Infantry, 

78th Infantry and 99th Infantry Division 

Associations. All four of these divisions 

crossed the Ludendorffbridge at Remagen. 

My late father Edward Webber, Jr. (Ray 

Webber's brother) crossed the Remagen 

bridge as a rifleman replacement with the 

9th Division, 47th Infantry Regiment. The . 

Rorabaugh, Bill Pierce and George 

Marshall. 

The other two regiments, the 274th and 

276th, have already emplaced plaques in 

Wingen-sur-Moderlastyear. They, too, halted 

the SS 6th Mountain Division even as the 

275th earned its fust victory. The two villages 

are less than three miles apart, yet the 

battles were separate engagements, further 

isolated by grave communication problems 

that tended to isolate units. 

* 

Two Trailblazers 

plan ETO tours 

Trailblazers are fortunate that two members 

will be conducting tours to the 

Battlefields during the 50th anniversary observances. 

Floyd Freeman, I/275, will conduct his 

annual Back -to-Europe tour Sept. 16-0ct. 2. 

It will include the familiar memorial service 

at St. Avoid Military Cemetery, a Rhine 

cruise and Oktoberfest in Munich. For details 

call him at (213) 567-0561 or write to 

16813 Jeanette Ave., Cerritos, California 

90701. 

Don Docken, C/275, will conduct a tour 

Remagen bridgehead was his first day in 

combat. Dad's Rifle-Company L was cut 

to pieces in the central bridgehead. He 

later said it was a living nightmare. I am 

dedicating the book to him. 

My dad and Uncle Ray Webber are two 

of the finest men I ever knew. Ray became 

like a father to me when we lost Dad. I am 

very happy to be an associate part of the 

70th Infantry Division Association and hope 

from time to time to contribute something 

worthwhile to the organization. My very 

best wishes. 

Eddie Webber 

333 Lariat 

Frisco, TX 75034 

(214) 292 3258 

(Editor's Note: Anyone who has a colored 

reproduction of the regimental crests is 

urged to send it to Mr. Webber and/or to 

the editor.) 

next year to the Vosges and Saarland with 

additional sightseeing in Germany and Austria. 

The 275th will erect a plaque in 

Philipps bourg and its dedication, July 17, 

1994, will be a highlight of the Docken trip. 

Although it's planning well ahead of time, it 

might be wise to give Don a ring at (612) 735- 

8325 or drop him a line at 170 No. Ruth St., 

#1005, St. Paul, Minnesota 55119. 

Bon voyage! 

* 

We're looking forward 

to St. Louis already 

I came to Camp Adair from the Air Corps 

and served as a forward observer with C/ 

884 Field Artillery. I worked with I and K 

Companies of the 276th. For this I was 

given a commendation by Gen. Herren for 

action at Forbach. 

I was a contractor in civilian life until I 

retired in '78. My wife Gladys and I have 

attended a number of mini-reunions and the 

Big Reunions at Las Vegas and Louisville 

and we 're already looking forward to St. 

Louis in '94. 

Tom Sharpe 

C/884 

15

Meet your new officers 

Dale F. Bow lin, 

president-elect 

An artilleryman with a most unusual wartime history has 

been named to lead the 70th Division Association for the 

1994-96 biennium. He is Dale Bowlin of Battery C, 883rd 

Field Artillery. 

As president-elect, chosen at Louisville, he will serve the 

next two years on the Executive Board, preparatory to taking 

over the presidency in St. Louis. 

Bowlin was captured near Alsting, France, February 21, 

1945, during the Saarland offensive. As he and three other 

POWs were being moved to the German rear, he was wounded 

by American artillery fire. His left leg was amputated three 

days later in a German field hospital. 

He was liberated by French forces in April and was a patient 

in several military hospitals on the Continent before arriving 

at McClosky General Hospital in Temple, Texas, where, on 

May 25, he was fitted with an artificial leg. 

A native of Lebo, Kansas, he attended Kansas State Teachers 

College for a semester before joining the Army at Fort 

Leavenworth, Kansas, March 17, 1943. His basic training was 

with an anti-aircraft unit at Camp Hahn and Camp Irwin, 

California. As an ASTP cadet he attended Brigham Young 

University for nine months before being transferred to the 

Trailblazers at Camp Adair in May, 1944. He was discharged 

in January of '46. 

Just before shipping to the ETO, he married Phyllis Perry. 

They have three children and four grandchildren. 

Dale was graduated from Kansas State University with a 

degree in mechanical engineering in 1946. He worked in 

engineering and management positions and was general operating 

superintendent for several large corporations for 37 

years before retiring in 1983. 

He has been an active lay participant in the Methodist 

Church. He was chairman of Vancouver First, a civic leadership 

organization in his hometown ofV ancouver, Washington, 

across the Columbia and a bit downstream from Portland, 

Oregon. He was president of Clark County Health and Welfare 

Planning Council and a board member of the county's 

Vocational Skills Center. He's been a Rotarian for 25 years. 

He joined the Association in 1988 and his first Reunion was 

in 1990 at Las Vegas. Since then he has been very active and 

was chairman of the Western mini-reunion. He has travelled 


back to Europe six times since 1981. 

He joined the Association in 1979 and that year went on to 

the Back-to-Europe 70th tour. He has been a successful 

recruiting chairman for his company since '79 and is editor of 

its newsletter. He was co-chairman of its mini-reunion in '83 

and in 1986 was named an Outstanding Trailblazer. 

Byron E. McNeely 

Vice-president/East 

Wearer of the Purple Heart, the newly elected Vice-president/East 

spent his whole military career with the 70th. 

Byron McNeely came to the Division as it was forming, in 

August, 1943. He was assigned to the 1st Platoon, Company 

I, 274th, and moved up to squad leader and then platoon 

sergeant. He was seriously wounded in the Saarland in March, 

'45. He was discharged in September of that year at Ashford 

General Hospital. 

A native of West Virginia, born near Charleston, he entered 

Morris Harvey College after service and went on to graduate 

school at the University of West Virginia. 

In 1949 he began a 35-year career as a Boy Scouts of 

America executive. When he retired in 1984 he was program 

director for the 50-county Blue Cross Council around Lexington, 

Kentucky. 

He married Gwendolyn Shriver in 1949 and with her has 

two sons and a grandson. 

George D. Marshall 

Vice-president/West 

A machine gunner with Company I, 275th, was named 

Vice-president/West by the Louisville assembly. He is George 

Marshall of Scottsdale, Arizona, who was with the weapons 

Platoon of Item. Marshall joined the 70th at Fort Leonard 

Wood in September, '44, just before the Division moved 

eastward en route to Europe. He had donned the uniform in 

March, 1943, with the 8th Armored Division in Louisiana. 

Chosen for the ASTP engineering program, he studied at 

Princeton University and later was transferred to the 104th 

Infantry Division before coming to the Trailblazers. 

After combat he served with the 29th Infantry Regiment 

and was a guard at SHAEF headquarters in Frankfurt-am 

Main, Germany. 

In civilian life he was a tool and die designer, machine 

programmer and quality-control equipment buyer. 

He married in 1946 and had three sons. His first wife died 

in 1975. In 1978 he married Barbara, who had two children. 

Their combined family now numbers five children and nine 

grandchildren. In 1961 he moved to Scottsdale. 

George joined the Association just in time for theN ashville 

Reunion in '88. In 1991 he served as chairman of the most 

successful Western Mini-Reunion in Scottsdale. In his new 

post he will also serve as chairman of the Long Range 

Planning Committee. 

17

18 

HOUSE OF LEGEND .... 

The story of a man who sold his soul to the Devil has been 

told in almost every human language. But no tale has 

been more renowned than that of Dr. Faust acclaimed in 

poem, prose and opera. The home where Faust lived and 

made his infamous bargain with Satan still stands in Bad 

Kreuznach, Germany, looking very much as it looked back 

in 1500 when the deal was made. 

The 70th occupied Kreuznach in the closing days of the 

war. Division headquarters was set up in the grand hotel 

on an island in the Nahe River. So luxurious had the hotel 

been that Kaiser Wilhelm chose it as his western headquarters 

in World War I. 

Indeed, the comforts of the hotel- with huge bathtubs 

in which to enjoy the medicinal waters- were so tempting 

that the 70th was soon booted out by Third Army brass 

who in turn were outranked by Corps commanders. Meanwhile 

the 70th advanced to Frankfurt-am-Main where it 

celebrated VE Day. 

Sole suggests 

. . 

reorganizing 

into regions 

Several informal proposals are tendered 

by William Sole, K/275, for organizational 

changes in the Association. 

He suggests that there be four, possibly 

five, regions: Northeast, Southeast, Northwest 

and Southwest and, perhaps, Central. 

"This would enable off-year mini-reunions 

that could minimize travel effort, time and 

expense and encourage attendance by more 

members," he says. 

He sees the need for a vice-president for 

each region, rather than the two we now have 

for the East and the West. He also suggests 

that it might be wise to have back-up officers 

for these officers. "Having a president-elect 

has proved wise for the Association," he 

points out, "and when we lost our president 

by death, work of the Association continued 

smoothly. We need similar people, ready in 

case death, health problems or other personal 

situations might keep a vice-president, secretary, 

treasurer, chaplain and the editor of the 

'Trailblazer' from fulfilling their duties." 

"If we went a step further and had a 'state 

co-ordinator' we could perhaps do more 

recruiting and take better care when we are 

about to lose a member for non-payment of 

dues. We could also set up a 'help network' 

and share transportation to mini-reunions 

and the big Reunion." 

Bill invites comments from members, either 

to him directly at 47 Wapping Road, 

Ellington, Connecticut 06029 or as letters to 

the editor. 

* 

Only 21 captured? 

No way, says Fellman 

The article titled "Were only 21 'Blazers 

captured?" in the Winter, '93 issue, caught 

my attention. 

I was a PFC with B/275 on a hill near 

Philippsbourg. After a period of five days 

with no food and only melted snow to 

drink, no communications with headquarters, 

our captain, Willia m Schmied, badly 

wounded, the J erries brought up some tanks 

and the decision was made to surrender. I 

can tell you for sure that there were a lot 

more than 21 in this group. My guess is that 

there were quite a few more before it all 

ended. I wonder why the records don't 

reflect this. 

Norm Fellman 

B/275 


Terminology challenged twice 

Although "The Trailblazers" history book 

was published three years ago, sharp-eyed 

readers are still finding items to argue about. 

Because we all want that history of the 70th 

to be as accurate as humanly possible, we 

pass along two commentaries and suggest 

that you make suitable corrections in your 

own book. 

Were Grasshoppers 

Taylor or Piper? 

flying sarge ask 

There were a lot of Infantrymen and just 

a few airplane jockeys in the 70th Division. 

So it really isn't too amazing that the first 

group never fully understood the second. 

Then or now. 

So, in "The Trailblazers" (page 223, if 

you want to update your history book) 

there's a picture of an airplane with the 

caption: "WlNGS FOR THE INFANTRY 

... Newly assigned to the 70th were 10 

'Flying Grasshoppers', Taylor Cub planes 

.... etc." 

Comes now Charles Ferree, HQ/884, to 

set the record straight. "The Division never 

had any Taylorcraft planes," he says. "Just 

L-4 Pipers and, later in Europe, a few L-5 

Stinsons." 

When Charlie arrived at Adair in the 

Spring of '43, the Air Section was already 

operating. "All pilots' were staff sergeants; 

many were later commissioned and transferred 

to other units. By the time we got to 

Leonard Wood we were still receiving new 

pilots, fresh out of flight training at Fort Sill, 

Oklahoma. The ground crews were mostly 

new as most of the original crews had been 

transferred out, several of them to the Pacific. 

There one of them, a good buddy of 

mine, crashed in the Philippines and was 

seriously injured. 

"We lost a couple of guys on our first 

mission in the Saarland. We had been told 

that the enemy would not shoot at L-planes 

for fear of giving away their positions. Not 

so! They shot down at least one plane in the 

first 20 minutes and punched a bunch of 

nasty holes in several others." 

(Editor's note: Information used in the history 

book was from official sources. Why 

were the planes misidentified as Taylorcraft? 

We' II be glad to hear further.) 

* 


Anything bigger 

than M -1 rifle 

puzzles Infantry 

To the Infantry, equally puzzling was the 

language of the Artillery. Eugene Regan, 

B{725, sets us right on some terminology of 

Divarty. 

On page 226 of "Trailblazers," in the 

second paragraph, both the 105s and 155s 

used by the 70th were referred to as "rifles," 

with barrels that had spiral grooves that sent 

the missiles spinning and thus staying on a 

true path instead of wobbling. 

But, says Gene: ''Those two were 'howitzers.' 

"(Random House Dictionary defmes 

them as "carmons with comparatively short 

barrels, used especially for firing shells at 

high angles of elevation as for reaching a 

target behind cover, in a trench, etc." The 

term came originally from the Czech 

'houfnice,' a slingshot.) "Whether an artillery 

piece is a 'gun,' 'rifle' or 'howitzer' is 

determined by the length of the tube in 

relation to the dimension of the bore. As I 

remember it, if the length of the tube is 

more than 10 times the diameter of the bore, 

Tribute to good man 

Lambert Hofstra, Sv/275 

Lambert Hofstra, who died last summer 

at the age of84, was an unusual man, a great 

soldier, and usually attended the reunions. 

He placed patriotism above personal desires, 

leaving his wife and son to go to war. 

We remember Hof for his steady hand in 

rations and under fue he worked with Maj. 

Lustgarten, Capt. Glossop, Sgts. Klemetsmo, 

Bushnell, Bernauer and others. 

Just after the war, Hof and I were walking 

down the bombed area of Frankfurt. 

The streets were clean and rumbled with 

vehicles as the debris was piled high in the 

middle of the blocks. Those 500 pound 

It should be pointed out, however, that 

after 50 years, human memory does peculiar 

tricks. Often such "corrections" are 

"corrected" by other writers. So anyone who 

has any observations on airplanes or artillery 

pieces are invited to send them promptly 

to the editor. 

ERRATA 

it is considered a 'gun'. Such a piece has a 

longer range and higher velocity than other 

pieces." 

"In the next paragraph, reference is made 

to the "ritual of placing a cannon.' The only 

'carmon' we had were in the Infantry Regiments' 

Carmon Companies." 

Other corrections Gene makes include: 

On page 225, the 155 M-1 howitzer could 

hurl a shell 12 miles, not 6 1/4 miles as the 

history book cites. 

Page 226, second-last paragraph: Long 

Toms had a range of 20 miles, not the cited 

14. 

Page 229: The caption for the lower 

picture should refer to 725th Field Artillery, 

not 775. And S/Sgt John Cassidy was in 

Battery B, not A. 

Page 230: The caption should call the 

weapon a "howitzer" not a "gun." 

Eugene was chief of a howitzer section 

in B{725, and had trained as an artillery 

mechanic at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He was 

called back to active duty during the Korean 

War and trained to arm nuclear artillery. He 

was battery commander of a 240 howitzer 

unit and later cadred into a Nuclear Battalion 

as CO of its Headquarters and Service 

Battery. 

bombs went down through the stories of the 

buildings and detonated in the basement. 

The explosion ruined everything. We met 

an aged German who was searching his 

apartment and could only find a piece of 

mirror which he held in his hand. Just then 

some American warplanes in formation 

flew overhead. And Hofstra dramatically 

gestured with his arm and finger and pointed 

toward the sky, and cried out; "America ist 

gross!" And that to me told the story of the 

Great War- defeat and victory! 

His two sons Glenn and John brought me 

to Illinois for the graveside service at Forest 

Home Cemetery. 

Eugene Petersen 

Sv/275 

19

Whodunnil? 

Book deadline 

extended 

Reminiscences for "My Piece of History" will be 

accepted beyond the announced deadline. 

"I urge every member to send in his favorite war 

story," says Edmund Arnold, HQ/70, who is compiling 

the book. "Send them in as soon as possible. 

Those that come in too late for the book will be 

printed in the magazine. 

"These stories need not be about heroics. They 

don't even have to be about combat. I'd like recollections 

about those little things that typify Army life in 

wartime. They can be about training, leaves or 

furlough, trains, convoys or troop ships, actual combat 

or Occupation and the trip home. Maybe even 

about your re-adjustment to civilian life. 

"Short items are most welcome. I can better use 

two or three short pieces than one long one. 

"Please, please, typewrite them if at all possible. 

Do double-space 'em. And blow a buck and buy a 

new ribbon for your typewriter or computer. I have 

acouplepiecesonmydeskrightnowthataresolight 

I just can't read them! What a pity!" 

Contributions are coming in nicely, Arnold says. 

It isn't possible at this time to predict when the book 

will be published. 

70th blamed for deposing Kaiser 

but Heck finds real culprit 

It was one of the coincidences that delight. 

Ted Heck, K/275, was visiting in Coblenz, 

Germany. He's one of the authors of"Berlitz 

Traveler's Guide to Germany" and travels to 

that country often to keep the popular guidebook 

up-to-date. 

While visiting with the tourism director of 

that city, he was berated for the misdeeds of 

the 70th Division. A statue of Kaiser Wilhelm 

had stood on a massive, multi-story masonry 

pedestal. A bunch of WW2 soldiers 

knocked it off the base and busted it up. The 

director termed this an act of vandalism as 

there certainly was no military objective 

20 

involved. 

But Ted beat the rap for us. He pointed out 

that on the day of this misdemeanor the 70th 

was 70 miles away, just two days before 

taking Saarbrucken. 

Some time later, Ted was having breakfast 

in a local biers tube. He struck up a conversation 

with an elderly American tourist. When 

Ted mentioned castles on the Rhine, his new 

acquaintance asked about Ehrenbreitstein. 

This is the historic fortress at the confluence 

oftheRhineandMainz rivers. It'scalled "die 

Deutsche Ecke," the German Comer, and is 

considered "the most German of any spot." 

'Help me learn more 

about my father' 

I recently noticed an advertisement about 

your association in the "VFW Magazine." 

I am enclosing a picture of my father Doyle 

Dunn, who was a member of your Division 

before being sent overseas with another 

outfit. 

From Hobbs, New Mexico, he was inducted 

at Fort Bliss, Texas, and then sent to 

Camp Adair. After basic training he was 

transferred to the 94th Division and served 

with it in France and Germany. My father 

passed away in 1989. Unfortunately, he 

never talked very much about his experiences 

in the Army except when he was at 

Camp Adair. I would like to know what 

kind of information might be available to 

me so I can learn about my father during 

this period of his life. Any information you 

can give me would be greatly appreciated. 

Arthur Dunn 

PO Box 13842 

Odessa, Texas 79768 

* 

It was expected-GREAT 

As expected, the Louisville Reunion was 

a grand event. Our Co. F/274 had a total of 

20 men there. I knew some of them and 

made friends quickly with the others. 

Ed Sands 

F/274 

The tourist had been in combat there, he said, 

with the 273rd Regiment of the 69th Division. 

He also admitted that it was his outfit that 

had set the German WWI commander on his 

fanny. 


Mail 

Call 

Book given to library 

is being well read 

I followed your excellent advice and 

donated a copy of"The Trailblazers" to our 

local library. On a follow-up I found that it 

was being well read. 

An untapped golden source of war stories 

would be accounts of the speed, 

accuracy, military effectiveness and maintenance 

of all the weapons we had to fight 

with 50 years ago when we were hammering 

out military and political history. I 

suggest that 'Blazers send in such accounts. 

Merle Farrington 

H/276 

* 

Found: 

One CaptMajColGen 

I was with M/276 until, around Forbach, 

I was transferred to Co. K. My CO was 

Capt. Del Perkins. (He was a captain then 

but I'm sure he would have been promoted 

to a much higher rank after I was wounded 

and left the company.) 

I stepped on a land mine and lost part of 

my foot. I was evacuated through the hospital 

system and was ultimately discharged 

at Bushnell General Hospital near Brigham 

City, Utah. 

The reason for this letter is to inquire if 

you know the current address of Capt. (or 

Maj., Col., Gen.) Perkins. 

Donald Burke, M.D. 

K/276 

(Editor's note: Mister Perkins is alive and 

well in Brownsville, Texas, and we hope he 

and Dr. Burke are swapping war stories 

right now.) 

* 

Give smaller units 

more History space 

Sounds like you guys had a great Reunion. 

Sorry I couldn'tjoin you ... maybe 

in St. Louis. Since I last contacted you I 

have heard from three former 'Blazers, 

including my former battery commander, 

Judge John Goldbold, who just recently 

retired from the federal bench. 

I enjoy the "Trailblazer" very much and 

have found several familiar names and plan 

more contacts. I enclose a story about the 

Air Section of the Division. I hope that 


other smaller elements of the Division get 

more space in the second History Book. 

Chuck Ferree 

HQ/884 

(Ed. note: They'll get all the space that's 

needed for the stuff they send in. So ... 

Special Troops, take notice!) 

* 

Am I 'Baby'? - YUP! 

I recently joined the Association; I never 

knew of its existence before. I think I'm a 

"Baby of the Battalions"; I was born May 

13, 1926. I was 18 when I was drafted and 

I joined the 70th in France as a replacement 

on Jan. 18, 1945. I would much like to have 

my own "Piece of History" so will you 

please send me an Archives form to fill out? 

Arthur Szyma nski 

1/275 

* 

Fate's fickle finger 

fools foto fantasy 

When we went to the ETO, Lt. Bussy 

Holmes and I had decided to take our 

cameras along. (What are rules for but to 

break!) I gave him mine along with a big 

supply of film. There was a motor convoy 

from the Marseilles harbor to CP-2 and one 

truck was hijacked and never found. It had 

all of Bussy's belongings- and the camera. 

I had decided to be the historian for the 

company. So I had our mess sergeant Danny 

Rose (who would be killed on New Year's 

Day) wrap my faithful Remington portable 

in a blanket and put it in one of his big 

kitchen oven pans. It arrived safely. But I 

began to have doubts about what a rifleman 

in combat could do with a typewriter. So I 

told Danny to give it to the nearest Frenchman. 

As far as I know, it's still over there. 

Tom Higley 

C/275 

* 

In the balance 

Strasbourg threatens 

Franco-American alliance 

as Alsace trembled 

"The Other Battle of the Bulge: Operation 

Nordwind" by Charles Whiting has been 

published. Whiting, an honorary member of 

the Association, has written a quick -moving, 

action-packed book on how the men "at the 

sharp end" of combat saw this last great 

Hitler offensive. 

He points out that although the Battle of 

Nordwind is almost unknown to the great 

public, it was a pivotal episode of WW2 in 

Europe. The Germans hurled eight divisions, 

three of them crack SS units, against the 

thinly held American lines in Alsace. The 

more familiar Bulge, farther north, had 

drained US forces in the Vosges for replacements 

of the severe casualties. 

He also tells of the frustrating political 

tensions between France and the United 

States. Gen. Eisenhower commanded that 

Strasbourg be evacuated to protect American 

forces sitting with unprotected flanks. 

Charles DeGaulle objected vigorously; he 

insisted that it was unacceptable, for political 

reasons, to give up any French soil. It looked, 

for a time, as if the Franco-American alliance 

might shatter. That would have been catastrophic. 

Winston Churchill's intervention 

finally prevented an irreparable breach. 

Books may be ordered from Scarborough 

House/Publisher, PO Box 459, Chelsea, 

Michigan, 48118 or from Marlborough 

Books, 3243 Valley Lane, Falls Church, 

Virginia 22044. The price is $19.95 plus $3 

postage and handling. 

I pass on my personal recommendation 

for one of the best books about the modern 

Army that I have read in years. It's "Bright 

Star" by Harold Coyle. It explains beautifully 

how the new Army works and how it 

differs from "our Army." Although it was 

written before the Persian Gulf erupted, its 

fictional action so parallels that in the Saudi 

Desert that you simply wonder at its prescience. 

- ECA 

* 

21

NEW MEMBERS 

New 

Members 

ACEVEDO, Anthony C. DONOVAN, William P. 

31581 Marbeth Rd. 1 7 Westwood Road 

Yucaipa, CA 92399 Pittsfield, MA 01201 

Medic/275- U274- Ruth 

ADAMS, Francis M. ELFSTEN, Donald E. 

15820 S. j . Lawrence Rd. 6 West Mission Avenue 

Charlotte, NC 28273 Kellogg, ID 83837 

F/276- C/275- Barbara Jo 

BATES, john P. FELLMAN, Norman D. 

2801 W. Sheridan 344 Airport Road 

Midland, TX 79705 Bedminster, NJ 07921 

K/274- Ann B/275- Ruth 

BLAKEMAN, Walter R. FERGUSON, Richard M. 

Rt. 2, Box 3 2205 S. Seneca 

Ashland, IL 62612 Wichita, KS 67213 

B/275 -Opal C/276- Sonya 

BROCKMAN, Chester GRETIUM, RobertS. 

200 White Road 2649 WilloWick Dr. 

Red Bluff, CA 96080 Sandy, UT 84093 

1/276- Elsie C/276- Deborah 

CIESLIN, Walter j. HARP, Ramon C. 

59 Brooktree Rd. Box 708 

East Windsor, NJ 08520 jay, OK 74346 

HQ/ 1 Bn/275- Corinne C/884 FA - Audrey 

CLARK, William R. HATFIELD, Woodford 

I 398 Porter Street 9008 Terry Road 

Springdale, PA 15144 Louisville, KY 40258 

C/276- Mary G/274- Yvonne 

COGAN, Earl T. HILL, Oliver W. 

1706 E. Beardsley Ave. Rt. 1, Bx 75- 62 Lk. Shr. 

Elkhart, IN 46514 W. Brookfield, MA 01585 

Medic/274- Carmen C/883 FA- Gertrude 

CROSS, William A. KOMAS, john 

302- 8th Avenue 819 Olim 

Charles City, lA 50616 johnstown, PA 15904 

SV/274- Lois E/275- Emma 

DICKEY, Richard H. MASEMORE, William C. 

Rt. 3, Box 397 31 08 Rices Lane 

Stanley, VA 22851 Baltimore, MD 21207 

? -Helen F/276- Marjean 

DICKEY, Warren R. MciNNIS, Sam P. 

1806 East Avenue Rt. 1 Carolina Comm. 

York, NE 68467 Little Rock, SC 29567 

C/276- Emma jean M/275- Ann 

DIORIO, Dominic W. MILLER, Donald E. 

1 OS Stardust Drive 69 Mellon Avenue 

Wintersville, OH 43952 Troy, NY 12180 

M/275 -Mary C/274- Mary 

22 

NELSON, Andrew P. 

935 Pennsylvania, Ave. 

Story City, lA 50248 

CN/276- Trudy 

NOTHNAGLE, john T. 

1016 Marcy 

Iowa City, lA 52249 

570 Signal- Gail 

PRA TI, Frederick W. 

PO Box 41 7880 

Sacramento, CA 95841 

C/275- Patricia 

ROESSLER, George E. 

PO Box 1314 

Quogue, NY 11959 

H/274- Harriet 

ROJAS, Emilio 

1620 Cap Ray Ave. N .E. 

St. Petersburg, FL 33702 

K/275- Eleanor 

TAKACS, joseph S. 

813 Washington Ave. 

Northampton, PA 18067 

N884 FA- Mary 

TODEBUSH, Elmer 

5644 W . Pine Circle 

Crystal River, FL 34429 

HQ/884- Pat 

WHITE, Donald C. 

114 Roosevelt Dr. 

Monaca, PA 1 5061 

G/274- june 

WINDERMAN, Norman 

18848 Argosy Drive 

Boca Raton, FL 33496 

C/275- Sylvia 

CHANG ES OF ADDRESS 

BAHDE, Robert 

2715 Avenue I, #1 0 

Kearney, NE 68847 

BERNIER, Thomas 

4801 Spring Circle 

Minnetonka, MN 55345 

BERRY, Leonard 

9111 Sharott Rd ., #504 

Poland, OH 44514 

BONSALL, Frank D. 

401 Bi-State Blvd. 

Delmar, DE 19940 

CROTHERS, Robert 

1 000 S. Main St. #528 

Salinas, CA 93901 

HOOVER, Robert 

Rt. 1, Box 24A 

Park Rapids, MN 56470 

JOHNSON, Norman 

3635- 12th Avenue 

Anoka, MN 55303 

KIPP, Irving 

2401 W.SouthernAve.,#319 

Tempe, AZ 85282 

LEGGED, Mrs. Henry 

3504 Cliffridge Dr. 

Lumberton, NC 28358 

LUND, Robert 

1931 HoodAvenue 

Richland, WA 99352 

MACKIE, Eino 

1923 N. Main 

Spearfish, SC 57783 

MARICLE, Floyd 

1590 Princeton Rd . 

Woodburn, OR 97071 

MONTAG, Richard 

909 Michelle 

Colo, lA 50056 

MUCK, Orville 

3087 Oak Avenue 

Slayton, MN 56172 

NEEL, Robert W. 

PO Box 24 

North Bend, OR 97459 

NORDGREN, Mrs. R. 

PO Box 638 

Annandale, MN 55302 

PRYOR, Max 

8017 Belinder Rd . 

Leawood, KS 66206 

ROGERS, Mrs. Allen 

3901 3 Edwards Ct. 

Grissom Air Force Base 

IN 46971 

SHANNON, Richard 

1624 Brandstatt Ave. 

Yuba City, CA 95991 

SMITH, A. Gordon 

6729 Dorsett Dr. 

Bartlesville, OK 74006 


That's right! 

Eyewitness says Charlie Co. 

was 70th's first in Germany 

Usually there's an eyewitness who comes 

forward to say, "You were not thefustTrailblazer 

to ...... " But this time the eyewitness 

attests to the legitimacy of a claim. 

In the Fall '92 issue, Charles Masters 

claimed that his outftt was the fust 70th unit 

to enter Germany. Comes now P a ul 

Hazelwood, C/274, to second the motion. 

"I was a staff sergeant," Paul says, "and I 

led the 1st Squad, 1st Platoon of Charlie 

Company into the town Sgt. Masterson describes. 

Its name was Golpdenbrahn. It was 

told to me by an officer who said, 'You are 

now entering Germany.'" It is on the road 

from Saarbrucken to Metz. 

"I walked through the minefield that protected 

the town, never looking down. I was 

too busy watching the basement windows of 

a house from which I was sure we'd be fued 

Magazine gone - 

replaced 

Last Sunday my son and I attended a 

history collectors show in San Jose. I brought 

my "Trailblazer" magazine to set on my 

table. Needless to say, with so many people 

about, someone walked off with my copy. 

Can you send me the Winter, '93 issue? I 

enclose a fiver to cover the cost and postage. 

Gordon Banbury 

B/274 

(Ed. note: Brother B.got four bucks change. 

We're always glad to send any back issues 

still available at no cost. If you want to, you 

can send a dollar, the cost of postage, to the 

"TB" petty cash box. 

70th Division Assn. 


3208 Hawthorne Ave. 

Richmond, Virginia 23222 

upon. I was leading the assault as explosions 

were going off behind me. I thought at first 

that it was mortar fue so I just kept on going 

till I got through to the Anti-tank ditch that 

still had standing water in it." 

"The banks of the ditch were steep and 

THE SAD SACK . .. . 

Along with Bill Mauldin's Willie and Joe, the Sad 

Sack was a memorable figure of military folk lore in 

World War II. Sgt. George Baker, who drew the 

favorite cartoon figure, put a 70th patch on the 

bedevilled grunt in this drawing that he made just 

for the "Trailblazer" magazine published at Camp 

Adair. 

slippery and it took a while to negotiate it, 

and take the ftrst house." 

"Our fust POW was a German medic who 

was treating one of our own boys. We took 

him and the wounded men to the basement to 

interrogate them. He told us he had come to 

the line just the night before and couldn't tell 

us anything because hedidn 'tknow where he 

was, either." 

"I hope this authenticates Masterson's 

story. Other witnesses were Sgt. Walker, 

who Jed the fust squad, and Sgt. Geryas, 

leader of the third; he is dead and I don't 

know what became of Walker." 

NON-PROFIT 

ORG Nl 

U.S. S 

THIR 

PERMI - 310 

RICHMOND, VA 

Forwarding and Return Postage Guaranteed and Address Correction requested

Spring - 70th Infantry Division Association

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