A Suggested Method Of Communication

A Suggested Method 

Of Communication 

(by Joseph Ahles, C-494th) 

I think it is safe to say that all the 

members of our great association 

look forward to receiving the 

Hellcat News each and every 

month. 

Also that a good many of our 

members read it from cover to 

cover, to capture all the news, 

even though they do not know 

each member on a one to one basis. 

We are constantly rewarded with 

the input we receive from a good 

many of our members on a 

regular basis, which is good 

news. 

And now, we come to the members 

who never seem to write at all. 

In short, they say I hate to write. I 

leave it up to my wife, and she is 

not too thrilled about this 

hassle. 

The days of excuses are over. Our 

association no longer accepts 

them. 

You can get off the hook and solve 

your problem the easy way with 

this solution: 

Get yourself a tape recorder or 

borrow one from your son or 

daughter, or a friend, and put 

your message on tape and send 

it to you Unit Representative. 

Tell him what part of your 

message you want put in print, 

and he can take it from there. 

What a way to get around the 

hassle of letter writing, or 

saving the cost of a long distance 

telephone call to get your message 

across. 

Try it my friends. I am sure you'll 

like it. 

What have you got to lose, but 

your tape itself? 

Who knows, you might even be 

able to pick up your tape at one 

of the chapter get-togethers, or 

at our national reunion. 

Joseph Ahles 

4928 N. Karlov Ave. 

Chicago, II60630 

"C" Bttry., 494th AFA Bn. 

PRESIDENTS 

REPORT 

s~*\ 

Happy New Year - Happy 

Anniversary! It seems that we 

have become accustomed to celebrating 

40th anniversaries and well 

we should. For those of us privileged 

to be alive yet in 1985, it is 

surely cause for happy celebrating. 

As we recall the events of 40 

years ago, it is fitting that we 

dedicate this anniversary year to 

remembering events, people, buddies, 

places which have been a part 

of our memories for 40 years. 

I'd like to take this opportunity 

to urge each of you to spend a little 

time among the memorabelia of 

the past and if you are so inclined, 

to share something in writing 

through the pages of the Hellcat 

News and the columns of your unit 

PUBLISHED BY THE 12th ARMORED DIVISION ASSOCIATION 

rep. A tribute to a buddy that 

Bl 

never came home, sharing a 

; «! ■DBOBDBnBOBQBDBOBDBOBOBDBaBaBOBaBaBaBDBDBOBaBaBQBaBDBaBaBGBOBOBDBf ■ OB 

VOL.38 JANUARY 1985 NO. 5 

special occasion that stands out in 

■DIOIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDiaiDIDIDIDIDIOIDIDIDiniDiaiDIDIDiaiDIDiaiDIDIDIDiaiDI 

your memory - what ever you 

list of those who have chosen the 

choose. 

LIFETIME one-time dues payment, and are 

Christmas 1945 will always live 

now members of our 12th Arin 

my memory. The miserable cold MEMBERSHIPS mored Division Association for 

of that hill outside Epping Erbach Several members haye already life: 

did little to put anyone in a taken advantage of the new life- Life Member- Member Name 

Christmas spirit. The constant time membership that was ap- ship Number 

artillery and mortar fire kept us proved by the Executive Council 1 Robert E. Head - Hq/714 

close, if not in, our foxholes most of at one of their meetings at the 2 John Sathrum - B/43 

the time. But lo and behold, on Denver Reunion. Following is a 3 Earl Norris - A/714 

Christmas Day, good mess serto 

attend the regional chapter 

4 William Hawkins - Hq/92 

geant, "Tiny" Lazzari showed up 

meeting in your area. These 

5 Hobart Farmer - A/714 

with turkey and all the trimmings. 

meetings do a lot to help us get 

6 Allen S. Horowitz - C/82 

Even a beer ration! 

better acquainted across unit 

7 Norbert H. Bruemmer - 

Tiny got a Bronze Star Medal 

lines. They also provide excellent 

D/43 

for that and we got what you 

opportunities to get the ball rolling 

8 Fred M. "Mike" Gorman - 

would expect after having lived on 

for Orlando in September. 

C/134 

cold C rations for over two weeks. 

Start putting away those spare 

9 Norb V. Chehak - B/119 

You guessed it - the worst case of 

bucks and build your "kitties" so 

10 Clair L. Smith - C/134 

GI's I can ever remember. The 

that, as a dear old friend always 

11 Clinton A. Kephart, Jr. - 

only good thing was that we were 

says, you can "skin the cat" in 

Sv/43 

relieved from line duty and sent to 

September so you can celebrate in 

12 John F. "Jack" Boyle - 

the little town of Benestroff where 

Orlando. 

C/493 

we could suffer out our indignity. 

It's another new year! Let's 

13 W. T. LeBright - 

Joe Ahles (C/494th) comes 

make it a good one! We live in the 

Hq. & Hq. Co. 

through once again with his heartgreatest 

country in the world with 

14 Melvin Knack - Sv/43 

felt pep talk for us all. Read his 

the highest standard of living 

15 Raymond R. Richardson - 

article which appears in this issue 

anywhere. Let's join the "WE 

Sv/23 

and listen to what Joe is saying - 

CAN" society and make '85 the 

16 Charles M. Fitts, Jr. - C/66 

then let's take his advice and put it 

best yet! 

17 Gilbert Heine - C/66 

to work. 

Remember, "It's Great to be a 

18 Major L. B. Landon (USA 

Let's all start making plans now 

Hellcat!" 

Ret) - B/92 

MM

Page 2 HELLCAT NEWS January 1985 

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HELLCAT 

NEWS 

PUBLISHED BY THE 12th ARMORED DIVISION ASSOCIATION 

Official Publication of the 12th Armored Division Association, 

1913 Jerome Drive, Godfrey, IL 62035 

Writers submitting articles for this publication are solely responsible for 

their contents, not this Association nor it's Editor. 

PRESIDENT 

OFFICERS 

Gilbert Heine (C/66) 

1706 North 2nd Street, Seward, NE 68434, (402) 643-4625 

1st VICE-PRESIDENT 

James D. Mizen (A/134) 

10111 S. Kedvale Ave., Oak Lawn, IL 60453, (312) 423-6055 

2nd VICE-PRESIDENT 

Island Route, Lock Haven, PA 17745 (717) 769-7176 

John F. Boyle (C/493) 

TREASURER 

John S. Cassella (A/134) 

5309 Dover Dr., Godfrey, IL 62035 (618) 466-6424 

PAST PRESIDENT Robert E. Head (Hq/714) 

2000 W. Roberta Ave., Fullerton, CA 92633, (714) 526-6964 

DIRECTORS AT LARGE 

Earl W. Norris, (A/714) 4323 Meadowview Drive NW, Canton, OH 44718 (216) 494-2445 

John M. McNaull, (A/134) 699 Co. Rd. 1775, RR 6, Ashland, OH 44805 (419) 289-3944 

Robert Kampling, (C/66) 7221 Bel Air Drive, Corona, CA 91720 (714) 737-8009 

UNIT DIRECTORS ON COUNCIL 

ARTILLERY BATTALIONS: 

Joseph Mielnik, (A/495) 38432 Warwickshire Dr., Sterling Hgts., Ml 48077 (313) 264-1935 

INFANTRY BATTALIONS: 

Warren E. Maue, (A/17) 4320 Germantown-Liberty Rd., Germantown, OH 45327(513)866-5004 

TANK BATTALIONS: 

James E. Stone, (D/43) 309 Chestnut St., Woodstock, IL 60098 (815) 338-6952 

ENGINEERS - MEDIC - RECON; 

Charles Kotula, (B/82) Box 35, Jackson Rd., Medford, NJ 08055 (609) 654-4776 

ASSIGNED UNITS - ORDNANCE, SIGNAL, DIVISION GROUPS: 

Howard J. Bullwinkle (C-134) 721 E. Fifth Ave., Monmouth, IL 61462 (309) 734-6274 

APPOINTED POSITIONS 

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY AND EDITOR Nobert H. Bruemmer (D-43) 

1913 Jerome Drive, Godfrey, IL 62035 (618) 466-3949 

HISTORIAN Kenneth G. Bradstreet (A/494) 

1018 Prairie St., Emporio, KS 66801 (316) 342-8373 

ASSISTANT HISTORIAN Harold E. Durst (A/17) 

1114 Congress, Emporio, KS 66801 (316) 342-6641 

CHAPLAIN 

Rev. Robert A. Miller (A/494) 

5323 S.W. 89th Ave., Miami, FL 33165 (305) 271-4530 

SERVICE OFFICER 

Fred "Mike" Gorman (C/l34) 

9190 State Route 762, Orient, OH 43146 (614) 877-9263 

REUNION CHAIRMAN Edward J. Buscavage (A/714) 

8509 N. Hammer Ave., Tampa, FL 33604 (813) 932/2544 

MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN 

Warren A. Maue (A/17) 

4320 Germantown-Liberty Rd., Germantown, OH 45327 (513) 866-5004 

FniTflR'Q PflRMFR 

supporting fire while the 56th 

Armored Infantry Battalion resumed 

the attack. Forward ele 

i nuno uuniiLn ments of the infantry battalion 

^^^^SBSIBH^BBBBBBBBBBBBBHI entered Herrlisheim at 11:30 and 

40 Years seems such a long time, consolidated the northern onebut 

to the 12th Armored Division third of the town under heavy 

combat team the span of time has enemy fire, 

not erased the memories of their The 56th held that section of the 

heroic efforts which contributed to town until the night of 10 January 

the successful conclusion of the when heavy enemy fire and mount- 

European conflict in May of 1945. ing casualties forced withdrawal 

January, 1945 was particularly from Herrlisheim. Withdrawal 

imprinted in memory as the month was completed during the night 

in which the bloody battle of and the combat command took up 

Herrlisheim occurred. The first defensive positions parallel to the 

engagement took place on 8 Jan- Zorn River east of Rohrwiller and 

uary when the 714th began attack- south and east of Bischwiller. 

ing from Rohrwiller, but was held Front lines later were advanced to 

up at the bridge crossing. On the improved positions 500 yards west 

following day, the 714th furnished of the Zorn River. 

■o.a.o.o.G.n. 0 .n.a.G.G.a.G.o.a.DiD. Several fierce enemy attacks 

The Hellcat News (UPS 350-210) is pub- . . . , , f 

lished monthly for the subscription rate of 

were repulsed by elements Of 

$6.00 per year by the 12th Armored Div- CC-B, which in turn launched four 

ire trey, ü v n ífSSÍr'wlírr IL 6¿U¿b. Second Class Dnv postage !' G ° d is " unsuccessful attacks in an effort to 

paid at Godfrey, Illinois and additional seize the bridgehead and the 

Ma,lingoffices railroad and highway crossing 

POSTMASTER: Send address ... . ' __ ,7 , . m, 

changes to the HELLCAT NEWS, 1913 leading into Herrlisheim. The com- 

Jeróme Drive, Godfrey, IL 62035. mand was successful in holding the 

defensive position until relieved. 

It was on 10 January that Lt. 

Col. William J. Phelan, commander 

of the 714th Tank Battalion, 

was wounded by enemy artillery 

fire while in Herrlisheim making 

plans for the consolidation of the 

sector that the force had taken. He 

was evacuated from the town and 

hospitalized. Major Frederick P. 

Field, executive officer, assumed 

command of the battalion. 

The Division CP was moved to 

Brumath on 15 January and the 

attack began during the early 

morning hours of 16 January. 

Combat Command "B v attacked to 

the east to establish a bridgehead 

across the Zorn River in the 

vicinity of Rohrwiller, moving 

forward slowly. Combat Command 

"A" moved out to attack enemy 

positions in the Stainwald Woods 

and Offendorf. Its infantry was 

held up soon after crossing the line 

of departure, while its tanks 

advanced to the railroad northeast 

of Stainwald Woods before being 

stopped by heavy anti-tank fire. 

During the afternoon of 16 

January, Major General Roderick 

R. Allen, commanding general of 

the Division, issued orders to 

continue the attack vigorously. 

Both combat commands renewed 

their attacks the following 

morning. CC-A attacked Herrlisheim 

from the south with the 17th 

AIB and the 43rd Tank Bn., while 

CC-B attempted to extend its 

bridgehead across the Zorn River. 

The latter command made slow 

progress due to heavy enemy 

artillery, mortar and small arms 

fire. 

CCA elements were successful 

in entering the town of Herrlisheim; 

the 17th occupying onethird 

of the southern part of town. 

During the night, however, the 

battalion was surrounded by a 

numerically superior enemy force 

and had to withdraw. Major James 

W. Logan, the battalion commander, 

was lost when his CP was 

surrounded. 

It was in Herrlisheim on 17 

January that Lt. Col. Nicholas 

Novosel and a portion of his 

crippled 43rd Tank Bn., became 

"missing in action". The 43rd, 

which had lost 12 tanks in the 

attack on Offendorf the previous 

day, followed the 17th AIB into the 

town from the east. The last 

contact anyone was to have with 

this task force came at noon 17 

January when Lt. Col. Novosel 

talked by radio with his executive 

officer, Major Scott W. Hall. At 

that time Lt. Col. Novosel said 

that "things were plenty hot". 

Under Lt. Col. Novosel's command 

at the time were 29 medium 

tanks and one platoon of engineers. 

A reconnaissance of the 

Herrlisheim area on 8 February 

revealed that 14 tanks of this force 

were knocked out in the eastern 

edge of town, leaving 15 tanks 

missing. Headquarters Company, 

"D" Company, and Service Company 

were not with the battalion 

at the time. Major Hall assumed 

command of the 43rd on 18 

January and began organization of 

the battalion. 

On 17 January the commanding 

general again issued verbal orders 

to continue the attack, and operations 

instructions to this effect 

were issued by G-3 at 172200A. 

During the afternoon the mission 

of the 23rd Tank Battalion was 

changed frcm attacking Offendorf 

to proceed north and attack Druseheim. 

The tanks were held up, 

however, just south of Herrlisheim. 

At daylight 18 January, a task 

force consisting of Company "B" of 

the 66th AIB and Company "B" of 

the 23rd Tank Bn., launched an 

attack to relieve some elements of 

the 17th AIB still in Herrlisheim. 

This attack was repulsed. 

The 17th informed the Division 

Provost Marshall by telephone 

that it had a number of prisoners 

of war and that there were no men 

available to escort the prisoners to 

the rear. Eight members of the 

Military Police Company proceeded 

to the front lines in the 

vicinity of Weyersheim to pick up 

the prisoners, who were the first 

taken in the operation and consequently 

were needed urgently 

by the Combat Command Prisoner 

of War Interrogation Team for 

questioning. 

Combat Command "B" advanced 

slowly during 17 January, meeting 

stiffening enemy resistance in its 

effort to seize the railroad and 

highway crossing. Finally, under 

heavy artillery and small arms 

fire, the cojnmand was forced to 

withdraw under cover of darkness. 

The attack was resumed in the 

early morning of 18 January but 

failed to make much headway. 

During the afternoon of 18 

January verbal orders were issued 

directing the withdrawal of all 

troops west of the Zorn River to 

occupy defensive positions and 

reorganize for renewal of the 

offensive. New orders were issued

New 12th ADA officers are swore in by President Heine during the 

8-18-84 general business meeting. L to R: President Heine; Treasurer 

John Cassella; 2nd V.P. Jack Boyle; 1st V.P. Jim Mizen; and 

Dir.-at-Large Bob Kampling. [Picture by Al Lipschultz, 152nd.] 

early the following morning directing 

the complete withdrawal of 

troops under cover of darkness to 

occupy defensive positions along 

the line west of the Zorn. 

In accordance with these instructions, 

all elements withdrew 

from the vicinity of Herrlisheim 

the night of 18-19 January. Small 

enemy counterattacks along the 

Division front during the night 

were repulsed. During the afternoon 

of 19 January the enemy 

attacked in the area of CC-A by 

use of flanking forces consisting of 

infantry and .tanks, reinforced by 

movement of one company of 

tanks from the sector opposite 

CCB. This attacking force was 

estimated at 800 infantrymen and 

50 tanks. It was stopped at the line 

of relief at 191600A. 

During the night of 19-20 January 

relief of the 12th Armored 

Division was effected by elements 

of the 36th Infantry Division. The 

12th was ordered to assemble in 

Corps reserve in the vicinity of 

Hochfelden, prepared to move to 

the southeast, east or north for' a 

counterattack. On the night of 

20-21 January the Division, minus 

elements supporting the 36th Infantry, 

moved to a new assembly 

area at Gougenheim and established 

a counter-reconnaissance 

screen along the VI Corps south 

boundary from Wasselonne to 

Weyersheim. 

On 20 January personnel of the 

Military Police Company evacuated 

the civilian population of 

Rohrwiller under enemy fire, and 

were the last to leave the area 

prior to the withdrawal of the 

front line troops. 

The Division returned to 

Seventh Army control at 212400A, 

its mission unchanged. Then, on 

the following day, Seventh Army 

advised that the Division had been 

trasferred to First French Army 

control as of 220800A, and that all 

detached units would be returned 

immediately. On 23 January the 

counter-reconnaissance screen a- 

long VI Corps' south boundary was 

taken over by the 94th Reconnaissance 

Squadron, 14th Armored 

Division. 

Thus ended the period of seige 

that took such a terrible toll on the 

12th Armored Division. Now, 

some 40 years later, those of us 

who remain can indeed be thankful 

not only for our existence, but also 

for the friendships that were 

formed so long ago. This bond has 

continued over the years, and is 

notable at each and every function 

of our association as comrades in 

arms get together to reminesce 

and review their historic past. 

One's station in life is immaterial 

during these gatherings. There is 

no distinction between commissioned 

and non-commissioned officers 

and GI's. Only buddies, who 

cherish their mutual friendships 

which enable them to help each 

other enjoy these autumn days of 

life. No wonder ITS GREAT TO 

BE A HELLCAT! 

Continue To 

Receive The News 

Pay Your Dues 

January 1985 HELLCAT NEWS Page 

■D«GBDBn»DBDBn«DBDBD«a«nBaBDBDBDBDBGBDBa»D«a«D»DBn«DBnBnBG»G«DBnBDBn«!jll 

CONO SIDERI 

526 ELTON STREET 

RIVERHEAD, NY 11901 

Phone [516] 727-5336 

BOOSTERS 

Col. David T. Aston - CCA 

Glenn H. Brobeck - Div. Hq. 

Our opening lines for this 

column is our wish once again that 

all Hellcats and Hellkittens enjoy a 

most bountiful, prosperous and 

healthful New Year. 

The first bit of news as we start 

1985, which incidentally marks the 

40th anniversary of the division's 

association, comes from Beach 

Haven, N.J. via Leroy Bensel (Div 

Hq) who with dues tells us that he 

is still retired, living the good life, 

travelling, using service benefits 

and staying at various posts, 

camps and stations. At the time of 

this reading, they will have left for 

some time in 'Jolly Olde England'. 

He closes with . . . Kay is in great 

shape. 

A couple of notes were received 

from Art Gaddis (Div Hq). His 

first comes from Boise, Idaho with 

his change of address and the sad 

news that he has had both of his 

legs amputated and his living in a 

nursing center. His second note 

was written to Norb Bruemmer 

conveying thanks to Norb for his 

most generous statements made in 

a letter that he wrote Art after 

learning of his misfortune. Art 

continues ... I often wonder about 

the whereabouts of Marvin Cohen 

and the others who along with 

Jimmie Reese served in the Special 

Service Office. They were all 

very clever and quite vital to the 

morale of the division. He closes 

with .. . Ever a Hellcat! Do all you 

Hellcats know that it was Art 

Gaddis who wrote the 12th Armored 

Division marching song 

that was officially adopted by the 

division. 

A couple of more guys on the 

move include John Melfi (Div 

Hq/CCB) with a short note that 

it's time to go south. Translated 

that means that John is moving his 

CP and golf game to Florida for 

the winter. Also with a new 

address is our old original Division 

Service Company 1st Sergeant, 

Paul Burkit who has left Indiana 

and will now make his home in 

Texas. All of the above changes of 

address will be noted elsewhere in 

the HCN. 

After sending Jimmie Reese 

(Div. Hq./SSO) an article from a 

recent Sporting News in which he 

is once again mentio? ed in one of 

the columns plus a copy of an old 

Camp Campbell "Retreat to Taps" 

that carried a front page photo and 

story of the opening of the baseball 

season plus other baseball memoribillia 

regarding the team, Jimmie 

responds with a note . . . Many 

thanks for the Sporting News item 

as well as all the articles and 

pictures pertaining to the 12th 

A. D. baseball team. It brought 

back many happy and unforgettable 

memories. There is nothing 

new on the baseball front at this 

Dr. Brendan Phibbs, MD [CCB]; Wm. O. Cooper [CCB]; and Ifflery 

Likens [92nd] make a handsome trio at the Denver Reunion. [Picture by 

al Lipschultz 152nd.]


time but a lot of information will 

be forthcoming before too long. 

The Angels are going to make 

every effort to acquire at least 

two pitchers. My best wishes to 

all. 

I have talked to Jimmie on the 

phone several times; he is doing 

well and hopes to rejoin the team 

as their conditioning coach once 

again this year. The Sporting 

News item refers to a sign that 

"Sparky" Anderson (Detroit Tiger 

Manager) treasures and has it 

hanging prominently in his office. 

It is a hand-written bit of philosphy 

written and neatly framed 

by Jimmie and given to him. 

A letter that was received by 

Unit Rep Warren Maue (17 AIB) 

and forwarded to me comes from 

Lee Le Bright (Div Hq). Writing 

from Milford, Delaware, he informs 

us that the festivities at 

Yorktown, VA honoring the 12th 

and other divisions at the Rhine/ 

Danube reunion was^quite impressive. 

He continues... l*was glad to 

have the opportunity to attend 

being only a few hundred miles 

away. There was quite a contingent 

of French on hand and the 

language gap was enjoyed by all. I 

was glad to receive the edition of 

the HCN and the announcement of 

a life membership in the 12th. As 

one of the first in the 12th, I would 

like to be one of the first to be a life 

member. Good luck to all. Lee 

inclosed a check for $100.00 for his 

lifetime membership making him 

number 13 in this elite group to 

date. 

Kudos and a tip of the hat to 

Paul Hempfling, Sr. (Div Tns) who 

is conducting a one-man crusade to 

round up all former Division Trains 

members, succeeding well and 

fattening up our Divison Group 

ranks. He has ferretted out three 

more. They are Joe "Chick" Ciccolella, 

Irving Brownlee and John 

Huss. We thank Paul and extend a 

hearty welcome to Irving (new) 

and "Chick" and John (rejuvenated) 

to the group. Let us know 

what you three have been up to 

during the past years and we will 

pass the news on to your Division 

Trains buddies. 

A slight address change from Al 

Rummel (Div. Hq.) that will be 

noted elsewhere. 

Dues, boosters and with no 

news were received from Col. 

David Aston and C. G. Thurman 

(Div. Hq./CCA); Wilburn Manning 

and Santo Gebbia (Div. Hq./CCB); 

At home on the range is Buford McCurry [Hdq.17] in Spray, Oregon. 

Joe Scharoun (Div. Hq./G-3); Jack 

Bernard, Charles Brook (Div. Hq./ 

Band) and an attached "ack ack" 

buddy, Norman Evans (572 AAA). 

ETCETERA. . . The death of a 

Hellcat and lifetime personal 

friend saddened me and I am sure 

all of his CCB buddies. Al Lipschultz 

(152 Sig) received notice of 

the death of Clifford Smith (Div. 

Hq/CCB) from the attorneys in 

Patchogue, Long Island who handled 

Cliffs estate. The death occured 

last December. Cliff and I 

were boyhood friends in Patchogue 

growing up in the same 

neighborhood and ending up in the 

12th together. 

And do all you Hellcats who 

watched the TV movie "Fatal 

Vision" know that the story touched 

on Patchogue and your unit 

rep? The whole bizarre episode 

started in my neighborhood in 

Patchogue where all the principles 

involved lived and whom I knew 

personally. I attended Grammar 

school with Jeffery MacDonald's 

mother and she was in my 1936 

high school graduating class. 

Now that we are entering the 

new year all regional chapter 

reunions will be forthcoming soon. 

So start planning now for those 

you plan to attend and also keep in 

mind and start to lay your plans 

now for the big one in Orlando, 

Florida come September. "IT'S 

GREAT TO BE A HELLCAT" ... 

Hn YO'ALL IN Pn 

UU ORLANDO UxJ 

17th 

Armored 

Infantry 

Battalion 

WARREN E. MAUE 

4320 Germantown-Liberty Road 

GERMANTOWN, OH 45327 

Phone [513] 866-5004 

This month's column will not be 

in company order, as Edna and I 

will be vacationing most of the 

month. They will be written as 

received, and the ones left from 

last month, will be first. 

George Dorst, A., writes that he 

is aware that he missed a great 

reunion at Denver. George has 

been listed for some time as Sv. 

56th, why I don't know, but he is 

back home now, and we welcome 

him back. His address is 12429 N. 

33rd Street, Phoenix, AZ. 85029. 

Now anyone wanting to write this 

ole buddy, make a note in your old 

address book. George retired recently, 

and is now as busy, as ever, 

as he is always on some Committee, 

or Executive Board. Also still 

working installing furnaces. He 

recently installed five furnaces at 

a Camp in Idlewild, CA. Then 

there is the Shaklee Products, 

which he sells and distributes. 

"The most interesting job is consulting, 

and purchasing agent for 

the Supai Indians, who live in the 

bottom of the canyon near here, 

and every year at this time, I go 

there to take care of their busi- 

George and Jaque Hatt, A., say 

that Denver was the greatest, and 

to see buddies that one hasn't seen 

since '44-7-45, sure made it worthwhile. 

Those men like Joe Kiker, 

Jack Jensen, Owen Yarborough, 

Carl Lyons, and Bill Little, all of A t 

sure brought back many old memories. 

It was just an unbelievable, 

great time.. After the Reunion, 

they went on to Lake City, CO., 

where they fished, and caught 

trout, while camping out. Also 

climbed Round Top Mountain in a 

jeep, then spent several nights at 

Red River and Santa Fe, before 

returning home. "Presently: making 

plans to return to Europe, and 

the old route we travelled years 

ago, through France and Germany." 

Just think, after forty 

years, since we fought across 

France and Germany, and meet 

again in Denver. Lets try to make 

Orlando next year, ole buddies. 

Junior and Marge Foster, A., 

write that Junior has retired, last 

spring, but his old boss ealled him 

back for ten weeks more on the 

semi truck. He thought he would' 

go into small engine repair,' like - 

lawn mowers, and chain saws, but 

then the ribbon factory, where 

Marge is employed, needed a 

maintenance man, so Junior isn't 

retired as yet, as the fall is the 

busy season for this ribbon and 

bows factory. Marge says she is 

still secretary there, and hopes to 

retire in about three years, and 

then the two of them hope to 

travel. May I add that if you have 

not travelled every year, and 

taken your vacations, you will not 

travel after you retire. I'm in a 

position to know, judging from all 

the letters I receive. I'm afraid 

your going to set back and rest, 

travel will be like another job. 

They heard recently from Joe and 

Julia Barber A. Foster used to 

drive Joe Barber's halftrack, in 

combat. 

James and Hazel LaFond, B., 

tell us that they are well, still 

hanging in there. "Son Jeff is now 

3rd Class Petty Officer in the 

Naval Reserve, and has one more 

year to complete his duty. Son 

Wayne is now Senior Auditor for 

USF, in Hartford Conn, office. Our 

daughter Linda will present us 

with another grandchild in November." 

They are doing well 

farming in Nebraska. Several of 

these notes I had misplaced, but 

they are still news to their B Co. 

buddies. 

John and Joyce Bernhard, B. 

loved every minute of the Denver 

Reunion. John says, if anyone tells 

you the convertible is dead, refer

January 1985 HELLCAT NEWS Page 5 

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At the Denver Reunion were these 17th Inf. men. Ed Goeppinger - B, 

Sal Ignatti - B, W. Maue - A, John Finley - Hq. & C, Marv Allitto - B, J. 

Prietauer - B, Ken Warner - C. [Photo Sal Ignatti] 

them to him. That is his work, and 

has done fifteen tops in the last 

four weeks. Saw a good M-4 tank 

at City Hall, but all inquiries met 

deaf ears, and they thought him 

nuts when he asked if they would 

contribute it to our museum. May 

be we should make one of our old 

mid-night requsitions. Sure a lot of 

jeeps changed hands that way. 

Leaving for Tucson, in November, 

for Joyce's Uncle and Aunt's 50th 

Wedding Anniversary. Joyce 

would like to stay where its warm 

in the winter. We are both 

minding the cold more each year, 

and I believe Joyce wants to move 

to Hawaii. Hope to see many 

friends at the Mid - West in 

Chicago, next March. You know, 

thats where you and Lantero, 

started several years back. 

Sal and Lu Ignatti, B., liked the 

Denver Reunion very much, two 

fold, as they got to travel different 

routes out and back, besides the 

great time while there. Going out 

they took in the sights along the 

way, like the Truman and Eisenhower 

libraires. While coming 

back, they went through Yellowstone 

National Park, then on 

through the Bad Lands, Mt. Rushmore 

and Corn Palace. Would have 

liked to have stayed another week, 

but had been asked to attend a 

wedding, August 26th. Sal is busy 

getting the yard back in shape, 

after leaving it on its own for 

several weeks. Lu is busier than 

ever with school activites. We still 

attend dances in the area, which 

we enjoy very much, as to us it is a 

great recreaction. They sent along 

several pictures, which I will 

include at a later date. 

You B-Company men, I want 

your attention. You have a buddy, 

Robert Hiatt, B., in the Nebraska 

Veteran's Home, Norfolk, NE 

68701, why have you forgotten 

him? Write him at the above 

address. I wrote Duane Hodge, 

Administrator, as to why I had 

received no answers to my letters, 

and he informs us that Bob is very 

much alive, but his eye sight is 

very bad, due to cataracts, and his 

being a severe diabetic, they 

cannot be removed. He has spoken 

to Bob, and any letters he receives, 

volunteers will read them 

for him, and assist him in answering. 

Bob had just not asked for 

help. Now, lets get those cards and 

letters to your ole buddy, and I 

don't mean just for now, but for 

the years to come. Lets make 

Bob's days brighter, and shorter. 

Joe and Billie Mae Kiker, A., 

write that they have been busy 

since returning from Denver. Joe 

says it was great to go to my first 

reunion and see so many of my ole 

buddies, after all these years. "We 

are keeping the grandchildern, 

while our kids are away on their va- 

DENVER CITY CENTER 

Marriott Hotel 

cation. Looking forward to having 

them for Halloween and Thanksgiving. 

Working on some legal 

problems, involving pipe lines." 

They have invited us, Edna and I, 

down, as snow birds, in case the 

winter gets too rough on us here in 

Ohio. We really like the four 

seasons, as each season has its own 

beauty, but thanks anyway. Their 

daughter will present them a- 

nother grandchild in December. 

Joe also sent along some pictures 

taken in Denver, and I'll have 

them in a later issue. 

Attention: Please check the 

change of address column for your 

buddies, as this month I have 

received three address changes 

from your buddies: Eugene Blackford, 

Hq., Albert Funk, A., and 

Wilford Anderson, B., and mark 

them in your address book. 

Another thing, don't expect 

your letter to appear in the next 

issue, when you send me news,- p.r 

pictures. If I receive your news 

like before the 20th of September, 

as I write my column then, get i\ to 

Norb by the 1st of October, where 

he goes over the column, and gives 

it to the printer after the 10th of 

October, and the printer will print 

it in December issue, the last of 

November. News received in September, 

will appear in the December 

issue, or three months. 

Then we are alloted only so many 

pages, and pictures, and if I have 

more than alloted, I may have to 

hold someone's letters another 

month. If I don't have enough late 

news, I refer to an old Campbell, 

or Barkley Halftrack News, to fill 

in my alloted space. As I have 

Member Chairman Warren E. Maue [A/17] gives his report to the 

gathering at the 8-17-84 general business meeting in Denver, CO. 

[Picture by Al Lipschultz, 152nd]. 

Presenting the colors at Denver 

are Robert Luedthke - A-17, Bud 

Dunning - A-17. [Photo by Sal 

Ignatti] 

stated before, some mail gets lost 

enroute, so please be patient, if I 

get the let'er, I'll get it printed. 

David and Virginia Wells, B., 

tell us that arthritis has kept them 

pretty close to home this past 

year, but are feeling better now, 

and planning on travelling again 

soon. Their daughter has moved 

from Washington, to Greensboro, 

NC, and they plan on spending this 

year's Christmas with them." Still 

do some Valley Quail hunting, but 

the birds seem to fly faster each 

year, and my pointer dog gets 

quite disgusted with my missing 

so many good shots. Jerry's pointer, 

Run Away Bandit, out on my 

pointer blood lines, was voted into 

the Dog Hall of Fame, this year. 

Most of my pups are sold to bird 

hunters, and when in bird field 

trials, do very well. I keep in touch 

with Bruce Arndt, and John 

Williams, and have visited in their 

homes. I was with the 12th A. D. in 

the states, and with the 2nd A. D. 

overseas. We had a great time at 

both the San Francisco, and 

Seattle Reunions. 

Harold and Katie Capretta, A., 

answered my letter informing 

them of Pat Padgett's death. 

Padgetts, Caprettas and Edna and 

I, were real close friends in Camp 

Barkley, and spent many got. 

times together. They also tell u 

that they are both retiring in 

January, and plan to immediately


■Q«QBG»n»n»a»aBDBD«QBD»QBD»OBn»DBDBa«QBaBDBa«aBD»0»OBO«0«OBDBDBO«aBQ«D«D« 

drive to California, so to miss most 

of the cold weather, while on an 

extended visit. They are pretty 

close with the two brothers of 

Harold, and take a short trip once 

a month. "We are getting ready 

for travelling when we retire. 

Hope to be able to attend some of 

your association gatherings soon." 

The first one will be the first 

Saturday after Mothers Day, for 

the Little Twelfth Picnic. 

Edna and I just returned from 

several weeks in Flordia, and 

while there, visited Fred Bixby 

and Jane Croshan. Then the four 

of us got together with James and 

Alice Walton, better known as Tub 

and Polly, all of us from A-Co., and 

we all went out for an enjoyable 

evening. Tub came to A-Co. as a 

replacement after Herrlisheim. 

This was my first time to meet 

Tub. He had been to the first 

reunion at New York, and another 

at Cleveland. He was also at the 

first Southeastern. They intend to 

attend both the Southeastern, at 

Ocala, and the Association Reunion 

at Orlando. Tub says he 

intends to work a few more years 

yet. Tub is one of these energetic 

individuals, who must always keep 

busy, and his home shows how he 

works at it. It was a great visit, 

and am glad to help make it 

happen. 

Stopped at Dade City, on way 

down to see Chuck and Agnes 

Mastro, only to be informed that 

they were not coming down this 

winter to their trailer park. This 

was confirmed, when we returned 

home, as a letter from them was in 

my accumlated mail. They were 

sorry to miss the dinner with Fred 

Jane, Edna and I, but they do 

intend to see us next May, at our 

Little Twelfth Picnic. Now you 

know that cold weather up in 

Michagan, isn't going to help 

either of you. 

John and Helen Shibley, C, 

write us that Helen is still doctoring 

for whip-lash, received in a 

accident two years ago. John tells 

us that he has been salmon fishing, 

and it wasn't only the big one that 

got away. He was leaving the same 

week he wrote this letter to me, to 

try his luck again. He just don't 

believe it can all be bad. At least 

he isn't lying about it. John 

reminded me that I hadn't returned 

his picture yet. Now John 

that is one of my winter chores, 

when it snows, and gets real cold, 

and I don't want to get out in it. 

23rd 

Tank 

Battalion 

ELMER T.VALLIE 

25114 OXFORD 

WOODHAVEN, MI 48183 

Phone [313] 782-5091 

Hi all you Hellcats and Hellkittens. 

To start this letter Norma 

and I would like to wish all of you a 

very Happy New Year. As last 

year came to an end, I know we all 

felt pretty good. At least we are 

still alive and happy that we are 

Hellcats and Hellkittens. Now we 

should be looking forward to going 

to the next reunion in Orlando, 

Fla. in Sept. of '85. 

Norma is feeling much better 

now. It proves one thing, that all 

your prayers can help. Please 

keep up the good work for all of us. 

God willing, Norma and I are 

looking forward to attending some 

of the Chapter Meetings this year. 

I hope to see a lot of you at some of 

these meetings. Life is too short to 

say, "Well I will go next year." Do 

it now and you will never regret it. 

Well enough from me, now to 

get after your letters. Before I 

close I would like to thank all of 

you for your letters. Keep up the 

good work. 

Now if you haven't paid you 

84-85 dues yet, please try to do so 

now. We have a very good year 

going. 

From Chris Mugavero - "Sorry 

to hear Norma has been ill, but 

hope she's much better now. 

I really don't have too much to 

relate to you, because of not 

hearing from anyone these days. 

Glad to get Forrest Smith's address 

I will drop him a line soon. 

Not sure if we will make- it to 

Florida next year, but we're 

thinking about it, however we do 

plan on making it to-the Eastern 

Chapter. Sal and Lee Ignatti 

(B-17th) were over to visit and told 

about the wonderful time they had 

in Colorado at the National re- 

Edna and I enjoyed many of the 

entertainment places while vacationing 

in Flordia, and there are 

still many places for us to see, so I 

advise you to either come a week 

early, or stay a week longer, to 

really enjoy your stay at Orlando, 

this September. 

Until next month, same place. 

All Aboard - The tour guide and 12th ADA passengers seem to be 

enjoying one of the Denver area tours. And they were told that Buffalo 

Bill was buried under 20 tons of concrete. [Picture from Bob Saehloff - 

Sv/495] 

union. We saw their pictures they 

took while there, and throughout 

the trip. Sorry we couldn't make 

it. 

Jo and I are as well as could be 

expected. We closed our cottage 

for the season. Did some redecorating 

at home. Looking forward 

to the holidays now. 

Thank you for doing a great job 

as our Unit Rep. Our best to 

Norma for a speedy recovery to 

good health. 

Take care - warm regards. Your 

Buddy and wife Chris and Jo." 

From Forrest Smith - "Had a 

surprise visit by Vic and Wanda 

Challen, 56th, Monday Nov. 19. He 

had a little problem finding us as 

we are in the mountains, and it is 

not a well known area yet. We 

moved into our new house Nov. 

3rd and have been busy unpacking 

and trying to get straightened out. 

We miss our girls and grandchildren, 

but we do like it down here. 

Thanksgiving is over, hope 

everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. 

By the time you read this 

Christmas and New Years will be 

history. A belated Merry Christmas 

and a Happy New Year to 

everyone. 

We do hope to make the 

Midwest as we will be able to see 

the girls and grandchildren also." 

From George A. Waterson (Sv. 

Co. 23rd) - "Leaving the hectic and 

fast growing pace of Long Island 

and moving North to our retirement 

home of five acres of wooded 

land." 

Well this is it for this month. 

Thank all of you for your good 

BACK TRACKS 

By Kenneth Bradstreet, Historian 

From the account of the actions of 

the United States Seventh Army 

during January 1945 . . . 

27 December 1944 . . . Seventh 

Army's newly arrived XXI Corps 

was given control of the 36th 

Infantry Division and the 12th 

Armored Division and told to 

assemble in the Pfalzburg-Saarbourg 

area as SHAEF Reserve. 

The Corps Commander, Maj. Gen. 

F. W. Milbourn, received orders to 

be prepared to move on short 

notice to an area to be designated 

by higher headquarters. 

31 December 1944 ... The 36th 

Inf. Division and the 12th Armored 

Division from XXI Corps 

were detached and placed in Army 

Reserve. The two divisions and 

XV Corps received a directive 

providing that a reserve battle 

position would be reconnoitered 

and organized along the high 

ground on the general line - Hill 

East of Kandroff - Benestroff-Sarrunion-Lorentzen. 

This in expectation 

of an enemy attack all along 

the line. On New Year's Eve, the 

Army Commander went to XV 

Corps CP at Fenetrange. There he 

informed both XV and VI Corps 

Commanders that an enemy attack 

was to be expected during the 

early hours of New Year's Day. 

Insofar as possible, Seventh Army 

work. 

God Bless all of you and keep 

smiling and have a nice day.

had made itself ready. 

1 January 1945 . . . Before the 

new year was more than a few 

minutes old, the Germans in fact 

launched their offensive against 

Seventh Army along the general 

line Neunhofen-Bannstein-Bitche- 

Sarrguemine. During the day, the 

Commanding General, Seventh 

Army, received permission from 

Sixth Army Group to commit the 

36th Inf. Division and the 12th 

Armored Division, if necessary. It 

will be remembered that these 

units had been earmarked for 

Shaef Reserve. As enemy pressure 

grew, it was directed that the 

12th Armored Division would establish 

a reconnaissance screen west 

of the Saar River and south of the 

Maginot Line. 

2 January 1945 . . . The Army 

Commander received a personal 

cable from the Commanding General, 

Sixth Army Group, expressing 

concern of higher headquarters 

lest divisions in the Hagenau area 

be severely handled or cut off in 

the event of successful enemy 

penetration south toward Sarrbourg 

or north from the Colmar 

pocket. In summary, it was made 

plain that Seventh Army must 

accept the loss of Strasbourg and 

territory east of the Vosges rather 

than in any way impair its ability 

to: 

(a) Release to SHAEF as soon as 

possible, one Armored and one 

Infantry Div. as Shaef Reserve. 

(b) Reconstitute as soon as 

possible Seventh Army's own local 

Army Reserve and the prescribed 

Army Group Reserve west of the 

Vosges. 

(c) Preserve the integrity of 

Seventh Army units in advance of 

the main position. 

The necessity for withdrawal 

from Strasbourg and the Alsatian 

Plain presented diplomatic as well 

as military problems. Numerous 

officials had been moved into this 

area by the French Government, 

and residents of the area had 

shown their loyalty to France in a 

manner which would bode them ill, 

should the Germans return. It was 

highly desireable, if not an actural 

moral responsibility, that these 

people be warned of Seventh 

Army's intentions in time to get 

out. On the other hand, to broadcast 

the Army's intentions to all 

and sundry was obviously unthinkable 

from a tactical point of view. 

Brig. Gen. John S. Winn had been 

designated U.S. Military Representative 

in the Strasbourg area to 

ensure -continuity of policy and 

action so long as the area remained 

in Seventh Army's combat zone. 

The French Military Governor at 

Strasbourg was Gen. de Brigade 

Schwartz. These officers worked 

together in a highly efficient 

manner. The French attitude toward 

the planned withdrawal from 

Strasbourg became apparent 

when a courier to the Seventh 

Army Commander's quarters at 

Luneville early in the morning on 3 

January. In this letter, Gen. 

Schwartz stresses the reprisals 

which would be made on patriotic 

Alsatians by returning Germans 

and implored the Army Commander 

not to go forward with the 

plan. Shortly thereafter a letter 

was received from Gen. Winn, 

passing on Gen. Schwartz's urgent 

plea the Seventh Army endeavor 

to hold Strasbourg and as much as 

possible of the Alsatian Plain. Just 

as the matter was coming to a 

head, word came by telephone 

from higher headquarters about 

noon on 3 January that Strasbourg 

would be held. The Seventh Army 

Commander thereupon sent the 

following letter to Gen. Schwartz; 

"My dear General: 

I received your letter, which 

was delivered to my Hq. by your 

aide on the night of 2-3 January. 

I understand fully your concern 

over the evacuation of your beloved 

Stasbourg, which was so 

dearly bought at the price of 

French and American blood. I am 

sure you will be relieved to learn 

that I have received permission 

from higher headquarters to defend 

Strasbourg with all the 

means at my command. 

A.M. PATCH 

Lieut. Gen. U.S. Army, Comm." 

After the decision to hold Strasbourg, 

Seventh Army received 

approval of a plan to hold the 

Maginot Line east of the Vosges 

and Rhine south from its intersection 

with the Maginot Line. 

This was considered the logical 

line to hold because it's siting was 

good, the ground was already 

fortified, and lines to the rear were 

on terrain of indifferent defensive 

value. 

6 January 1945... The Germans 

began to probe seriously into 

Seventh Army's vulnerable, 

lightly held Rhine River flank 

which extended for some 26 miles 

above and below Strasbourg. An 

estimated battalion of enemy crossed 

to the general area Gambsheim-Offendorf, 

and further smaller 

elements continued to cross 

during the day. This was the 

January 1985 HELLCAT NEWS Page 

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beginning of a troublesome infiltration 

which the Germans subsequently 

exploited to full extent 

and which, considering the heavy 

pressure on the Army front, 

Seventh Army was not in a 

position to wipe out. 

With the point of the German 

offensive apparently moving east, 

Seventh Army detached the 12th 

Armored Division from XV Corps 

and attached it to VI Corps. Gen. 

Brooks, commanding VI Corps, 

received authority to move more 

normal combat command plus a 

tank destroyer battalion east of 

the Vosges, but the rest of the 

division began movement through 

the passes to Hochfelden. Feeling 

that more armor was needed to 

deal with the situation, Gen. 

Brooks at 11:30 AM on 7 January 

telephoned Seventh Army Headquarters 

for authority to move the 

remainder of the 12th Armored 

Division to Hochfelden. He was 

told to go ahead. Next day CCB 

began a series of operations a- 

gainst the Gambsheim cancer. 

It was reported that Heinrich 

Himmler had taken personal command 

of German forces, and that 

Strasbourg had been promised to 

Hitler by 30 January as a sort of 

gift in commemoration of the 12th 

Anniversary of his rise to power. 

The German operation was codenamed 

"Nordwind". The enemy 

drive to take Strasbourg was 

growing in intensity. 

On 10 January, First French 

Army troops were forced out of 

Gerstheim and strong contact with 

German infantry and armor was 

reported only 10 miles from Strasbourg 

in the south. To the north, 

elements of CCB of the 12th 

Armored Division succeeded in 

occupying two-thirds of Herrlisheim. 

The enemy in the Gambsheim 

bridgehead remained comparatively 

quiet on 11 January, 

although heavy artillery was received 

on the bridge south of 

Rohrweiler and Drusenheim. CCB 

of the 12th Armored Division had 

withdrawn to defensive positions 

southeast of Bischweiler after 

heavy fighting in Herrlisheim. 

Despite all efforts to reduce the 

troublesome Gamsheim bridgehead, 

the Germans succeeded not 

only in maintaining it but in 

reinforcing it. When it became 

apparent that the Hatten-Rittershofen 

effort was stalemated, the 

enemy transferred his attention to 

the Gambsheim bridgehead. Ac- 

cordingly, the 10th SS Panzer Div. 

"Frundsberg" was ferried across 

the Rhine into the bridgehead 

followed by elements of the 21st 

and 22nd SS Panzer-Grenadier 

regiments who appeared southeast 

of Rohrweiler. Elements of 

the 7th German Parachute Div. 

were also ferried into the bridgehead. 

The purpose of this was to 

capture Strasbourg. In order to 

wipe out the Gambsheim pocket, 

VI Corps directed the 12th Armored 

Division to attack on 

orders, on 16 January to be used 

for two days on an offensive 

mission. The 12th Armored Division 

made good progress initially, 

but resistance stiffened and all 

units withdrew west of the Zorn 

River. By 17 January, the Gambsheim 

pocket had been linked up 

with German forces to the north. 

The 12 Armored Division continued 

its attack across the Zorn 

River, but on 18 January was 

forced to withdraw from Herrlisheim 

after heavy and bloody 

fighting. 

Upon authority from Seventh 

Army, VI Corps on 20 January 

disengaged the enemy and commence 

withdrawal to the general 

line Rothbach-Neidermoder-Hagenau-Bischweiler-Weyersheim. 

This shortened the 36 mile Corps 

front to 26 miles. Two battalions, 

3rd Bn. of the 157th Inf. Regt. and 

the 2nd Bn. of the 314th Inf. Regt. 

remained isolated and all efforts to 

rescue them failed, although some 

personnel managed to filter 

through the lines. On 21 January 

the 36th Infantry Division had 

completed relief of the 12 Armored 

Division on the Rohrweiler- 

Weyersheim line. The 12th Armored 

Division at time of relief 

was 1,200 men under strength and 

had lost 70 vehicles, retiring from 

battle with a combat efficiency 

rating of "unsatisfactory." 

The 12th Armored Division 

lived up to its "Hellcat" name and 

fought with honor against five 

German divisions of whom three 

were SS holding them from recapturing 

Strasbourg and giving Hitler 

his anniversary present. The 

month of January 1945 will always 

be in Hellcat memories along with 

the memories of our buddies who 

fought and died there for freedom 

of our French allies.


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r 

e//i/ Me/mstyvttx/m/ 

JOHN C. MONTGOMERY 

[D/44th], 796 Morningview 

Ave., Akron, OH 44305, died on 

November 16, 1984 of a heart 

attack. He had been watching 

TV at the time of his death. 

Notification of his death was 

provided by Dave Scobie of the 

44th. No other information 

provided. John's wife Dorothy 

survives (no info re other 

survivors). 

• • • • • 

EARL BOOTH [C/44], 4000 

10th St., Baltimore, MD 21225, 

was reported deceased by Dave 

Scobie of the 44th, but there 

was no date of death provided. 

Earl had never been a member 

of our 12th ADA, so we have no 

knowledge of any next of kin. 

• • • • • 

JOHN SOLOWEY [A/44th], 

568 Jeffree St., El Cajón, CA 

92020, died at age 66, on 

October 6, 1984 from a massive 

heart attack. 

Funeral services were conducted 

October 10th, at the St. 

Luke's Lutheran Church, with 

the Rev. Gottfried H. Hoffman 

officiating. Burial was in El 

Cajon Cemetery. 

Mr. Solowey, a native of 

Maspeth, NY, and a 29-year 

county resident, was a General 

Dynamics welder. Dtrrntftg- 

WW II, he was an Army Staff 

Sgt., in the 44th Tank Bn., 

which freed prisoners in Santo 

Tomas in the Philippines. He 

was a member of Elks Lodge 

1812 and chaplain and a life 

member of Veterans of Foreign 

Wars Post 2275. 

Survivors include his wife 

Amelia; a daughter, Jan of El 

Cajon; and a sister Anne Evanchuk 

of Albany, NY. 

His wife Millie's note stated 

"He was just retired a year and 

was so enjoying it. We were 

saddened it was cut so very 

short. He led a good - happy and 

useful life - so we were happy 

the Lord let him go so quickly. 

His VFW buddies were his pall 

bearers - he was Post Chaplain 

for many years, so this was 

hard on them - we took him to 

church and he is buried in our 

little local cemetery, a beautiful 

spot - surrounded by hills and 

ranches. You know, all of you 

were special to him. Bless you!" 

• • • • • 

HERBERT E. SCHAPIRA 

[Sv/56th], 28 Phelps Ave., Bergenfield, 

NJ Q7621, died November 

18, 1984 of a heart 

attack. 

He had been sick about a 

month. Surviving are his wife, 

Pauline; three daughters; and 

one son, in addition to seven 

grandchildren. 

Thomas Schlauch (Sv/56th) 

phoned this information to 56th 

Unit Rep. Marvel B. Rowland, 

who in turn notified your 

Secretary. 

• • • • • 

ELIZABETH T. MADDEN, 

wife of Joseph Madden [119th 

Engr. Bn.], 17 New Street, 

Kingston, Ny 12401, died November 

15, 1984 at age 63, at 

Benedictine Hospital. 

Born in Poughkeepsie, July 

20, 1921, she was the daughter 

of the late Alexander and Mary 

Sculco Areno. Mrs. Madden 

was a resident of Kingston 

since 1955. 

Survivors include her husband, 

Joseph Madden; two 

daughters, Elaine Playford of 

Kingston, and Diane Madden of 

Asheville, NC; three sons, T/ 

Sgt. Joseph Madden of Bitburg 

Air Force Base, Germany, and 

Raymond and Daniel of Kingston; 

four brothers; three 

grandchildren, and several 

nieces, nephews and cousins. 

Funeral services were conducted 

November 19th at the A 

Carr and Son Funeral Home, 

Inc., with a mass of burial 

conducted at St. Mary's Church. 

Burial was in St. Mary's Cemetery. 

This obituary was sent in by 

Bob Saehloff (494th), a resident 

of Kingston, NY. 

DOROTHY A. BICKLING, 

wife of Paul C. Bidding [A/ 

493rd], Rt. 1, Box 58, Greensboro, 

MD 21639, died at age 57, 

on November 19,1984 in Memorial 

Hospital, Easton, after a 

heart attack at home. 

Mrs. Bickling is survived by 

her husband, Paul; two sons, 

Robert P. of Greensboro and 

William H. of Dentón; a daughter, 

Bonnie Lou Turlington of 

Dentón; her mother, Lola Jones 

of Greensboro; a brother, William 

R. Jones of Dentón; a 

sister, Betty Pippin of Greensboro, 

and five grandchildren. 

Services were held November 

21st in Boulais Funeral 

Home, with burial in Greensboro 

Cemetery. 

Barbara Carr, wife of George 

Carr (A/493rd) informed Unit 

Rep. Frank J. Czeiner re Mrs. 

Bickling's death, and the two of 

them attended the funeral ser- 

AUSTIN "FROSTY" FITZ- 

GERALD [Sv/494th], who had 

resided at 15th St., Box 308, 

Hazel Green, WI 53811 at the 

time of his death, passed away 

December 13, 1982 of a heart 

attack, according to the following 

note received from his wife: 

"Last week I received notice 

that my husband's dues had 

been paid by members of his 

unit. I am enclosing a check to 

reimburse the Booster Fund 

and I'd like to receive the 

Hellcat News. 

Austin passed away on December 

13, 1982. Death was 

attributed to a heart attack, 

which happened while he was 

at work at his part-time job as 

custodian at our local school, he 

had been retired from John 

Deere Dubuque Tractor Works 

for six years after working 

there for twenty-eight years." 

He left to mourn his death, his 

wife, Maude B.; three daughters, 

a step-son, a step-daughter, 

and thirteen grandchildren. 

Services were held at St. 

Patrick's Catholic Church in 

Benton, WI and burial was in 

the church cemetery. Graveside 

services were conducted 

by the Temperly-Duncan American 

Legion Post of Hazel 

Green of which he was a 

member. 

Since his death, Mrs. Fitzgerald 

has moved to: 935 E. 

Madison, Platteville, WI 53818. 

• • • • • 

HILTON F. DAUGHERTY, 

63 [495th AFA Bn.], Surrey, 

ND 58785, died Nov. 5,1984 in a 

Minot, ND hospital. Funeral 

services were held Nov. 8th at 

Hope Lutheran Church, Surrey, 

with graveside services in 

Sheyenne in the Grandfield 

Cemetery. 

He was born July 16, 1921, 

and was raised and educated 

in Sheyenne. Wounded during 

WW II, he received the Purple 

Heart. Discharged as a sergeant, 

he returned to Sheyenne. 

He married Laura Johnson in 

Sheyenne on Dec. 4,1946. They 

farmed in the area, and Mr. 

Daugherty was also employed 

as a trucker. The couple moved 

to Valley City, Fargo, and then 

Tioga, before they made their 

home in Surrey 20 years ago. 

With the exception of four 

years, when he was employed 

as a custodian and bus driver 

for the Surrey Schools, Mr. 

Daugherty was a truck driver 

for Northern Tank. The company 

was purchased by Farmers 

Union Federated and then 

by Cenex and Daugherty was 

employed by that company at 

the time of his death. 

He was a charter member of 

Hope Lutheran church, Surrey, 

and was also a member of DAV, 

Veterans of Foreign Wars, the 

Moose Lodge, and Teamsters 

Union. 

Survivors include his wife; 

parents; four sons; three daughters; 

14 grandchildren; one 

great grandchild; three brothers, 

and a sister. 

Above obituary, appearing in 

the Devil's Lake Daily Journal, 

was sent to us by Marlin Pulst 

(Div. Hq.), a resident of Devil's 

Lake, ND. 

• • • • • 

JOSEPH MUCHA [B/17th], 

124 E. Second St., Dunkirk, NY 

14048, passed away on Thanksgiving 

morning, November 22, 

1984 at the Buffalo General 

Hospital, Buffalo, NY, at the 

age of 67. He had been ill during 

the past two years with a lung 

problem. 

Joe was with the 12th AD 

from Oct. '42 until Feb. '46, as a 

machine gun squad leader in 

the first platoon. In the past 

few years, he was employed by 

the City of Dunkirk, and retired 

just two years ago. 

He is survived by his wife of 

39 years, Katherine; one son 

and daughter-in-law, Robert 

and Mary Ann; and five sisters. 

Funeral arrangements were 

made by the Newman Funeral 

Home of Dunkirk. A funeral 

Mass took place on Monday 

morning, Nov. 26th at St. 

Hyacinth Roman Catholic

Church, and burial was in the 

St. Hyacinth Cemetery in Dunkirk. 

Al Gaus, of Hq/17th, visited 

the funeral home to pay his 

respects to the family Sal and 

Lu Ignatti (B/17th), visited the 

funeral home, and later visited 

with his family at the Mucha 

home. Notification of this death 

came from Sal Ignatti. 

ROY H. JOHNSON [Hq> 

66th], 1280 Bancroft Way, Ber 

keley, CA 94702, died on Octo 

ber 11, 1984. His wife Edith 

wrote "He had been ill for 2C 

years, the last 12 being or 

dialysis machine. The past 18 

months were the hardest, 

knowing he had deteriorating 

brain waves. 

Surviving are his wife Edith 

L.; two daughters, Sharon L. 

McCulloch, and E. Elaine Hudson; 

three sisters, Florence 

Blanchi, Anna Hudson, and 

Alma Lorenzana; 7 grandchildren; 

and a loving adopted 

daughter, Betty McCulloch. 

He was a native of Santa 

Cruz, & was 64 years of age at 

the date of death. He was a 

member of Machinist Union 

Local 285 of Oakland. 

Services in his memory were 

held October 16th at the Ellis- 

Olson Mortuary, Albany. The 

family requested that memorials 

in his memory go to the 

Kidney Foundation (for information, 

call 525-0246). 

• • • • • 

KENNETH B. DYKES [Hq/ 

82nd], 13726 First Avenue, 

West, Orofino, ID 83544, died 

at age 62 on October 31, 1984 at 

the Spokane Veterans Hospital 

after a prolonged illness. Death 

was caused by cancer. He had 

been a hospital patient intermittently 

for the past seven 

months. 

He was born April 3, 1922, at 

Lenore, the son of Isaac and 

Mary Ann Dykes. He grew up 

in the Sunnyside and Lenore 

areas. 

Mr. Dykes married Lavena 

Johnson at Yakima Sept. 23, 

1946. The couple lived at Pierce 

for three years before moving 

to Orofino. He was employed by 

the Camas Prairie Railroad and 

then Clearwater County as an 

equipment operator and truck 

driver. He retired in 1977 due 

Address Changes 

HARRY W. DE LUCCHI - D/23 

175 Manor Drive 

San Francisco, CA 94127-2550 

MARVIN HOLAPPA - B/23 

BOEING FIELD SERVICE REP. 

c/o Director Engg. & Maint. 

PIA, Karachi Airport, Pakistan 

RAYMOND CARTIER - A/44 

1205 Willow St. 

New Port Richey, FL 33552 

HOWARD WERTZ - C/44 

P.O. Box 186 

Johnstown, CO 80534 

MRS. CLYDE MADDOX - 

S-Hq/56 

6110 Longmont Way 

Carmichael, CA 95608-0730 

CARROLL B. MOYER - C/56 

108 Union Street 

Douglasville, PA 19518 

CLARENCE J. DANIELSON - 

C/66 

2019 Bank Avenue 

Superior, WI 54880 

to poor health. 

He was a member of VFW 

Post 3296. A fiddler and guitar 

player, he and his brothers 

played for dances in the area. 

He is survived by his wife at 

the family home; four sons, 

Kenneth, Jr., David, Paul, and 

Willy; five daughters, Peggy 

Petersen, Carol Lonsbury, 

Brenda McRoberts, Barbara 

Rick, and Janell Dykes. 

Other survivors include 12 

grandchildren, five step-grandchildren, 

a brothe, Earl Dykes, 

and a sister, Nellie Edwards. 

The Rev. Bob Parker, former 

pastor of the First Baptist 

Church, along with members of 

VFW Post 3296 officiated at the 

memorial rites. The body was 

cremated. 

The family has suggested 

that memorial contributions be 

made to Spokane Veterans Hospital. 

This obituary appeared in the 

Clearwater Tribune - Orofino, 

ID, dated 11-8-84, which was 

forwarded by 82nd Unit Rep. 

Charles Kotula. 

• • • • • 

Another year is ushered in, 

leaving behind the memories of 

those who were near and dear to 

us. They were a part of our lives 

while living, and although departed, 

will remain in our hearts 

as we progress down life's 

weary road. The bond of friendship 

is not broken, even by 

death. 


■ D«D»n«nBDBGBDBDBDBDBDBDBD«DBD«n«DBDBGBDBGBa«DBnBaBDBGBa«D«r; BGBGB! 1BQBGBGB 

43rd 

Tank 

Battalion 

JAMES E. STONE 

309 CHESTNUT STREET 

WOODSTOCK, IL 60098 

Phone [815] 338-6952 

BOOSTERS 

Leland Dale Gardiner - C 

Ralph C. Minnick - Sv. 

Cecil G. Orme - C 

Dues - A. Kornowsky - B; Frank 

Tiberio - C; Fred Jacobson - Sv.; 

Harold Miller - Hq. Booster - 

Ralph C. Minnick - Sv.; L. D. 

Gardiner - C. 

Hello Folks, Once again, we're 

pleased to tell you that dues and 

boosters are still coming in for the 

84/85 year. Our membership roster 

remains strong and fairly even 

in members. The generous booster 

contributions are very much appreciated. 

Our executive secretary 

("Norb Bruemmer") has a lot of 

the association business on his 

shoulders, and applying your booster 

contributions is one part of it 

that takes a lot of consideration. 

Most of the correspondence is of 

general interest to all and basically 

in a good frame of mind. But it's 

apparent that at times, not everyone 

feels too happy about things. 

Some of our members make 

their first reunion each year and 

it's very important that each of us 

extend a hearty welcome to all. 

The first reunion we attended, I 

was hesitant, had all kinds of 

misgivings, and was really keyed 

up. If one of my old buddies had 

not stepped forward to greet me -- 

it probably would have been the 

only reunion I would have made. 

Thank you Jiggs. 

However, not all have been as 

fortunate as I, as is apparent by 

one letter. The incident that I'm 

referring to-happened a few years 

ago, one that no one was aware 

had happened. Along this line, 

unless people speak up, nothing 

can be done to make changes~or 

amends. It's not our intent to 

slight anyone, offend anyone, or 

hurt anyone. That's the purpose of 

the special ribbons "First Timers" 

wear. So to the guy who said you 

don't need my $7.50, remember 

humans make lots of mistakes. 

Mark Ault - Sv.: A real nice 

letter from Mark, our former rep. 

Both he and wife Ann came 

through with good reports after 

going through physicals at the 

Mayo Clinic. This was at the timé 

of the Denver reunion. 

"I retired Sept. 1st and I am 

enjoying every minute of it. Also 

plan on retiring to Kokomo, Ind. 

after selling our home here." 

Thanks to you Mark for being our 

unit rep. 

Doc Tibe io - C writes - "Our 

oldest daughter has just begun her 

third year at Case Western Reserve 

Medical School in Cleveland. 

Our second daughter has just 

begun her third year as a predental 

student at Georgetown 

University. Our son, the youngest, 

Clinton E. Seitz [485th], Chairman of the nominating committee, 

presents a slate of candidates at the 8-18-84 meeting in Denver. Frank 

Czeiner [493rd Unit Rep.], a nominating committee member, stands at 

his left, with V.P. Jim Mizen [134th] seated. [Picture by Al Lipschultz, 

152nd.]


■aBGBOBQBOBDBOBDBDBaBGBGBaBOBaBDBDBPBDBOBDBÜBDBOBDBOBOBOBDBDBOBDBOBGBOBÜB 

has just begun his first year at 

Georgetown University also. He 

has not decided on a major yet. We 

are eating a lot of beans. Sorry we 

missed you all at Denver." 

Evelyn Minnick (Ralph) Sv. 

writes-: "This has been a busy 

year and a frustrating one. Here in 

a totally agricultural area, times 

are a bit tough. When our farmers 

are in trouble, so are those of us in 

small businesses. New road construction 

last summer, this summer 

and again next summer has 

almost isolated our little town, so 

our business is slow. We do remain 

in fairly good health and are well 

fed. We had considered the Denver 

reunion. Friends from a few 

towns west asked us to go-but a 

family reunion, a first ever, was 

slated for about the same dates. 

We just couldn't close shop for 

both. We do keep in touch at 

Christmas with several buddies 

and their families." 

HOLIDAY GREETINGS TO ALL! 

Andy Migala - B writes - "Just a 

few lines to let you know I enjoy 

the column and it sure was food to 

see a few pictures of the B Co. 

boys and read a little news from 

them. 

Well, I'm settled here in Florida 

for the winter and just the other 

day, I was talking to a neighbor 

just down the street in the Park I 

live in. He said he was in the 56th 

Inf. His name is Chuck Seaman. 

Now we've had several good talks. 

Andy included a couple pictures 

which, as space allows, will be 

printed. Thanks Andy. 

Edward Webb - A writes - "Was 

62 years old in May, and live alone. 

Hear from some of the 12th 

Armored guys. Larry Farmer for 

one. Had a letter from Elmer 

Jones (B). He lives 50 miles from 

me. Would like to hear from more 

12th Armored guys." 

Harriet - (Henry Schulz - B) 

writes - "You wanted to hear how 

our sunflower harvest and deer 

hunting turned out. The flowers 

yielded better than last year. Our 

son had a custom combiner comeearly 

in October-and do ours. The 

moisture content was high so 

every seed had to be dried down to 

10%. Henry and I had our "tongues 

in our cheeks" when Kim 

made this decision. It turned out to 

be a good one-we got lots of rain 

and some snow right after that and 

some of the farmers aren't through 

yet. 

There are five days of deer 

hunting left. We live in a good area 

so we have lots of people around 

for hunting, breakfast, dinner and 

supper. I hunt too, I mean I always 

ride along. I always fall down and 

hurt myself when I walk, so I quit 

that. You wouldn't believe all the 

walking they do, most of it real 

rough going. Some of the group 

don't have their deer yet-waiting 

for the big one". 

It looks like the Schulz family 

are really busy at this time of 

year-with an added trip to St. 

Paul and Bismarck, as delegates 

for the North Dakota Farmers 

Union Convention. We hope all 

you folks have a happy holiday 

season-Thanksgiving, Christmas 

and New Year. 

A note from Norb - "Our old 

buddy George P. Kurtz - D/43rd. 

has been reported deceased on 

October 20, 1984 by Helen L. 

Kurtz, Executrix of his estate. I 

remember him as the big fellow in 

the motor pool. He was always 

friendly, and I had hoped to see 

him at one of the reunions, or 

chapter meetings. Although he 

gave generously to the 12th A. D. 

A. George never attended any of 

the affairs that would have put 

him in touch with his buddies. So 

sad to hear of his death and know 

that now it is too late to make a 

contact." 

Norb, I'd like to add just a bit 

here~he was always that big 

happy fellow-he was also a person 

who always gave of himself. I 

don't think I have ever attended a 

reunion where someone didn't 

mention George and wish he'd 

show up. I talked to him a couple 

times on the phone-and he was the 

same pleasant person but he just 

never made the reunions. He will 

be remembered by those fortunate 

enough to have known him. 

God Bless you All, 

Stoney 

*•••••••••• 

Spread The 

News! 

Write Tc 

ycur Cep! 

•••*•*•*•** 

1st V.P. James Mizen welcomes the other new officers to the 

Executive Council as President Heine looks on. [L to R[: President 

Heine; Dir-at-Large Bob Kampling; Treasurer John Cassella; 1st V. P. 

James Mizen; and 2nd V.P. Jack Boyle. [Picture by Al Lipschultz, 

152nd.] 

44th 

Tank 

Battalion 

RAYMOND CARTIER 

1205 WILLOW STREET 

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL 33552 

Phone [813] 849-1727 

BOOSTERS 

Mrs. John Solowey (Millie) - S-A/ 

Wayne and Arby Brannon, Sv, 

had a surprise visit from us, the 

Cartiers, on our way to Florida. 

We found ourselves practically 

driving through his front yard as 

we went Route 77 south. Of 

course, a stop was in order. Arby 

drove up as we were knocking on 

the front door. She gave us the 

news that Wayne has been in the 

hospital three times, was due to go 

back to the doctor on Monday, all 

on his back problem. He still hasn't 

had any relief. The operation was a 

success, according to the doctors, 

but he has had three months of 

pain. This was the first day that he 

felt like getting out, after the 

three months, and was riding 

around the golf course, (not playing), 

with friends. Arby took us to 

the club house, and for sure we 

were a surprise to Wayne. After a 

short visit we took off on our 

journey. Wayne and Arby insisted 

that we stay overnight, but we had 

plans to visit in Clover, SC. A 

promise to make plans to stop on 

our next trip, we left a very 

disappointed couple. Disappointed 

because the visit was so short, and 

because we couldn't stay. How 

about you people of the 44th? Drop 

Wayne and Arby" a note today. 

Their address: 360 Glenwood Dr., 

Mooresville, NC 28115. 

Merv and Martha Herndon, B, 

sent news that they were still 

recovering from their Reno trip. 

Martha, as all of you have learned, 

via the Wolf Call, had to have her 

eye removed and was recovering 

nicely. Merv called me while I was 

still in Massachusetts, to give me 

the details. Martha is now feeling 

less pain in that eye and looks 

forward to a fast recovery. Again, 

wnile you still have your writing 

pad out, drop Martha a note and 

I'm sure you both will enjoy. 

Address: 8115 Seward Ave, Kansas 

City, KS 66109. 

Please, all you members of the 

12th Armored Division Assoc. 

Check your address on your "Hellcat 

News". This is very important. 

There are issues floating around 

looking for a place to "lite", but 

they cannot because the address is 

wrong. Notify Norb Bruemmer, 

Exec. Sec. of the 12th Armored 

Assoc. He will appreciate your 

effort. 

Along with Norb's note to me, 

he sent some very sad news. The 

passing of John Solowey, A/44, 

568 Jeffree St. El Cajón, CA 92020. 

He died at age 66, on October 6th, 

1984 from a massive heart attack. 

All of us who have met John and 

Millie, at the reunions of the 44th, 

will remember him as one who 

enjoyed his 44th family. As always 

our get-to-gether in Reno was too 

short. Not enough time to be with

each other. We will miss him 

dearly, for he was one of us. 

Paul and Mary Turek, Sv, wrote 

that all is well. Paul is recovering 

nicely from all his surgery, and his 

last doctor's report gave him, 

GOOD, well done, glad the trip 

was so good. Paul and Mary had 

just returned from a trip to 

Tuscon, AZ where they visited 

with their grand-daughter and 

family. Then it was a stopover 

with the John Howertons. 1984 

was a tough year for them both, 

but knowing their fortitude, they'll 

look back and admit it was so, then 

look for '85 to be 100% better. 

Paul, get out that pen and ink and 

drop a line to your friends. Mary 

wrote that they were in for some 

bad weather, sleet and rain. Trying 

to make me homesick Mary? 

Won't work, this sunshine is easy 

to take. 

John and Gwen Howerton, Sv., 

write that all is well with them. 

They are looking forward to '85, 

and getting together with friends 

again. John's' brothers were visiting 

with them and John took them 

fishing. Right now they are restocking 

the lake. They must have 

caught all the lake had to hold. 

Gwen says, "That while the men 

fished, the women had to cook. 

They always came back hungry". 

Seems that the action of catching 

fish and being out in the good 

weather gave them a great appetite. 

She did say that the women 

did get a little shopping in. (Just a 

little?) Gwen passed along the 

news that June Smith, wife of 

Orin, has been sick. Orin is the one 

who made those beautiful clocks 

for the 12th Armored and one for 

the 44th. Again, letters and notes 

are in order, how about dropping a 

line to June Smith, c/o Thoreson's, 

126-104 Ave., North N. W., Coon 

Rapids, Min. 55433. Thanks for the 

dropping a line to these people. 

There isn't anything better, as a 

medicine, as a note from friends. 

Jimmy and Olympia Lucci, C, 

sent word that after his hernia 

operation last summer, he is now 

looking at another operation this 

fall. His hip and leg has been 

giving him some problems so he 

feels, along with his doctors, that 

an operation is in order. That was 

supposed to be the last of November. 

No word how things are as 

,of this date. Keep us informed, so 

we can pass the word along. 

Claude and Caroline Spargur, A, 

write that they attended a Veteran's 

Day dinner at Litchfield, 

Illinois. George Moss, 12th Ar- 

New Members 

IRVING A. BROWNLEE - - 

Div. Trns. 

1349 Walker Avenue 

Modesto, CA 95351 

mored Division Association, was 

the host. (Bet June helped too.) 

There were 46 in attendance, 

including those from the 44th. 

They were: Ed and Irene Peacock, 

Sv, John and Virginia Brown, A, 

Claude and Caroline Spargur, A. 

Claude, being a township offical, 

had to attend a convention in 

Springfield, Illinois. Those are too 

hard to take, meet a lot of 

interesting people. On their way 

back from the convention they 

stopped off to visit Merle Jackson, 

in Urbana. He still has inner ear 

problems that makes him dizzy, 

but medication is helping. Claude 

and Caroline also visited with John 

and Virgina Brown. Everyone 

enjoyed. 

I keep telling you people. Travel 

with a 44th roster, and if you are 

anywhere near a buddie, stop off 

long enough to say "Hello". It's 

great! 

Again we have word that just 

arrived on the death of two of our 

44th Family. John C Montgomery, 

D, died on November 16th, of a 

heart attack. He had been watching 

TV at the time of his death. 

Earl Booth, C, reported deceased; 

no date of death given. 

Dave Scobie sent this informmation 

to Norb Bruemmer, for the 

January issue of the Hellcat News. 

Again I must ask all of you, 

PLEASE keep us informed. Both 

Dave and I need to know what is 

going on. Never mind about your 

excuse of, "I'm not a writer, I leave 

that up to the wife". That's O.K. 

with us, but keep us informed. 

Hope all of you had a good 

Holiday Season. 

Ray "Red" Cartier 


BOBOBDBOBDBOBnBOBDBDBaBDBGBQBOBnBOBOBDBDBaBOBDBOBDBOBOBGBOBDBDBDBaBOBaBIJB 


COL (Ret) CHARLES CLAYTON- GEORGE ROBERT SHEFFER - 

C/714 

C/134 

6622 McLean Court 

1655 Lasbury Avenue 

McLean, VA 22101 

Winter Park FL 32789 

************************** 

E] a 1 fl 0 H E 

SHERATON - POCONO INN 

1220 West Main St. (¡ust off 1-80) Stroudsburg, Penn. 18360 

1-80 - east or west - take exit number 48 and you are at the 

front door of the SHERATON-POCONO INN. 

FrL, Sat., Sun., April 26, 27, 28, 1985 

Fri. Nite Dinner from the Menu - Sat. Breakfast from the Menu 

Friday Night Hospitality Party, with Bob Hartman Trio engaged 

for your listening pleasure -Saturday Nite Dinner and Dance 

-—Sunday Morning Brunch 

• Plus • Plus • Large Hospitality Room • Plus • Plus • 

$228.00 per couple for this entire weekend 

$152.00 for singles for the entire weekend 

$168.00 per couple for Saturday nite only 

$108.00 for singles for Saturday nite only 

Grand Prize - WIN FREE COMPLETE WEEK END 

PACKAGE — Including room and meals 

* Additional Prize * 

Win free Hotel accomodations (No Meals) 

SWIM IN TIME INCCOIQ POOL 

CCMPLIMENTAIQy COCKTAIL PARTY 

YOUR COOPERATION IS NEEDED. Please Bring Door 

Prizes as they add a certain charm to our gathering. 

Checks (accordidng to the above stated rates) are to be made 

payable to the Sheraton-Pocono Inn. 

• ••it********************** 

12th ARMORED DIVISION EASTERN CHAPTER REGISTRATION 

SHERATON POCONO INN 

PHONE (717) 424-1930 

PLEASE PRINT VERY CLEARLY 

1220 W. Main Street, 

Stroudsburg, PA 18360 

Arrival Date _ 

No. of Rooms 

Arrival Time 

No. of Nites 

No. of Adults 

Departure Date 

No. of Children 

Please indicate 1st & 2nd choice: POOLSIDED MOUNTAINSIDE D SUITED 

Name 

Address 

City, State, Zip Code 

If with Group Please Name 12th Armored - Eastern Chapter APRIL 26, 27, 28, 1985 

Checks for fees and lodging should be mode payable to: Sheraton Pocono Inn 

Reservations not held after 6 p. m. unless guaranteed by deposit received in advance


aDBaBOBOBDBOBOBaBaBQBaBaBQBDBOBnBaBaBQBOBOBQBDBGBUBGBaBrjBnBnanBüB^BaBDBOB 

L to R: Clarence Ewing, and 

Sgt. Ron Weller, both B/56th, 2nd 

platoon, 3rd squad. Picture was 

taken in Gottington, Germany by 

Ron Weller. 

56th 

Armored 

Infantry 

Battalion 

MARVEL B. ROWLAND 

471 BERNHARD ROAD 

COLUMBUS, OH 43213 

Phone [614] 231-5749 

BOOSTERS 

Frank P. Frenz, Jr. - B 

Sure hope everyone had a 

wonderful holiday season and Santa 

brought you every thing that 

your heart desired. Ollie and I are 

planning on a big one with 15 

grandchildren and all. 

Haven't received much mail, but 

I can understand with the holidays 

etc., but I will try to write a 

column with the material I have. 

Charles Peischl (b) sent in his 

dues along with a short note. He 

has been getting ready for winter 

but had a good summer on the lake 

(Champlain) and planning on doing 

a lot of ice fishing this winter. 

Charlie invites members of the 

56th to drop in if you visit the 

North Country. (50 miles from 

Montera!) Phone (518) 297-6245. 

Unit Reps Note: I was not in Lt. 

Peischl platoon, but what 'I re- 

member him for was the German 

car he drove for a while. I can still 

see it, the big column of tanks and 

army vehicles, and there was 

Charlie in his confiscated German 

car. 

Note from Bill Waddington (C). 

He ordered two of Ed Strazdes 

cartoon books and stated. "I was 

with Ed in C/56 and just looked 

through my scrap book and found 

photos with his drawings in the 

background. In each barracks he 

painted a figure (cartoon like) 

resembling the squads in that 

barracks. Our mortar squad had a 

figure hurling a 60 mm shell. Say 

hello to Ed." 

Received a letter and pictures 

from Joe Gleason (A). Joe said he 

received the October and November 

issue of the Hellcat News 

within three days of each other. 

What is our mail service coming 

to? 

Joe suggested that "When you 

run any of the pictures, why not 

request a letter from the men in 

the picture. This may spark some 

interest and may get you some 

more mail." Good idea Joe. 

Letter and pictures from George 

Bater (B): It is taking us a little 

time to settle down after our 44 

day trip to California. We had a 

George Bator [right] visiting 

with Bob Beach in Los Osos, CA. 

Both are B/56th. Picture from Bob 

Bator. 

A/56th Group somewhere in Germany, April '45. L to R: [Front] 

Frank Krug; Elmer Bruemmer. 2nd Row: Jimmy Toph; Donald Costello; 

Arvil Miller. 3rd Row: Danny Sprecker; Waily Kramer. Picture from Joe 

Gleason [A/56]. 

great time and seen six of the B 

Co. 56th friends who are all 

looking great. We visited Carl 

Watson in Oxward, John Rice in 

Ventura where he was visiting. 

We spent two fun filled days with 

Bob and Bonnie each in Los Osos, 

drove to San Diego and visited 

with Stephen Chew and his family, 

and on our way home through 

Yuma, AZ we stopped and visited 

with Conrado Hurtado. 

I will not go into details but will 

write about a few of the highlights 

of our trip. We also visited with 

Frank Holguin at Santa Barbara. 

We stopped at Camp Barkeley in 

Texas on our way home and drove 

over the roads that went through 

the camp. 

The field house pillars are still 

standing at some points. Sewer 

concrete was piled up on the sight 

of the roads. I talked to an old 

timer there, and if I remember 

correctly, one of the roads leading 

into camp was Pershing Drive. 

Correct me if I am wrong. The 

historical marker - still stands at 

the entrance. Two roads lead into 

the grounds parrallel to each 

other, about 20 ft. apart leading 

straight back to the field house 

and the other roads intersect from 

there. 

If at any time you wish to visit 

the sight of Barkeley look on the 

map for the little town of View. 

You will be about 10 miles from it 

if you get to Merkle. I thought the 

camp would be along the interstate, 

but it is not. The road to 

Abeline from Camp Barkeley 

looks like a country road from 

camp. I drove the road from camp 

to the top of the nearby mountain 

that we had our road marches on 

and our classes and small problems. 

The Lonely Mountain,, 11 

miles in the distance is still visible 

from the entrance. 

The area in the site of Barkeley 

is flat as it was but a little grown 

up with bushes and trees. 

On our way home we spent two 

days at Camp Campbell visiting 

the museum and the streets, some 

of the barracks have been torn 

down. Many are still being used as 

in 1942. It was hard to try to locate 

the area where the 56th was 

located. I think the barracks may 

have been torn down. From 11th 

St. to 1st St. the barracks were 

replaced by housing for the families. 

The 3rd Street gate #3 is 

closed. I sure would like someone 

to write and let us know the 

Avenue and streets we were 

located on. 

The Motor Pools are still all in 

the same area and are still being 

used. Quite a few additions have 

been made which makes it look 

much like a community. Churches 

are still the same and also the 

Field Houses and Headquarters. 

We were fortunate to be able to 

walk through the barracks like the 

ones we stayed in. We found that

the Indiana and Kentucky Avenues 

at 16 and 17 Streets looked 

much like the old Infantry barracks. 

It sure was nice to be there and 

think back to 1942 and 1943 years. 

I have many pictures. I am sending 

a few for you to use at your choice. 

I will send group pictures from 

back in 19421 think the fellows will 

enjoy later." 

Note from Eugene Smasal (A): 

Still pushing, can't wait until I 

retire. 

Ron Weller (B) sent in pictures 

taken in Germany. Also enclosed 

copies of the Bronze Star (1st Oak 

leaf cluster with V devise) and 

certificate of merit which were 

awarded to him and they have 

been forwarded to Ken Bradstreet 

as he requested. He said he would 

like them included in the 12th 

Armored History. 

A sad note: Your Unit Rep. 

received a phone call from Tom 

Schlauch (Sv) that Herbert E. 

Schapira (Sv) had just passed 

away. See In Memoriam page for 

more information. Our sympathy 

goes out to Pauline and children. 

We are going to miss him in our 

roll call each year. 

Card and note from Charles and 

Gilda Severino (B): Says they plan 

on going to Phoenix in January. 

They are going with two other 

couples and have an apartment in 

Timbertree. They will visit with 

Clarence Erwing while there. 

They plan to see us all in Orlando 

this year. 

Unit Rep's Remarks: 

Time to start saving and plan- 

66th 

Armored 

Infantry 

Battalion 

STEPHEN CZECHA 

8406 BUCKH ANNON DRIVE 

POTOMAC, MD 20854 

Phone [301] 299-7634 

BOOSTERS 

Harry R. Michaels - Hq. 

William F. Attardi - C 

Andrew Boro - Hq. 

DUES without NEWS: Bill 

Atardi - C (Hi mailman), Lawrence 

Collins - C, Vic Crandall Rt. 1, Box 

1 AA, Spruce Pine, AL 35585 (C 

Co.), Robert A. Johns - A, L. F. 

Oligee - Hq, James D. Westfall - B. 

ADDRESS Corrections: Joseph 

ning for the big reunion in Orlando, 

Florida on September 19-21, 

1985. It will be later in the year 

and we are expecting a large 

turnout. 

All the mentioned pictures will 

be run as space permits, and 

pictures will be returned to their 

owners. 

Sorry about the short column 

this month. Not many letters and 

the fact that since I started to 

write this column I had to take my 

wife Ollie to the hospital, (2 days 

ago). As of this date they haven't 

found out what is wrong. I don't 

think it is anything serious, but 

you never know. I'll let you know 

in the next column. It is now 3:40 

am and I have to be at the hospital 

at 9:00 am, then on to work at 

3:00 pm. 

A/56th Group in Hochstrodt, Germany the latter part of April, '45. L 

to R: 1st Row: Daniel Sprecher. 2nd Row: Joseph Gorski; Ray 

Bloomingdale; Elmer Bruemmer; Bill Briggs; Wally Kramer. 3rd Row: 

Arville "Shorty" Miller; Joe Gleason; Virgil "Smitty" Smith. Picture 

from Joe Gleason. 


BDBOBDBnBOBaBGBOBDBa«aBOBOBOBOBDBOBaBaBOBDBOaíl«.a»DBOBa«aBaBl¡B !■'. 1BQBI )Bl II 

F. Zumwald 302 Gardengrove 

Way, Englewood, OH 45322 (B). 

Clarence J. Danielson - (C) 2019 

Bank Ave., Superior, Wis. 54880. 

(finally) 

NEWS: From Harry and Lila M. 

Michaels - Hq; "Have been pretty 

busy but finally retired in Sept. 

Maybe I can now attend more 

meetings and see more of the 

country. Not too much is new and 

all is well. HM." 

From Audry Elliott, P.O. Box 

214, Bogue, KS 67625: "I have 

been disabled for the past two 

years after burning my lungs with 

acid fumes, am on oxygen most of 

the time. My wife is also disabled, 

on a kidney dialysis machine. AE." 

Sorry to hear the bad news, hang 

in there. How about some letters 

to Audry? from you 66th guys. 

From George Klise - C: "Called 

Charles Fitz in Jackson, Mis*s, but 

he was leaving for church so didn't 

get to see him, only talked to him 

by phone. I also looked up Daniel 

McLandy in Piedmont, Ala, and 

spent the night there with him. 

Hope to see you in Orlando, Fla. 

GK." That's a date George. 

From Unit Reo. to Tiny: I have 

the decals and they are on the 

way. (sometime soon). 

ATTENTION former POWs, 

now EXPOW's we hope. Look for 

HR 6009 pending in congress, 

write your congressman, the benefit 

you save may be your own. It 

takes effort to get things done. 

What can you do? Write a personal 

note to your congressman in favor 

of benefits for Vets, all wars and in 

particular disabled and Ex POW's. 

PL 9737 added psychiatric and 

anxiety (PL 98223). An INSIDERS 

NEWS may be obtained by writing 

to INSIDERS, P.O. Box 182, 

Vienna , VA 22180. File a claim, 

see a doctor, call the hot line, 

1-800-821-8139. POW was recognized 

by congress in 1980, the 

POW flower chosen was the 

"daisy", name, rank, and serial 

number only, "Daises won't tell". 

Time is short to make the mail 

call. Many happy returns for the 

new year 1985. 

UNIT Rep. S. J. C. 

?: DUES PAID? 

*•*•••*••••• 

Steve Czecha, 66th Unit Rep. 

photographed by Al Lipschultz 

[152nd] while attending the 

Eastern Chapter Meeting in 

Stroudsburg, PA, April, 1984. 

82nd 

Armored 

Medical 

Battalion 

CHARLES C. KOTULA 

BOX 35, JACKSON ROAD 

MEDFORD, NJ 08055 

Phone [609] 654-4776 

BOOSTERS 

Dana Mullens - Hq. 

Hi Folks; Here we are into 1985 

and we hope you all had a very 

nice Holiday. We didn't get much 

mail this time but we received the 

following letter too late for the last 

"Just received Kenny's new 

Membership card and the card 

stating his dues had been paid by 

the booster fund. First off, want to 

thank whoever was responsible for 

that, and to let you know of 

Kenny's passing away Oct. 31st 

1984. He had been ill all summer 

and in the V. A. Hosp. at Spokane 

most of 7 months. He was very 

proud of being a member of the 

12th Armored. He kept hoping 

we'd make it to one of the reunions 

but never could quite manage it. 

He also spoke so highly of his 

buddies. Thanks again to all. 

Sincerely, Lavena Dykes 

Family." 

Allen Horowitz says he was glad 

you all came to his suite at th


■aioioiDiaiaiDioioiDiDiaiaiQiaioioiGioiaiDiDiaioiaiDiQiDiDiDiDiDiDiaiDiDi 

Denver Reunion, and that you all 

had a good time. He should be 

finished with the Treasurer's job 

by December, and when he comes 

to the reunions from now on he'll 

find more time to spend with his 

82nd friends. That won't make any 

of us mad because we'd like to 

spend a little more time with him 

also. He says he's pretty well 

prepared for winter. His major 

problem is his health and poor 

vision, but like Allen says, things 

could be worse. With the New 

Year coming he wishes all a happy 

one. 

Bob Pannell writes that he just 

got his HCN and gives us praise 

for the column. You have to know 

that the best praise you all could 

give us, was sent by way of Fred 

Caravelli from Louisville. It is a 

plain typewritten letter with 33 

signitures of those who attended 

the 82nd Reunion in 1983. We 

were unable to attend because of 

illness. Your thoughtfullness was a 

big part of my recovery. 

Bob says that he hasn't heard 

from Chigger of any of the Hellcats 

or Kittens since Nashville. 

If you remember, in Denver our 

Association directed that we send 

no representation from the 12th 

Armd. Div. officially to Yorktown, 

Va. but that anyone could go on 

their own. Well someone did just 

that! It appears that 450 French 

people came to Virginia to pay 

their respects, to those of the 21st 

Corps, who served in the elimination 

of the Colmar pocket. The 

French are called '*Rhin et Danube 

Assoc". They have issued an 

invitation to the 12th Armd. to 

start the "Rhin et Danube Assoc. 

American". We understand that 

the Virginia affair was something, 

with heroes of the French Resistance 

and the 1st French Army. 

They are asking us to be a part of 

them and to come to the reunion 

next Spring in France. Marjorie 

and I had planned on being in Va. 

Oct 19, 1984 but circumstances 

prevented our finalizing our plans. 

We hear we missed a once in a life 

time affair. 

When we received our last 

letter from the Roark's they hadn't 

moved as yet, they were still 

packing. They plan on being at 

Long Beach in '86. 

You know I was just sitting here 

reading again the Obituary for 

Kenny Dykes and thought of the 

following poem which fits the way 

I feel right now. (I hope these 

Obits we send are put in the 

History of the 12th.) 

Gods plans are like the ocean, 

Varied as the winds that fall- 

All are products of His wisdom, 

All are subject to His call. 

Not a breeze that stirs the tempest- 

Or a sparrow down doth fall, 

But our Heavenly Father knoweth- 

For He watches over all. 

12th Stationery 

Now For Sale 

In their meeting August 16, 

1984, the Executive Council appoved 

the issuance of stationery 

with the 12th ADA LOGO for the 

use of the membership, with the 

following stipulation: 

1) Such stationery would have to 

be purchased through the 

Executive Secretary. 

2) The member's name and 

address would be imprinted 

on the stationery, together 

with the 12th ADA Logo. 

3) For the protection of the 

association, the stationery 

would bear the notation (in 

very small print) "Not Official 

Stationery" in the upper 

margin. 

4) Price of such stationery would 

would be cost plus 10%, for 

postage and handling. (For a 

complete explanation of this 

Executive Council action, 

please refer to the meeting 

minutes which start at the 

bottom of the third column of 

Page 14 of the October, 1984 

edition of Hellcat News.) 

The personalized stationery 

pricing (including the 10% upcharge) 

is: 

82 X 11 Lot of 100 Lot of 200 

Sheets of Stationery $6.25 $10.25 

#10 Envelope 7.25 11.25 

(41/8" X 9V«") 

12th ARMORED DIVISION ASSOCIATION 

PERSONALIZED STATIONERY ORDER FORM 

DESCRIPTION QUANTITY COST ORDER COST 

8!/2"xl 1" Stationery (Letterheads) 100 $ 6.25 

8 V2"x 11" Stationery (Letterheads) 200 $10.25 

4 1 / 8 "x9!/ 2 " (#10) Envelopes 100 $ 7.25 

4!/ 8 "x9 1 / 2 " (#10) Envelopes 200 $11.25 

Total Order Cost (Make Check Payable to "Lake Press") $ 

Letterhead and Envelope Printing Requirements: (Please print very clearly) 

Name or Names 

Address 

City State Zip Code 

Mail Check and Order to: Norbert H. Bruemmer, Exec. Secretary 

12th Armored Division Association 

1913 Jerome Drive 

Godfrey, IL 62035 

(Orders will be accumulated and forwarded to Lake Press once a week. They will require 

a two-week period to fill the orders.) 

Above prices are F.O.B. destination. 

Thus, no additional cost to 

you for shipping charges. 

Ohecks should be made payable 

to I'Lake Press", and orders should 

indicate the name or names you 

wish printed on the stationery, 

together with the address. Also, 

please specify whether you want 

stationery and/or envelopes and 

the quantity you are ordering. 

92nd 

Cavalry 

Recon. 

Squadron 

ERNEST M. AKAIWA 

82 N. BISHOP LANE 

SOUTHAMPTON. L. I., NY 11968 

Phone [516] 283-3069 

BOOSTERS 

Donald J. Dooner - D 

Dues but NO news: 

Hq. & Sv. Troop; William Heiden 

A Troop: Edward R. Mulvihill 

B Troop: William H. Walker, 

Monte Pettitt 

NEWS: 

Hq. & Sv. Troop: Nil 

A Troop: Ken Knorr: "I had my 

hearing for my disability and won 

my case. In 30 days I'll find out 

what I get out of it. Ben Poodry 

and his son Drew came and spent 4 

days of Drew's vacation with us. 

We had a good time together doing 

a lot of talking and eating. I took 

them through the coal region near 

my home town of Shamokin, PA. 

and showed them the strip mining 

area where they dig for the coal 

from the top with big shovels now. 

On Ben's next trip down here I'll 

take him to Ashland, Pa. where 

you can go down in an old mine. I 

know that he'll enjoy it. Emil 

Antolick came with Ben. I took 

him to his sister's house in 

Hazleton, Pa. where he spent his 

time. 

B & C Troop: Ellery A. Likens 

Jr. ("Lucky" returned his information 

survey to me with several 

attached pages which I have plans 

for later and a note.) "I thoroughly 

enjoyed Denver." ("Lucky" - remember 

you're now the defending 

champion of the 92nd Cavalry 

annual golf tournament and should 

now show up in Orlando, Florida in 

September so you can enjoy it 

there too.) 

D Troop; Donald J. Dooner: 

"Still working." 

E Troop: Nix

Hellcats and Hellkittens A Troop 92nd Cavalry. Olean, New York 1984 

Kneeling Ray Horn. Hellcats L-R Emil Antolick, Ken Knorr, Sam Diodato, 

John Palakovich, Ben Poodry and Stumpy Walton Hellkittens L-R Lois 

Horn, Edith Knorr, Stella Diodato, Lil Palakovich, Nellie Walton and 

Lee Poodry. 

F Company: Nix 

Medical Det. : Herb Berlin - 

(Telephone call) Herb called to 

check on Duaine Eldred's telephone 

number. He has been trying 

to call Duaine for some time. Since 

it was his nickel I elicited the 

following from Herb and Rosalie: 

"Herb is still working. He is the 

manager of a parochial school. 

Rosalie works for Baltimore City. 

Herb is feeling better. He goes to 

John Hopkins for check ups. His 

morale is good. The future for 

cancer patients seems much brighter 

because of the tremendous 

progress that has been made. 

They took the trip of a lifetime 

across the country. Looked for 

Camp Barekely and found wide 

open spaces. Visited with "Bud" 

Kalish in Tucson, Arizona." (Rosalie, 

now that I've botched the 

trip report up, I think you should 

write and tell us about it as soon as 

possible. 

NOTES & STUFF: 

It's time to put your regional 

reunion and Orlando on that new 

calendar. 

Not much news this month. You 

were not very prolific. You caught 

me without much written on my 

autobiography that I could fill the 

void with. 

Bill Hawkins tells me: "If you 

want to find perfection, don't look 

in the mirror." 

You know you're getting older 

when your mind makes contracts 

your body can't meet. 

Ernie 

AH 0QNV1H0 (\(\ 

S8 t vy$ k S8i 

119th 

Armored 

Engineer 

Battalion 

CLIFFORD KOAH 

56 S. NEW YORK STREET 

LOCKPORT, NY 14094 

Phone [716] 433-8949 

Now that we have enjoyed our 

Holiday Season, filled with much 

merriment, and having celebrated 

the end of year '84, let us move our 

thoughts toward a happy 1985. 

Our upcoming Reunion in Orlando, 

Florida-Sept. 19-21 should be a 

great attraction to all. If I stay 

home, I will never remember if I 

washed the car yesterday or 

today, but if I go to the big 

Reunion I will remember the 

Buddies I see there. 

At the present, the members in 

the 12th Armored Division Association 

have gratefully responded 

in paying their 84/85 dues to keep 

our "Hellcat News" issues alive for 

'85. Have you thought about the 

$100.00 payment for life membership? 

Russ Lowe, A/119, Canyon 

Country, Calif., marked his calendar 

wrong for the Denver Reunion 

and missed seeing his comrades of 

40 or more years ago. Russ retired 

from Lockheed Corp., after 31 

years of service, but house chores 

and bad golf put him back working 

for Northrop's advanced Systems 

Div. - We hope you are able to 

work another 30 years! 

It is good to hear from Julius 

Tervay. He is in a new retirement 

program. A new business venture 


■ '. ■■■!:■ ■ ■ B B ■ E ■ ■ ■ ■ HiiiinioioiaiDioiDiQiDiaiDiDiaiaiaiDiaioict a 

A Veterans 

Day Dinner 

A Veterans' Day Dinner was held 

November 10, 1984 at the Gardens 

Restaurant in Litchfield, 

Illinois. Seventy-five HELLCATS 

had been contacted and we had a 

great response. Forty-six HELL- 

CATS and HELLKITTENS were 

in attendance for the PLEDGE to 

the FLAG and for the Invocation, 

first conducted by our Executive 

Secretary Norb Bruemmer, and 

the second by the Chaplain of the 

44th Tank Battalion, Edgar Peacock. 

Those in attendance were; 

John and Jan Cassella A/134 

John and Ruby Critzas A/714. 

Cass and Jo Burgener B/23 

Leroy and Lucille Welch Sv/493 

Charlie and Viv Ruma A/17 

Gerry and Gerry Mullen Sv/495 

Norb and Fern Bruemmer D/43 

Mark and Ann Ault Sv/43 

Edgar and Irene Peacock Sv/44 

John and Virginia Brown A/44 

Harold and Flo Kirchner B/17 

Idus & Rosemary Cleveland A/17 

Harry & Leota Woodward Sv/495 

Harland and Lela DeGroot B/493 

Dean and Charlene Strubbe C/495 

Hank and Shorty Backs Hq/56 

George and June Moss A/714 

Bob and Terry (Son) York A/714 

Joe and Virginia Farran Sv/494 

Melvin and Kathryn Knack Sv/43 

Claude and Caroline Spargur A/44 

Wayne and Louise Hooper A/134 

Harry and Betty Schultz A/493 

A swiss steak dinner was fol- 

headed - Tervay, Sheldon, Hildebrand. 

It consists of power systems, 

Engineering Service, in 

Houston, Texas. He wishes all you 

hard workers the best and gives 

his many thanks for the enjoyment 

from your efforts that you have 

given him. And I know Julius, that 

all the hard workers, wish to send 

their heartfilled wishes for success 

in your new endeavors. 

One of the "Snow Birds" (Art 

Shipley from Ohio) has gone to 

5151 4th St., Lot 113, St. Petersburg, 

Fla. 33703. We pray you 

have warmer weather in the South 

than you had last Xmas. 

A death notice of Elizabeth T. 

Madden, wife of Joseph Madden 

119/Engr. 17 New St., Kingston, 

N. Y. 12401. Our thoughts and 

prayers are with you always. 

Let us hear from you out 

there-Wherever you are! 

lowed by some very lively music 

that the group seemed to enjoy. 

Opening dance was for the HELL- 

CATS and HELLKITTENS - "Sentimental 

Journey". That was all 

the bar needed to get the 'tongues 

a-wagging'. New faces for new 

conversations and one "youngster" 

that came along with his Dad, 

Terry York of the Macon County 

Sheriffs office. We always needed 

an MP along for the "balance of 

company". 

The next one will be at the 

Holiday Inn on the west side of 

Decatur, Illinois. It will be February 

23, 1985 and should bring in 

"beau coup" new faces from the 

east side of the State. It will be 

hosted by Bill and Bernice Goad, 

B/714. Rooms will be available for 

overnites, and food should be 

excellent and plentiful. 

We do not wish to run competition 

with any Chapter - just 

throwing in a Saturday nite dinner 

for Central Illinois Hellcats and 

their Hellcat friends. Make your 

plans early. 

GEORGE MOSS A/714 

Graffito Booklets 

Available 

We still have a supply of the 

Graffito Booklets on hand. This 

booklet with cartoons of GI characters-represents 

the artistic efforts 

of our own Ed Strazdes (56th 

AIB), and consists of 55 characterizations 

that will give you a chuckle 

or two as you brouse through it 

and recall your' younger days and 

the good and bad times endured in 

WW II. 

The booklet is available for the 

small sum of $1.00, which should 

be sent to: Norbert H. Bruemmer, 

Exec. Sec'y., 1913 Jerome Drive, 

Godfrey, IL 62035. Your copy will 

be on its way the day after your 

order is received. 

Be sure to show the address to 

which the booklet should be 

mailed. This is particularly important 

if you are sending it to 

someone else (as many have done 

in the past). 


EDWARD L. BROVIC - Hq/92 

15721 Emerald Avenue 

Harvey, IL 60426 

WILLIAM W. HAWKINS - Hq/92 

P.O. Box 6326 TE 

Bradenton, FL 34281-6326


•DiaiciiaiDiDiaiDioiniDiDiaioiaiDiaiDiaioiDioiaiaiDiDiaiDioiDiDiDiDtDiDiDi 

DENVER CITY CENTER 

Unrrlott Hotel 

V.P. James Mizen [A/134] reports on the proposed reunion sites for 

1986 at the 8-17-84 general business meeting in Denver, CO. [Picture by 

Al Lipschultz, 152nd.] 

134th 

Armored 

Ordnance 

Battalion 

HOWARD J. BULLWINKLE 

721E. FIFTH AVENUE 

MONMOUTH, IL 61462 

Phone [309] 734-6274 

BOOSTERS 

G. Robert Sheffer - C 

Dues have been trickling in 

slowly even yet. It seems that 

because they run from the middle 

of the year to the middle of the 

next year, it is very difficult to be 

able to get them paid on time each 

year. At the end of November the 

Association had 2,700 members 

who have paid their dues. 

It is not too soon to begin to 

make plans to meet with many of 

those members in Orlando, Florida 

on September 19th through the 

21st, 1985 at the next Annual" 

Reunion of the 12 ADA. I know 

you'll be kept just as busy as you 

want to be with things to see, or 

just sit and visit with old friends. 

Put it on your calendar now. 

Dues have been received from 

Larry A. Hahn (A), Alex M. 

Bak(B), Albert H. Gaynes (C), and 

Clarence Killian (hq). who writes: 

"I am home again from a hospital 

and nursing home stay, but want 

to send my dues and pay my way 

as long as I can." Thanks, Clarence, 

and hang in there. I think 

we'll be collecting dues from you 

for a long time yet with that kind 

of spirit. 

Address changes are listed in 

the appropriate column in the 

HCN and check for new changes 

from Fredrick Snyder (Hq), 

Donald J. Hering (Hq), and Eldon 

C. Green (B). Note received from 

John M. McAfoos (Lt. Col. Ret) as 

follows: "My wife and I are moving 

back to the States from Germany. 

I will see you at next year's 

convention." Note also his new 

address and welcome back to the 

USA. John's wife, Margot, was 

serving as Field Advisor for the 

Girl Scouts in Nurnberg, and he 

made the trip back in 1983 for the 

reunion in Nashville and I believe 

he had a great time; and we'll all 

look forward to visiting with him 

again in Orlando. 

We have a rejuvenated member 

in George R. Sheffer (C) and 

thanks to Worth Stewart for 

jogging his memory. Gee, George, 

didn't you miss my column? 

Dues and a nice long letter 

received from Walter R. Harder 

(B) who just lives about 50 miles 

from me. "I am sorry to be late 

with my dues, but I am one of the 

world's great procrastinators. I am 

still working for the Milwaukee 

Railroad but it looks like I will be 

taking early retirement within the 

next few weeks as the portion I 

work in has been sold. After 35 

years it's time to relax and enjoy 

doing other things anyway. 

"After 40 years, I have started 

to discover notes, papers, etc. that 

I had collected during the war and 

never threw out. Found a little 

item that might revive some 

memories dated April 18, 1945. No 

area or town mentioned but I note 

that on the 11th we were by an air 

field, but evidently had moved 

elsewhere in Germany, so here it 

is - 'Two miles outside of the town, 

the Captain followed by a 3 A ton 

had just passed a road block at a 

snail pace as they returned blackout 

from a meeting at Battalion. Lt. 

Schuler heard a swish behind the 

Peep and turned around just in 

time to see the weapons carrier 

disappear in a cloud of smoke and 

flame. The 3 A ton had been hit by a 

German Pangerfoust, a type of 

bazooka. Following the explosion 

came a burst from a Burp gun. The 

Peeps rear left tire went flat, but 

the driver poured on the gas and 

the two vehicles raced to the town. 

Tiffany, the driver, had a couple of 

shrapnel wounds in his back, but 

Sgt. Frank's whole right shoulder 

was a bloody mess and it is 

possible that he could lose the use 

of that arm. This is the second 

time that something bad has 

happened. The last time it was 

"Cat" and Lt. McGrea. They just 

disappeared and no one has ever 

heard a word about them since.' --1 

have no followup notes that I have 

found yet but I seem to remember 

that Sgt. Frank came out okay. 

Anyone fill me in on that? "Cat" 

(anyone remember who he was?) 

and Lt. McGrea were captured and 

later returned to the States." 

Thanks, Walt, for your letter 

and incident from years past. 

When you go through those papers 

and notes, the memories just flood 

back. I get my scrapbook out 

occasionally and leaf through the 

pictures, etc. That's why the 

get-togethers with other buddies 

mean so much, because we share 

so much in common and can talk 

about it together without sounding 

like "old fogies" to others. Our 

bonds of memories and experiences 

keep us all close as the 

years pass. 

My #1 correspondent, Pete Collette 

writes: "Still kicking around 

and enjoying my HCN. Seems like 

there was a good turnout at the 

Denver Reunion and the 134th. 

Had a phone call from Morris 

Fortin afterwards and we had a 

good visit and he filled me in on 

what went on. Jack Sturman sent 

mean informative letter also and 

saidr it was a little tougher getting 

out of Denver than getting there. 

To quote Jack, in his haste to catch 

his plane he put a metal object he 

had won at the Reunion in his 

briefcase and they wouldn't let 

him through the gate so he had to 

go back and send the object on and 

then wait 6 hrs. to catch another 

plane. He said he was entering the 

VA hospital in early October for 

some tests and I haven't heard any 

more. 

"Clifford Mosser and wife stopped 

and paid a visit in Sept. Their 

oldest son and our son were born 

about 2 weeks apart while we 

were in Barkeley in August, 1944. 

We had a nice overnight visit and 

was glad to see them. 

"As for myself, I am getting 

along pretty good, gaining some 

strength back and am able to do 

more all the time. Hopefully the 

doctor will turn me loose in a 

couple weeks. Have been getting 

my teeth pulled and will probably 

have my 'store teeth' by the first 

of the year. My best to all Hellcats 

and Hellkittens". Thanks Pete, for 

your usual newsy letter. I really 

appreciate them and am glad to 

know, as will everyone else, that 

your health is getting better every 

day. Pete notes that he is glad that 

Eastern Chapter 1983 group from the 152nd Signal Co. L to R: Louis 

and Adele Koci; Francis and Mary Reed; Al Lipschultz.


Remember those short-arm inspections and the raincoats that caused 

the perspiration to flow in warm weather? Al Lipschultz [152nd] sent in 

the pic. N 

the Division stationery can now be 

obtained by members interested. I 

believe it is ordered from the 

Exec. Sec. 

We also had a letter from Mike 

Gorman and Betty, and the excitement 

almost jumped off the paper. 

He wrote: "Did you see under New 

Members the name of George H. 

Sanger? I wrote to him at once to 

see, for sure, if this is the 1st Sgt. 

Sanger of C/134. He called me and I 

sure ran up his phone bill. He told 

me that he knew nothing about the 

12th ADA until one day he was 

sitting in a doctor's office and 

struck up a conversation with 

another man waiting also. It was 

Bill Leftwich of the 92nd and he 

has already heard from Tannehill 

and a Capt. from Hdq. He is 

planning to be in Orlando next 

year. Now we can all quit wondering 

what happened to him. He's 

found. Hurray! 

Mike continued: "We are OK. 

Betty is getting a little itchy to get 

going again. We'll see you in 

Chicago at the Midwest in April. I 

was really thrilled to hear from 

Sanger." Thanks, Mike, and we all 

look forward to seeing and visiting 

with George in Orlando. There are 

many more still out there if we 

could just enlist them in our 

152nd 

Armored 

Signal 

Company 

CHARLES R. MEHLE 

20 BEECHWOOD AVENUE 

EDISON, NJ 08837 

Phone [201] 548-7369 

There must be a Murphy's law 

that says "The passage of time is 

relative to ones age; the older one 

gets, the faster time goes by". By 

this law, I must be aging rapidly, 

because this past year flew by for 

me. Since I have no way to slow 

this rapid flow of years, I have 

made up my mind to enjoy each 

day as it comes and not concern 

myself with how quickly they 

speed by. 

I hope your Holidays were 

joyous, and I pray that this coming 

year may be one of happiness and 

peace for each one of you. 

A memory of a previous Christ- 

Association, they would love to 

know we exist. 

My mail basket is once more 

empty. Start out this New Year by 

sending your old Unit Rep a little 

news, please. 

mas-1943- came to mind this year, 

when my wife Marie, and I 

celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary 

on December 18th. I was 

fortunate enough to obtain a 

furlough that enabled me to get 

home in time for the wedding 

ceremony and the celebration that 

followed. Our reception was held 

in the back room of a local tavern, 

where our families and friends 

joined us in whooping it up for a 

few hours before Marie and I made 

a break for it. We took a subway 

train across the Hudson to Manhattan. 

We had a room in the Hotel 

Taft and the first thing we did-or, 

was it the second thing?- was to 

check out the cash gifts we 

received at our reception. A little 

over a hundred bucks, as I recall, 

was the total of the generosity of 

our wedding guests. That, together 

with a few dollars we had 

managed to save for the occasion, 

was enough to finance a few days 

of merry-making in the Big Apple, 

a respectable sum, in those days. 

Too soon it was time to return to 

camp, but with Marie's urging, I 

was encouraged to wire our CO, 

requesting an extension of my 

furlough. This, in spite of a 

forewarning that no extensions 

would be granted. For some 

reason or another, I was allowed 

another few days. We reveled in 

the extra time given us to be 

together, but, eventually I had to 

return to camp. I got back to 

Campbell on New Year's day. The 

place was deserted, save for one 

lone GI in our barracks (I can't 

recall his name). I broke open a 

quart of booze I returned with, and 

my anonomous friend and I managed 

to dent the bottle pretty 

good. Next time I saw Marie, was 

just before we went overseas. 

LaVerl Kennedy wrote recently; 

his first missive in quite some 

time LaVerl recalled the Denver 

reunion with a great deal of 

pleasure. The trip to the Air Force 

Academy and the Flying W Ranch 

were most enjoyable, he relates, 

He was particularly pleased to see 

that Capt. McCarthy, of Division 

Trains, was also attending the 

reunion. The Captain was Kennedy's 

CO when he was in the 12th 

AD Band. 

LaV was in touch with Gene 

Ryan via the telephone and the 

mails, and is attempting to persuade 

Gene to join us. I've written 

to Gene as well, with the same aim 

in mind. Gene's address is 18228 

Saratoga Trail, Strongsville, OH 

44136. 

LaVerl wanted to be remembered 

to all of you. 

A welcome letter was received 

from John Blake, who explained 

that he was one of the original 

members of the 152nd in Campbell, 

and completed radio operations 

school there. He did not 

stay with us, however, volunteering 

for the paratroopers. He 

transferred to Fort Benning, Ga. 

Because of his rather short stay 

with us, he doesn't remember too 

many one hundred and fifty seconders. 

Walt Brokop is one person 

he recalls, and Bob Fuller remains 

a good friend. John and Bob and 

their wives joined together to tour 

Mehle, Doran Reed, Kroner, Koci, and Lipschultz, all 152nd Signal Co., 

at the Eastern Chapter Meeting in Stroudsburg, PA, April, '84. Picture 

by Al Lipschultz.


■ ■ ■ ■ ■■■■■■■ :■ ui■;j■: ¡«r:■;':■: :«']«o«[3BO«Li»n»aBUBn»Lj»n«nBr ■ ■ ■ ■ : ■: ■ ■ ■ 

the Yellowstone and Glacier Parks 

last Summer. 

John explained that he has had 

some medical problems in the past. 

He had suffered a bad heart 

attack, and had to have his voice 

box removed because of cancer. 

We wish you well, dear friend, and 

hope all your problems are behind 

you. We'd enjoy hearing about 

your military life after you left us. 

How about filling us in, John? 

I don't think it's too early to 

mention the '85 Hellcat Reunion. It 

might be good for you to know that 

our next get-together, which will 

be held in Orlando, Florida, will 

take place on Sept. 18-21, which is 

later than in previous years. I 

thought you should be reminded 

now so that you can make plans for 

then. 

Here are two more names for 

our FAB list: Bill Boyd, Jr., P.O. 

Box 592, Donara, PA., 15033, as 

listed in our 1975 roster, and Ed 

Wolff, 3238 N. Kildare Ave, Chicago, 

IL, 60641 ('81 roster). Our 

Editor gave us a more current 

address for Roger Sharp than I 

had, in last month's issue. If 

you're in the vicinity of any of 

these men, please make an effort 

to locate them. 

Please write! We need news-of 

you! 

493rd 

Armored 

Field 

Artillery 

FRANK J. CZEINER 

3225 LANDSDOWNE DRIVE 

WILMINGTON, DE19810 

Phone [302] 478-3462 

BOOSTERS 

Frank Guckin - A 

Glenn W. Osterhout - Hq. 

William S. Weldon - Hq. 

On Tuesday, Nov. 20, we received 

the saddest of all news. 

Barbara Carr called to say that 

Dorothy Bickling, wife of Paul 

Bickling of Able Battery, had 

passed away on the previous day 

in Memorial Hospital, Easton, MD 

after a heart attack at home. The 

obituary appears elsewhere in this 

issue. We grieve with you, Paul 

and wish we could do more to ease 

the pain than merely offer condolence. 

George and Barbara attended 

funeral services. 

At this stage of our lives there is 

L to R: Carroll Yearick; Floyd Moody; Hoyle McBane; Wm. Flynn, all of C/493. [Photo from Jean 

Heineman, C/493]. 

more bad news than good. Barbara 

also reported that her ever-loving 

George, whom she affectionately 

calls 'Johnny', is afflicted with 

shingles. Researchers have only 

recently learned that shingles in 

later life is associated with chicken 

pox in childhood. Not much consolation 

in that, is there, George? 

Shouldn't have associated with so 

many chicks in your youth. 

Barbara further informed us that 

Marion Davenport had been hospitalized. 

We spoke with Marion 

and Hannah and learned that 

Marion entered the hospital on 

Nov. 18 for treatment for phlebitis. 

A blood thinner was administered 

and Marion was released on 

the 23rd. he returned to the 

hospital for tests and further 

treatment in early December. 

Some good news. On Oct. 13, 

Paul and Peg Gosser returned 

from their delightful trip to Switzerland. 

They found the people 

friendly, the scenery superb, and 

food delicious. Many of the Swiss 

speak English and with their 

smattering of German, the Gossers 

managed to decipher the rail 

schedules and to interpret the 

menus. Paul highly recommends 

the trip and will gladly share 

information with anyone interested. 

They are back into their 

Florida routine of bathing, cycling, 

shuffleboard, boating, fishing, dining 

and dancing. Sounds rough, 

doesn't it? 

Jack Boyle is busily involved 

with county activities but with 

elections finally over has more 

time to devote to personal affairs. 

Clinton countians are rabid Penn 

State football fans and in the event 

that the team had been invited to a 

bowl game, Jack had been asked to 

attend. Unfortunately Pitt clobbered 

State and obiterated any 

chance of a post season game bid. 

Jack had received a letter from 

Buddy Ottenberg in which Buddy 

mentioned his having undergone 

coronary angioplasty for the increase 

of blood flow through 

arteries clogged with plaque. This 

procedure has been used quite 

extensively recently and to some 

extent, where practicable, appears 

to be gradually replacing by-pass 

operations and medication.' Subsequently 

Buddy sent me information 

concerning this procedure 

which is known as PTCA - Percutaneous 

Transluminal Coronary 

Angioplasty. I have copies of this 

information and will be happy to 

send it to anyone interested. 

According to the leaflet on 

PTCA, this procedure has been at 

least 80% effective in successfully 

increasing the flow of blood 

though obstructed coronary arteries. 

Sometimes an artery will be 

successfully dilated but will then 

renarrow. In that case a second 

angioplasty will generally have 

lasting success. 

In this procedure a guiding 

catherter is inserted into an artery 

in the leg and is threaded through 

to the aorta to where the coronary 

arteries branch off to the heart. 

The smaller angioplasty catheter 

equipped with a deflated balloon is 

then threaded through the guiding 

catherter and its progress monitored 

via a fluoroscope. When the 

catheter has been positioned over 

a deposit of plaque the balloon is 

inflated. The plaque is flattened, 

thereby increasing the open crosssection 

of the artery and allowing 

greater flow of blood. 

Buddy's angioplasty was performed 

at the VA Hospital which, 

from the standpoint of cost, is to 

be highly recommended. Buddy 

had been taking medication for the 

dissolution of plaque and when he 

reported to the VA Hospital for a 

routine check-up it was determined 

that the medication was not 

sufficiently effective and the angioplasty 

was performed. He recommends 

that those Hellcats afflicted 

with atherosclerosis report post 

haste to a VA Hospital, especially 

so since our Commander-in-Chief 

is seriously advocating limiting 

veterans' benefits. 

Jack and Irene Kurtz celebrated 

the 203rd Anniversary of the Victory 

at Yorktown in the -company 

Memories, memories - Tent city 

on Windmill Hill, England, two 

weeks before departure for France 

[photo from Jean Heineman-C/493]

of about 450 Frenchmen and 150 

Americans. Of the' latter about 20 

were Hellcats. The others were 

from the 3rd and the 75th Infantry 

Divisions, after the festivities at 

Yorktown, Jack and Irene dined 

with Grant and Mary Shatto of the 

495th and 6 Frenchmen. Although 

they speak no French and the 

Frenchmen no English, they somehow 

managed to communicate and 

thoroughly enjoyed themselves. 

The Frenchies were a jolly group 

and sang at every opportunity. 

The next reunion will be in France 

in April which allows enough time 

for a crash course in French or a 

refresher in High School French. 

Sal Delgado wrote that he, 

Alexis, and their children had a 

great time at Denver and are 

looking forward to Orlando. He 

especially enjoyed meeting several 

more of his Baker Battery Buddies 

whom he had not seen since 

Heidenheim-an-der Brenz and the 

opportunity to become acquainted 

with others of the Bn. Sal retired a 

couple of years ago and keeps 

himself occupied with some bookkeeping 

and tax preparation. 

From Vern Wolcott some good 

news and some bad news. The 

good news if that eye surgery was 

performed on Vern and the results 

are excellent. Since the operation 

Vern has been fitted with a contact 

lens and, if all went well, he can 

now see out of both eyes. Vern and 

Virginia passed through Knoxville 

and visited Ruth Wilson who is 

feeling fine, enjoys the Hellcat 

News, and plans to go to Orlando. 

Incidentally, Ruth, out of the 

Batallion Histories you sent, only 

one is left, and you made 9 Hellcats 

a bit happier. 

The bad news from Vern is that 

Elisabeth Arbuckle contacted the 

Wolcotts and related a most 

unusual accident that befell her 

son, Bill Herring. As he was 

driving his truck with a load of 

steel beams, he noticed something 

wrong with the brakes, pulled off 

the road crawled under the truck 

to try to determine the cause of 

the brake problem. The truck 

began to move, rolled over Bill and 

injured him critically. His left arm 

was mangled and he suffered a 

critical loss of blood. Luckily 

another trucker stopped to investigate 

and used Bill's belt to stop the 

flow of blood. Had he not done so, 

Bill would have bled to death. Bill 

will probably spend many weeks in 

the hospital. 

In the AAA Motorist: "After my 

fishing trip, I realized that Minne- 

Jcmuaryl985 HELLCAT 

NEWS PageT9 

BnBaBGBOBOBDBaBaBGBQBaBÜBOBOBaBOBDBOBQBOBDBOBOBOBQBGBOBDBOBOBDBOBOBOBlJ» 

493rd group in front of half-track. L to R: Francis Beckman; Jack McLaughlin; Lupe Haro; Frank 

Frontino; Tommie Sample. In front center is "Kaput". [Photo from Jean Heineman] 

494th 

Armored 

Field 

Artillery 

JAMES H. MOULDER 

965 MALICK AVENUE 

YUBA CITY, CA 95991 

Phone [916] 673-6577 

BOOSTER 

Maude B. Fitzgerald (Austin) S-Sv 

Dues still coming in and final results 

were that 6 memberships 

were terminated due to being 

boosted the two preceeding years. 

Some rejoin when notified that 

their membership is being terminated. 

Seems strange to still be 

receiving 84/85 dues when we are 

thinking of early birds for 85/86 

year., 

One problem still remains and 

that is the one of members moving 

and not reporting to Executive 

Secretary their new address. Normally 

the Post Office charges 25 

cents to return the HCN with a 

saota is the land of 10,000 lakes, 

8,000 swamps, and one fish." Could 

that be why Heineman and Shoemaker 

go to Canada to fish? 

Complete the following in 25 

words or less and become eligible 

for the grand prize of an illustrated 

1984 calendar. 

Old Cannoneers Never Die, 

Old Cannoneers Never Die, . 

A HAPPY, HEALTHY 1985 TO 

ALL. 

new address. We have lost John H. 

Stephenson, Hq 494. Last address 

was 167 Laura Drive Rochester, 

N.Y. 14626. Letter returned 25 Oct 

'84 as being not deliverable-unable 

to forward. Any one in Rochester 

area who can ferret him out let me 

know a current address. 

Elsewhere you will find notice of 

death of Austin "Frosty" Fitzgerald, 

Sv/494. He passed away 13 

Oct '84 of a heart attack. His widow 

Maude is now an Associate Member 

of the Association and her 

address is 935 E. Madison, Platterville, 

WI 53818. 

Received notice of death of A. 

Hilda Frost Ennist, wife of Robert 

Ennist, Hq/494. Roberts death 

was reported in 1968 and no longer 

have an address. The obituary was 

sent to Executive Secretary by 

Bob Saehloff who remembered 

that Robert had been a member of 

one of the Artillery Battalions. 

Thanks Bob for the information. 

Les Cassady - B/494, writes that 

he and Kate were sorry they 

couldn't make the Denver reunion 

and that they missed seeing everyone. 

They intend to be in Orlando, 

Florida next September without a 

doubt. Les will be retiring next 

June and says that should be a 

good test for their 43 years of 

marriage. 

It would appear that Harley O. 

Grassman, C/494, has moved from 

R. 2 Hanska, MN 56041 to 1026 S. 

Washington St, New Ulm, MN 

56073-3518. 

Simon Schulman, Sv/494, writes 

to say, "hi, sorry I'm so late with 

my dues but I was tied up and time 

passed. I am now enclosing my 

dues and some for a booster." 

Donald L. Coombes, B/494 

writes from Watertown, So. Dakota; 

"Well here I am again, late as 

usual. We are having an Indian 

summer here with temps up in 

50's. One little snow so far, but it's 

all gone now (7 Nov). Pearl and I 

are fine, the flu bug has been here 

and gone. I hope to make another 

reunion some day." 

Ted and Helen Herrmann, B/ 

494, and now of 1113 Pine Valley 

Dr. #301 Schaumburg, IL 60195, 

send the following: "Your October 

column that Phil Lehnend had 

found a new B Btry buddy - Joe 

Cavaliere - reminds me to send a 

note about Joe. his address is 1001 

Logan #302, Denver, Co. 80203. 

Phone (303) 455-3003. Joe was 

Btry clerk for a short stint before 

going to the ASTP program. He is 

now with the Colorado Motor 

Traffic Bureau. With Joe, "B", had 

a total of 19 from 7 states at the 

convention." 

"Fred Gauthier is still slick as a 

paratrooper which he was also. 

After Denver Fred and Joan 

toured the country to Boston and 

back to California and didn't stop 

to see us in Schaumburg, Illinois. 

Maybe he can explain by mail." 

"Hope to see our three native 

California daughters out the.'! 

over Christmas. Can't handle a 

nother 26 degrees below on Christmas 

Day in Chicago!" 

■


IDIDIOII >■■■■■■■■■■*■■■a«DBOBD«D«DBO«D»DBDBGBI 1 ■OBDBDBDBDBaB 

Ted added a P.S. "God willing 

Helen and I will be in Orlando." 

Tis nice to hear from all you 

guys quoted above. Our Executive 

Secretary doesn't have to worry 

about this column ever being too 

long. I always fear that it will be 

too short and not have anything of 

interest to our members. At this 

time of year, I am sure that most 

of our members think back on 

what they were doing 7 Dec 1941.1 

know I do and vividly remember 

reading the Sunday paper, listening 

to the radio and then suddenly 

realizing what was coming over 

the radio. At that time I was on 

active duty as Chief First Gun 

Section Btry B/191st Field Artillery 

and stationed at Camp Forest, 

Tennessee. On that Sunday I was 

at my parent's home some 40 miles 

away. When I realized the impact 

of the radio news, I decided I had 

better return to Camp Forest and 

upon arrival found that those who 

had stayed on Post that weekend 

were going for one last visit home 

after hearing the news. In our 

Artillery Brigade at Camp Forest, 

we had two regiments of Tennessee 

National Guard 181st and 

191st Field Artillery, both 155mm 

howitzers. D. A. Hill, Bob Burgner 

were with the 181st. Bunt Wilson, 

(C 493rd) and I were then Chiefs of 

Section in 191st and all four 

arrived at Camp Campbell in 

August 1942 straight out of OCS 

but all with one and one half years 

active duty plus a few years of 

National Guard time behind. I 

think D. A. Hill was First Sgt. 

B-181 and Bob Burgner was Chief 

of Section of B-181. There could 

have been others from that 75th 

FA Brigade who ended up in the 

12th Armd. Div. Artillery but just 

now their names elude me. 

Thirteen days after 7 Dec 1941 

our Brigade left Camp Forest 

heading for the Phillipines. We 

were stopped on 26 Dec 1941 and 

took up temporary residence in 

East Garrison of Camp Roberts, 

California and departed there in 

May 1942 for Fort Sill, Oklahoma 

then Camp Campbell in August 

1942. 

May your New Year of 1985 be 

your best. 

Qn YOALLIN Rn 

UU ORLANDO UJ 

L to R: Burns, McVay, and 

Saehloff of the 495th in Steinheim, 

Austria in the Spring of 1945. 

Picture from G. O. Michaels [495th] 

495th 

Armored 

Field 

Artillery 

JOSEPH MIELNIK 

38432 WARWICKSHIRE DRIVE 

STERLING HEIGHTS, MI 48077 

Phone [313] 264-1935 

BOOSTERS 

Col. (Ret) Merle L. Carey - B 

Going into the New Year, I'm 

going to give you Hellcats and 

Hellkittens a break. Will not ask 

you to make any New Year's 

resolution commitments. For I 

know, that all you guys and gals 

will keep contact with your Unit 

Rep in '85. 

Before going into the news, 

thanks a million to all of you for 

making it possible for me to 

receive the Distinguished Award, 

"Hellcat Of The Year." What a 

blessing, to be rewarded for doing 

a job that I have enjoyed so much. 

Thanks again, now let's get on 

with the news. 

All is well in the deer country of 

Spooner, WI and with our dear 

friends, Roy and Royóla Danklefsen, 

"Sv". Both retired and as 

always, busy as can be in volunteer 

work. Both very dedicated in 

church, school and various social 

programs. Now Roy before the 

snow gets too deep and after your 

Christmas get together with your 

grandchildren and family, take 

Rayóla and head for the warmer 

climate. You two deserve it. 

"Greetings to all from the Danklesens". 

Good News from Philadelphia, 

PA. Congratulations to Tom and 

Kathleen O'Malley, "A". They 

became grandparents again; twins 

no less, from three grandparents 

to five. Mom and dad are doing 

fine and no need to say how the 

grandparents are. And welcome 

into the world, two more O'Malleys'. 

Joseph Edward, (51bs. 12oz., 

19V2 in. long) and Karen Marie, (5 

lbs. 15oz., 19 in. long). 

Tom and Kathleen, both fine and 

Tom is enjoying his retirement. 

Every now and then, you can see 

them headed for Atlantic City for a 

little recreation. Heck, as long as 

you're there, make them sponsor a 

trip to Orlando in '85 ... how many 

times have you heard this before? 

"Hope He Doesn't Bring Home Too 

Much", mom's comment on youngest 

son, Mike O'Malley and his 

hunting trip. 

More congratulations . . . Happy 

2nd Anniversary to Fred and 

Isabella Erichsen, "A". Our 1st 

Sgt. has always had the knack of 

doing things right. They spent 

their wedding anniversary in Hawaii 

and 80 degree weather. Now 

is it Poughkeepsie or the warmer 

confines of Florida? 

A request honored, seeing that 

Frank Sheehan, "Hq" sent in his 

dues, I will get off his back. Frank 

keeps promising to make one of 

the reunions, but just like David J. 

Ross, "Sv", it's been BUSY, 

BUSY, BUSY. Well Frank and you 

too Dave, take Norb Bruemmer's 

advice, "Fold Up Your Tent and 

Join Your Buddies For A Great 

Time in Orlando In '85." ... An 

open invitation from Frank to any 

Hellcats in the area to "Stop In 

And Say Hello,". 22 Wintergreen 

Ave., Newburgh, NY. 

From Newburgh, NY. to Aurora, 

MO. and Bob and Audrey 

McMillen, '"Hq". Both are doing 

well and feeling the same. They 

are still employed at the same 

place, MWM Color Press, 31 and 

25 years respectively. Putting 

retirement on the back burner for 

the time being. Bob, get away 

from the old grind of work, sleep 

and eat. Take Audrey and head for 

Orlando in Sept. of '85. Enjoy the 

reunion, Disneyland and the many 

other goodies the Committee will 

have in store for you. 

Hope I'm not pushing the Orlando 

Reunion too much and too 

soon. I could see a trail headed 

that way in January and February 

to get away from the snow and 

cold. You Hellcats and Hellkittens, 

just hold off till September. 

Sorry Fed Stillman, "C", but we 

already have heard of all the good 

times, you Olga and the rest of the 

Hellcats and Hellkittens had on 

your tour of Colorado after the 

reunion. Hank and Joan Dojutrek 

"C", beat you to the punch. Do 

hang on though, will see if we can 

get some of your snaps of the tour 

in the HCN ... Thanks to the close 

friendship with the Dojutreks', 

we'll be seeing Fred and Olga at 

the Mid-west Chapter. 

We missed Wade and Marylee 

Shulse at the Denver reunion, due 

to a few physical problems but 

thank God they are now on the 

right track. Wade, "A" has no 

problem with retirement, with his 

home, grandchildren, volunteer 

work and some traveling, it's 

enough to keep him occupied. 

Besides helping Marylee, right 

Wade?! 

After returning home from the 

Denver Reunion, G. B. and Ann 

Wiley, "C" headed straight for 

Jacksonville, IL and a visit with 

Dean and Charlen Strubbe, "C". 

Here the Hellcats and Hellkittens 

gather for their annual 12th Arm'd 

Div. Picnic. According to G. B., the 

picnic was a huge success and the 

food was out of this world. (Wiley, 

this you could have done without, 

believe me, you could have passed 

up the food. Especially after Anne 

went to all the trouble of getting 

you in such good shape). Anne 

made the Denver trip with flying 

colors and both are already planning 

the Mid-west and Orlando 

reunions. 

Did have that visit with John 

and Helen Carroll, "A". Both feel 

and look great. Helen overcame 

her problems and is the same jolly 

person known by so many at the 

reunions. While both Helens were 

having their conversation, John 

and I hashed and rehashed the 

good times in the 495th . . . We 

missed our usual golf outing, due 

to inclement weather, so I saved a 

couple of bucks. Will work out 

something for next spring or 

summer . . . John and Helen send 

their "HELLOS" to all, a special 

Hello to Dan and Audrey Rinaldi, 

"C". Dan was best man at Carroll's 

wedding. 

We just can't seem to forget the 

Denver reunion, thanks to people 

like John and Maxine Owen, "A". 

As John puts it, "The Denver 

Reunion was really great, facilities', 

activities and also the atten-

dance. We especially enjoyed "the 

Hospitality Room". Everything 

Was Great." The Owens' have 

attended many reunions and are 

some of the fine people you will get 

to know and meet at these get 

togethers . . . Both are heading 

south in Nov. but will be back 

home for the Holidays, to spend 

Christmas with their children and 

grandchildren. 

Need a bit of help from you 

guys. Received a letter from 

Marlin Pulst, Div/Hq., notifying 

me of the death of Hilton F. 

Daugherty, who according to Marlin 

was in the 495th., but not a 

member of the association. I 

looked through my 495th Arm'd 

Field Artillery Book and could not 

find his name listed in any of the 

Batteries. He was also wounded in 

the service. Would certainly appreciate 

any assistance from you 

guys- 

As the years pass, we come up 

with some new members, rejuvenated 

members, first timers at 

reunions, people whom we never 

met but got to know well through 

letters, and to many loyal members 

of the association who have 

not written at all. To the latter, we 

hope that in this New Year, you 

folks will drop us a line or two. As 

I've said before, what better way 

can you relay a message to your 

buddies than through the Hellcat 

News. 

As for reunions, many of us try 

to make them whenever possible 

and we look forward to them. The 

happiness comes from the first 

timers and seeing the joy when 

they meet a buddy and then start 

to acquiant with the rest of the 

guys. We have seen this at the 

Denver Reunion, the faces of 

Richard Hockman, "Hq", David 

Vialpando, "Sv" and Edgar Craigie, 

"Hq", told the full story. Two 

guys who attended their first 

reunion three years ago were Al 

Sanak, "Sv" and G. B. Wiley, "C", 

they haven't missed one since. 

And believe me, their sights are 

set on Orlando in '85 and many 

more in the future. Bless 'em all. 

In closing, have this true story 

to relate. Sunday, Nov. 18, my 

buddy called the Riverview Golf 

Course and asked the young lady if 

the course was open and if anyone 

was out. The young lass replied, 

"We are open and they are out, the 

SQUIRRELS AND THE NUTS". 

No need to tell you, we joined 

them. So long, see you next month 

and God Bless. 

714th 

Tank 

Battalion 

RICHARD B.IVERSON 

15509 E. MILL PLAIN #62 

VANCOUVER, W A 98684 

Phone [2061256-6153 

BOOSTERS 

Herbert W. Chase - Hq. 

George F. Karcher - Sv. 

Col. (Ret.) Charles Clayton - C 

JANUARY -1985 

Well now, the holidays are over 

and we have two things to look 

forward to - pay the bills our 

holiday spirit caused us to accumulate 

and to start looking forward 

to the best reunion yet in Orlando 

come this September. 

A bit of bad news, we had seven 

members terminated because of 

non-payment of dues. Surely a 

better bargain cannot be found 

where, for only $7.50 a year can 

you get a monthly magazine that 

brings back so many fond memories? 

Speaking of bargains, a guy 

walks into a booking agency with 

two suitcases. He opens one and 

takes out a very small grand piano 

He opens the other one and takes 

out a 12 inch man dressed in a 

tuxedo who immediately sits at 

the piano and plays several of the 

great classics and then goes thru a 

Liberace routine! "Great!", said 

the booking agent, "I'll get him on 

the Networks, Las Vegas, Reno 

and all the best Clubs!" "By the 

way, where did you come across a 

great act like that?" "Oh, replied 

the guy, "A while back I was in 

Ireland, and one day while walking 

in the woods I heard a cry for help. 

Looking down I saw a Leprechan 

caught under a rock, so I freed 

him. Being very grateful he told 

me I could have one wish, but I 

guess he was hard of hearing cause 

he thought I said I wanted a 12 

inch pianist." 

HEADQUARTERS COMPANY 

Dues and booster from Herbert 

Chase, also dues from Matt Troha, 

Leonard Ring and Richard Gilbert 

who also sent a note that he's still 

in south Florida and riding his 

Harley as much as he can. Said he 

hasn't been able to make a reunion 

because his health isn't exactly the 

best. He would like to know where 

Adam Sturk and Tom Weese 

reside. 

A very nice letter from Ralph 


■DiniaiDiaiaiDiDiaiaiaiaiDiDioiDiaioiDioioiDiDioiaiDiDiaiDiaiaioioiDiDini 

Phillips, he and wife Connie spent a 

week at Williamsburg, Va. in 

October attending ceremonies 

commemorating the 203rd anniversary 

of the victory at Yorktown. 

It was also a tribute to the 

French and Americans that fought 

together to liberate Colmar in 

1945. Ralph was honored to hold 

the flag Bob Adams received from 

the French president of the 

French Army. A good session with 

the people from the 3rd Div., 28th 

Div. and 75th Inf. Div. was had in 

the hospitality room and Al Lipschultz 

took pictures of the event. 

An enjoyable evening at the 

dinner dance in Williamsburg and 

on Saturday morning, French 

medals were given to those who 

fought at Colmar. Bob and 

Billie Adams put in a lot of time 

and hard work for this affair. Too 

bad there were so few 12th 

Armored at this memorable affair. 

Our 714th was also represented by 

Horney (Hq), Moss and Sarnocinski 

of (A) and their lovely wives. 

So long for now, hope to see some 

of you at the Eastern reunion next 

April. 

A nice letter from Buford Mc- 

Curry and pictures taken at a 

friend's ranch with his horse and 

dog. He spends a lot of time 

teaching young people how to 

handle a rifle properly and handling 

horses, although some of them 

know how to ride as well or better 

than he does. Says he's not the 

dare-devil he used to be, too many 

narrow escapes and broken bones. 

He'd like to hear from any of the 

ole gang. 

SERVICE COMPANY 

Dues, booster and note from 

George Karcher. He's in Encino 

waiting for his 65th and then 

retirement and then going on the 

road. Plans on settling in Murrieta, 

Ca. near a daughter and 

three grand-kids. Says he's going 

to attend some Hellcat reunions 

and sends his best to all. 

Now, heeers that dependable 

report from Ken (THE HAT) 

Warnes: 

Well we are now going into the 

New Year and I hope everyone 

will have a very Happy and 

Prosperous one. Things have to 

start getting more on the positive 

side. 

One item I forgot last month and 

that was our stop-over in the hick 

town of Devils Lake, North Dakota 

where we visted our Div. 

Hqs. friends Marlin and Doris 

Pulst, this was after we spent 

some time in Duluth, MN attending 

my Grandniece's wedding and 

before that we did have a wonderful 

time visting with Marge and 

Art Hansen in Dulth. We went out 

and had a nice meal and then 

visited before we left for our 

motel. I cannot give Art's Bn, 

because he was in three, 17th, 

23rd, and 56th. I think he comes 

under the 17th now. Whatever, he 

was a Hellcat. 

While visiting the Pulst, Marlin 

and I attended a farm auction, and 

lo and behold we met that Hellcat 

that Marlin got interested in the 

Association and I had a very nice 

visit with him and his wife. Oh yes 

that Hellcat was from the 23rd 

Tank Bn. and his name Ingvold 

Swenson and his son who was 

instrumental in getting Dad 

signed up is Jim Swenson and Jim 

is Vice President of the North 

Dakota Vietnam Vets Ass'n. He 

works very hard for his fellow 

Vets. If you're ever in Devils Lake 

look up Jim, he Manages a Surplus 

store in town. 

Well I must say the rations 

always come through and a part of 

that crew, not the Head Honcho, 

but next in line; Yep I got a nice 

letter from Harold Keefer t .id 

Oneida with a very newsy one at 

that. They were sorry to have to 

miss the Denver Reunion, but the 

old leg would not stand the long 

drive to Denver, but it looks very 

good for Orlando next year. Oneida 

has been there, but it will be a 

first for Harold (you'll like it 

Harold, don't miss it). Harold said 

he hears from Ken Flyr, the Head 

Honcho of the Ration Crew and he 

is still working on him to make a 

Reunion. (Now Ken is retired how 

about your wife taking her vacation 

in late September? Will that 

work Charlotte???) Maybe we can 

get the threesome of Flyr, Keefer 

and Loftin together in Orlando. Go 

get 'em Harold. 

Harold reports he hears from 

Harry Kettler and old Harry had 

an operation on his leg like he did 

and Harry feels fine and another 

report along with it is Harry has 

given up the Cancer Sticks (Cigarettes) 

and feels great. These kids 

learn at an old age. HI HARRY. I 

hope you and Ginny will be with us 

in Orlando and again it would be 

great to see Ray and Edith Milner. 

Go to work Harry. 

The 8th Armored Ass'n gave


■□■oiDiaiDiaiaiaiDiDiDiDiaiaioiDiDiDiaiDiaiDiaiofDiDiDiQiaiDiniaiDiniaiai 

each member a white cap with 

their logo on the front and Harold 

said they were great. I am sure 

that our treasury is well healed 

and could well afford something 

like that, I am sure the 8th 

Armored Ass'n financial balance 

was able to do a good deed for 

their members and I am sure the 

membership enjoyed them. Get 

some figures from him if you can 

Harold and who made them, 

maybe we can bust a few bucks 

loosa. (Already under consideration, 

Ken-Editor) 

Happy to read where Ken Flyr 

and Bob Hector have paid their 

dues and I hope a lot more of you 

have and if you haven't your in 

trouble, so help Service Company 

out and Norb Bruemmer our OUT- 

STANDING Secretary get them 

thar dues in PDQ, if not sooner. 

Your missing out on the best news, 

bar none. 

I think I have taken enough 

space for this time, the candle is 

getting to the end of its road and 

darkness will cut off the chitterchatter 

for another time, but do let 

me hear from you Guys and Gals, 

so someone else will know you 

really care about the good times 

we had when we were together. 

One final note it is great to read 

the name Harry Shillinger the Old 

1st Sgt. of "D" Co. and Jack Linn 

from "D" Co. Very familiar names. 

END OF LINE. Over and OUT 

MEDICS 

Dues for Harry Athanis and 

from Bob Adams (because he 

wanted the Medics off the "Sickie" 

list for a change) a very nice 

and informative letter as follows- 

"Wife Billie and I, along with 19 

other Hellcats and their ladies, had 

the time of our lives this past Oct. 

19-20 attending a reunion in Williamsburg 

and Yorktown Va. with 

over 200 French veterans of the 

First French Army and their 

families. Some 60 other veterans 

of the XXI U.S. Corps (3rd, 28th, 

75th Inf. Divs.) attended. We 

spent all day Friday, the 203rd 

anniversary of Cornwallis's surrender 

to the French and American 

forces in 1781, observing and 

participating in the annual Yorktown 

Day ceremonies and festivities. 

It was during these ceremonies 

that the French contingent 

presented us with a very handsome 

flag denoting establishment 

of a XXI U.S. Corps Section Y L' 

Association Rhin et Danube, The 

Veterans Association of the First 

Jim Madruga [714th], of Knudsen Dairy Products hasn't missed a day of work since he began 

hauling milk 44 years ago. Madruga will soon retire from his job as transportation supervisor for the 

local cottage cheese plant. 

French Army. That evening our 

gala dinner dance took place at the 

Williamsburg Hilton, and all the 

600 plus in attendance had a great 

time. Saturday morning was devoted 

to what the French call an 

Assemblee Genérale, and it was 

during the assembly that the 

Americans not already possesing 

it were awarded the Commemorative 

Rhine and Danube Medal 

denoting service in the First 

French Army. The assembly was 

followed by lunch and that evening 

in the chapel at Fort Eustis a 

Memorial Mass was con-celebrated 

by a French and an American 

priest in memory of all those who 

gave their lives in the campaign to 

liberate Colmar. It was indeed a 

memorable week-end. 

A COMPANY 

Dues from Ben Weisberg and 

from Geo. Moss - his regular 

monthly report: 

Bad news aplenty crossed the 

desk since our return from Williamsburg. 

Really don't know 

where to start. A phone call to 

Hobie Garmer disclosed that he 

was in very good shape while 

recovering from the brain tumor 

operation at Dallas, Texas. Last 

contact with he and/or Maryjane 

was a very good report. 

A phone call from the chilly 

north, Green Bay, disclosed that 

Rube Lasee had fallen while 

playing golf and broke his right 

leg, above the knee, and a plate 

was put in. Rube came through the 

surgery just fine. He needed a 

better handicap on that hole but 

the 'slam dunk' on recuperation for 

the long-tall skinny kid of 44-45 

sounds terrific. He can be contacted 

at home on a 'get well' 

message. The (Rube and Marge) 

had other bad news with a car 

accident that involved Grandchildren 

Jackie 15, and Lyle 21. 

Good news also is that they have 

their resevations in for the North 

Central Chapter Meeting at the 

Holiday Inn at Eau Claire, Wise. 

Called Zucker to inform him that 

Critzas would be in 'old New York' 

for Dec 1st thru 4th so that they 

could arrange another clandestine 

meeting, maybe a side trip to 

Atlantic City. That would be right 

down Julie's alley. Critzas from 

Litchfield and Zucker by phone 

said to be sure and tell everyone 

hello. Critz looked real good, as did 

Ruby and Zucker sounded like his 

fat jovial self. Mollie had to use the 

ear piece for a few words of the 

Moss wisdom. They WILL see 

Critzas. 

York was at the dinner with us 

and he brought along a 'Junior 

Hellkitten' in the name of Son 

Terry. He thought that our Hellcats 

and Hellkittens were really 

enjoying the American Way in the 

best of ways. 

A recent phone call disclosed the 

Betty (DANNY) Morgan was operated 

on for a tumor in the tummy 

and it proved to be malignant. This 

was Nov. 19th and a short recuperation 

period will be in effect until 

chemotherapy is started. A card or 

phone call would help to boost the 

spirits of the donee and the doner. 

We all need that little bit of 

confidence at very different times 

of our lives. 

Another short phone call came 

up with a new address for HO- 

BERT (MARYJANE) FARMER 

effective November 27th. This 

means that you can send his 'get 

well' messages to his or their new 

address at -1015 CREIGHTON 

COURT, MESQUITE, TX 75149. 

he sounds A-OK over the wireless

• PLEASE CUP AND MAIL • 

Enclosed Annual Dues to 12th Arm'd Div. Assoc. (7.50 

Hellcat BOOSTER DONATION $ 

TOTAL $ 

(CONTRIBUTIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE) 

Name Co.. Bn. 

Address 

City State Zip 

Make All Checks Payable To The 12th Armored Division Association, 

Mail to: 1913 Jerome Drive, Godfrey, IL 62035 

Annual Membership fees in the 12th Armored Division Association 

are $7.50. Return this completed form with your remittance. 

Membership fees are due and payable on or before July 1st. 

BOBoaaaoBDBaBDaaBaBaaaBaBDaoaaBaaaaoBaBaaDBaBoaoBOBOBOBOBaa 

PLEASE CLIP AND MAIL 

Enclosed Lifetime Membership Dues: $ 100.00 

Name _ 

Address 

City 

Co. 

State 

Make Check Payable to: "12th Armored Div. Assn." 

Mail to: Norbert H. Bruemmer, Sec'y., 1913 Jerome Dr., 


*•*••***••*•••••*•••••• 

and is recuperating from a very 

ticklish operation, the removal of a 

brain tumor. Stay in there and 

pitch strikes!! 

A short note from Brig. Gen. 

Charles A Symroski (ret) states 

that he hopes to be rid of the 

crutches in early 1985, two new 

hip joints are mending slowly but 

steadily. Exercise, one-two, count 

cadence!!! It won't be long General!! 

We've had our first snow, didn't 

last more than overnight - BUT -it 

did make all of the snowbirds think 

of sunny south. Many are making 

ready for Florida and Texas and 

southern Cal and all points in 

between. They are looking for that 

cover that will best prevent a sun 

tan too early!! And June and I are 

a coupe of them. We also have to 

think of the dates containing those 

magnificient weekends with the 

Midwest, the Ohio, the Northwest, 

the Southeast, and the Eastern 

Chapters. So often your years for 

a cool midwestern blast!!! What 

was the A. A. F. theme? Here we 

come diving assunder!!! 

Dues are always needed and 

time is ever present for them to be 

remitted. Take pen in hand and 

come across with that measly 

pittance that does give a few 

laughs and boundless memories. 

Bn. 

Zip 

Lifetime payment is now acceptable. 

Hope everyone had a wonderful 

CHRISTMAS and have 

prepared for a prosperous NEW 

YEAR. 

MOSS A/714 

B COMPANY 

No news, but Sarkis Bayekian 

with dues, Orland Adcox with 

dues and booster and Raymond 

Croacher paid his 85/86 dues. Gee, 

its been a long time since you guys 

got a "SICKIE AWARD", but no 

news makes you a winner! 

A newly married couple were 

asked if they have a mutual 

climax. "No", they replied, "We 

have State Farm". 

C COMPANY 

Charlie Reed came thru with his 

dues, and how about this - our ole 

CO. (now Col. Charles C. Clayton: 

Retired) sent dues and booster and 

nice long letter as follows: It was a 

great pleasure to hear from you 

and receive the news of our Co. C 

men. Co. C 714th was an outstanding 

organization thanks to men 

that were a part of it. I have 

always been proud to have had the 

opportunity to have been associated 

with all of them in what was 

an honorable and worthy cause. 

We may have been amateurs in 

some ways, but that didn't matter, 

we went where we were asked to 


BGBOBnBaBOBOBGBOBDBDBaBaBGBO BO BDBOBQBOBaBDBQBnBOBDBDBaBDBa ■[!■:.! «nBUBLlBUB: A 

go and we accomplished what we 

were asked to do in the interest of 

our country. Being an Oklahoma 

farm boy retired from army duty 

after 34 years, I was working in 

the Pentagon and living in Virginia 

out of convience and have since 

remained here. Since '76 my main 

occupation has been golf (not too 

good) and some fishing. I remained 

an armor officer thru-out with 

tours at staff. I spent 4 years with 

the 14th Armored Calvary Regiment 

in Europe during the Korean 

war, so I missed it, but I spent 2 

tours there later. One tour in Italy, 

one in Turkey, 2 tours at Ft. Hood, 

Tx. commanding 2 tank bns,. and 

one Armored Bridade. I have 3 

married children, a daughter here 

in Va. who's husband is in the 

Pentagon, a son that is a V. P. in a 

VA bank and another son, an 

architect in Richmond, Va. I just 

re-read a letter from Lindquist and 

he was at the convention, so I'm 

outdated. I still have limited farm 

roots in Oklahoma and make a 

yearly trip there and play golf in 

San Antonio enroute. Its been 

great to chat with you, wish it 

could have been face to face. A 

salute to all in Co. C. 

A very nice letter from Adrian 

Lindquist in which he said: "Received 

the HCN a couple days ago, 

not much news from C Co. I was 

very proud of the 12th Armored 

Div. in Denver. The way the 

meetings were conducted and the 

comradre shown thru out the 

convention. It was good to see 

Russ Sheehan work on committees 

and having such a good time. Dick, 

how about starting right now and 

get another waxed handle bar 

moustache ready for the Orlando 

reunion. My wife and I really 

enjoyed the convention and all of 

C. Co. that were there. In the last 

issue of the HCN, in the 17th 

A.LB. column it mentioned the 

poor mail service. We of Co. C 

know the problem - ever since 

Virgil Wohlers retired from the 

postal service it has gone to pot. 

Ed Cagliero still has his warm 

friendly smile, Ed is the kind of 

guy who is everybodies friend. I 

was also surprised at Ed Zimmerman's 

youthful look, he must soon 

be old enough to be drafted. Ira 

Yates had fun with his Norweigen 

whiskey, heard he's got a new 

thing going to raise money for the 

Orlando trip. He's selling lottery 

tickets with the winner getting a 

million dollars - one dollar a year 

for a million years. Mclntyre also 

enjoying himself and doing real 

well, keep it up Mac, We'll see you 

and Judi in Orlando. We are also 

grateful to Charlie Reed for locating 

our C. 0. so that we could 

contact him. Estrid and I enjoyed 

meeting all the fellows and their 

wives and now picture them as 

part of our family." 

Lindquist, you are no politician, 

you made a promise at the last 

reunion and you kept it! What's 

with the rest of you promise 

makers? 

D COMPANY 

No news, but dues from Frank 

Langenbacher and Olaf Hingebol. 

Dues and booster and a news 

picture and article about Jim 

Madruga's retirement after 44 

years of hauling milk and never 

missing a day of work - (Boy, you 

must be loaded Jim). It is quite an 

extensive article about his many 

road experiences, so I hope the 

picture will be clear enough to 

print. Dues & a letter from Wilbur 

Watson written by his wife Ruth, 

she says Wilbur is still with us and 

loves to read a name that he 

remembers and all the good memories 

that it brings. He is still 

unable to write, but really enjoys 

hearing about his former buddies. 

To the fellows '/ho have written to 

him and he hasn't answered, its 

because he wanted to write the 

letters himself, but the ability to 

do it hasn't returned. Believe me 

he greatly appreciates hearing 

from all of you. They have several 

photos and the "Menu" from Xmas 

dinner in Texas. Anyone interested 

in having them? 

Here we are once more at the 

end of the column and it has been a 

very good one because of all the 

contributions. Keep sending them 

in, its the life-blood of our magazine. 

I heard that the Postmaster 

Gerneral resigned over a month 

ago, but the President doesn't 

know it yet because the resignation 

was mailed in! 

THINK ORLANDO - THINK 

ORLANDO - THINK ORLANDO! 

¿Unit gRefv!!

• 

RHINELAND ARDENNES-ALSACE CENTRAL EUROPE 

HELLCAT NEWS 

Twelfth Armored Div. Assn. 

(USPS 350-210) 

NORBERT BRUEMMER 

Executive Secretary 

1913 Jerome Drive 


RICHARD M. BMCY 

1236 ROOSEVELT AVE 

CUYAH00A rAtLá, 01- 14223 

2nd CLASS POSTAGE 

PAID 

at Godfrey, IL and 

at additional offices 

BaBaBaBDBOBOBDBnBDBaBnBDBDBaBaBnBnBnBOBOBOBnBOBOBaBDBOBDBOBaBOBDBDBDBGBDBDBQBQBaaaBGBaBDBDBaBDBDBOBDBDBDBOBOBD 

complete week-end package to a 

Western Chapter 

Meets in March 

The Western Chapter Meeting 

will be held March 8th, 9th, and 

10th, 1985, at the Quality Inn/ 

King's Ransom Motor Hotel, P.O. 

Box 180, Sedona, AZ 86336 

(Phone: 602/282-7151 or toll free 

number 1-800-228-5151). 

Room Rates (March 1 to May 

15th) are: 1 person, 1 double bed 

$36 - $40; 2 person, 2 double beds 

$50 - $54; 2 persons, 1 King bed 

$50 - $54; Suites $68 - $75; $7.00 for 

extra persons - Rollaways $7.00, 

10% SENIOR CITIZEN DIS- 

COUNT. 

The motel is located in Sedona, 

AZ, heart of the famous "Red Rock 

Country", with 52 large, air-conditioned, 

deluxe rooms, featuring 

color cable TV, in-room phones, 

and either a private patio or 

balcony overlooking a large heated 

swimming pool, surrounded by an 

acre of beautiful English country 

gardens. 

Within easy driving distance are 

seven National Monuments; Jerome, 

the largest and liveliest 

ghost town in America; and the 

world famous Chapel of the Holy 

Cross. 

Sedona has received pictorial 

coverage in countless national 

publications. So fantastic is its 

beauty, the numerous TV commercials 

and more than 75 motion 

pictures have been filmed there. It 

is an art colony with outstanding 

galleries, and is home to many 

well-known artists. The highly 

acclaimed Spanish Style Arts Village, 

Tlaquepaque, attracts thousands 

yearly, regularly featuring 

art festivals for the various accomplishments 

of artisians, including 

the fairyland of Luminarios in 

December. 

Large picture windows permit 

guests to revel in the wild beauty 

that is Sedona. On summer even- 

Newly elected to the Executive Council at the 8-18-84 general business 

meeting in Denver are [L to R[: John Cassella [134th] Treasurer; Jack 

Boyle [493rd] 2nd V.P.: James Mizen [134], 1st V.P. and Bob Kampling 

[66th], Director-at-Large. [Picture by Al Lipschultz, 152nd]. 

ings, meals may be served on the 

patio deck, and wintertime is cozy 

by the fireside, in the piano bar 

and cocktail lounge. 

Climate is mild and the air clear 

and invigorating, with year round 

temperatures averaging 10 degrees 

cooler than Phoenix. Spring 

starts in early March but shirtsleeve 

weather is not unusual in 

February. Brilliant coloring is the 

striking feature of Oak Creek 

Canyon, where picturesque buttes 

and messas of majestic red sandstone 

stand carved among lush 

green vegetation; a veritable paradise 

for the geologist. 

Chairman Cliff Oberg (C/714th) 

promises a good time for all, and it 

should be that way because Hellcats 

and Hellkittens will be gathering 

together in their friendly way 

for a very enjoyable week-end in 

beautiful Arizona. 

The second choice of motel's, in 

case of an overflow would by 

VILLAGE INN, located in town. 

Their rates are the same as the 

"Ransom", and their phone number 

is: 602/282-7187. 

Cliff urges you to make your 

hotel reservations in advance of 

Eastern To 

Meet in April 

1-85 

The Eastern Chapter Meeting 

returns once again to the SHERA- 

TON POCONO, April 26, 27, and 

28, 1985. We are planning bigger 

and better programs for this 

meeting, due to the generous 

donations you made last year. 

We will again be offering free a 

your arrival, since Sedona can be 

very busy at this time of year, and 

there are not large selections of 

motels in the area. 

Don't put it off. Get your 

reservations in immediately, for a 

good time in Beautiful Sedona, AZ. 

Cliff and Beverly Oberg (C/714) 

P.O. Box 3077 

Sedona, AZ 86340 

lucky winner, and also free rooms 

for the additional winners. Friday 

night dinner will be a Hawaiian 

Luau, with entertainment by the 

team of Cuddle-Up and Tony T. 

Our hospitality room will be open 

with free food and drink and 

plenty of time to B.S. and have 

fun. 

The hotel has now completed 

the remodeling job that was 

started last year. Our chairmen for 

1985 went up to see the completed 

job and reported a first class 

renovation. May we suggest you 

send in your hotel reservations 

early as we are expecting a record 

number of members will attend. 

Your room request will be honored 

on a first come basis. 

We will have our general meeting 

on Saturday morning, and we 

request door prizes to be given out 

at that meeting. Our banquet on 

Saturday evening will be preceded 

by a free cocktail party, and there 

will be dancing after dinner. 

Members, Family, and Friends 

Are Welcome. Come and Celebrate 

the 40th Anniversary of VE 

Day. 

Albert L. Lipschultz 

Chairman, Eastern Chapter 


WILLIAM T. LE BRIGHT - 

Hq. & Hq. CO. 

P.O. Box 24 

Milford, DE 19963 

JOHN J. MELFI - Hq/CCB 

555 S. E. 8th St., Apt. 256 

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441 

ORIN M. SMITH - Hq/CCA 

2487 Shryer Ave., E. 

No. St. Paul, MN 55109 

PETER E. FRANK - A/17 

743 - 2nd St., N. 

Fargo, ND 58102 

IDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDiaiQiniDiaiDiaiOIOIDiaiDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIQIDI 

HELLCAT NEWS 

NORBERT BRUEMMER - EDITOR 

1913 JEROME DRIVE • GODFREY, IL 62035 

The Hellcat News is published monthly by the 12th Armored Division 

Association. All communications should be sent to the Executive Secretary 

and checks made payable to the Association.

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