87th INFANTRY DIVISION ASSOCIATION
O WILLIAM C. YOUNG, SECY
400 HEMLOCK ROAD
FLOURTOWN, PA 19031-2211
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
VETERANS OF
GENERAL PATTON’S
3rd ARMY &
THE BATTLE
OF THE BULGE
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Toledo, OH
Permit # 884

ASTP COLLEGE/BASIC
TRAINING
Just prior to graduation from high school in 1943, like most male seniors, I took the AGCT (IQ) Test
(AGCT = Army General
Classification Test) my score was
143 (level 1). Thinking to maximize my college program opportunities,
I answered the question "Branch of
Service Desired" with "Either"
Army or Navy. I was offered the
ASTP program (ASTP = Army
Specialized Training Program) equivalent to the Navy V-12 program. This innocent answer of
"either" subsequently almost cost me my life - I thought about it many times during my months of infantry combat. Participants in the training specifically designed for
ASTP personnel - at "The Infantry
School" - Harmony Church area - Fort
Benning, Georgia - Jan - March,
1944.
On February 19, 1944, the Army canceled the ASTP program - due to the need for infantry combat troops in the forthcoming European invasion.
The supply of draftees was insufficient and Congress did not have the political will to .reduce
deferments for fathers, farmers, etc.
The quick, politically painless solution was to commandeer 150,000+ ASTP trainees. Being, mainly, the youngest
!recruits, with no seniority or rank, and few skills - they were assigned, to Infantry Divisions and were mostly relegated to the least desirable role of front line infantryman "cannon fodder".
Navy program spent most of the war in classrooms - at war’s end they had a full college degree
(accelerated courses - 12 months/ year).
87th DIVISION STATESIDE
TRAINING
~
I was assigned to .Company A/’(2nd
Squad - 2nd platoon),.345th Infantry,
87th Infantry Division at Fort
I immediately enlisted in the Army
ASTP and was assigned to the Univ.
of Florida - term starting August
31, 1943 - my major was "Basic
Engineering". Unfortunately the college’s educational level was less
than challenging (same College
Algebra and Trigonometry book as in my high school).
There was a nominal military environment uniforms, dose-order drilling and PT (PT = physical training arduous sand bags distance running) o but was not
"the real army".
Jackson, Columbia, i.SC in late March
’44. With the ASTP influx, the 87th had the highest average IQ and the lowest average age - and was known as the "Baby Division,’.
Had 6 months of intensive infantry training - especially arduous in Capt. Kromer’s A
Company (double time - rifles overhead - Kromer in the lead endless inspections and penalties, etc.). I shipped overseas with the Division in early Oct. via
Camp Kilmer, NJ POE (POE = Port of Embarkation) and the "Queen Elizabeth" - landing in Greenoch, Scotland.
After completing the 1st 3 month ASTRP term ("R" = non-active duty/reserve status), those who had recently turned 18 (Nov. 1st for me) had to take
Infantry Basic Training before continuing with the program. My Basic consisted of intense infantry
I almost shipped overseas earlier as I was on a "Casual
POE List" in May ’44 these were intended as D-Day casualty replacements. Later, in Paris, I met a G.I. who was on the list - he went in as a replacement early in

the Normandy campaign. I had received my shots, new uniforms, new equipment, was packed, and ready to move-out, when I was pulled off at the last minute because they discovered I was "too young" (18 years) to go into combat as a "casual" (individual) replacement. This was official Army policy.
Tank Bn., 4th Armored Div. was attached to the 345th in the Saar - at the request of C.O. Col. Sugg replacing the poor performing 761st Tank Battalion
(black). Tank Co. B was later part of the 37th Tank Bn.
Task Force (Col. Abrams) that broke through and relieved Bastogne on 26 DEC 44.
87th DIVISION - GREAT BRITAIN TRAINING
I was stationed in Biddulph, England (near Stoke-on-
Trent - south of Manchester) - we were billeted in the two story ’"Old Reliance" textile mill with straw-tick mattresses (I returned and visited the mill - took photos). During our six weeks stay, we mainly made long marches through the countryside. Thanks to Capt.
Kromer’s support, I missed some marches because I was co-producer of a variety stage show that Company
A put on for the local townspeople (mainly girls). It was a great success - by popular request we repeated it again in the adjoining town ofTunstall. Capt. Kromer received the footprint of his newly born daughter whom he would never see.
345th INFANTRY TRIP TO METZ & 15t COMBAT
In late Nov. ’44 I went by train to port of Southampton,
- then Victory ship to LeHavre harbor - down rope ladders with full gear onto landing craft (some missed ship when throwing duffel bags down). We walked onto beach our 1st step on the continent. At the moment, I hoped I would be able to make a return trip someday.
It was fitting that I ultimately returned home from the very same port. I spent the next two days in (soaked) pup tents in the mud and constant rain at a nearby apple orchard. We were delighted to leave that orchard
- in spite of going to the front a two day "40 & 8" train ride to Briey. Trucks took us the rest of the way to the old forts on the hills overlooking Metz (were still holding out). This was our 1st combat (mild compared to what followed) - as part of Patron’s 3rd U.S. Army.
BULGE - BELGIUM
After the Germans broke through in the Battle of the
Bulge, we were trucked north at night - in open semi-trailers - facing to the rear, cramped and freezing. Company A de-trucked at night, in the forest, and led the 1st 87th attack in the Bulge at Moircy - 30
DEC 44. I was alone with Capt. Kromer during that night/early am - as a messenger - while he searched in that totally unknown forest for a CP location. He told me "he had no idea where the Germans were and that his orders were to go until he found them". After that,
I saw a Kraut behind every tree. This was just prior to jumping-off in the attack at daybreak. He and I never had a chance to get any sleep that night. I was really weak, cold & aching - a flu-like feeling - he told me to get something from a medic (I didn’t know thelocation of anything - we had seen nothing but trees after de-trucking). I did not know until later that Capt.
Kromer was suffering with dysentery - "the G.I.’s" - at the time he was worrying about my condition. He was killed a short time later - at 1000 hrs - by machine gun fire - while on the move (all 6’-6" of him) - leading the attack against entrenched machine guns and Tiger
Tanks. He was the "Bravest of the Brave" - thank God such men were born!
Company A suffered very heavy,casualties in the cold and snows of the Ardennes Forest - especially during the initial attack on 30 DEC 44 and later on 9 JAN 45
(when I was :[st scout for 2nd platoon leading Co. A’s attack on Pironpre). I continued fighting with.A
company in the Moircy/Pironpre area until the :[st and
3rd armies linked-up at Houffalize :[6 Jan 45 - th, e 87th was squeezed out and sent to Luxembourg for the rest of the Bulge.
SAAR
After one week, the last four Metz forts surrendered and then the 345th relieved the 346th in the Saar. I relieved a G.I. from E Co. - in his outpost foxhole in total pitched darkness after midnight. We moved up that night with fixed bayonets - single file - holding onto the belt of the man ahead of us (dangerous) - the only time in the war I fixed my bayonet. When daylight came, I discovered i" was on a hill overlooking the small French village of Erching-Guiderkirch 1000 yards from the German border. Company A attacked that morning (16 DEC 44) towards Medelsheim - part of a 345th offensive. The 345th suffered the most casualties that day of any during the war. My platoon leader was hit 1st thing by an 88mm round from a
Tiger Tank. It was a direct, first shot - at several hundred yards which landed right at his feet (wounded
- not killed - a miracle). I was several strides away running towards him to advise I could not contact
Company HQ to request help against the tank - my
SCR536 Radio (Handi-Talki) was virtually useless around the lowest of hills.
Tank Company B, C.O. Capt. Jimmy Leach, of the 37th
BULGE - LUXEMBOURG
I ended up in a blacked-out, observation outpost on the Sauer River in deserted, snow covered Echternach,
Luxembourg - on the German border. We and the
Germans sent out patrols at night - some crossed.the
river searching for prisoners. We did not go out during daylight but observed Krauts walking around - in the open - across the river. Night sentry duty was very touch-and-go, you could see the Krauts moving around in your area outlined against the snow - but you didn’t dare make any noise or fire at them - it would have divulged our presence and they could have overwhelmed our small garrison. (have returned, located outpost and took photos).
SIEGFRIED LINE / RHINELAND
After a two day march - east from Saint Vith - in a continuous, driving, blinding snow storm, my unit attacked and recaptured areas originally occupied, before the Bulge, by the :[06th Division - Heuem,.

Andler, Schonberg, etc. The amount of abandoned material was tragic. We attacked and cleared many pillboxes (bunkers) in the Siegfried Line - with their
Dragon’s Teeth and devastating firing positions.
After breaking through the Siegfried Line into open territory, my squad was assigned to the first two tanks of Task Force Muir. ! was on the command/lead tank with Task Force Commander Capt. 3ohn Muir D-345 a
"Hell-for-Leather" soldier. It was the 1st (6 MAR 45)
3rd Army joint Tank/Infantry Task Force utilized in the
Rhineland breakout. General Patton visited our lead tank 3ust prior to "jumping-off’ and wished us good luck (sporadic artillery shells were landing at the time).
After a dramatic day of clearing many roadblocks and towns, it was a great surprise when the lead tank found a German bridge intact across the KyII River in
Lissendorf. The driver cautiously drove up the ramp and stopped 3ust short of the span over the river either because he spotted the demolition charges or because the knowledge that the Germans had blown virtually every bridge to date. Some of my squad jumped off the tank but I was still on when, seconds, later, the Krauts blew-up the bridge. Miraculously, no one was hurt, as the stones blew straight up - only minor debris showered us on the tank - a really close call.
Afterwards, I was ordered to take my squad across the river - on the bridge debris - and clear the woods on the other side - between Birgel and the river. After clearing without incident for sometime, it was getting late so I held up the squad in order to regroup, try and contact headquarters (via radio) and decide on a strategy for the rest of the day. We were many miles from where we started in the morning and I had no idea where our troops (or the Krauts) were located. As we had stopped moving, I called in my flanker (scout).
While he was running back to the squad - across a clearing in the woods - he was shot in the leg by a sniper from the direction of Birgel. As I was dragging him to safety in the woods, the sniper continued to fire and hit him a second time - but missed me. Shortly afterwards, while we were standing in the edge of the woods, the sniper shot a G.I. standing next to me. The
G.I. immediately whirled around, firing all 8 rounds from his M-z - from the hip - in all directions - and then dropped dead at my feet - his face was blanche white
- extraordinary! A few minutes later, a sole mortar round landed directly on the SCR300 radio on the back of my radioman - killing him - but miraculously not hitting anyone else. What a tragic series of events befell my squad - during an otherwise dramatically successful day for the task force. The next morning, in clearing the town of Birgel, a young Kraut was captured - in civilian clothes in a house backed up to the woods where my squad was fired on. He had a small bore rifle (smaller than .30 caliber) with a large marksman scope. In an isolated combat scenario, I would have shot the arrogant little killer!
MOSELLE / KOBLENZ / RHINE
On 16 MAR 45, I took my squad across the Moselle at Winningen in motorized assault boats and climbed the stone retaining walls of the vineyard covered slopes, chasing the fleeing Krauts. My squad spent the night, in the rain, on top of the hill - on the edge of the Koblenz airstrip. One of my men was wounded that night - by random German machine gun fire that ricocheted off a nearby Sherman tank. He died the next day. That morning (17 MAR 45) my squad
(and A Co.) attacked across the airstrip - from bomb crater to bomb crater - under machine gun and
20mm ack-ack fire. We then fought for three days, house-to-house, clearing the streets of Koblenz taking many prisoners.
After being trained how to paddle and steer an assault boat by Navy personnel from Paris (in G.I.
uniforms) - my squad - in two boats - paddled across the Rhine - at Boppard under smoke, artillery shelling and small arms fire - at dawn (25
March 45). The swift current carried my boat far downstream - we were totally lost.from the company and from the boat with the other half of my squad.
We spent all day working our way up the steep banks and high hill before locating our other troops.
FINAL PURSUIT / VE-DAY
Then came the dash across Germany - the
Autobahns - the hit & run roadblocks and firefights in village after village. The endless lines of prisoners and the horrors observed during my visit to the
Buchenwald Concentration Camp.
Then finally, V.E. Day on May 8 - while camped in tents in the fields outside Schleiz - near the Czech border. Oh, the sheer Joy of still being alive!
RE-DEPLOYMENT
As the Japs were still fighting, the 87th was once of the divisions chosen to be re-deployed - to be I~art of the invasion of Japan in the fall of ’45. Before leaving, I visited the medieval Burgk Castle with/ its classic knight’s armor collection. It was a much happier "40 & 8" train ride this time - back to the re-deployment camps. Next was the highly anticipated departure for the states on the USS West
Point - on July 4th. Then the grand reception in New
York harbor upon our arrival on July 11. Followed by my most emotional return home ever - for a 30 day recuperation furlough.
V,J. DAY
Fortunately, while home on furlough, President
Truman dropped the "A-Bomb" on the ]aps and.they
gave up - saving a lot of young G.I. lives including,
I felt sure, mine!
On V.J. Day, I and a few of my lifelong buddies (also home on furlough) drove to Philadelphia’s City Hall and were caught up in a massive, emotional public celebration - girls embracing servicemen and everyone thanking us. The personal outpouring of

friendship towards everyone was electrifying and inspiring - one of life’s rare, most memorable events.
" The killing had finally stopped for good - you could now allow yourself to envision life with a future - if I’d had wings I would have flown!
Summer of. ’43 (after high school), worked in
Production Control Dept., Westinghouse Electric Corp.,
Lester, PA (Phila. area) - manufacturer of steam turbines for electric power plants and Navy ship propulsion - father was Supt. of Production.
87th DIVISION DE-ACTIVATION / DISCHARGE
After my furlough, I returned to Fort Benning where the 87th, in early September, became the first Infantry
Division de-activated. Most of those who did not have enough points for immediate discharge were reassigned to posts near their homes. I spent the remaining time at the. Fort Dix, NJ Separation Center discharging "high point" G.I.s (I calculated the points and prepared the discharge papers) - going to my nearby home on week ends. I was discharged on 6 JAN
46 - in time to start at Swarthmore College in March the last of their wartime "split year" terms.
Magnetic Metals Co., Camden, N.1 1950-53
Electronic Component Manufacturer
Assistant Production Manager
Litton Industries - Clifton Precision Products Div,
1953-56
Avionic/Electronic Instrument Manufacturer
Production Manager
Harowe Servo Controls, Inc. 1956-85
Avionic/Electronic Instrument Manufacturer
Servomechanisms & Plight Instruments
President - Founder - Joint Owner
POST WAR SERVICE; ii years - 1st Lt. Infantry Platoon Leader 79th
Infantry Division U.S. Army Reserve 111th
Regimental Combat Team - 28th Infantry Div. - PA
National Guard
Company was founded with minimal capital and no employees. Totally integ-equipped plant rated manufacturing operation in newly constructed, fully equipped plant including: design!machine
fabrication/assembly/testing.
EPILOGUE
I had trained and fought with the same rifle platoon variously as Pfc. rifleman, BAR man, messenger/ radioman, 1st scout, Squad Leader, Platoon Sergeant
¯ and on occasion as Platoon Leader (no officer). Was made Squad Leader and later Platoon Sergeant after most of my immediate noncoms were killed - Squad
Leader/Platoon Guide (Ass’t Pit Sgt)/Platoon Sergeant.
Seldom had a Platoon Leader - original officer was wounded first day in combat - replacement officer was wounded Just after arrival.
I was one of three original platoon members (out of
42) who went through all five months’ combat - never away from unit - "walked out". During my combat, I experienced innumerable near-misses - such as: shrapnel shell fragment pierced my steel helmet - and the liner - but stopped Just short of my head - still have the helmet and liner in my museum. Also, I was knocked unconscious (temporarily) by a "friendly" white phosphorous artillery "marking" round. It landed
(accurately) a few yards away, but fortunately in the very deep snow of the L’Ourthe river valley - where I was out front as 1st scout - just below the German machine gun position during the 9 Jan 45 attack on
Pironpre.
Miraculously, through it al.I, I only received minor wounds/scratches I never went back to the rear
(thanks, I’m certain, to my parents’ fervent prayers) there but for the grace of God!. The demands of surviving and functioning under the horrors of prolonged infantry combat caused a kid, hardly 19 years old, to become old before his time!
WORK HISTORY
Product applications include: Military & Commercial
Aircraft Military & NASA missiles -¯Numerically
Controlled Machine Tools Computer Drives & Sensors.
Operating company + plant real estate + 525 employees sold - 1985.
As owner, have developed and managed a variety of real estate projects: industrial park (with airport), office buildings, apartments, manufacturing buildings, conference/catering center, land sub-divisions.
Served on: Township Planning Commission / Board of
Supervisors / Board of Directors of local bank.
Earle is single, his wife is deceased and he enjoys the company of four daughters and 12 grandchildren,
Since the war he has lived in Florida, Washingtor~ DC.
Ocean City Beach, N] and is now back home in
Pennsylvania. He states, "it’s great having a permanent home base again, next to my family and old friends. []
With this letter, my wife Pascale and I want to thank you and through yourself, all of the veterans of the .87th and your
National Commander, ,lohn McAuliffe for your ver~ warm hospitality at the reunion in Cincinnati. We could not imagine receiving such a warm welcome.
We highly appreciated all the signs of hospitality, friendship and kindness shown by all the veterans and their families.
During the battle, my parents lived in Bras and saw American
Soldiers. Since I was a small boy I always heard about
American Soldiers, so it was a great honor for us to be there with you all. It will live in our memories forever. Thank You once more.
Delivered newspapers on bicycle for five years.
Eric P. Urbain

When your editor was asked to introduce our Honored
Guests at our 50th Annual Reunion he did not have to think very long on the words he would use for the introduction. They were:
Commander McAuliffe, Honored Guests, Comrades,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
I do not know how many of you know who Marie-
Louise Feller is but if you have read your Golden Acorn
News recently, you will know that we featured her in an article in the March 1999 issue where you would have learned that Marie-Louise Feller is the mother of one of our Honored Guests this evening, Pascal
Hainaut. .
Pascal’s mother, Marie-Louise Feller, instilled in Pascal the desire to meet the members of the 87th and learn about them. His mother once told him, "Pascal, never forget all these young American soldiers who came to fight for us, in the cold, the snow, far away from their country and family so that we now live free."
And Pascal has never forgotten.
When Commander McAuliffe asked me to introduce this young couple. I was ecstatic. I have known them for many years now, and I can tell you, without fear of sentiment, how I feel about them. Whenever I write a letter or send an e-mail to them I always start the message with, "Hello you lovely people."
Now why would I start any letter with, "Hello you lovely people."
In order to explain this, I am going to mention about a dozen names, members of this Association, with one exception, he was killed in action on the airfield above
Koblenz on March 17, 1945.
The names are:
Carmine Amedori, D-345
Allen Bailes, A-345 (He was the one KIA at Koblenz and my foxhole buddy)
Francis Cody, H-345
Charlie Coffman, 1-346
Gil Dehnkamp, G-345
John Feltman, C-346
Earle Hart, A-345
George Karlquist, L-347
John Long, H-345
John McAuliffe, M-347
Norman Rosenblatt, G-345
Billy Stiegemeier, H-347
William Young, HQ-345
And myself, James Amor.
Pascal, will no doubt, speak about a forest in Belgium where veterans of the Battle of the Bulge are honored.
1 will tell you now that he and Nathalie have funded everything he will tell you about, in what we have grown to know as the "Peace Woods."
Every veteran that has recently returned to Belgium has been honored in this particular way by these
"Lovely People."
But their generosity does not end [here. They, on one occasion, paid for the trip over for one of our members, paid for his stay in Belgium and took him wherever this member wished to go. This particular individual did not have the funds to return to the battlefields and when he wished to do so, The
Halnauts took care of everything.
I do not know of many people in this audience who would have done that for a perfect stranger except that Pascal and Nathalie never forgot the 87th.
Any wonder I call them, "You Lovely People".
I do not wish to prolong this introduction any further, but I thought that a little knowledge as to why our
National Commander selected this lovely young couple as our Honored Guests was forthcoming.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it gives me the mo.s~ profound pleasure in introducing these Lovely People,"pascal
Hainaut and Nathalie Bernard Hainaut. ~ ~
/
Our Honored Guests, Pascal Hainaut and Na’thafie
Bernard Hainaut, from Houffalize in Belgium, set the theme for our 50th Annual Reunionwith the following speech.
Pascal:
Veterans of the 87th Infantry Division, dear friends, ladies and gentlemeh,
First of all, we wish to tell you that there are no spoken words that can express just how much we are touched, impressed, and most of all, honored to be here today as guests and speakers, from Belgium.
We want to specially thank National Commander and friend, John McAuliffe, who gave us the chance to be the Honored Guests, we also wish to thank our friend
Jim Amor, for the wonderful job he’s doing with the
Golden Acorn News and who permits us to realize the

’Belgium Calling’ column.
As you know, English is not our mother tongue, so may we ask you to be indulgent with us for any incorrect or wrong usage of your language. Thank you in advance. As you may have noticed, your division occupies a very important place in our hearts. During the Battle of the Ardennes, my mother lived in a small village, called Fosset, near Sprimont and Amberloup and in January 1945, the 87th Infantry Division liberated this part of the Ardennes after hard fighting.
My mother, like all the other inhabitants of the
Ardennes, has never forgotten the courage of you young Americans who came from so far to fight for a country you even didn’t know about, for people you never saw before and who didn’t speak your language.
Without you, dear American friends, we would not be here today.
My mother told me events of the terrible Winter of
1944-45: the snow, the cold, the German soldiers who were everywhere and the fear during the fighting, the bombing, the cellars filled with 20 or more civilians without water, very little to eat. Waiting to see if a German would open the door and launch a grenade ... All that, my mother saw with the eyes of a little girl. She was 13 years old at that time but what
-she remembers most is your kindness and your courage, dear veterans of the 87th Infantry Division.
My mother will never forget your reassuring smiles, the piece of chocolate that you shared with the civilians. You were the light after the dark, paradise after the hell. My mother asked Nathalie to read this message she wrote to you:
Nathalie:
Dear American liberators my name is
Marie-Louise Feller, I was 13 years old during the Winter of 44-45, I have never forgotten the terrible events that took place during that time and moreover I have never forgotten you.
How could I ever forget men like you?
You fought in the snow, in the cold to liberate us. You saw your comrades
. falling around you, you suffered and you continued your courageous fight against the Nazis who occupied
Belgium and Luxembourg for 5 years.
In 1994 Pascal read a book about the fighting that took place in the area of Moircy, Bonnerue, Tillet and the surroundings. This book, in French, was written by
Victor Dermience. Thanks to him, many elderly people like me who don’t speak English finally know who the men were who liberated them SO years earlier. And you are these men, dear American friends, veterans of the 87th Infantry Division, who liberated our region.
Since Pascal was a #ttle boy, I tried to re# him what happened during the Battle of the Ardennes. I told him that the freedom in which we now live, we owe to the young American soldiers and that we sha# never forget. I think that I have succeeded in my mission because if Pascal and Nathalie are today your Honored
Guests it would show that they understood my message. I lost a sister during the Battle of the
Ardennes, her name was Simone, she was just a tittle older than me but if you weren’t there in ]anuary
1945, I would, maybe, have followed Simone. Thank you dear American friends for a# that you did for us.
We will never forget you.
Pascal,"
This little letter read by Nathalie could have been written by hundreds of other Belgian civilians who lived the Battle of the Ardennes because in Belgium and in Luxembourg each family has a parent who lived during these terrible events and they also tell their children and grandchildren what happened, like my mother did. You must know that each village you went through, remembers you. In the schools in the
Ardennes, the history is not limited to the study of
Julius Caesar but the children also learn that 54 years ago, young Americans came to fight for our freedom.
In Belgium, we try to welcome as best we can the
Veterans of the 87th Infantry Division and we think that we have succeeded. It is our way to thank you for all that you did for our freedom. We are also very proud for the 14 plaques we have offered in the Peace
Woods. As of now the number of 87th Infantry
Division plaques is almost equal to the plaques dedicated to the 101st Airborne in the Peace Woods.
Each veteran we have welcomed has been honored in the Peace Woods by getting his own plaque and tree.
It is nothing by comparison to all that you have done for us. We will never forget the soldiers of the 87th who have been killed in action and each year we place flowers on the grave of Howard G. Teel, B-345~. who was killed at Moircy on December 31st, 1944. We"also place flowers on the grave of General George S.
Patton. When we look upon all those white crosses in the American cemeteries, we know that it is our duty to not forget and to honor all the men like you. To us you are the most wonderful men created by God. You fought in France, in Belgium, in Luxembourg and in
Germany, you made history in the 20th century and I am proud and happy to be able to thank you today on behalf of all the people of Belgium and Luxembourg.
We will never forget you, or your sacrifices. You are our heroes and I will never find words enough to say that I love you. Thank you dear friends for all that you did for our freedom. We will never forget. God bless both our countries.
Commander McAuliffe followed this moving speech with the following words:
Thank you Pascal & Nathalie, lovely young people; two very grateful people of a second generation post
World War II who have come 3,000 miles to thank us

I
all for our part in their country’s liberation and freedom achieved over 54 years ago. Most of us did not join the Army because of patriotism, we joined and fought because we were picked by our
Government to do a job. We acted responsibly and willingly and though at times we bickered and bitched we accomplished that job; whether in charging a bunker, taking a hill or crossing the Rhine natural barrier; patriotism, liberation and victory was not on our minds; fear, yes; but ’get the job done’ was foremost, the result which was liberation, victory and freedom, for the people of Belgium and Luxembourg.
When we left the service in 1945-46, many of us took lightly what we did in the war and got on with the business of resuming our lives. This evening we can sense a deeper meaning, purpose and realization of why we fought, through the sincere heartfelt gratitude expressed by these two young people who never saw nor felt the effects of war but who are very mindful of what we did and how they benefited by the involvement of the 87th Infantry Division in their homeland. So you’re rightfully the recipients of their gratitude and should take pride in what you did.
Last year at Birmingham Nathalie extended me an invitation to visit Belgium and stay at their home for a week. Well, last month they moved from Brussels to
Houffalize in the heart of the Ardennes. You may recall it is where 4-5 divisions from the Northern and
Southern borders of the Bulge converged to shut off the Germans. They have joined that fine group called.
"HOUFFALIZE REMEMBERS"., WHICH STARTED WITH
MANY PEOPLE, BUT IS NOW DOWN TO ONE, Madeline
Gourdange, who has greeted the veterans through the years. I’m going to take up their invitation, this
December and go back - the one thing I have to do!
Pascal has two mannequins which he has completely outfitted in GI uniforms, and with equipment. They are RYAN and 3OHN! So I told him I would be happy to return and have a few beers with him and the "BOYS".
By Bill Young, H~-345
Way back in 1998, when we all met in Birmingham,
Alabama for our 49th annual reunion, you might recall that the members voted to confirm that we would have our 50th annual reunion in Fort Mitchell,
Kentucky. Louis Gueltzow (D-345) was to be our local
Chairman, which means ’do all the work’ Lou did a fantastic job of making the arrangements, and setting up the details--you can’t imagine how much work that involves! Harold Tendam (87-QM) was Chairman of the National Reunion Committee, and was valuable help to Lou in selecting the hotel, approving room

rates, arranging the program, and on-and-on.
A number of others were invaluable help in carrying out the details of a big affair like this one..]im Amor
(A-345) is Editor of Golden Acorn News, which informed us all of the things we needed to do to sign up for the reunion, and he is the ’computer genius’ who handled the registration forms you all sent to
Lou, listed the tickets, made roster lists and a thousand other things. DeSales Coffman, (we’re glad she’s back again!), and .loyce Young spent a lot of time at the registration desk (7:30 AM to 5:30 PM each day), getting all of the attendees their stack of tickets, 87th mugs, etc, Also helping at the desk were Betty Hagan, Mary Tigner and Rosie VanZandt
Glen and Ruth Buswell brought the division emblems, caps, watches~ etc. to the hotel, and Barbara Strang and her group managed the sales counters. I’m sure their work was appreciated by all the members!
The reunion was held Sept. 26 to Oct. 3, 1999 at the
Drawbridge Estates, Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. Fort
Mitchell is a town, not a Fort, just outside of
Cincinnati, Ohio. The Drawbridge Estate is a large hotel with about 500 rooms (we could only get about
350 of them so some of us used overflow hotels in the area). It covers a lot of area, had great rooms, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, several restaurants, exercise area, etc. I think most of us were quite pleased with it.
There were no formal activities on Sunday or Monday, except some of us were getting things ready for activities to start. The registration desk opened on
Tuesday morning, and members starting picking up their envelopes and mugs, and started getting reacquainted with their old friends. On Wednesday, at
9:00 AM, the buses took us to the Wright Patterson
Air Force Museum, a trip we felt was really interesting.
A hospitality room was open for us to use every day from morning to night. The refreshment area in the room was open from 1:30 to 4:30 Wednesday through
Friday, serving soft or hard drinks for free! The troops really used it!
On Thursday, one group of our folks went on a sightseeing tour of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky on our chartered buses, and I undersl~and it was quite interesting. Another group went on a shopping trip at
Florence Mall. The wives really ate this up, and another similar trip was sent on Friday. On Thursday afternoon we took a bus trip to the Historical Museum in the Museum Center. They all made it back in time to join our trip to the Turfway Race Track. We had a fine buffet meal, then proceeded to make our bets on the horses. A lot of us bet on 8-7 for the daily double
(remember how that hit when we were in Cincinnati some years ago?), but it didn’t work. The fourth race was the 87th Infantry Division Association race, and a group of our people went down to the track and had our picture taken with the winning jockey. ! don’t know if any of our people won a lot of money, but we
had a lot of fun.
On Friday, early morning, the golfers went out and did their annual golf scramble. I didn’t hear the results as to winners. At 10:00 AM a group left to visit the
Argosy River Gambling Casino. At 11:00 AM another group left to go on the B&B River Boat lunch cruise, both of which I’m told were real fun. At 1:30 PM we had our annual Executive Committee meeting in the hotel, and a whole lot of subjects were covered. On
Friday night we had our annual Mixer in the hotel ballroom. The annual raffle had a LOT of great gifts submitted by the members, then we had dancing to an interesting band, and as usual, we OLD people started heading for our rooms before the thing was over.
At 9:30 AM, Saturday morning we began our annual
Members Meeting. We had over 300 members in attendance. Awhole lot of subjects were covered, including election of officers for year 2000, location of
2000 and 2001 reunion sites (Washington, DC in
2000, Spokane, Washington in 2001), review of this and next years budgets, and some topics which brought on some arguments. The meeting was finally adjourned. After about one-half hour, the wives and friendsjoined us for the annual Memorial Service.
The Association donated $2500 to the local veterans home in Fort Mitchell, and $1000 from the Carmelite
Sisters. The list of those members and wives who we have learned passed away since our last reunion was read by Jim Amor. The list included 139 names. Our
Chaplain Ray Rissler, gave the prayer.
At 4:00 PM on Saturday, both the Catholic and
Ecumenical services were held in different hotel rooms.
At 5:00 PM Saturday evening, the ballroom opened for us to start our annual Banquet. About 820 people attended. We had cash bars, a good dance barid, and a head table with some of our best people there,. The guest speaker this year was Pascal and Nathalie
Hainaut, our best friends from Belgium. They ~nade rousing talks, and were given awards from the
Association. We wound up the evening with dancing and talking.
On Sunday morning we had the usual Continental
Breakfast, starting at 7:00 AM. Many of us had to leave early in order to head for home at decent times.
I think we all had a great time in Kentucky, and send our sincere thanks to those of us who set up and carried out the whole thing. We look forward to seeing you again next year in Washington, DC, in September,
2000.
BILL YOUNG, NATIONAL SECRETARY

Photographs by Joyce Young, HQ-345
Smile Honey! They want our picture!
Lucy and Newton Davis, H-345
Ray and Pauline Miles, 1-347 at a pool party hosted by the Whitakers and Risslers.
Bill Young, HQ-345 regales Don Corbin’s daughter and granddaughter.
If you want to know how you get your GAN in the mail, ask Dick and Dolores Pierson and daughter, Sandy. They’ll tell you, "Oh My Aching
Back!"
Outgoing National Commander, John McAuliffe wishes to thank everyone who attended our reunion. "We had a great turnout!!"

Our new Chaplain, Ray Rissler and his lovely wife Doris enjoyed the Dinner Dance and the congratulations from the members.
Past National Commander .lohn .Long and wife,
Dottle sure look like they’re having a good time.
Bernie and Ruth Taylor, F-347 also enjoyed the festivities.
One proud father. Earle Hart and two of his daughters, Carol Lee and Ginny, smile for the camera. /
Frank and Dorothy Phillips, Yuk it up at the dinner dance.

"Dahhling, do you think anyone will know who we are?" We do. You’re Robert and Helen
Blomberg, H-345
Dr. Benjamin Rush, E-347 is still working and still writing his poems.
Aw c’mon. Smile for the birdie.
See! You can just see them starting to smile.
Robert Magee,
Glenn Doman, Doris
Magee and Katie
Doman, enjoy a short rest poolside before embarking to the Dinner Dance.

John and Kathleen Hammerbacher, NED-345, one of the first officers of the Assn. filling all posts except Commander.
Didn’t we give up stuffed toys many years ago.
Do Bruce and Mary Tigner, K-346, know something we don’t know?
Two buddies from
HQ-345. Bill Young and Harold Burd.
Ahab, where are you?
You want to hand out kudos for their efforts?
These 3 deserve them. The Youngs with DeSales
Coffman in the middle
Our Honored Guests Pascal and Nathalie Hainaut with Bob and Doris Jenkins, HQ-345.
These three paisanos had a grand time. Deward
Knight, MED-346, IVlario Persichini and Ted John
Christo, A-347

It must be a funny joke. Vicki Borza Oswald and Gerta
Borza, F-345 have made DeSales Coffman, 1-346 and Bill
Young, HQ-345 Laugh.
Thelma and Sidney Harris just love coming to our reunions.
Art Wehmueller, D-345 doesn’t seem to like the joke that Helen Wehmueller and
Shirley Stevens are enjoying.

Bette Stewart, Jackie and Dean Felix, HQ1-345, enjoy a leisurely moment in the lobby of the hotel.
You all recognize that dancing couple,.~Fred and
Lily Mindt, HQ-347, Lily, is that a halo over your head?
/

Well we can’t get rid of Bill
Young. He shows up in all the photos. But he is regaling Harold Burd,
HQ-345, Betty Hagan,
G-346 and DeSales
Coffman 1-346
I
Some of us were very lucky to be invited for an evening out. Part of that party was
Pascal and Nathalie
Hainaut and Pascale and Eric Urbaini all from Belgium. The stretch limo was the first for all.
What a memory they took back to
Belgium.
This gathering, to our left, features
Peggy Susewiter,
Connie Boggs,
Jackie and Dean
Felix, Robert Boggs,
Bette and Gerry
Stewart, Chuck and
Ginny Foreman, and
Leo Martonosi. All are from HQ1-345.

Two dear friends get together, Nathalie Pascal and
Marge Cody, H-345.
We had to save this picture for the last. Fred
Meaux, M-346 attended our 50th Reunion and brought four generations of his family with him.
Pictured below are, I to r; Fred Meaux, Wilda
Meaux, (:[st gen.) Pam Dougharty, Chris
Meaux,(2nd gen.) Vickie Sharpe,(3rd gem)
Garrick Bell, (4th gen.) and ]ustin Bell (3rd gen.).
You don’t want to come to a reunion because it’s full of old fogies? Hah! Look at this lovely who appeared in a red sequined dress and knocked the socks off all the old fogies we are supposed to be! Her name, if you are interested, is 3ennifer Skulina, granddaughter of .lohn Mann, CAN-347..lennifer states that she had a ball. And she wants to come back!

August 4, 1999
!n Reply Rclbr To:: 21 lib
Fast Letter (99~74)
SUB.h Revised¯ Cold !nj~ Independent Study Prog~
!. I have enelos~ tl~e. Under Sec~i~. foi: ~:e~a~i;~h!s Info~ation Letter?announcing release of the revised Cold Inju~ Independent Study Program.
2. Our commitment to the compassionate care:and compensation of veterans with cold injuries: requires an understanding: ofthoir::specifie:needs. ~e material: contained in this
Independent Study Program will provlde insight i"nto thrash,needs, l~wi!! give employees involved :in the adjudieation of their claims a better understanding, ofthe nature: of their disabilities,
3. As stated in the Under.Secret’s InformafionL~tter, VBA.empl0yees may obtain a:eopy of this program:fromtheirstafion?strainingcoordinator~ Iencoumgeyontodo.so; Y0u~ill find it:a valuable resource.
4. If you have questions concerning this.tminlng package, please contact: Dr, Caroli McBrine
.of the Regulations :Staff at (~02) 273~7215.
Enclosure

IL 10’99-013
In .Reply Refer To.: 13
July 22, 1999
UNDER SECRETARY FOR HEALTH’S INFORMATION LETTER
REVISED. COLD INJURY INDEPENDENT STUDY PROGRAM
1. This Information Letter announces the availability of the revised Cold Injury Independent
Study Program.
2. BACKGROUND ao Thousands of United:States service personnel have suffered from frostbite and trench foot during military ServiCe, including but not limited to veteransOfthe Battle of:the Bulge during
World War II and the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir in Korea. Many of these veterans now are experiencing late and long-term sequelae of their cold injuries.
b. In order to meet the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)’s commitment to provide high quality medical care and thorough compensation’evakmtions of these veterans, several information IeRers and other guidance have been issued previously by the Veterans Health
Administration (VHA) and Veterans Benefits AdminiStration (VBA). A satellite videoteleconferenco on cold injuries was broadcast to VA medical centers in June 1997, and an independent study program initially was released inMay 1998. However, some veterans have expressed concern that VA staff still is.not knowledgeable about cold injuries.
3. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
(1) First, some of the long-term changes of cold injury may be indistinguishable from path0!ogy.~whiditgmore common inold age. Amongtheseare cemplaints ofnumbnessor coldsensitivity of the hands or feet,, arthralgia or arthritis of the small joints of the. hands or feet, and sealing, and~dis~ol6rafi~u~~ f~.the,skin of tho~egs, and feet.

IL 10.99-013
July 22,1999 e. If the clinician determines that one possible cause of an abnormal finding is at least as likely as another, the evidence would be in equipoise, and VA policy ~ in that case that the veteran be given the benefit of the doubt in adjudicating the veteran’s claim and consider the service-related condition to be the cause. So the examiner, in eases where there is more than one possible etiology for a found condition, should state which etiology is more likely, and if that is not possible, that one etiology is at least as likely as the other.
d, In addition, it is necessary to reiterate that while diabetes can complicate.cold injuries, cold injuries donot cause diabetes. NOTE: Some veterans have been confi~sed about this issue as a result of a misquotation, which appeared in a number of news publications.
e, In the immediate future, Compensation and Pension Service is plarming a review of the claims folders of a sample ofrecen~ly adjtldicated claims from cold,injured veterans. Depending on thefindings of this review, training on the adjudicationof claims for residuals of cold injuries may follow.
4. FURTHER INFORMATION: Questions concerning the medical content of this material may be referred to the VHA Office of Public Health and Environmental Hazards staff at (202) 273-8575.
Questions concerning the adjudication of claims for residualsof cold injuries may be referred to the
VBA Compensation and Pension Service staff at ~202) 273-7210.
5. REFERENCES a~ Under Secretary for Heaith’s Information Letter 10-96-030 dated December 31, 1996,
Recommendations for the Care~and Examination of Veterans with Late Effects of Cold Injury
DISTRIBUTION::
S/by Robyn Nishimi, Ph.D. for
~homasL. Garthwaite, M,D,
A0ting Under Secretary tbr t=lealtb
F~mai!ed
VISN, MA, DO, OC, OCRO, and 200 - FAX 7/23/99
Boxes 104,88,163. 60, 54, 52, 47 and 44- FAX 7/23/9~q

~
By Tim O’Brien, M-346
St. Vith was leveled to the ground. What was left of Company M was crammed into a dingy, damp cellar. The combined odors of dried meat, soggy potatoes, dirty bodies, gun oil and improvised oil lamps created a depressing, nauseating effect.
who was to prove the bane of his existence. The boy’s big hulk belied the record of the casual pool which gave his age at 19. Other replacements told us this overgrown boy took the war very lightly and didn’t care much for his personal safety. Mac couldn’t pronounce the newcomer’s name and condensed it to "Sudy."
Captain Hale had returned from the Battalion CP and had given us what we called "the big picture" of our part in a task force operation. Our platoon was to be attached to Company I and we were to move out at
0200 hours.
As the men were snuggling close together for animal warmth, Nelson, who drove the jeep for the 4th squad, came in with his usual "hot" rumors and the latest dope from Regiment. He told us some "fresh meat" had arrived. He didn’t refer to rations but to new replacements. Our platoon, the other machine gun platoon and the mortar platoon were sadly depleted at
Tillet, where we had pretty tough going. Those of us remaining were in sad shape as a result of carrying extra ammunition and supplies and doing longer stretches through the cold, black nights at our machine guns.
Nelson also brought news that MacManus’ sergeant’s rating had come through. Stripes or bars were seldom visible in our outfit, but even when they were, the hardships and comradeship seemed to level all ranks.
There were no congratulations or backslaps for Mac. A promotion was only a grim reminder of someone who had been carried back and left a rank open.
Mac was an "old army" man. He followed the Training
Manual even in combat. You couldn’t imagine him not having some position of leadership. Being an idealist,
Mac got in On the big fight even though he had three exemptions, aged 12, 10 and 6. The 4th squad now had a good leader. Mac was past 35, ca!m, shrewd and careful. He tempered all his instructions with sound fatherly advice and made many sacrifices to help the young kids in the squad. When they lagged out he carried their stuff, and he often admonished them for carelessness.
There were many attributes of a good soldier Sudy seemed to lack and the more Mac learned of his new charge, the more he was ready to pull out what little hair he had left. Sudy blithely disregarded all security regulations. He loved to sleep, loved to read and loved even more to eat. He carried a minimum of weight, even discarding those items necessary to a doughfoot’s safety, protection and comfort. There were no grenades hooked on to his coat or his rifle belt. Too heavy. He carried no heating units because he could sleep anywhere without them even though others froze. A canteen of water was also too cumbersome and, besides, Sudy couldn’t stand water prepared by the aid station---the stuff that tasted like chlorine. He would drink anything, anywhere.
It was plain to see Mac had a full-time job watching
Sudy. In his waking hours Sudy liked to read everything he could get about the war. He pocketed all maps and overlays the platoon commander discarded.
He liked to talk strategy and make predictions, always figuring what part M Company, the 3rd Battalion and the whole damn Allied force would play in various sectors. The big fight was just an interesting game to him.
This predicting and reading, even in times of great danger, often infuriated Mac. To the name Sudy, Mac prefixed the title "General." In lighter moments Mac would taunt Sudy on his generalship. A "foxhole general" he liked to call him. Once when we were holding a line in front of a town called Ormont,, Sudy came in from a turn at the gun. After eating a cold can of C rations, he headed for a spot in a corner for some sleep. "General," yelled Mac across the length of, our pillbox, "when do we take this town of Ormont?"
"You want in that town?" asked Sudy.
"C’mon, General, what’s the deal on Ormont?" Mac was anxious to get a phony prediction into the record,
When the "fresh meat" arrived at our cellar bivouac,
Captain Hale was roused from his bunk in a potato bin.
As was his custom, he personally greeted new men, gave them the facts and assigned them to squads.
Then Mac pointed out something was wrong. There was one man unaccounted for. The problem was solved when one of the new men pointed to a lanky soldier sitting against a wall fast asleep.
That night in St. Vith was never to be forgotten by
Sergeant Mac. Not so much because he picked up three stripes but because he acquired a new charge
Sudy would rather have gone to sleep but he raised on his elbow, spread out a soiled map and began to outline the situation. "Ormont is down in a deep valley,
Sergeant, and it ain’t the town for us."
"O.K., General, why did you and the general staff arrive at that conclusion?"
Sudy continued: "There’s a lot of high hills surrounding that little town. The Jerries moved out and want us to move in. You notice they didn’t set off their road block.
Right? It’s wide open for us to move in. They ain’t no

patrols been trying to bother us at night.
Right? This is a good place to catch up on sleep. Right? And if we did go into that town we’d be sucker shots for .lerry
artillery and mortars. One K ration says we’ll take a piece of high ground beyond the town and hold from there. ! got the ridge all picked out through the field glasses."
"Well, it’s nice to know our plans," jeered Mac.
During this exchange, Lieutenant Schwartz was looking at the map. ! noticed he didn’t laugh with the others at
Sudy and nodded approval when Sudy turned to him with his usual, "Right, Lieutenant?"
Mac was at a loss as to what to do about Sudy and gave up trying. Sudy knew that in actual combat no one could enforce -a thousand and one minor regulations and he actually preferred combat to training camps or "repple depples" where there was always some kind of inspection or formation. As time wore on, his predictions proved remarkably accurate,
There were many times when Mac found comfort in predictions--especially those that promised some kind of relief from combat duty.
During one barrage Sudy and Mac were caught short halfway between the platoon CP and the gun position. Together they hit for a shell hole. While holed in, Mac found solace in the General’s analysis of the situation. Consulting Mac’s watch, Sudy assured him the barrage would be over in four minutes. "Them
Jerries," he said, "give us the same dose every day at noon." He persuaded Mac to study the barrage and see if the rounds weren’t dropping at 50-second intervals.
Sure enough, they were and Sudy assured the
Sergeant there were only three more to go. !t turned out to be just as Sudy said.
"You sound like you got that straight from Hitler," said
Mac.
"You know, Mac," Sudy said, "The 3erry Training
Manuals must tell them to give us the works at 12 noon. They think we eat on schedule."
"When do we get it next?" queried Mac.
"!t must be in their book like chow time. We’ll get it at six tonight, right on the button, unless they hear the weasel or jeep coming up with food and supplies.
Then they put a barrage of four or six on the road."
The predictions now became serious business for Mac.
Following Sudy’s advice he changed the hours on the gun-watch schedule so there was no one traveling between the CP and the gun at six o’clock. It was a fortunate change because two rounds dropped perilously near the gun position and an outpost rifleman from I Company was nicked with a piece of shrapnel.
Differences between the two men began to diminish and a strong bond took shape. Sudy was always after
Mac to quit worrying--always warning, "You won’t be any good to them three kids when you get back."
Healthy brute that he was, Sudy could carry equipment and make long marches without wearing out and this proved quite a help to Mac.
As predicted, the town of Ormont was by-passed.
Other moves were made in the ensuing weeks according to the General’s plan. All the while there were no replacements for the depleted platoons of M
Company. Battalion objectives kept us up in snowy hills, far removed from passable roads, and food and other supplies were slow in coming up. Everything that did reach us had to be hand carried over tough hills and Sudy went on many carrying parties.
In making the trips Sudy would strip himself of all weight, even his carbine. His reasoning was that he could carry more and, if ambushed, he couldn’t help himself much anyway, being loaded down with a case of C rations. However, the more chary ones who went with him kept their arms at the alert, even though
Sudy figured any Jerries caught in back of them wanted to surrender. He proved his point a couple of times when he brought in prisoners. The Jerries carried the C rations or prepared water and Sudy followed, casually smoking a cigarette. Sudy liked the trips for a couple of reasons. It got him out of some gun watch and gave him first crack at copies of Stars and Stripes and Yank. This material kept him abreast of the war’s progress.
As the war progressed, Mac became more of a worrier. His age, the extra duties he assumed, the care and concern over equipment and his younger~charges all told on him. He thought a lot about his wife and children. Sudy, meanwhile, became more the interested spectator and there were times wfien he seemed to actually enjoy the war. Mac dwelled too much on the fact that his number would soon come up.
On taking stock he realized that only he and one other man remained of the original platoon that went into the field at Tiller. He would recall to Sudy those buddies who were taken back with trench foot, bullet or shrapnel wounds. Now Sudy was the gunner and this fact often made Mac wonder if his chances for .
survival weren’t lessened.
Whenever our outfit stopped, the men instinctively began to dig in. An emplacement was dug for the gun crew and foxholes for the remainder of the squad.
Sudy never approved of digging but depended on his choice of natural shelter. He insisted there was no point to. digging since the order to move out always came when the holes were dug.
At last the time came for a big assault. The Third

Battalion suffered many losses, creeping at snail’s pace through treacherous, mined hills for three weeks. And now we were in sight of what we were after. This was a tense situation. Our tanks were lined up behind a knoll to our rear.
Mortars were dug in and we were alerted to move out as soon as a concentrated artillery barrage was lifted in front of us. The advance and the lifting of the barrage were timed to a split second.
In front of the Third Battalion was Gold Brick Hill, the highest point in the Siegfried Line. Our barrage came overhead at dawn and ]erry retaliated round for round.
Our men were getting nicked one by one and cries for
"Medic" .could be heard above all the hell that was loosed around us,
Sudy stuck to the place of his original choosing. IVlac, however, was forced to abandon his digging and take shelter with Sudy. A piece of hot shrapnel tore his clothes and other pieces whizzed passed the spot where, minutes before, he had been digging. Sudy,o even at a strenuous time like this, was munching K ration crackers and yelled over to Mac, "See?"
Medics were working frantically, evacuating wounded back behind a small ridge. Mac, Sudy and a boy named
Swafford were all that remained of the 4th squad and they could do nothing but sit and pray till the order to displace forward. Calmly, Sudy was timing mortar and artillery bursts and his assuring observations helped
Mac and Swafford live through hellish moments. He yelled to Mac that the 88s had quit firing. An 88 mm.
made a menacing whistle in its flight. Sudy knew that sound well and could distinguish it from our own artillery. He listened for a while longer and yelled to his buddies: "Even the mortars must be pulling back. They just wasted about five shells over to our right. They’re on the run."
Despite the gravity of the situation, Sudy got his buddies in the guessing game. As something would go off between them and Gold Brick Hill, Mac or Swafford would ask, "Whose is that?"
"That’s ours," Sudy would answer. "Don’t you know the .
sound of our own 76?"
The barrage lifted and the riflemen moved on the hill, firing as they went. It was a heroic sight. The three undermanned rifle companies were under the command of 2nd lieutenants, the senior officers having all been taken back. Mac and his remaining two men began to gather up their equipment and the equipment left behind by the casualties, making ready to move out. There was still enemy mortar fire coming in, Sudy warned, but not as accurately as before.
"How do we displace," asked Mac. "We got a tailormade route," answered Sudy. "Each of us will pick a line of those shell holes. Hop from one to the other but don’t hop till right after a shell burst. No shell ever hit in another shell hole."
"Where do we meet and set up our gun?" asked Mac.
Sudy looked up at the hill and pointed to a rifleman on the left crest. "See that guy up there? Well, that’s where we go and that’s the kind of spot Lieutenant
Schwartz would pick for us, anyway. It covers that open area."
"Pick it up," shouted Mac. It was the standard moveout order in our outfit. But Sudy and Swafford were already on their way, carrying extra equipment and hopping from hole to hole.
Attaining Gold Brick Hill seemed to bolster the morale of everyone. The riflemi~n were so relieved after the miserable days of hiking, waiting, hunger, cold and fatigue they turned on full steam and were yelling like savages. This was a strategic point and the men counted on the rest promised them if they took the hill.
Sudy crept to the crest--for there were still random mortar bursts--and surveyed the vast expanse of country before him. He was as pleased as if he had planned the whole strategy himself. It was satisfying to him to know the brass-laden boys agreed with his tactics.
As Sudy surveyed the terrain, Mac and Swafford returned to gather up some of the equipment left at the takeoff point. Sudy, being in good favor, got out of this difficult labor by insisting that a good machinegunner stands by his gun.
The first principles of. a gunner were soon forgotten when Mac and Swafford left. Sudy kept low arid took off for one of the captured pillboxes, returning in. a few minutes with some German rations--black ~bread, canned pork and ersatz candy bars. He was happy now, consulting some dirty maps and eating 3erry rations. As he sat and ate, the other two were busy.
Mac was scanning the terrain and picking out his best coverage, while Swafford was unreeling wire and bringing up a sound power phone to keep near the gun position. Mac ordered Sudy to dig in but gave the order timidly, knowing what the result would be.
With the air of a true General, Sudy beckoned Mac and
Swafford to listen. "Boys," he beamed, "this is it. From the way that artillery was coming in ! could tell it was on the run. Watch the 11th Armored Division take off now." He showed their position on the map and the nearness of Gold Brick Hill to main highways that led to the big river.
Things worked out to where Sudy was giving the orders and Mac willingly obeyed.
"What’s all this mean to US?" asked Mac.

"It means the Germans are running for the river and we are practically out of the war for a while. Us guys have to move on foot and we can’t catch the Jerries. Those guys in the armored divisions will have to earn their allotment checks for a while."
Grabbing Mac’s field glasses, Sudy began to look over the country ahead, Then putting down the glasses he sighted through Mac’s rifle. Nervously Mac wanted to know if something was up.
"Germans?" he asked.
Dear3im:
In connection with the article written by Richard
Palmer M-345 and appearing on pages 30 and 31 of the Sept. 1999 issue of GAN, syndicated columnist
William Pfaff makes the comment that "the infantry is the unskilled labor of war". My contempt for such a comment is great enough to defy measurement!
"Germans?" Sudy looked surprised. "You expect ]erries to be hanging around here? :i was just looking at some ridges out there. Look through your sight and see the ridge you’ll sleep on tonight or tomorrow- the wellknown high ground, soldier, unless the Colonel has changed his style of warfare."
Mac was digesting this bit of logic when the sound power phone gave off the 4th squad’s familiar two long and two short whistles. Swafford answered. "It’s’
Lieutenant Schwartz," he said and handed the phone over to Sergeant Mac.
"O.K., Sudy--I mean General," laughed Mac, "the
Lieutenant says it’s a complete knockout. They got 70
Jerries lined up against one of the pillboxes .... Says they’re rushing food up by the big highway.., mail at the Company CP... coming up tomorrow .... Armored outfits bumper to bumper roiling along the roads to the river.., we’re gonna get baths and a chance to write letters . . . says we did a good covering job . .. he’s comin’ up in a couple of minutes."
In addition to confirming Richard Palmer’s very valid comments about the excellent skills acquired and used by the U.S. infantryman, let me add that Pfaff (just the
Teutonic type name raises hackles) here grandly exposes his unfortunate lack of understanding of what it takes to be an effective infantryman (and when I use the term "infantryman" here I am referring primarily to the heroic role of the rifleman!). This role requires
Endurance far beyond just "skill", pain and determination, further it requires Commitment way beyond just "skill" and great resolve, it also requires
Courage far beyond just "skill’ and a high sense of duty, and perhaps most importantly it requires
Character that is well above any "skill" that is coupled with what would normally be profound physical, mental and/or emotional strength. These levels of Endurance,
Commitment, Courage and Character required of a combat infantryman reside far above and beyond any bare "skill" notions of visionaries who have never
,experienced mortal combat.
"Something tells me we get the job of taking Cologne,"
Sudy said, without caring who was listening.
Mac had to consolidate his squad with another. :In drawing up a roster for watches at the gun, he paired himself with Sudy so he could let the big goon sleep.
He ordered a big emplacement dug and placed a generous supply of pine boughs over a raincoat on the floor for the General’s comfort
Heaven ~ knows that it takes a heck of a lot m
.than just bare skill to charge and take an enemy position !! We in Heavy Weapons Companies D, H and
M {mortar and machine guns) take plenty of artillery, tank and small arms fire, etc., but it is the rifleman who ult~Lmately closes with the enem’~ith the only thin-~be~ween himself and the enemy being th~ front sight on hi.s rifle ..... thus he TOWERS in military significance!!
It was dusk when Mac and Sudy took their turn at the gun, Mac gazed at the beautiful, rolling hills. God, but it was beautiful, he thought. And to Sudy he said, "To think that people who own this kind of country should fight for deserts." His reverie was soon broken By the snoring of General Sudy. Somehow it seemed like music to his ears. []
Pfaff’s simplistic intimation that the single factor of bare skill is largely preeminent in warfare sadly displays a startling lack of awareness of the above noted incredible multifaceted attributes required of an infantryman and only those who has been in actual mortal combat can accurately gage its unimaginable demands. The realities involved here impale Pfaffs intimations and anyone misinformed enough to have such a distorted opinion of warfare would not be the type of individual that any infantryman would want to be with or rely upon under actual battle conditions.
What I would like to know is -- would a syndicated columnist have the "guts" (this term encompassing all the above noted skills and attributes required of a rifleman) to get up out of a foxhole and advance directly into the face of every form of enemy fire and
1

explosives, all the while experiencing the mind chilling torment of knowing that at any moment he might well be fatally hit.
Do you suppose that a columnist having a
Pfaff-type mind-set and finding himself under these hideous conditions might
"retire" on the double or more likely on the triple
(taking with him his bare skills) to the most rearwardly located latrine?? Maybe we could obtain the nearly obvious answer here by assigning to columnists sharing Pfaff’s views first wave assault duties the next time this nation has to take some place like Omaha
Beach, Moircy or Tiller !!
Here’s to a smart salute to the infantryman who is the
PRIME MOVER in producing the enemy’s defeat !!!!!
Very truly yours, Albert W. Scribner, 87th Div., D-346
We received this stirring speech by General Colin
Powell via e-mail. We are not ashamed to state that it brought tears to our eyes. We are sure that it will to you too.
By General Colin Powell
Bill Ludlam, H-346 writes:
Last May, members of H-346 held a mini-reunion at
Cape May, N.J. As is our custom, a memorial service was held one evening. During the service the enclosed piece was read. It was composed by a ten-year old boy and read to his school assembly at the school’s
Veteran’s Day Assembly in November, 1998.
The attendees at our service (and an onlooker - a
WWII vet attending his daughter’s graduation at the
Coast Guard Academy) were gratified and honored to experience the fact that there are young people who will not forget.
Members suggested that readers of the GAN might be interested and thus this letter.. Sincerely, Bill Ludlam.
The boy’s composition went as follows:
Veteran’s Day is not just a holiday or a day off from school, it is a day when we celebrate the men and women who served in our wars. These people risked their lives for our freedom. We should honor them if they came back or not. We put flags on the graves of those who died.
All these people fought in many wars such as World
War 1, World War 2, the Vietnam War, The Korean War and the Gulf War. It does not matter which war they fought in, they all helped preserve our freedom.
Many of your uncles and grandparents have probably fought for our country. Many of these people died, but we can still honor them. So remember, November 11 isn’t a day off from school or an ordinary holiday, it is a day that we celebrate the men and women who fought for our freedom.
Joshua Leighton the boy who penned the above is the
grandson of William A. Ludlam, H-346. ED.
As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I referred to the men and women of the armed Forces as "G.I.s." It got me in trouble with some of my colleagues at the time. Several years earlier, the Army had officially excised the term as an unfavorable characterization derived from the designation "government issue."
Sailors and Marines wanted to be known as sailors and
Marines. Airmen, notwithstanding their origins as a rib

of the Army, wished to be called simply airmen.
Collectively, they were blandly referred to as "service members." I persisted in using G.I.s and found I was in good company. Newspapers and television shows used it all the time. The most famous and successful government education program was known as the G.I.
Bill, and it still uses that title for a newer generation of veterans. When you added one of the most common boy’s names to it, you got G.I. Joe, and the name of the most popular boy’s toy ever, the G.I. Joe action figure. And let’s not forget G.I. Jane.
G.I. is a World War II term that two generations later continues to conjure up the warmest and proudest memories of a noble war that pitted pure good against pure evil-and good triumphed. The victors in that war were the American G.I.s~ the
Willies and Joes, the farmer from Iowa and the steelworker from Pittsburgh who stepped off a landing craft into the hell of Omaha Beach. The G.I. was the wisecracking kid Marine from Brooklyn who clawed his way up a deadly hill on a Pacific island. He. was a black, fighter pilot escorting white bomber pilots over Italy and Germany, proving that skin color had nothing to do with skill or courage. He was a native Japanese-
American infantryman released from his own country’s concentration camp to join the fight. She was a nurse relieving the agony of a dying teenager.
He was a petty officer standing on the edge of a heaving aircraft carrier with two signal paddles in his hands, helping guide a dive-bomber pilot back onto the deck.
They were America. They reflected our diverse origins, were the embodiment of the American spirit of courage and dedication. They were truly a "people’s army," going forth on a crusade to save democracy and freedom, to defeat tyrants, to save oppressed peoples and to make their families proud of them.
They were the Private Ryans, and they stood firm in the thin red line.
For most of those G.I.s, World War II was the adventure of their lifetime. Nothing they would ever do in the future would match their experiences as the warriors of democracy, saving the world from its own insanity. You can still see them in every Fourth of July color guard, their gait faltering but ever proud.
Their forebears went by other names: Doughboys,
Yanks, Buffalo Soldiers, Johnny Reb, Rough Riders.
But "G.I." will be forever lodged in the consciousness of our nation to apply to them all. The G.I. carried the value system of the American people. The G.I.s were the surest guarantee of America’s commitment.
For more than 200 years, they answered the call to fight the nation’s battles. They never went forth as mercenaries on the road to conquest. They went forth as reluctant warriors, as citizen soldiers.
They were as gentle in victory as they were vicious in battle. I’ve had survivors of Nazi concentration camps tell me of the joy they experienced as the G.I.s
liberated them: America had arrived! I’ve had a wealthy Japanese businessman come into my office and tell me what it was like for him as a child in 1945 to await the arrival of the dreaded American beast and instead meet a smiling G.I. who gave him a Hershey bar. In thanks, the businessman was donating a large sum of money to the USO. After thanking him, I gave him as a souvenir a Hershey bar I had autographed.
He took it and began to cry.
The 20th century can be called many things, but it was most certainly a century of war. The American
G.I.s helped defeat fascism and communism. They came home in triumph from the ferocious battlefields of World Wars I and II. In Korea and Vietnam they fought just as bravely as any of their predecessors, but no triumphant receptions awaited them at home.
They soldiered on through the twilight struggles of the cold war and showed what they were capable of in
Desert Storm. The American people took them into their hearts again.
In this century hundreds of thousands of G.I.s died to bring to the beginning of the 21st century the victory of democracy as the ascendant political system on the face of the earth. The G.I.s were willing to travel far away and give their lives, if necessary, to secure the rights and freedoms of others. Only a nation, such as ours, based on a firm moral foundation, could make such a request of its citizens. And the G.I.s wanted nothing more than to get the job done and then return home safely. All they asked for in repayment from those they freed was the opportunity to help them become part of the world of democracy-and just enough land to bury their fallen comrades,-beneath simple white crosses and Stars of David. ’
The volunteer G.I.s of today stand watch in Korea, the
Persian Gulf, Europe and the dangerous terrain of the
Balkans. We must never see them as mere hirelings, off in a corner of our society. They are our best, and we owe them our full support and our sincerest thanks.
As this century closes, we look back to identify the great leaders and personalities of the past 100 years.
We do so in a world still troubled, but full of promise.
That promise was gained by the young men and women of America who fought and died for freedom.
Near the top of any listing of the most important people of the 20th century must stand, in singular honor, the American G.I.
General Colin Powell former Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, is now chairman of America’s Promise.

Arthur Jesset, DIVHQ, sent us this picture taken at Ft.
Jackson. The men are identified as:
Back row, l-r, Sgt. McCuiloch (California),
Sgt. Meril Johnson (Little Rock, Arkansas),
Pfc. William King (Washington, DC),
Pvt. Lloyd Durnal (Little Rock, Arkansas),
Cpl. Hagan (W. Virginia),
Middle row, T/5 Ed Wurch (Cleveland, Ohio)
Front row, I-r, T/5 Lang (?),
T/5 Bernie Higgins (Cleveland, Ohio),
Sgt. Elmer McNeil (Portland, Oregon),
Pvt. Giusti (Chicago, Illinois),
Cpl. McConkey (early discharge
Pennsylvania).
and was from
Jesset further states that Sgt. McNeil is a member and that seeing his name and this picture in the GAN should bring back some pleasant memories. []
The organization was founded with the goal of preserving the memories of the soldiers from World War II through displays and oral history.
The goals we set for ourselves are challenging. We are meeting those goals however through public displays at schools, libraries, historical societies, and battle reenactments.
The organization was formed in 1986. Since that time it has grown to include both United States and foreign uniforms, weapons, equipment, medals, and many, many other items. Eventually a permanent display facility will house the collections, complete with first person interpreters. In the meantime, the items are displayed so the public can learn the tactics, equipment, and hardships endured by the soldiers of the time.
While the American Infantryman of Europe is the focus of the display, many different branches are represented in the collections. Some of the various collections include: The War in the Pacific with uniforms, weapons, and equipment of the US Army,
Navy, and Marines and the Japanese infantry. The Air
War Collection includes uniforms, photos, and medals from fighter and bomber crews. The Enemy Collection deals with the German forces as they served on the
European, Russian, and Italian Fronts. The Homefront consists of items used by the folks back home, including ration books and chips, V-Mall forms, and Air
Raid paraphenalia.
To help the organization, veterans of the Second World
War began to be contacted in 1987. To date over
3,500 veterans from 32 countries have been contacted. Through constant research, and correspondence with National Veteran organizations in both the United States and abroad, more veterans are contacted weekly. All the replies are being compiled into a book of veteran "war stories" recounting the war as seen! through the veteran’s eyes, and not some
"official" source or Hollywood ideal.
Through constant research we are trying to better our collection and display to provide the present and future generations with a greater understanding of what was done during the war. We thank you for your interest, and if there are any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at the address below. Thank yOU,
Wm. T. Ripley - Head Curator
Military History Preservation Society
104 East Water Street
Pendleton, Indiana
46064-1068
Phone# 765 778 8801
1986
"Donations accepted, and greatly appreciated!"

Robert and Vivian Pendley were murdered for their
1988 Oldsmobile in Eufaula, Oklahoma.
Bob Pendley, whose story appeared in our last issue, was a paraplegic, confined to a wheel chair for the past
23 years. He had served in H-345.
The official report states that Robert and Vivian were bludgeoned with a pipe and stabbed with scissors and that Robert was struck with a hoe.
The perpetrators were finally caught as they crossed the Mexican border back into the U.S. and admitted their crimes. They just wanted a car. The perpetrators,
Harold McEImurry III and Vickie McEImurry were arrested as they re-crossed the border from Mexico to
Laredo. They were charged with first degree murder.
When the McEImurrys were arrested, authorities found
Pendley’s wheel chair in the trunk of the car.
We don’t often wish to get political, but, if ever there was a case for capital punishment, this is one of them.
If you feel our outrage, and wish to voice it, the mayor of this town is Bill Day, 64 Memorial Road, Eufaula, OK
74432-2626. Telephone# is 918 689 2532. The District
Attorney’s name is Greg Stidam, but we were not able to get his address. Maybe you could send your statement to him in care of the Mayor. Ed.
In our last issue we asked, "In our history book, at the very beginning, we have a picture of Gem Culin and he is wearing the Combat Infantryman’s
Badge. How did he get it?"
From Paul Nessrnanl F&.M-347 comes the answer: General Culin was a Colonel leading a regiment of the 7th Infantry
Division on Attu in the Aleutian Islands,
May 11-29, 1943. This information is from "The
Thousand Mile War".
Paul goes on to say: "I re-read part of the story of
Attu. After Iwo Jima, it was the most costly proportion-wise to number of men involved. 539 killed,
May 11-28, 1943. Many frozen feet and amputations, but it was thought to have saved many feet later."
Thanks Paul.
See page -- for additional details on the above.
We received a letter from Richard Byrnes, HQ2-345 in which he states;
This short account is to confirm the facts from Mitchell
I(aid¥’s history of our combat in Metz.
My unit was HQ2-345. I was in the anti-tank platoon, first squad, first gunner.
When we reached Metz on December 6, 1944, we set up in a house in the valley. On December 7, 1944 we were sent up to fire on Ft. St. Quentin. We set up our
57mm on the side of the road across from the fort. We
’opened fire aiming at slit type windows and we made several direct hits. We had to leave that position, due to heavy mortar fire. The next day we went up ’t;o the main entrance to cover surrender of the fort. We left
Metz on December 10, 1944 to join our d~vlslon/in the
Saar Valley.
Paul Nessman states, "I had a phone call from a man
In California with new information. Cecil Clem, K-347 was killed after dark and the person doing the shooting was known by many people. He also wounded the company commander and the company runner. The party was checking outposts and came up behind this position. The man turned around and fired his BAR and hit Clem in the head. This man was still in K-347 after our furlough and was Ft. Benning in
August - September 1945."
I am requesting that all such incidents be sent to me before we are all gone and we cannot document this part of the 87th history. We know about William F. Herman C-347,
Dobie, qN but we need to know the rest.
Send that info to me at:
5425 S. Blackstone Avenue
Chicago. IL 60615 [3

By Harold Moore, C-335FA
Enclosed is a picture of my medals from WWII and my son’s medals from Viet-Nam. I was always very angry at the war department and the VA. I wrote letters, and made phone calls to everyone in Washington and the War Department, trying to get my records straightened out. They wouldn’t take my word for it and my DD214 was all messed up and they had the wrong state where I was inducted, and the wrong county. I have records to show where I was born and when I went into service but the Army would not accept it.
My records, they said, was maybe in a fire and maybe it never happened. Then one day in July 1999, out of the blue, here come my medals and my disability was raised to 100%.
I was overseas twice, have two Purple Hearts, three battle stars and all the other goodies. I was in the invasion of the
Aleutian Islands, back to the states, and on to Europe.
I took my basic training in California. After my training was ended they put me in the Seventh Division, put us in an old obsolete boat and headed for the Aleutian Islands, poorly equipped and no training in subzero weather. Our uniform was OD regulars, regular shoes, no change of uniforms or anything, and the Army brass stated this action would only take two days.
When we landed, everything was frozen with so much ice and water that we couldn’t even dig in. No protective clothing, the ground was frozen and it took nine days to take the island. We landed with 2600 men and had 549 KIA 1148 wounded, and we took no prisoners. ! was taken to Kodiak
Island with frozen feet and like so many of the others. On
June 21, 1943, I was awarded a Purple Heart. To me, this was one of the biggest screw-ups the Army ever had.
The Thompson and helmet in the picture were issued to me when I went into the Army in 1942. When ! came back from
Europe I was sent to Camp Atterbury in Indiana and received a fifteen day delay in route on my way to Georgia.
While I was home on leave the War was over in Japan. Well,
I had all of my equipment with me and I just left it all in
Kentucky, went back to the 87th and just told them that everything got lost in shipment and I’ve kept it all these years. The Thompson is the real thing but ! had it deactivated as a precaution. Can’t even fire a BB from it.
When I went to Ft. Benning, Georgia, I was in Sand Hill back in an old Cavalry quarters. Then the 87th Infantry got all broken up and we were sent all over the United States. I
was sent to Ft. Dix, New Jersey, the army stating that I was essential. I had more points than two people needed to get out of service. I stayed in Ft. Dix about three months and I had a wife and a baby I needed to go home to so eventually they turned me loose and let me go.
I don’t know what outfit I was in but on 12-8-’45 I joined the
3rd Army at Metz, went to Saarbrucken and from there were pulled back out, sent North to St. Hubert, Prum, Koblenz and crossed the Rhine.
Now when I have trouble getting to sleep, I count the dragons teeth of the Siegfried Line and the pill boxes we met along the way and it seems to work pretty well.
After we crossed the Rhine, I was assigned to a spearhead for the 3rd Army toward Czechoslovaki.a and when we reached
Plauen the war ended. A pretty good li[~le journey.
One thing that always made me mad, every time you would shoot at them rascals, they would shoot back at you. They had no respect. Then when the war ended there were
German soldiers as far as the eye could see. I thought we had gotten all of them but there sure were a lot of them left.
We then served a bit of occupation duty for a while and then we were shipped back to France into a tent city. I don’t know how many camps there were but they were all named after cigarettes. We stayed there and then we were loaded up at
Le Havre and landed at Newport News, Virginia, was shipped to Camp Atterbury, Indiana and given my furlough.
While home on furlough, the war ended and it was back to sand hill at Columbus, Georgia. I thought that if they didn’t get a lot out of this old boy in two trips overseas I wasn’t going to go back and try again. A lot of these old boys said their luck held out real good. Heck, this wasn’t luck. If you’re playing poker and you’re having a streak of good luck, every once in a while you lose a hand. I couldn’t afford to lose one.
I’ve always said that when the Army had you beat down where you didn’t care for nothing or nobody, that’s what they
.called a good soldier. I never had any intentions of saving
Private Ryan, I was always trying to save Private Noore.
My one and only son entered the service in Dallas,~T, exas in
April of 1968 and was killed in action in March, 1969. He was the last Noore of my generation. I went to the commanding officer of Ft. Pope, Louisiana and tried to keep him’ out of combat and out of harm’s way. This was in vain. Not that I had any objections to his being in service, but he was all I had.
Then one day, a chaplain came to our door, handed my wife a notice that our son had been killed, turned and walked away. We had to go to the National Barracks to get the information that we had to have. That is something that is part of our every day. This is something that can cause one to lose faith in the whole system. It took me seventeen years to get the records released giving the details of what happened in Viet-Nam. The Army said that the documents were confidential and were classified. []

!
Sgt. Frank Marino and Pfc. Ora Smith were both killed when a bazooka shell blew up at Ft. Jackson.
Bennet has these names from the first section A-912FA, listed on the back of the photo;

In our last issue asked a question that was asked of us, "In our history book, at the very beginning, we have a picture of Gen.
Culin and he is wearing the Combat
Infantryman’s Badge.
How did he earn that award."
We were deluged with answers via e-mail, mail and phone, all correct, stating that he had earned it in the
Aleutians.
We then received a wonderful letter from Gen. Culin’s son, Frank L. Culin III with the following information.
We know you will enjoy reading it. ED.
I. Born, 31 March 1892, Seattle Washington,
Parents; Frank L. Culin and Elizabeth Harding Culin.
2. Family moved from Seattle to San Francisco,
Calif., 1892; and to Tucson, Arizona, September 1903.
Principal occupations of father; accounting, real estate, insurance. Both parents now deceased,, father 1938, mother, 1947
3. Education, Grammar school San Francisco and
Tucson; high school Tucson and Univ. of Arizona
Preparatory Dept.; graduate University of Arizona
1915 (BS in ME) and 1916 (MS in ME).
4. Entered US Regular Army, by examination from civil life. Commissioned 2d Lieutenant of Infantry
30 November 1916; accepted 5 December 1916. 1st
Lieut. same date. Captain 3 August 1917. Major 7
November 1928. Lieut. Col. 1 October 1938. National
Guard Bureau 15 December 1937; relieved NGB 6
September 1939. Colonel AUS 14 October 1941.
Brigadier General 24 June 1943. Major General 15
March 1945,. Retired 30 November 1946 in grade as major general.
5. Graduate The Infantry School, Fort Benning,
Ga., Advanced Course, 1928. Graduate The Command and General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas,
1930. Graduate The Army War College, Washington,
DC, 1940.
6.
follows:
Duty assignments during active service as a. January - March 1917; The Army Service
Schools, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
b. March 1917- October 1918; Junior officer with
30th US Infantry Regiment, with stations at Eagle
Pass, Texas, Syracuse, NY, Charlotte, NC (regiment became part of 3rd Division here); AEF in France.
c. November - December 1918; battalion commander 63rd Infantry Regiment, Camp Meade, Md.
d. January May, 1919 Instructor Central
Officer’s Training School, Camp Lee, Va.
e. May 1919 - November 1920; PMS&T, Spring
Hill College, Mobile, Ala.
f. December 1920 - June 1921; Ass’t. PMS&T,
Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.
g. July 1921 - November 1923; enroute to and from the Philippine Islands; duty with 31st US Infantry in Manila and with Headquarters Philippine Department
(Asst to G-4), Manila, h. December 1923 - June 1927; Asst PMS&T,
University of Oregon, Eugene, Ore.
i. September 1927 - June 1930; student The
Infantry School, Ft. Benning Ga., and the Command and General Staff School Ft. Leavenworth, Kas.
k. July 1930 - July 1934; assigned to and duty with 25th US Infantry (colored) at Camp Stephen D.
Little, Nogales, Ariz., and Fort Huachuca, Ariz. Duty as battalion commander and with regimental staff.
. I. August 1934 November 1937; senior instructor 169th Infantry, Connecticut National Guard,
Hartford, Conn. December 1937 - September, 1939, assigned to and duty with The National Guard Bureau,
War Department, Washington, DC.
m. September 1939 - June 1940; student Army
War College, Washington, DC.
n. July 1940 - June 1943; assigned to and duty with 32d Infantry Regiment, 7th Division. Regimental executive; Comdr. 3rd Battalion, regimental commander Fort Ord Calif. and Attu.
o. July 1943 - March 1944; assistant division commander, lOth Mountain Division,. Camp Hale, Colo.
p. April 1944; special duty Washington, DC., as member of board to consider supply of ammunition to troops in combat, with special reference to ratios of heavy ammunition and weapons.
q. May 1944- September !945; commanding general 87th Infantry Division; Fort Jackson, SC, and

European Theater of Operations; division inactivated
September 1945 at Fort Benning, Ga.
r. September - December 1945; commanding general Infantry Replacement Training Center, Camp
Blanding, Fla.
s. January - April 1946; senior member Officer’s screening boards, Fort Lewis, Wash.
t. May - November, 1946; hospital, Presidio of
San Francisco, and terminal leave pending retirement.
Retired 30 November 1946.
Carmelite Sisters, D.. C. 3.
At our 50th Annual reunion, we placed 100 envelopes with cards enclosed, at our reception desk, each thanking the CarmeNte Nuns of East Chicago, Indiana for their financial support of the veterans of this country. The letter which follows was received by your editor in response to those cards.
October 5, 1999
7.
War Service and awards.
a. World War I - Company commander (combat)
30th Infantry, 3rd Division. Aisne, Aisne-Marne, St.
Mihiel, Argonne, and General Defensive sector, Silver
Star awarded; Vesle River, August 1918.
b. World War II. Regimental commander, 32d
Infantry, 7th Division. Coast defense, California 8
December 1941 to 1 May 1942. Aleutian Island~
(recapture of Attu) April, May, June 1943. Oak Leaf
Cluster to Silver Star. Attu. Commanding General, 87th
Infantry Division, ETO December 1944 to July 1945.
Initial combat at Metz, France. Subsequent action in
Ardennes (Bulge) Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, second time in Ardennes; Germany. Second Oak Leafs Cluster to Silver Star. Bronze Star Medal. Air Medal. US
Distinguished Service Medal. French Legion of Honor and Croix de Guerre. Belgian Croix de Guerre. Combat
Infantryman’s Badge, Attu.
Dear Mr. Amor,
What a beautiful surprise to. receive such heartfelt notes from the men and women of the 87th Infantry
Division. We read each one - and we are sincerely grateful for the very kind words, expressions of encouragement, and monetary enclosures that were tucked inside many. May Jesus bless you for all.
Please know that we will remember the soul of Don
Corbin in our Masses and prayers. May his soul rest in peace. Many members also wrote requesting prayers for their personal intentions. We shall certainly bring these before Jesus in our daily community prayertimes.
c. Service (campaign) medals include: Mexican
Border Service; Victory Medal (WWl) with five battle clasps; North American Service (WWII); Victory with 3 battle stars; Asiatic Pacific, with battle star and arrowhead for assault landing; European Theater;
German Occupation.
8. Family history, married Ella Greene Sneed
(daughter Benjamin and Virginia Moson Sneed) 27
December 1918. Three children; Virginia Elizabeth, b
Gainesville Fla., 8 January 1921; Frank L. III, b Manila,
P.I., 22 June I922 and John Edward, b Eugene,
Oregon, b April 1925.
9. Post- retirement history. Residence established on Monterey Peninsula, California. Hone is in Monterey
Peninsula Country Club. President and Chairman
Annual Fund Drive, Monterey Peninsula Community
Chest 1955. Since March, 1954, associated with Del
Monte Properties Company as real estate salesman.
10. Societies, clubs, organizations. Various military. First Company, Governor’s Foot Guards,
Hartford, Conn., (honorary member). Kappa Sigma
National Fraternity, Monterey Peninsula Country Club,
Beach Club, Pebble Beach.
! do cherish each and every expression of friendship from the men and women in your group; please express our thanks to all who sent a card and wrote a special message. November is the month of the Holy Souls. We are enclosing a contribution and ask that you use it in some form for the Veterans in need - who are most special to us! Monsignor Doody continues to come each day to celebrate Mass in our chapel. He does so well and really belies his eightythree years. He remains very sprightly and nimble and his mind is sharp as ever. He certainly h~as the members of the 87th in his heart - and speaks kindly of all.
I wish all of you a very healthy, peaceful Autumn season. This time of the year has it’s own marked beauty - nature dies, gives way to the whiteness and crispness of winter .... and prepares again to burst forth once again in the magic of Spring. Happy Fall holidays to all of you - and to your families.
United in Jesus, Mary, and .loseph,
Sister Maria Guiseppe, Adm. Carmelite Sisters
D.C.J.
4840 Grasselli Avenue, East Chicago, IN 46312
2191397-1085

heard nothing.
We have promised our members that we would
July 26, 1999
[Signed]
Dear Mayor Whelan:

CITY OF ATLANTIC CITY
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
Room 706 City Hall
A~lantJ¢ City, New Jemey 08401
60g-347-5400 Fax # 609-347-5838
August 12, 1999
James Amor, Editor
87th Infantry Division Association
P.O. Box 4092
Long Island City, NY I 1104-0092
Dear Mr. Amor:
We received your letter concerning the condition of the area surrounding the 87~ Infantry
Division Monument. It is my understanding that Kick Norwood from my office has been in touch with you, and the complaint has been resolved to your satisfaction.
The area in question is maintained by the Atlantic City Special Improvement District. I am enclosing the several photos taken by my aide, Mr. Norwood, for your information.
Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention.
Sincerely,
~W/jd encl.
Sal Mirrione, B-345 sent us the
at Atlantic City.
!Thanks Sal. We look forward to
~your reports on the status of our memorial in Atlantic City.
Restaurants

This article was sent to us by a member in Ohio
who asked that his name not be revealed. ED
As a 75-year-old Columbus man fills up his car at a neighborhood gas station, the fumes from a nearby diesel pump send him back 50 years to
Normandy.
Suddenly, he’s on the smoke-belching troop transport that carried him toward the beach, the chaos and the killing.
Another grandfather, this one in Cleveland, sits down in a restaurant and overhears a woman at the next table order her meal, which includes fish and rice. He storms out angry and confused, agonizing over his combat experiences four decades earlier in Korea.
Both men wind up at Veterans Affairs clinics.
Both veterans have post-traumatic stress disorder.
More and more older veterans are joining their
~’anks.
According to the National Institute of Mental
Health, 30 percent of veterans who spent time in a war zone experience symptoms of the disorder during their lives.
The number is greater for those who saw combat, suffered wounds or spent time as prisoners of war, mental-health experts say.
The horrors of war, they say, affect people differently. Some can put the memories behind them.
Others suffer daily, or find themselves finally facing their traumatic experiences years after the event.
The film Saving Private Ryan shows how combat can wreak havoc with soldiers’ psyches, but it ends with only a glimpse of how veterans endure the pain of war years afterward.
According to the VA’s National Center for PTSD
Ln Vermont, one in 20 World War II veterans now suffers from the condition. But experts there say the disorder is underdiagnosed.
aging
It’s not a picture most people want to see -fathers and grandfathers unable to deal with the past. The popular image of GIs comes from period movies that depict the bravest men fighting the worst enemies.
"The veterans who came back from World War
II and Korea were John Waynes -- the strong, silent type," said Judith Talbert, manager for mental health and behavioral science at the Columbus VA Outpatient
Clinic.
Yet in many older veterans, new research shows, post-traumatic stress disorder surfaces after they retire and have time to think about their pasts.
"There are a large number of veterans who thought they got over it and find themselves having nightmares and crying and don’t know why," said Dr.
Michael Lambert, medical director of mental-health services for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ North
Texas Health Care System in Dallas.
"I see a lot of men coming in who think they have depression. But it’s PTSD."
Post-traumatic stress disorder involves an exposure to a "traumatic event" that leads to ’!intrusive
recollections, .... avoidant/numbing symptoms" and
"hyperarousal symptoms."
People with the disorder can display aggression, long periods of silence, easy agitation, and abuse of alcohol and other drugs. Many are easily startled.
The condition, diagnosed after a person experiences symptoms for at least a month, is mostly associated with veterans but also can afflict victims of rape; assault, natural disasters and other traumatic events.
Mental strain related to combat is mentioned in
American psychiatric literature dating from the Civil
War, when it was termed "soldier’s heart."
During World War I, the disorder was called
"shell shock." Soldiers in World War II had "combat neurosis." The condition became "combat fatigue" during the Korean conflict.
Many older veterans who com’plained of their problems during or just after wartime were misdiagnosed. Some were labeled schizophrenic and locked up in VA psychiatric wards. Others simply were told nothing could be done.
Soldiers often were dismissed as cowards.
Jake Brewer of Columbus was a combat medic who served in Europe during World War II and Korea.
Every month in Europe, he said, an Army psychiatrist would visit the hospital near the front and evaluate soldiers who complained of combat neurosis.
"He would put about 10 of them in a room, then he would excuse himself and leave," Brewer said.
"Then he would throw a dummy hand grenade through the window, and it would land in the middle’Of this group.
"Five or So would get up and run. They Would be sent back to combat. The other five went home."
Like many other veterans, Brewer said he doesn’t believe what he considers to be hype about post-traumatic stress disorder. Every combat soldier had "close encounters" he doesn’t talk about, he said, but they weren’t severe enough to cause, mental disorders in many men.
Brewer acknowledged, however, that some things still upset him. He won’t talk about how he was wounded in Korea.
"I’ve got to be doing something," he said. "1 stay busy. If I’m watching a war movie on TV, I’ll think about things. I just push it out. Push it away."
The theme is a common one among veterans, many of whom simply clam up about their experiences
-- good or bad.
When post-traumatic stress disorder was first defined in the late 1970s and added to the American
Psychiatric Association’s list of recognized mental

disorders, the VA considered it mainly a phenomenon of Vietnam.
Vietnam veterans, after all, are the ones who demanded attention for the mental strain they experienced during and after combat.
"When we started demanding that PTSD be recognized, a lot of World War 11 veterans called us crybabies," said David Aldstadt, a Vietnam veteran and executive director of Gov. George V. Voinovich’s Office on Veterans Affairs.
"But we forced a lot of people to look at the horrors of wars."
The VA only recently began studying the~ disorder in veterans of World War II and Korea.
"When the diagnosis was being formulated, al big part of the motivation was Vietnam veterans," said
Paula Schnurr, a researcher and deputy to the executive director of the VA’s National Center for
PTSD.
"But if you turn the clock back 40 years, it was there, too."
This finding makes sense to many VA mentalhealth experts who say combat is combat, no matter the war.
"My take on the whole thing is that PTSD rates for World War II vets are not much lower than those in
Vietnam vets," said Brian 15. Engdahl, a staff psychologist at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis.
"It’s only in the last six or seven.years that the
VA has been alerted to this."
According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the VA, nearly 80 percent of the nation’s male population ages
70 to 79 are veterans. In Ohio, the figure is nearly 90 percent.
Between 1995 and 2010, the veteran population will decrease 23 percent, from 26.1 million to 20 million. During the same period, though, veterans 65 and older will increase from the current
8.8 million to a peak of 9.3 million in 2000.
Nationwide, about 100,000 veterans are receiving help for post-traumatic stress disorder. Most are Vietnam veterans in their 40s and early 50s.
But nearly every VA center that has programs for senior veterans has seen an increase in patients, the agency says.
Continued growth is forecast. Researchers say many veterans were able to put their mental problems on hold after returning from war by working hard and raising families.
Retirement brings many "triggers," including idle time, illness, loss of loved ones, loss of independence -- financial and physical -- and a sense of mortality. This phenomenon is known as "delayed onset" of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Most of the men who suffer, however, don’t go to the VA for help, experts believe.
"There are many, many more men with PTSD than we know about," said Cissie Clower, a supervisor at the Center for Stress Recovery at the Cleveland VA
Medical Center.
"It’s a hell of a lot higher than anyone knows.
And the horrible thing is that these men are going to die without any help. They are going to die guilty and sad and isolated."
One problem might be that many older veterans shun the VA and seek help elsewhere. But civilian psychiatrists may miss the mark.
"Often it is not diagnosed," said Dr. Alan Levy, a staff psychiatrist at Riverside Methodist Hospitals.
"Many victims don’t come forward or don’t describe the trauma they experienced."
That’s why VA researchers have turned much of their attention to older veterans, in hopes of catching the disorder in as many patients as possible.
"It is something they didn’t recognize -- even professionals didn’t recognize it when these people
(showed symptoms)," Schnurr said. "But we have learned a lot in a short amount of time."
Now many VA outpatient and medical centers question every veteran who comes in about their mental health -- including sleep patterns, propensity for being startled and nightmares.
"Take how many veterans are out there with
PTSD and stack that up against how many are assessed with it, and it is appalling," said Engdahl of the Minneapolis VA. "Eventually, with publicity and outreach efforts, more will be found."
Those who seek help at the VA are put through various programs; post-traumatic stress disorder has no uniform treatment.
Some veterans are medicated and undergo intensive psychotherapy. Group therapy also is common.
Dr. Henry Nasrallah, a geriatric psychiatrist at
Ohio State University Medical Center, is a counselor at the Columbus VA Medical Center.
"When a male veteran in that age group (70 to
79) comes in and is disabled and has suffered a loss of some kind in his life, ].really watch that person like a hawk," he said.
"People who have had PTSD from war, Whether they are young or old, usually went through a period of depression. Even if they got over it and have fallen into a depression from other factors, that will revive old problems."
We believe that one of the greatest therapies for our members who suffer from PTSD is attending our annual reunions. We have seen members who were unwilling to attend reunions because of their trauma, suddenly change when they met former comrades from their units. Usually, "What a wonderful experience that was" is stated, and the member wishes to return the following year to be reassured by his friends.
Why not you?
If you~ have never attended a reunion, make
Washington D.C. your first one. You won’t regret it!!
Ed.

By Barbara Strang, B-912FA
By Marian Ahlberg, DIVHQ
The 50th Reunion was a huge success, and how nice to, see Dee Coffman back behind the Registration Desk again.
Fifteen Acornette Singles were present. On Friday, some of us went on the B&B Riverboat, had a wonderful lunch while cruising the Ohio River and some went to the Argosy Gambling Casino.
On ~aturday morning, 12 of us got together for breakfast and then met for picture taking after the
Memorial Service.
those attending were; Marion Ahlberg, Gerda Borza,
Margaret Cody, Dee Coffman, Myrtle Groh, Betty
Helmer, Edna Kuhlmann, Cookie Milam, Katherine
Pardue, Marilyn Dalton, Pascuzzo, Linnea Searle, Cee
Swanson, Rose Timmons and Rosalie Vanzandt.
Thank you all for coming to the reunion, a great plac~ to meet old friends and make new ones.
* Special information...
We arrived throughout the week, we children, grandchildren, and one great-grandchild of veterans of the 87th, all 76 of us. For many it was the first time.
For some it was an annual event always given priority when planning the calendar for the next year. For about twenty children, it was a time to remember their fathers who are deceased and meet their dad’s buddies. For one it was an emotional time to be with men who were with his father when his father was killed in action during the war. We were all there for different reasons, but underlying every reason was the love for our dads.
This year, the Sons and Daughters ran the
Quartermaster Store with the help of many, including
Claire Korn, wife of Jules (F, 347th), who put in many hours, it soon became obvious how great the demand was for 87th souvenirs. Hats, regimental pins, patches, books, and jackets were seen everywhere. It was contagious. Even one member of the hotel staff bought a license plate the last day.
In 1990, surviving spouses who remarried were no longer eligible for D.I.C. (Dependency Indemnity
Compensation). As of October, 1998, the Veteran’s benefits Act permits restoration of the D.I.C. payments to a surviving spouse if the remarriage is terminated through death, divorce or annulment.
Those entitled to this benefit should contact their local
VA Regional Office or call the VA at 1-800-827-1000.
.Happy birthdays to:
Dee Coffman, Sept 13, Edna Kuhlmann, Sept 19, Cee
Swanson, Oct 13, Margaret Cody, Oct 30, and Cookie
Milam, Nov 14.
See you all next year in Washington, DC. []
Saturday afternoon, the Sons and Daughters had a
Roundtable Discussion with veterans of the 87th present. The meeting was conducted by Jim Oaks, who did a terrific job. Jim walked us through the structure of an infantry division, and the highlight of the meeting was a slide presentation by Dr. Caldwell (Battalion
Surgeon, 3rd Battalion, 345th). Dr. Caldwell’s pictures began in the Saar when he liberated a camera and continued through to the end of the war, including
’pictures of a memorial service held in honor of those killed in action. We want to thank Jim Oaks, .Earle Hart
(A, 345th) and John McAuliffe (M, 347th) for s~peaking to the group; and Dr. Caldwell for his slide presentation. They made it special for the rest c~f us.
Another highlight of the reunion was the moving speech by Pascal and Nathalie Hainaut of Belgium
Saturday night. What wonderful people they are! They have done so much for the veterans of the 87th.
Dr. Benjamin Rush has informed us that this poem of his is now hanging in a special place in the Department of History at the West Point Military Academy.
Thanks Ben. ED
I know as we left to return to our homes all over
America, we had a better understanding of our fathers’ experiences and sacrifices. We made new friends and took with us many treasured memories.
We look forward to seeing all of you next year in
Washington, DC:
Barbara Strang []

WILLIAM C. YOUNG, SECRETARY
400 HEMLOCK ROAD
FLOURTOWN, PA 19031 Date
Membership dues are $10.00 per calendar year. Your help is most appreciated and necessary. If you have already paid your dues for this calendar year, THANK YOU! If paying the dues will cause a financial hardship, or you are the widow of a former member who desires to remain on the membership rolls without payment of dues, please let the Secretary know so that he can make the necessary arrangements to keep your name on the membership rolls..
NAME:
UNIT:
ADDRESS:
CITY:
TELEPHONE (.
E-Mail Address ?
.).
ARE YOU A SNOWBIRD?
.YES?
STATE:
Please Include Correct Area Code Number
NO?
ZIP:
Acornettes Singles $5.00
CALENDAR YEAR DUES ...........................Members $’:!.0.00
UNIT ROSTER @ $1,00 per copy ........................
STATE ROSTER @ $1,00 per copy .........................
MEMORIAL FUND (Tax deductible) ........................$
GENERAL FUND ....................................................$
TOTAL ...................$
Return this notice with your check made payable to 87th INFANTRY DIVISION ASSOCIATION, to the address shown above.
Please fill in the questionnaire to keep the Association up to date on yourself.
WIFE’S
NAME
CHILDREN’S NAMES AND AGES
OCCUPATION HOBBIES
ORGANIZATIONS.
ITEMS OF INTEREST (Include clear photo for GAN)
IF WE CAN’T REACH YOU BY PHONE OR MAIL, WHOM DO WE CALL OR WRITE TO ?
verdanaoduesformt 998

DECEMBER, 1998 12
WASHINGTON
OREGON
17
CALIFORNIA
103
NEVADA
9
IDAHO
4
UTAH
2
MONTANA NORT~ DAKOTA ’MINNESOTA
6 40
SOUTH OAKOTA
3
NEBRASKA
19
COLORADO
23
ARt~%NA
HEW MEXICO
10
KANSAS
28
OKLAHOMA
38
KENTUCKY
TENNESSEE
54 CAROLINA
OEL ~
7
DC 4
21
APO ~
BELGIUM 9
LUXEHBOURG 6
MEXICO 1
TEXAS
81
HAWAII
TOTAL MEMBERS 2424
DECEMBER, 1999
WASHINGTON
OREGON
17
CALIFORNIA
116
NEVADA
7
IDAHO
4
UTA~
MONTANA
7
WYOMING
5
COLORADO
23
NEW MEXICO
9
NORTH OAKOTA
6
SOUTH OA~OTA
2
NEBRASKA
20
K~NSAS
26
OKLAHOMA
40
IoWA
45
SWITZ’~ND I
7
1
I
1
1
8
TEXAS
83
O
KENTUCKY
TENNESSEE
34
HAWAII
TOTAL MEMBERS 2489
CAROLINA
DC 4
23
~.

JUNE 15, 1.944
INFANTRY DAY
June 15, 1944
JUDGING

Excerpts from a book by
Rex O’Meara, C-334FA
In the September, 1999 issue of the GAN, Rex O’Meara related a series of events in which he was involved.
After the GAN had gone to press, he discovered that a portion of that story was never forwarded to us and asked that it be included in this issue.
What follows is that transcript. ED
It must have been about that time Muggs and I went back to our artillery battery where the guys told me about the 87th infantry outfit on our right flank that was wiped out. They said there was lots of equipment scattered around. They had retrieved some of it. I went up the hill on our right flank. I was looking for blankets.
At the crest of the hill and starting down the other side
:1 was shocked at what I saw! Fox holes and slit trenches ran down the hill with the bodies of American soldiers all over the place. As I walked along, I tried to analyze what had happened. Most of them were in their holes, some climbing out, some still in their sleeping bags. The rest were out of their holes all heading towards an apparent night time attack clutching their rifles.
the battery. Muggs had already heard about the massacre up the hill. He said, "I hear there are some
82nd Airborne up there. Some of them carry carbine rifles like ours but ours are semi-automatic. Theirs are fully automatic like a machine gun. Lieutenant Hall, our infantry Commander, wants a fully automatic carbine.
I should be able to find one." He went up the hill alone and sure enough found a fully automatic carbine rifle.
He was pulling the carbine out of an empty fox hole when a big stake bodied truck pulled up. It was from
Graves Registration. Three men got out and began picking up the dead and placing them on the truck.
Muggs watched for a while then walked over and said to the Sergeant in charge, ’!Sergeant, I notice you’re picking up only 82nd Airborne men. Why aren’t you picking up our boys as well?"
The Sergeant replied, "Those are my orders--to pick up only 82nd Airborne.".
Muggs said, "Tell me this Sergeant, when you take them back, do they go to separate places? Would our men :be taken to one place and the 82nd men to another?"
"Oh no," said the Sergeant. "They would go to the same depot."
"Then why can’t you pick up our boys at the same time," Muggs growled.
"I told you before, Sergeant, I have no orders to pick up your men."
I saw no blood. I suppose that was because they were heavily dressed and it was bitterly cold. As I reached the half way point along the crest of the wind swept hill, I stopped and looked around. That’s when it hit me hard. Not another living person in sight. I was alone with scores of dead soldiers. I had seen many dead soldiers before, both German and American, along our combat trail, but it was usually 1,2, 3 or 4 and I was always with a group.
Here in this cold desolate place alone, it was different.
I was suddenly struck by an overpowering realization of the terrible carnage that was war. As I went down the line, my lonely sadness deepened. I had picked up six loose blankets. I couldn’t take them off the dead boys.
About three quarters of the way along the line, I saw a different army shoulder patch on some of the bodies. It was the patch of the 82nd Airborne Div. What was the
82rid Airborne doing among, our boys? We had great respect and admiration for the brave dashing lads of the 82nd Airborne but I had never heard of a combined operation with them.
Another mystery was that there were no German soldiers. Did they take their dead and wounded with them? They must have had some casualties.
I hurried as fast I could in the knee deep snow back to
"You do now!" Muggs shouted as he pulled out his 45 automatic, threw one in the chamber and stuck the gun in the startled Sergeant’s face.
The Sergeant hollered to his men to pick up. both the
87th Infantry and the 82nd Airborne as they, came along. Muggs stayed and watched until the truck was almost full before returning to the battery.
Muggs and I went up with the infantry again. When we came back a week later, our Commanding Officer called Muggs in and showed him a letter he received from Graves Registration.
"Sergeant McGraw, is this the truth that you caused a
Graves Registration Sergeant to disobey his orders by threatening his life with a 45 automatic," said the
Captain.
"Yes, sir," Muggs ~eplied, "but you know I like to take care of my men, living or dead."
"Well you sure went to extreme measures on this one.
The Graves Registration Sergeant said that death was a daily thing with him, but he never felt closer to it than when he looked into the muzzle of your 45! Now
I am supposed to punish .you. What would you suggest?"

Muggs grinned and said, "How about restricting me to the battery area?"
"Get out of here!" yelled the Captain. Muggs threw a snappy salute and started out. As Muggs was leaving the command tent the Captain called, "McGraw, hold it. Tell me the truth--if that man hadn’t done what you told him to do, would you have shot him?"
Muggs said, "Well, sir, I threatened him if he didn’t do what I told him , but he did what I told him, so we’ll never know will we?"
"Get the Hell out of here!" []
By Vincent Wilken, C-346
By Ralph Watts, HQ-347
I to r, above.
Bea Bushong, Ray
Bushong, Jo Malmstrom,
Ken Malmstrom, Ralph
Watts, Verna Watts and to r, above.
Malmstrom, Ray
Red Wallace behind Bushong, Ralph Watts, Red them.
Wallace
Vincent W. Wilken on the left and a soldier from the 4th Armored on the right.
I was a platoon leader in C-346 and an incident in Tiller reminds me that the L-4 Grasshopper or Piper Cub
(J-3) was an observation plane also used by the Army for something else.
It was arOund 7 or 8 January, 1945 when we were at the small crossroads town of Tillet and trying to wrest it from stubborn German resistance when suddenly a small L-4 approached Tillet. The sky was filled with tracers trying to reach the plane but the pilot was not taking evasive action. He flew into the enemy fire disregarding all else. I watched as he flew into the fire and then flew out.
What is not commonly known is that these small planes were used for tank busting purposes. The plane was fitted with bazooka rocket tubes under the wings and, since they were very maneuverable and able to fly close to the ground were ideal in coming up to a
German tank and firing on it. I believe that this was the first time in WWII that such a light plane was used as a tank destroyer in France and Belgium. []
During the dates March 31 through April 2, 1999. the following men from HQ-347 visited in our home at
Winona, Mississippi, with wives; Kenneth and Jo
Malmstrom; Ray and Beatrice Bushong,. De]bert C.
"Red" Wallace and his daughter Adele Wredberg.
Also from April 5 through April 7, 1999. Sumner Bates and his wife Ethelyn and AI Roney, Ethelyn’s brother visited in our Winona home. Baytes also served in
Hq-347.
We five men served in HQ-347 from Camp McCain to
.... Fort Benning. However, Red Wallace was placed on a special assignment after the war in Europe end.ed.
During these visits, we returned to Camp McCain to visit the entire base. All of the buildings have be,en torn down. The area has now become commercial except for the old rifle range (small arms) area. This area is now a new Camp McCain, used for National Guard and
Army Reserves training. All of the buildings are permanent type structures. Needless to say, we had a grand thne. We,made plans for all of the above to meet in our Oxford, Mississippi home in April, 2000. []

The following Members have made their E-Mail addresses known to us. If you would like to have your E-Mail address shown here, let Jim Amor know. P.O. Box 4092, Long Island
City, NY 11104. Tel# 718 937 9160. Or use his E-mail address: jimamor@msn.com
A
Allen, Leonard E., HQ-335FA - trailridge.len@juno.com
Ammann, Frank W., B-312ENG - imaima@aol.com
Amor, Dr. James M., A.345. docamor@prodigy.com
Amor, Jim, A-345 -jimamor@msn.com
Anderson, Loren E., HQ3-345 - Iorenzo@ecmi.org
Anderson, Ted, B-912FA - trala123@aol.com
Aronson, H.L., H-347 - sunval2@aol.com
B
Baker, Spruill M., D-312MED -grey1337@aol.com
Baltzer, Jonelle, B-347 - cvr9990@aol.com
Barton, Lane W., G-345 - baaltov@ptld.uswest.net
Baumann, Donald H., G-345 - pooch@stargate.net
Beaupre, Gary S., E-345 - beaupre@bones.stanford.edu
Bennett, Donald R., HQ2-345 - drbennett@email.msn.com
Bennet, Orville H., A.912FA - rbb@strato.net
Benson, Rush, C-334FA- maru2@mail.cvn.net
Benson, Thomas J., D-346 - thomasbenson@juno.com
Bernstein, Leonard, F-345 - lenberns @gamewood.net
Blevins, Homer, A-345 - carvingp@aol.com
Brooks, Melvin, HQ2-346 - pops@aol.com
Boodey, Karen H., F-347 - boodey @nh.ultranet.com
Brown, Bill, HQ2-345 - 6421brown@home.com
Buser,, Wasrren F., D312MED - wfbuser@juno.com
Byrnes, Walter E., C-347 - webyrnes@aol.com
C
Camper, Casey, 787 ORD -casey@securitybiz.com
Cansler, George L., D-345 - ke4zzc@wedwizzards.com
Cats, Earl E., C-347 -ecall@webtv.net
Catrambone, 1-346- joelynncatrambone@compuserve.com
Chalue, Bob, HQ3-345 - bobnfluff@aol.com
Clark, John H., 87 SIG - ac2q@aol.com
Cody, Marge, H-345 - margiebudl@aol.com
Colgan, Frank J., HQ&AT-346- fcolgan135@aoi.com
Cook, William J., L-346 - budcook@brint.com
Coonradt, Rowland J., HQ-334FA- rjcfrwaydr@juno.com
Corriveau, Wm., 1-347 - wcorriveau@aol.com
Cougill, Glenn, HQ3.346 - ecougill@aol.com
Craig, Betty, K-347 - bcraigl l@msn.com
Custard, Ray. L., CAN-347 - rlcpjc@usaor.net
D
Davis, Cecil Gil, AT-347&I-347 - cgj@lanl.gov
Decker, Richard, C-346 - luvmark@bellsouth.net
deKowzan, Paul, L-345 - pedek@msn.com
DiGalbo, Daniel D., 1-346 - ddigalbo@snet.net
Dishaw, Norbert R., 1-347 - nrdishaw@up.net
Dove, Curtis, B.312ENG -doveriggs@juno.com
Duber, Paul, B&D-345 - pdubernc@webtv.net
Dudley, Dr E.Sam, 1-347 - sdudley@ra.msstate.edu
Dudley, Lewis F., L-347- dudieyCl@fld.aal.org
E
Ehret, Dr. Charles, L.345 - circa24@aol.com
F
Fairbanks, James W., C-346 ~ jfairb7908@cs.com
Faulstich, Wm. L, i-345- jfauls5193@aol.com
Faye, Irving, C-347 - faye4@juno.com
Fettkether, Robert G., C-334FA - rf87d@aol.com
Finlay, Robert, A.346 - geobob1891@aol.com
Foss, Norman A., 1-345 - nfoss9@aol.com
Foster, Win. C., K--345- fosterwc@northnet.org
Foy, John D., A-347 - f9543@aol.com
Frindt, Harding J., HQ-347 - as183@lafn.org
Fye, Edward R., A-345 - tiggerfye@aol.com
G
Gatwood, Charles, HQ.312MED - csgat@bellsouth.net
Gerrow, William F., F-345 - wfgtke@aol.com
Gillotti, Dario, MED-347 - dangillotti@webtv.net
Glass, Scott, HQ3-345- glasss@email.vicenza.army.mil
Goad, Carl, HQ3-347 - Icgoad@net66.com
Goren, Arnold, HQ2-345, F-345 - goren@is2.nyu.edu
Green, Col C.W., B&D-347 - jlbol lz@aol.com
Groothuis, Delton R., F-347 - delwang@postnet.com
Grove, Tom, D-345 - kaytazz@gateway.net
Gruss, Emanuel, HQ-2-345 - egruss@sprynet.com
H
Hainaut, Pascal & Nathalie - pnhainaut@swing.be
Harrison, Darryl K. - darrylkh@juno.com
Hauschild, Col., 87 exer - hauschildj@usarc-emh2.army.mil
Heckendorn, Harold, L-346 - hhecken@webtv.net
Heller, Joshua S., G-346 - jheller@cwix.com
Henn, Herbert G., G-346 - hhenn@erels.com
Hermann, Edgar W., AT&E-345 - edpat345@aol.com
Hewlett, Thos R. 1-347 - trhewlett@compuserve.com
Hicks, Willam R., F&AT-347 - whicksl@rochester.rr.com
Hilbert George P., SV.346 - gehilbert@aol.com
Hochstadt, Harry, A-347 - hochstadt@ezaccess.net
Holmes, J. C., 549-AAA - jcholmes@worldnet.att.net
Hughes, Charles, C-335FA- dadngram@flash.net
I-lusa, V. Lennie, HQ1-345 - wssn87a@prodigy.com
J
Jacoby, Robert L., B-912FA- neelyjacoby@prodigy.net
.Jasper, Bill, B-312ENG - awj5343@lightspeed.net
Johnsen, Walter N, HQ3-345 - waltvi@aol.com
Johnson, Maurice B., L-345 - mauryndonna@juno.com
K
Kaidy, Mitchell, D-345 - mkaidy@compuserve.com
Kaplan, Eugene, F-346 - ehk@npsy.ceb.scarolina.edu
Kaplan, Nancy, A-345 -. jsk364@aol.com
Kaspar, Jule F., HQ1-34R - blk62322@aol.com ....
Kean, Jane Kromer, A-345 - jkkean@prodigy.com
Kinney, Evan D., K-345 - coketoty@aol.com
Knestrick, G. Lloyd, C-345 - ritalloyd@juno.com
Knight, Deward F., MED-347 - dewardmae@aol.com
Korn, Jules, F-347 - sargefco@webtv.net
Kowa, Dale, L-346- dkowa@aol.com
Kramer, Louis B., C-312MED -Ibkramer@pol.net
Kreider, Bill R., D-345 - wa8ctl@aol.com
Kuhlmann, Edna, 1-347 - edna374@aol.com
Kunin, Arthur S., HQ3.347 - akunin@200uvm.edu
L
Landis, Lowell R., DIVHQ& ARTY - Ilandis@juno.com
Landrum, Eugsn M., C-335FA- mvangus@aol.com
Lewis. Richard A., 1-346 - ralarmy@aol.com
Liken, Tom, - tliken@aol.com
Lucey, John, HQ334FA - john.lucey@snet.net
Lyons, Kenneth C., 006 - welyons@gateway.net
M
MacDonald, Ken, H-346 - kw.macdonald@worldnet.att.net
Manning, Bernard, E-346 - bnb@aol.com
Mark, Thomas H., L-347 - ab181@oak.web
McAleer, Col. J.J., 1-345 - macmcaleer@aol.com
McDaniel, Ollie C., H-346 - mwdiamond@terraworld.net

McGhee, James, A-334FA - jrmcghee@juno.com
McGuire, Thomas E., B-345 - tommcg@gateway.com
McKenzie, Bernard, SV-346 - bmckenzie@webtv.net
McMurrough, Robert, G-346 - acorn87bob@webtv.net
McNutt, Gene, A-345 - ectdmcnutt@compuserve.com
Miles, Raymond E., 1-347 - rayemiles@aol.com
Miller, Amos C., F-345 - amoznirene@aol.com
Miller, Dr. Milton F., C-347 - slipprydoc@aol.com
Mindt, Frederick E., HQ-347 - fredmindt@ucnsb.net
Morse, Richard, G-346 - morse1876@aol.com
Moseley, Harold C., A-347 - curtis555@aol.com
Moyle, James, H-346 - hjmoyle@webtv.net
Mumby, Herman, C-335FA - hermfish@aol.com
Murvay, John, 912FA - jmurvay@aol.com
N
Nessman, Paul E., F&M-347 - nessmanrita@webtv.net
Nezat, Howard, L-346 - dprnezat@eatel.net
O
Oaks, James F., HQ3-345 - jaaoaks@aol.com
Olsen, George E., F-346 - geo2077@aol.com
P
Pancoast, Edwin C., G&H-345 - edeunpan@aol.com
Pascuzzo, Gladwin, D-312MED - gapexl@aol.com
Paton, Richard, G-347 - genpaton@aol.com
Pefinis, Chas. G., G-345 - charles@premiumpro.com
Pegues, Philip T., HQ-335FA - pegues23@shreve.net
Pennington, John, H-346 - erkx@clnet.net
Perkins, Gene, K-347 - depoegene@newportnet.com
Pfluger, R.A., D-347 - raugpflug@aol.com
Pierson, Dick, 787 ORD - rpierson@primenet.com
Pionessa, William T., E-347 -jpp312@buffnet.net
Ports, Kenneth N., K-346 - J8151@aol.com
Proctor, Grover B. Jr. - gproctor@concentric.net
R
Ragon, James H., 1-347 - splstk@aeneas.net
Ramsey, B.J., H-345 - bjrtoo@aol.com
Rance, Lt. Col., (rat) HQ1-347 - richar4566@aol.com
Ratkowski, Myron R., E-347 - kenspone@execpc.com
Ribowsky, Solomon, HQ3-347 - sribowsky@aol.com
Richards, George W., A-346 - gwrmr@aol.com
Riley, Henry M., F-346 - henryriley@mindspring.com
Rogister, Henri, C.R.I.B.A. - henri.rogister@skynet.be
Rosen, Harold M., H-345 - hankjoyce@aol.com
Rosenblatt, Norman, G-345 - grnpanorm@webtv.net
Rosenblum, M., B-345- msenblum@binah.cc.brandeis.edu
Roshek, Wm. W., 87 RCN - grandpavii@juno.com
Ross, George E., G-347 - mssgeorge@aol.com
Roth, Joseph N., 87 RCN - rothreal@aol.com
Rublin, Louis, G-346 - Irublin@voicenet.com
Rush, Benjamin, E-347 - brush@lsumc.edu
Russell, Smith Jr., HQ2-346 ~ fandrussel@aol.com
S
Savory, Alfred J., C-549-AAA - ajs2mls@aol.com
Schechter, Elliot, 607-TD - rhodell5@ibm.net
Schnutt, Gerry, HQ-336FA gerrysc@aol.com
Schureck, Jan, 1-347 - janschureck@mindspring.com
Serra, Erminio J., E-345 - 820@sccoast.net
Shaw, Wm., C-347 - systems@ieee.org
Shaw, Wm. Jr., D-312MED -wmshaw@ hotmail.com
Shayte, Bert, H-345 - beboppin@aol.com
Shear, Emerson, 87-RCN - eshear@mail2.weshet.com
Sherry, Barbara J., - sherryb@mail.hwpi.com
Shively, Linda K., E-347 - shive@ncats.net
Sift, A.W., K-347 - 21steele@bigfoot.com
Sift, A.W., K-347 - awsiff@juno.com
Singer, Lester, HQ-334FA- fcma24c@prodigy.com
Smith, Curgis H., H-346 - smijim@bellsouth.net
Smith, John S., HQ-346 -gpjsmithl@aol.com
Smith, Orval, B-312ENG - osmith@t-one.net
Snyder, Marvin P., 87-QM - mpsnyder@freeway.net
Stafford, Thos. L, L-347 - tgstafford@compuserve.com
Stanton, Chas F., M-346 - stantonbg@worldnet.att.com
Statt, William G., E-347 - stattwg@juno.com
Stevens, Bryce, C-312ENG - blstev@aol.com
Stout, Charles R., A-345 - chastout@earthlink.net
Strang, Barbara, B-912FA- barbstrang@aol.com
Strange, Jack, C-335FA - jstrange@kell.net
Sturgeon, Fines, E-347 - fines@clnk,com
Swope, Bill, B-335FA- bills13@juno.com
T
Talerico, Joseph J., SV-912FA - jtaler7381 @aol.com
Tarrant, James R., B-347 - tarrantj@goldsword.com
Tendam, Harold, 87 QM - halt@sunline.net
Thomas, Wm. F., C-346 - wee73willy@aol.com
Thompson, Charles W., HQ-334FA - thorcd44@aol.com
Thuet, Louis J., D-346 - Ithuet@dtd1.slps.k12.mo.us
Tupka, Adam, A-912FA - atupka@thegrid.net
V
Vesely, Melvin N., D-347 meln@stargate.net
Vincent, Lawrence, A-345 - mtyc88a@prodigy.com
Visco, Lou, G-347- Ijv1925@aol.com
Visser, Christine, A-345 - cvk657@aol.com
Vomacka, Dr. Henry J., Med-912FA- hjvomacka@juno.com
W
Wahlert, Fred, 1-345 - cairnview@earthlink.net
Walker, John R., A-334FA - mom_dad_walker@hotmail.com
Wallace, James P, HQ3-345 - jpwallace007@webtv.net
Warrick, Wo Weldon, L-346 - jwarr72217@aol.com
Watson, Robert, 1-346 - litawatson@aol.com
Watson, Sharon 1-347 - sharonwatsonl@compuserve.com
Weeks, James & Susan, D-345 - jsweeks@aol.com
Welsh, Robert B., K-347 - bobmarlis@cs.com
Wenstrup, Jack, HQ-336FA - jackwens@aol.com
Werner, Richard, B&E-347 - sesame-w@taconic.net
Wilder, Frederick S., F-347 - fswilder@aol.com
Wilkin, Paul T., 1-346 - paul@gargoyledesign.com
Williams, Lyndell N. 87 SlG - Iwpress@aol.com
Wintemberg, J.H., HQ3-347 - harrywintberg@webtv.net
Woodress, Fred A., DIVHQ - axewoodz@aol.com
Woytowicz, Henry J., 1-346 - hwoytowicz@earthlink.n~et
Y
Yake, Lee, L-345 - lyake27974@aol.com
Young, Bill, HQ-345 - wcyoung87@aol.com
Z
Sam Zeno, 87-SlG - esz2000@aol.com
Visit Our Web Page http://members.aol.com/division87/acorn.html
Visit The CRIBA Web Page http://users.skynet.be/bulgecriba
Want to Send an Electronic Postcard?
Try these two fun sites.
http:llwww.bowcreek.comlpostcardslshtml
and http://123greetings.com
Visit Our 1999 Reunion Web Site for Pictures http://87th.webjump.com
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A CCURA CY AND PLEASE NOTIFY JIM AMOR IF IT IS
INCORRECT.

Norman Rosenblatt in the Peace Woods where, much to his surprise, he found that the Hainauts had placed a plaque in the woods honoring him for his service to
Belgium.
On May 24th we had the great pleasure to spend the day in the Ardennes with Norman Rosenblatt,
G-345 and his wife Harriet. We had a very nice time but Norman will probably inform you of his activities while he was here.
On Thursday, May 27th we were with Ed Condon,
334th FA and his wife Nickie, to attend the
Memorial Day in Bastogne. The ceremony began
.in the crypt of the Mardasson with a mass in memory of the American soldiers and of the civilians fallen during the Battle of the Ardennes.
After the mass, the ceremony continued in the center of the Mardasson. The Ambassador of the
U.S.A. in Belgium laid a wreath in memory of the
American soldiers who almost 55 years ago gave their lives for a free Europe.
Many other wreaths have been laid amongst which one was laid by two members of the
VBOB Chapter 22, Massachusetts, of which John
McAuliffe, our National Commander is president.
Then the day ended at the Town Hall of Bastogne where the mayor Guy Lutgen made a speech reminding us of the friendship between Belgium and the USA. The mayor finally gave a little gift to all the veterans present: the medal of the town of Bastogne and a tie with the colors of the town
(Ed Condon will maybe wear his tie at the reunion this September).
Nathalie is joined by Nickie and Ed Condon,
C-334FA, at the entrance to the Peace Woods.

The American Color Guard during services at the
Mardasson Memorial
Dwayne Blocker, C-346 was cleaning out a gift shop rental building he had when he found the above. He states, "this bit of wisdom is probably more trfie today than in 1942." ..
The American Ambassador to Belgium placing a wreath during ceremonies at the Mardasson
Memorial
This wonderful treasure was sent to us by Harold
Harrington, Med-345 and Med336FA. It was worn by visitors to the post for Infantry Day and had a slot at the top center so it would fit under a button on a shirt
or jacket.

At the invitation of George Pelletier,
M-345, The Central Chapter Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge was invited to join in the "4th of July" parade in his home town of Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
A group went up there from Worcester with two WWII Army "Deuce and a half" trucks and two decorated vehicles.
With the veteran units they led the parade, about a mile and a half through the center of town. Thousands lined the parade route. They definitely made an impact.
The photo shows outgoing National Commander of the
87th Division Association, John McAuliffe, M-347 (on the left) and George Pelletier, M-345 (on the right) both holding the Central Massachusetts, Chapter,
VBOB banner.
Pictured here is a tree which was given to Jim
Hennessey by Chuck Milam 1989.
Writes Hennessey; "In
1989, on a trip to visit
Chuck and Cookie Milam in Chapin, SC, Chuck gave me this tree when it was just a 15 inch sapling. It is now 15 feet tall. I thought it a fitting tribute to a buddy to put his name tag on it. The tree is called Red Tip.
Wha~ it’s really called, I don’t know."
Jim Hennessey, E-3454
Mr. and Mrs. James Hennessey, E-345, celebrated their
50th Wedding Anniversary with a limousine night-onthe-town given as a gift from their sons James Jr.,
Glenn and wife Debbie. They dined at Windows at the
World Trade Center, in New York City.

We received this letter in response to the article, "I
Love You Dad" on page 42 of our June, 1999 issue of the GAN. We found it so informative that we print it here for all to see.
Dear Jim, "I Love You Dad", the letter to Mike Petrick from his daughter after she saw the movie, "Saving
Private Ryan", prompts me to say - I have not seen the movie and probably will not. I was on scene for most of the later close up action and cannot believe I would be easy with a late interpretation.
However, let me say from the bottom of my heart, I too love Mike Petrick. Without getting into all the requirements of his company such as providing heavy weapons (machine guns, mortars and a bunch of other things), I remember him as a very cool guy who took time to demonstrate that the 81mm mortar was superior to my 105mm howitzer under certain conditions. He also showed that he could be more accurate than I - under certain conditions. The secret was the very high angle of fall of the mortars - I1~_~’
Mike’s intelligence.
By John V. Turner, H-347
About 55 years ago, a couple of young men in Atlanta,
Georgia crossed paths. One, Charley Taylor was a dishwasher in a Pig ’n Whistle restaurant where his mother was a cashier. The other, Jack Turner, was an office boy at Robinson-Humphreys, a stock and bond brokerage where his mother was a secretary.
Charlie and I were shipped off to the Harmony Church
Area at Fort Benning, Georgia for basic training,
Infantry Basic. we visited North Carolina State for a few weeks of A.S.T.P. before being assigned to H
Company, 347th Infantry Regiment, 87th Division.
We fared well and went on to a great month near
Manchester, England before winding up in the Saar mostly rolling hills of grassy meadows and few woods.
After about a week of combat, I missed Charlie.
"Where’s Charlie?" Nobody had seen him or his rifle on the fields and it was a true case of missing in action.
Months later, half way across Germany, we got word that he’d been released from a German Prison Camp.
Back in Atlanta on our 30 day furlough, I called Charlie and he met my dad and me at Manny’s Shanty, for lunch.
I have never seen anyone quite like Mike. How could anyone be all over the battle field and still run an outstanding company involved in everything.
Please tell Wendy she does not have a monopoly on the "I Love Mike Club".
I sincerely believe that Mike’s coolness and professionalism under fire and under the stress of running a unit significantly advanced our efforts and brought.a lot of class to us when we needed it.
I last saw Mike during the 87th’s reunion in Arizona.my first attendance. Among the first I asked for and the first I met was Mike.
At the expense of being repetitive - I like Mike.
John E. Connolly
Fwd Observer, C Batry, 336
Col, U.S.A., Ret.
P.S. I would like to hear comments from the Cannon
Company commander who supported the 3rd Bn,
346th. I must admit that he also beat me on getting the fire on the target - at least once.
P.P.S. Mike Petrick was so good they called his company after him - Mike Co. 3rd Bn, 346 Inf. Regt.EI
"What in the world happened to you?"
He said, "I’d been assigned as company runner. For several hours, I’d been trying to get a hole in our lines filled. Finally, walking across that gap, I walked up to these guys digging a large fox-hole and said, ’It’s about time you S.O.B.’s got here. I’ve been trying to
,get this hole in our lines filled up for hours.’ I then felt a gun muzzle in my belly. These were German soldiers who’d filled in the gap. They marched me backto their lines and I wound up in a hospital to cure my trench feet. I was treated well and just felt guilty as hell~ being in a warm bed while you guys were still freezing’ out in those cold and wet foxholes. I felt very bad about being .captured."
Two young brothers were absolutely incorrigible and constantly getting into mischief. Their father was upon himself to con~rol them and then decided that he should take them to his Rabbi to see if he could do anything with them.
Immediately upon entering the Rabbi’s chambers, the
Rabbi ordered the older brother out of the room and once the door was closed he thundered to the younger one, "Where is God?" The little boy immediately rushed out of the room to his brother and said, "Boy are we in trouble. God is missing and they think we did it!

The 345th
If you want to do a complete story on the combat medic, you would have to go back to the
Civil War. At best that is the first account I find of medics in the Army or Marines or what have you. Back at that time, a lot of doctors never made it to a medical college, they served an apprenticeship out under a qualified doctor. That is how they became doctors. There were a lot of boys in the Civil War serving apprenticeships by working with the doctors in the Army. To paraphrase General Fry, who served in
World War II, Korea and Vietnam, "the only difference in all three, is time, geography and climate.
figured out I was underage and sent me home on furlough. He told me when I came back he was going to discharge me. So I came home on furlough, went back and figured I was going to be discharged; however, I found my name on a shipping list. The
Commander didn’t want to be responsible for me, so he shipped me out of his outfit. I ended up in an outfit in Camp Polk, LA, another medical outfit. We shipped overseas exactly one year to the day ahead of the 87th
Infantry, and landed one year to the day ahead of the
87th. They broke the outfit up and used them as replacements, and I ended up with the 82nd Airborne and stayed with them from March 1944 until November
1944. I had another company commander figure out I was underage, and he trapped me into admitting it by telling me he had sent home for my birth certificate.
Being a kid, I wasn’t smart enough to know he was tricking me. He also told me, "if you want to serve your country that bad, I won’t kick you out of the Army, but
I’ll disqualify you from the Airborne, and I’ll get you into a rear echelon outfit. So, in November he sent me to a Replacement Company, and on December 16,
1944, I’m sitting in a Replacement Company when the
Battle of the Bulge hit. Sure enough, they didn’t look at my face, they looked at my MOS number, and I ended up with 345th Infantry. So, all that happened actually, was that I went from the 325th Infantry to the 345th
Infantry and lost $50 jump pay each month.
The term paramedic was originally given to the members of the test platoon of the Airborne in 1940 at
Fort Benning, GA. These were medics who jumped with the paratroops when the Army was testing to see if the paratroops were feasible. Later the name was hung on paratroopers who had thecombat medical badge and jump wings. I have to admit, having been a qualified jumper and also a combat medic, I sometimes get bent out of shape when I hear an EMT called a paramedic. I find no disgrace in the title Emergency Medical
Technician but I will never refer to these people as
"paramedics" unless, of course, they happen to also be qualified jumpers.
As ! understand, two doctors who had been in the
Airborne during World War II coined the name while sitting around discussing the lack of help for doctors.
They started thinking about all the medics from World
War II who were sitting around without jobs, and decided they would be easy to train to assist in emergencies Since all these men were qualified parachute jumpers, they called them paramedics, other places saw this was working so the idea spread.
Later, the name was picked up by the EMT. This is about the extent of my knowledge of the civilian medics
My intention in this story is to give you some idea of what a medic feels, and what he goes through, and how he becomes a combat medic. In my own case, !
had dreams of being a "Rambo" as a child, and when I was 15 years old, I lied about my age and enlisted in the Army on Valentines Day, I943. I was shipped out to basic, and when I got there, I found out I was in a medical battalion. I started in with "how do I get out of here?" After a couple of days, we began to ask where our guns were, and we were informed right quickly that medics did not carry guns. So, it would be kind of hard to be "Rambo" without a gun, I served my basic training and was shipped out to a medical organization at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. The Company Commander
I stayed in the Army and retired and I’m very proud of that. I had quite a bit of "fruit salad" on, well, there is one decoration I don’t have. I don’t have an Expert
Rifleman’s badge or any kind of rifleman’s badge because to this day I have never been trained on a firing range. Medics are or weren’t when I was in the service, allowed to carry a weapon, so I never did receive a weapons decoration.
~ recall the night that I arrived with the 345th Infantry.
We were driven up as far as they could by tre(;k, and unloaded and marched on up. I went to 3rd Battalion,
I remember, as we were marching up, there had been a lot of shelling earlier in the day, and there!was a
German horse that I assumed pulled artillery or something, that had been wounded, and this horse couldn’t get up. I can still hear that horse screaming, or whatever horses do, and fighting trying to get up and his hind legs wouldn’t work. I knew no one could shoot the horse because it would have given our position away, but to this day I wish we could have done something to put the horse out of its misery.
When we got to the 3rd Battalion, I was sent to the Aid
Station and they assigned me to I Company as a medic. For several days, I can remember flesh wounds, but none of them really stick in my mind. there were a lot of them, but they were all flesh wounds. Probably the worst thing we had to deal with at that time was wet cold feet. Everyone had two pair of socks and we tried to keep the men changing their socks. Everyone

The 345th wore several layers of clothing and you could take one pair off and put the socks
~ you took off in between the layers of shirts you had on. Your body heat would dry them out and you could later on put on a pair of dry socks. That sticks out in my mind for some reason. To this day !
t,,,,,,.,~ don’t know how you get grown men to change their socks when they are wet like that.
your memory but I remember one in particular when we were going into Koblenz. We were on the road outside a town and there was a rock wall alongside the road. It was about shoulder high and the Germans had zeroed in on it with their machine guns. We landed on the riverbank south of Koblenz and started moving on the road and the Krauts kept raking the wall with machine-gun fire. I remember one G! got it. He was hit pretty bad, very serious and back down the road they had set up an aid station. It took four medics from I
A few of the days are more or less a blur to me. What really sticks out is when we captured two little towns,
Olzheim and Nuendorf. The first couple of days in
Nuendorf, I stayed in a cow barn and sometimes those of us who were in the infantry think we were the only ones in harms way. But I remember just outside this barn, there was a bridge that had been hit by artillery
Company to carry him back to the aid station. I think he probably made it but as I recall he had a head wound and maybe a couple of other wounds. You had a totally helpless feeling, in that you didn’t have the knowledge or the skill to treat him. All you could do is stick some Carlisle bandages on him and you could give him a shot of morphine. That was the extent of and the engineers worked on that bridge repairing it so we could use it. They were shelled constantly and, of course, we were right by them so we got: it too, but I remember thinking I would hate like hell to be in that water and be out there and nothing but my behind and head and ears to protect me. That’s what they had, so
I know the engineers had some pretty rough times too. ’
Later we took a hill and ! Company occupied that hill outside of Nuendorf and two platoons stayed up there for 24 hours and then they changed. But they didn’t the medical treatment you could give and hope they made it. Something I would say is that you wondered if you were in good hands with combat medics or not.
Most of us had about three months training (and most witch doctors practiced with one snake). The next time you see a Combat Medics Badge, take a good look at it and you’ll notice there are two snakes wrapped around the staff. So we practiced with two snakes where ordinary witch doctors practiced with only one.
have enough medics so we stayed up there continuously. We stayed up there from the day we took the town until the day we pushed on. That was my first experience with having a soldier killed by concussion.
that aid ent back to the company. I remember catching up with my company under a bridge leading into town.
They had taken a couple of prisoners. One was a kid
We had a boy killed up there, I remember his name well but I won’t mention it. I remember there was not about my age, probably no more than 15 or 16, and one was an old German Sergeant who had a gut a mark on him. When the shell hit real close to him and the shout, "Aid man up front", another aid man and I wound. I remember the kid was crying because he had been taken prisoner and I felt sympathetic for him went up there. We couldn’t find any wounds, but we because I could imagine how I would feel in his couldn’t get any pulse. All day long, we kept going back to that man trying to find some sign of life.
Finally, the Company Commander wanted the medics to carry this body off the hill. One of the medics got hold of Captain Caldwell on a field phone and told him about it. Captain Caldwell said, "If he wants the body moved, let him have his men take it off. My medics aren’t taking anything, we’ll lend them a litter." That ended that.
position. ~ gave the kid a cigarette and tried to comfort him. I remember the Sergeant was giving this kid hell.
I don’t know exactly what he was saying since~I don’t speak German, but it was obvious he was puttihg the kid down for crying. I remember he made me mad enough that I just crammed his guts back in andiput a
Carlisle bandage on him and sent him back to the POW cage. I still feel sorn/ for that kid and resentment toward the sergeant.
We pushed off from there into a town called Reuth,
Germany. At Reuth, we had some men on a tank pushing ahead. A sniper shot and killed a man on the tank, he was a medic and ! remember his name was
Kerr. I remember that tankers totally leveling the house the sniper was in. It was nothing but a pile of rubble and they kept firing into it. Kerr was hit in the head and died instantly.
We took Koblenz and ! remember flushing the town door to door. We finally ended up taking a German
Headquarters that was in a basement and 1~ Company set up the CP there. Being a kid, ! climbed around and snooped and looked everywhere ] could and found a bunch of pistols. The company commander told me to bring them all to him and he would pass them out. We we didn’t quite get them all to him. ! had a few friends that got one and a couple for myself.
What does a medic feel like? A medic was just like an infantryman, he was cold, hungry and scared to death.
He was scared he would get hit and scared he wouldn’t get hit with the "million dollar" wound. Every time he caught himself thinking about that he kind of scolded himself. Not every wound you treated sticks out in
There was a company runner named Block. ~ understand he is a dentist today and never comes to a reunion; but I remember him quite well. He had a message to take to one of the platoons and he wanted someone to go with him. He asked everybody, but no

The 345th one would go with him. He finally asked me. He said, "Doc, go with me," and !
said, "but ! don’t have a gun." He said
"we’ll get you a gun." So he did and I went with him. The gun he found was a grease gun and one time we thought we had a German up in a window but we went on to the platoon and delivered the message. When we got to the command post, I was talking to the men about the grease gun I carried,
Someone said, "Yeah, that’s a good weapon, the only thing is you have to open this door here on top so it can eject the shells when you fire it." I didn’t know that. If we had been attacked, ! wouldn’t have any idea how to fire that weapon.
t~he flushing out of Koblenz tool<two or three days. I remember one incident where one platoon found a jewelry store and found a safe in it. They were going to open t.he safe and everybody would be rich. They brought in grenades and a bazooka and tried every way in the world to blow up this safe. Finally they got it open and they found a big pile of dust. Another incident I remember was when we flushed out some apartments. We stayed around these apartments for a couple of hours or better and everybody was coming and going from there. Finally, after about an hour and a half, two Germans came out of one apartment across the courtyard and surrendered. They could have picked off all of us without a problem.
[
~fter that we were in an old creamery. It was sort of a half basement, and they. called a cease fire so Col.
Moran could negotiate with the officer in charge of the
German Fort. I don’t remember the name of the fort.
While the truce was going on, we heard an explosion and immediately thought we were being shelled from the German Fort. The call for medics came and I went outside. There was a tank that had hit a land mine. I helped the tank commander remove one body, one man was killed and another was, what we called, walking wounded. I sent him back to the aid station.
The tank commander had no wounds or injuries of any kind. That particular tank~ was either repaired or replaced, for from then on the tank crew always hollered, "Come on Doc, ride our tank." Foster Stearns was in our outfit and he always told me he was my bodyguard. When this particular tank crew would holler to me to ride their tank, Stearns would say, "Come on
DoG they’ve got the best wine cellar of any tank in the outfit." So, of course, we rode their tank whenever we could.
After we secured Koblenz, we stayed there for maybe a week. They brought up a shower unit so we could clean up. I had gotten a new pair of combat boots just before we went into Koblenz and in Koblenz I ran through some wire and got wire wrapped around the buckle of my boot, and ripped it off. I had taped it back on. When we got to the shower unit, Service Company had equipment and I turned these boots in for a new pair. They gave them to me. Lt. Lovine saw my boots and commented on my good fortune. While I was taking my shower, the Service Company commander came and took my new boots, explaining that my losing the buckle was carelessness on my part. Lt.
Lovine came out of the shower first and asked me where my new boots were and I told him what had happened. He said, "Let’s go talk to them." We went up to the counter he put his hand on the shoulder of the
Service officer and said, "This man tore the buckle off his boot in combat. If you want me to take you up there and show you where it happened I’ll do it." The commander didn’t seem to want to go up to the front so I got my new boots. Lt. Lovine always treated as an equal and for that I always admired the man.
We finally left Koblenz on trucks and headed south to make the Rhine crossing and as we were leaving I saw a sign on a building that read, "F.W. Woolworth" I don’t think I ever bought anything from Woolworths after that. I thought they were making money in Germany while we were fighting there.
We trucked south and crossed the Rhine at a town called Kampe. We got in boats and started across the river and I remember looking at my "new" watch and noticed the time was 9:15. It was dark, We hit the other bank right in the middle of what appeared to be a railroad yard. There was wire scattered all over. I remember a buck sergeant, he was a little older than the .rest of us, was talking about laying wire for field phones and the only way they could do it was to follow each other by the fluorescent face of their watches. At that time the numbers were painted on the watch faces with fluorescent material.
We took a hill, or at least started to take it, when half way up the hill we got pinned down by a German
20mm gun. There were four medics and we were on a flat little stone ledge back against a wall p~otected from being seen from above. One of the platoon sergeants came down and said he was sent to/us to protect us since we didn’t have any weapons. Lt.
Lovine went to the front of the company and had a shoot-out with the Kraut with the 20mm gun. Lt.
Lovine was killed in this action. I’ve always understood that Lennie Smith killed the Kraut. We pushed up the hill and I went to see if I could do anything for Lt.
Lovine but the platoon sergeant told me that there was nothing that I could do for him. They pushed me away and did not let me see him. I still, have regrets that I could not say good-bye.
About the first of April we pushed off pretty hard, riding tanks a lot. We would hit resistance and then push on again. We covered about 50 miles and we went up onto a hill and looked down into a valley. The
2rid Battalion was there and it was like watching a movie. The people looked like ants, but ~ knew it wasn’t a movie and people were being wounded down there.

The 345h
Easter Sunday and we were staying in a little town whose name I do not recall.
We had a Mexican boy with us by the name of Joe and he made a deal with the
German woman in whose house we were staying. The deal was that he would get some chickens and bring them to her.
She could cook one for us and keep a live one for herself. She was in the back of the house cooking chicken and singing away in German and we were sitting around a table eating fried chicken. All of a sudden, she started screaming. Someone at the table asked what was wrong with her and Joe said, "She just found out they were her chickens." Joe never missed a bite as he said that.
[ ~"~omewhere around the 5th, 6th or 7th of April we took a woods in the Tambach area. I was told that it was the name in German for Black Forest. Outside of Tambach,
L Company hit a roadblock and was pinned down. They called for all medics from every company to
L Company and we spent something like 12 or 13.
hours up there. All night long, we took care of the wounded and there was nothing you could do for the dead. That night L Company had 8 men killed and 22 wounded. When I have been asked to explain how we treated them, I’ve always said, "We treated them by
Braille". You couldn’t see since it was so dark and all you could do was ask if they were hit and if they could answer you, you would find the wound and bandage it.
You gave them a shot of morphine and sent them back to the aid station.
We worked that whole night taking care of the wounded. ] remember the next morning when I woke up, looking to my right and the dead were stacked like cordwood. There were some German self-propelled guns there and they were managing the road blocks and the way into Tambach. They were shelling us pretty good and I was in a basement taking cover. We were ducking down and there was an old German man in there. He was probably about the age I am now, you know, a nice ~ fellow, he wanted to run and get outside. He finally realized I was trying to show him what to do, and after that he stuck to me like glue. I liked to never got rid of him. I kept giving him cigarettes and he stayed real close.
~r~t one of the reunions, my wife and I were sitting in a dining room having dinner and ! looked over at the next table where a "First Timer and his wife were sitting. I started a conversation with him and he told me he was with Company L, 345th. I asked him if he remembered the night of April 7 when L Company lost all the men. He told his wife that I was a medic and that we had been called up to help that night. Right away his wife connected the date with the date he was w6unded and she was positive I was the medic who had taken care of him. Father Doody and my wife were at the table with me and they started kicking me I the shins till I was black and blue. They both told me to be quiet and let her believe that it was me, if it made her feel better. She kept thanking me for saving her husband. I still do not feel comfortable for taking the credit for something someone else did.
After Tambach, the war was pretty well over. 1 remember the last casualties we had were in the woods and the FO called in artillery. He called in short and it landed on us. I guess you would call that friendly fire but it didn’t feel very friendly. We had a boy who got hit in the foot or leg, right ankle. As I recall the wound, I figure he probably lost the foot. we carried him to the aid station and it seems now the we carried him for hours, but I have no idea how long it really was. I have always remembered him because he kept encouraging us and praising us for taking him out. He had been in a great deal of pain and we had given him morphine, but he just kept thanking the medics. That was the last combat wound we had.
We were scheduled to jump off to flush a woods and word came down that the Germans had surrendered.
No one wanted to go into those woods and be killed after the war had ended. At the last minute, they put off flushing the woods. For several days we were taking
POWs and shipping them back to a POW cage.
One other incident I remember after the war was when the firing had ceased, we were back in a bivouac area and on a Sunday morning there was a truck loaded with prisoners, not German, but American stockade prisoners that went down the road. The driver was driving too fast and when he made a turn and missed it, he flipped the truck over. He killed several of the prisoners in the truck and they called the medics out.
We all grabbed our cases and went down there. I remember one boy died in my arms. I always thought what a hell of a shame that after going through the war, he had to get killed like that. I don’t know what he was guilty of, or why he was in the stockade, . but I always felt he didn’t deserve to die like that.

The
Last June we received the following article, which appeared in a local newspaper, from a dear friend of the
87th, Sister Maria Guiseppe of the St. Joseph Home for
Girls of East Chicago Indiana. Father Timothy Doody ministers to their spiritual needs and those of the girls in the home. The article was written by Arch McKinlay a newspaper columnist.
At the bottom of the
Depression in 1932.
young Timothy Doody, a
Sacred Heart altar boy, left Whiting to attend St,
Joseph’s boarding school in Rensselaer.
He stayed on for college and then trained for the priesthood, his first assignment being i assistant pastor of St.
John’s in Fort Wayne. With the onset of World War II, he volunteered to be a chaplain. In time, he found himself in Gen. Patton’s 3rd Army assigned to the 345th Regiment of the 87th Infantry Division, coming to the relief of those trapped in Bastogne. It was Hitler’s last hurrah.
"A single breakthrough on the Western Front!" Hitler said to his sidekick Speer. "You’ll see it! It will lead to collapse and panic among Americans. We’ll drive right through their middle and take Antwerp. Then they’ll have lost their supply port. And a tremendous pocket will encircle the entire English army, with hundreds of thousands of prisoners, as we used to do in Russia."
Staged by Field Marshall von Rundstedt in the
Ardennes along an 80-mile front, it was the final great counteroffensive of World War II, taking place during the 1944-45 Christmas season.
The surprise assault mauled an inadequate number of
U.S. troops and concentrating on the center of the front, the Germans penetrated 50 miles. But the defense of Bastogne stemmed the drive. The original line was restored by the end of January. Four months later, Germany surrendered.
"The order of the day was bravery and valor and everyone followed it," Father Tim said. "The daring GIs took great chances and the leadership was good.
Medics were among the real heroes, many of them being the first to die. Some 90 percent of the wounded who reached the clearing station survived."
Father Tim and his colleagues not only ministered to
Americans but to captured or wounded Germans.
Ironically, his interpreter was a Jewish GI of German ancestry, who had lost family to the Nazis in the
Holocaust.
"One of the major causes of casualties was frostbite,"
Father Tim said. "Sometimes the victim had to be almost carried back into the action. As we moved on, casualties had to be removed and the bodies were often frozen stiff, like logs."
Now retired in Hammond, Father Tim says he is grateful that an "ordinary chaplain." as he describes himself, "could contribute to what many observers regard as ’America’s Finest Hour’."
By Delbert D. McNealy, B-345
This story concerns the only night combat patrol in which I had to participate although I made lots of night patrols which were reconnaissance in nature. It was
February, 1945 and as members of the First Battalion,
345th Infantry Tiger Patrol, Pfc. Fogarty and I were assigned as first and second scouts to lead a platoon of
40 infantrymen into the German positions in the
Siegfried Line somewhere beyond the little town of
Neuenstein. About 9 p.m. we were trucked to a stone barn on the backside of a hill and assembled for a briefing that we were going into a firefight to try and penetrate their defenses.
I was in the lead with Fogarty a few paces behind me and everyone else was strung out behind across the pasture as we crested the low hill back of the barn.
The hard packed snow glistened brightly under a clear
Sky with a full winter’s moon directly overhead on a very, very cold night that-made each soun~d seem magnified a thousand fold. The entire countryside was as a pastoral scene of dark grays and silver-white created from an artist’s brush interspersed with plots of green etched onto the canvas. This picture was felt in numbed fingers and toes as the breath froze on our faces. Not a sound or animal scurried across our view as we trudged up the hill. All was deathly quiet.
The crunch of frozen snow under my feet was a harbinger of other footsteps that would follow, for rearward, forty men kept their eyes forward to discern any movement denoting impending danger. Usually, if the first scout is hit or forced to take cover, the remainder of the platoon would be able to flank or move up to challenge the enemy position.
The platoon was strung out over the pasture and moving slowly and only as fast as I did for there was no urgency in their catching up with me. The cold would be forgotten when nerves tingle and anxiety pervades the mind with a tension of knowing what will happen,, but not knowing the split second of its occurrence that could mean the difference of life or

The 345t!~ death.
Across the pasture and through a crossfence near the top of the first rise, forty dark moving objects stole quietly over the,small hill into a depression that led upward into the dark woods,
In a man’s lifetime, 1945 is not that far in the past that all experiences can be forgotten or hidden from mind. Foreign lands hold many different experiences outside the circumstances that were placed on those youth that were expected to preserve the peace above all other desires or values.
Remembering seems easy now, but the incredible discipline seer0s strange that men without further thought obey an order that could, and often did, require their ultimate sacrifice. Only self preservation and the ability to respond mitigated the otherwise i~npending circumstances. In retrospect it impresses upon the individual the degree to which he can be motivated to conform to the desire of others.
The Ardennes forests seem strangely oriented in.
contrast to the undisciplined forests in the United
States and other parts of the world, for they are largely planted, often in neat rows, thinned and harvested as any other crop. Nevertheless, the woods up ahead were so thick the moonlight could not penetrate, they would be foreboding at any time especially now.
I moved forward past an empty foxhole which had recently been vacated. Numerous boot prints had worn a path through the snow leading straight away from me to the woods beyond. I became intensely aware that my presence and that of the others was known to those faceless enemy soldiers hidden somewhere up ahead. How many and the strength of the fortifications was a penetrating question since it marked the magnitude of resistance.
Night combat patrols were commonly used to assess the strength of a given position as well as to raise havoc. Since we had no artillery, mortar or tank support, our whole operation was just a probe.
After I had reached the second German outpost which had recently been vacated, the tick of the clock became hours in anticipation of contact. I was now going up a slight rise out of the depression and was about 100 yards from the woods and since the pasture had narrowed, Fogarty and I were only about 20 yards from either of the two side fences. We did not detect any enemy.
Like the crescendo of the village brassband, the night opened up into a display seen only on a Fourth of July to surround the countryside with the incessant chatter of machine guns with thin red lines of tracer bullets migrating in a horizontal pattern across the pasture and clipping the crest of the hill behind us. The flares, the dull thump of mortar shells crashing in the snow to throw large chunks of frozen earth and the crack of grenades arriving from unknown sources, created a picture found elsewhere only in the best of
Hollywood’s movies. The German’s actions were not to impress but to repel us and the storyline was written in tragedy.
At first shot, Fogarty and I dived into the shallow crusted snow which afforded no protection. We were totally exposed but they didn’t seem to be shooting at us but those behind us. The reason, probably being, we were below the line of fire as we watched the tracers behind us.
We weren’t alone however. Egg shaped concussion grenades rolled toward us from the right side fence row. We saw a helmetless German throwing them at us and for a moment I was very busy quickly brushing them away from us.
The previous day, I had pulled what I had thought was a stroke of luck. Some tanker had left a Thompson sub-machinegun in his jeep and as I walked by I simply exchanged my Garand M1 for it. I found some 45 caliber ammo and an extra clip and fired a few rounds that afternoon. I cleaned and oiled it completely and it worked like a charm.
As I took a bead on the man throwing the grenades and pulled the trigger, the bolt on that Thompson slid forward in slow motion and stopped short of firing. I pulled the bolt back and forth rapidly a few times and then turned the gun upside down to dump out the ammo that didn’t fire. I guess that was enough friction to overcome the frozen oil and I was able to get off a burst of about seven. The German never surfaced again. At 20 yards, who could miss.
There we were, Fogarty and I lying out there in plain
~sight while all hell was breaking around us. The sky and night continued to be shattered with an unending display with an eeriness confined to this minuscule sector of the world. Unbeknownst to me, the order for retreat had been given. I could not see dark objects scurrying to safety beyond the hill, running it seemed through the mix of red lines serving a sheet overhead.
Fogarty and ! were too far forward to hear any commands and obviously no one was going to come up to save our butts. To stand up and °run was suicide. We were left to our own plight and decision.
The melee subsided with the advent of the threat, i.e.
the entire platoon had left the field for the safety of the backside of the hill, except for we two men who lay prone and unmoving, lying as dark corpses in the glistening snow bathed by a nearly full moon that was slowly moving to set early that winter’s night.
Now was the time for survival and time and the moon our friend for with absolute darkness, escape was possible. The cold now was felt more deeply as time dragged by and ! thought if ! didn’t move ! would just freeze to death.

The 345th The light waned somewhat and I crawled over to Fogarty to see if he was wounded and to tell him I was going to crawl over to the fence row on our left and get into the woods so we could get back behind the hill. ! whispered this to him and he said OK and I told him to x,,~,,,~,, follow me, to which he replied OK. 1 never looked back and after crawling across the fence and into the woods it was impossible to see more than a few feet. After 1 got back to the stone barn, [ waited for Fogarty, he never came. I know he was alive since no shots had been heard. Except for the Lieutenant and a couple of men everyone else had been sent back to their camp. I had been gone for an hour or two, having lain in that pasture and then stumbling through the forest on the detour to return. We waited a while longer but no Fogarty, we would only assume the
Germans had captured him.
But Fogarty did survive. As he told the story later, he could talk but he couldn’t move. He said he froze but didn’t know why. He also said he watched the Germans walking around the other side of the fence but no one bothered to check him. He said that after the moon went down it was total darkness and he just got up and walked back.
We were crossing the road as a spread out group when machine-gun fire from our left as a sharp bend in the road some 100 yards away drove all of us to the far side to escape the steady stream of tracers. By now, sundown was upon us and those woods became as black as the inside of a tar bucket. Cut off from the tanks, we lay on the pine needles in that large grove waiting for signs of further activity from those who were wont to make us leave the area.
While we were waiting, the roar of a wood burning open top truck in low gear loaded with soldiers, was heard coming down the road from the south and as we watched, it passed behind us and turned the corner down the slope, its silhouette revealed about 20 men loaded in the back. I could see the redness of the burning furnace. ! had never seen one like it. No one stirred. After a while, the Sgt. felt it safe to move back across the road but our usual luck was with us. Whe~ we were in the middle of the road, another open topped truck topped the rise from the south, to catch the shadows of us moving about. It’s hard to hide 40 men on an open road ... even at night skittering across and into the woods as the truck lumbered by.
We learned two days later, when Company B attacked through this area that we had tried to knock out a pill box that was 3 stories into the ground and intensely fortified, our usual luck. The very next day I traded that Thompson sub-machinegun for an M1 in the same way I got it.
The second platoon of B Company, 345th Infantry
Regiment was led by T/Sgt. Epler and we were assigned to lead that day and protect the armor with us as we encountered isolated pockets or road blocks some 50 to 100 miles east of the Rhine River. This is the story of an incident that occurred late one afternoon in April, 1945 in WWII.
We were in the most dense forest I had ever seen. It was practically impossible to make our way through.
Only along a small dirt country road that wandered through it were we able to make any progress. Nothing major or serious had happened all day and tired from our efforts we were looking for a place to make a secured night camp. In the company of one the
Sherman tank, and one 90mm TD, which occupied the whole width of the dirt ~oad, we found our road junctioned with a much wider and more frequently used road that traversed perpendicular to us and then swung down the hill through an area of large open trees whose branches had been cut as high as a man in a wagon could reach. The tanks were stopped on the dirt road and as silent as they could be while we ventured across and down the wide road. Those tanks were like sitting ducks on a pond and only one way out.
Amusingly, the two men carrying the bazooka, dismantled in two pieces secured by a large leather strap, went around opposite sides of a tree and the resultant chatter was a dead giveaway. Machine pistol fire raked the woods. I was some 20 feet from the truck and could clearly see the German soldiers seated along the sides of the truck bed. I stood very still behind a 12" tree as the bullets whizzed around me. It was impossible to throw a grenade as it would have hit a tree and bounced back among us. The only casualty was "Ole Sarge" who took one in his canteen which gave him one just good for a purple heart. He thought he had a bad leg wound as the fluid flowed down his
"leg into his boot. At the battalion Aid Station, where they had light, they found a badly ruptured~canteen whose contents just poured down his pants. "Ole
Sarge" rejoined us and was the usual butt of many remarks. ~
I’ve often wondered why we didn’t attack those trucks
.. they were sitting ducks. We had bazookas, B.A.R.s, grenades and the T/Sgt. certainly had shown courage before. I watched, we all watched that truck proceed slowly down the road away from us. We just didn’t do anything and we spent the night on the ground with supper out of a paraffin covered box, not too far from where our tanks silently squatted in the middle of the small road.
Del McNealy states that he would like to hear from any B-345 member who was at Moircy. His address is 50 Sun Point Lane, El Paso, Texas 79912-
4262 Ed.

The 345th
By Mitchell Kaidy, D-345 tactics when he was captured.
Not only was he taken prisoner, but the
Germans, who were now beginning to increase their fire, were using him as a human shield. By this time the Nazis had brought up artillery, and together with rifles, were exchanging fire with the Americans who had positioned themselves in the hotel windows and roof.
Here’s where the U.S.
Army dictum "hold the high ground" paid off "It’s like a shooting gallery," Lt. Leake exulted as his men picked off i the Germans from the hotel windows and rooftop.
According to historian Charles
MacDonald, who relates the story in his book "A Time for
Trumpets", one of the
American signalmen drawing a bead from the Parc Hotel "was new to the front and reluctant to kill anybody." But he aimed at a German sergeant’s buttocks and dropped him.
During the American countervolley, the second in
D-345 GIs and one 106th Division GI, with their wives on the front command was freed by sharpshooters picking off
~orch of the 70 year old Parc Hotel in Berdorf, Luxembourg~ last year.
Germans from little portals in the roof
It’s a miracle that the tiny but charming Parc
Hotel, nestled on a "site isole" or little plateau in
Berdorf, Luxembourg, survived the Battle of the Bulge.
In one of the opening rounds of the five-week battle, a battalion of German soldiers almost surrounded a company of American signalmen using the hotel’s upper floors as a lookout. Although lacking the artillery brought up by the Germans, the GIs, benefiting from the high ground, inflicted heavy losses on the German battalion.
One of the first signs of the scope of the Battle of the Bulge appeared here, as Americans who were using the hotel as a lookout caught sight of a trickle of
Germans drifting out of the woods. The Americans, who had outposted guards at tactical locations as well as on the hotel roof, could only watch with mounting amazement and concern as the trickle kept swelling.
Unfortunately for the Americans, at that time their radio was out of commission. So the first lieutenant in charge, John L. Leake, ordered his second in command to jump into a jeep and notify higher headquarters of the approach of a "possible enemy patrol." While he was successful in this, on his return the second-in-command was trying to use off-road
In the meantime, the Germans, who had been experiencing reverses and heavy losses elsewhere in the Bulge, began recalling their besieging forces, and the Americans liberated all their captives.
It’s been a long time since the artillery-crUshed rooftop and part of the top floor of the Parc Hotel.were
repaired. Since those days the lovely little hotel has been expanded, with a spacious new dining room, tennis courts and swimming pool set into a lushlylandscaped garden.
Even without the story of its connection with the Bulge, the Parc Hotel in Berdorf (one of three with that name in Luxembourg), remains an attractive and economical lodging, with first-rate food and dining facilities. The storied Parc is located east of Bastogne and Diekirch, and only a dozen kilometers northwest of
Echternach.
Visitors will find that the two-story 1930s hotel hasn’t forgotten its dramatic wartime encounter.
As four returning 87th Division and one 106th Division
GIs and .their spouses learned on their return to
Luxembourg recently, the story of the hotel’s neardeath and deliverance is posted on its bulletin board.

The 345th
By Mitchell Kaidy, D-345
1993 Mitch Kaidy sent this account to seven leading U.S. Newspapers. So far
as is known, none have used it., ED
Truth is not only the first casualty in war, but, as the movie/book "Liberators" demonstrates, truth can now be victimized in two media simultaneously.
After a short run which earned protests and disputes, the flawed television version of "Liberators" has been withdrawn from circulation. Now the book, which contains history fully as mangled as the movie, should be withdrawn or corrected.
War is, of course, a series of violent and confused spasms--so confused, sometimes, that the participants report different versions of what actually happened.
In order to vicariously enter wartime experiences, humanity hungrily devours the firsthand accounts of survivors, as well as the second and third-hand accounts of journalists, authors, historians, and with "Liberators", the tendentious accounts of Hollywood-style mythmakers.
Once the number of combatants in a battle diminishes or disappears, it becomes easier for the mythmakers to take control of events, as, for instance, romanticizing the Civil War. But in the case of the
Battle of the Bulge, now nearing its 50th anniversary, they moved too soon. There remain too many survivors and too many reliable documents to allow a wholesale, fictionalized revision to stand, such as the error-riddled book with touched-up photographs published by Harcourt, Brace 3ovanovich.
Written by Lou Potter, William Miles and Nina
Rosenblum, "Liberators" relates the heroic struggles of a tank battalion which spearheads many of the Third
Army’s fiercest engagements and captures several key
Belgian villages during the height of the Battle of the
Bulge.
The movie/book’s title derives from the authors’ contention-disputed by historians--that the mostly-Black 761st Tank Battalion liberated both the
Dachau and Buchenwald concentration camps. But going far beyond the movie, the book portrays the tank unit dauntlessly spearheading the U.S. Third Army in throwing back the attacking Germans.
As dramatic and captivating as these episodes are pictured, they have no basis in fact. In the case of the battles of Rondu, Remagne, Libramont and Tiller in
Belgium, which "Liberators" specifically or indirectly credits to the Tank Battalion, there exists detailed, documented, photographic as well as recollected evidence given by the actual combatants that damn the "Liberators" attempt to rewrite as well as to mythologize the facts.
But there are unseen others who also damn the revisionist version--infantrymen from my outfit who fought but didn’t survive those battles, and are calling from their military cemeteries to be redeemed; to have their young lives, their valor and their
~acrifices restored honestly and objectively.
And so this former infantryman, who participated in the Bulge actions dramatized in
"Liberators", is called upon to redeem his comrades who cannot speak for themselves. No matter how plausible the pseudo-documentary movie/book appears, the 761st Tank Bn. did not spearhead these battles, nor did they capture the villages of Rondu, Remagne,
Libramont and Tiller in that record-cold winter of 1944-45 in the Ardennes Forest.
The credit belongs to the three regiments of the 87th Infantry Division which won them in harrowing firefights that lasted from Dec. 30, 1944 to Jan. 14, 1945. We have not only our history and memories to prove it, but are supported by the detached accounts of historians.
Our own official account was written, not this year or last, but in the year in which most of those battles occurred--1945--and published the following year. And over the past half century that record has withstood close scrutiny--and has never been substantively challenged by any authority.
To quote virtually on-the-scene excerpts from the official 345th Infantry Regt. history, on Dec. 30,
1944, the Second Battalion "moved to the vicinity of
Rondu to prepare for an attack the following morning ..... by nightfall New Year’s Day, all three battalions (of the 345th Regt.) were in positions
’around Rondu..."
After taking Rondu, the Second Battalion
"moved out at 1320 (hours) and encountered ohly road mines and artillery fire. Companies E and F,. leading the attack, moved through Remagne, cleared it of snipers and took the high ground to the north...’~
A long, detailed account follows about the terrible and costly struggle for Tiller: "A dense pine wood, strongly fortified, east and south of Bonnerue, guarded the approaches to Tiller, a key point in the
Nazi defenses. It was high, commanding ground...The
attack was launched at 1000 hours in a column of companies..." only to be thrown back with severe losses several times.
"On Jan. 8, the first and third battalions of the
345th Regiment coordinated an attack that won the
Hais de Tiller woods. The first and second battalions of the 346th Regiment attacked the high, barren ground northeast of Tillet on Jan. 9." Now appears information that sharply undercuts the revisionists: "Their (the attackers) tank support was lost owing to the steep, icy hillside that the tanks couldn’t negotiate." In this fierce and bloody struggle, the U.S. Army’s two highest honors for gallantry and intrepidity were awarded to

The 345t1~ two 87th Infantry Division soldiers. S.Sgt. Carl F. Shoup of
Scriba, N.Y., though critically wounded, crawled through the snow with hand. grenades, destroyed a machine-gun nest, and attempting to rescue, a
~’~’~"~"~ wounded comrade, was struck by sniper fire. He was awarded the Medal ofi
Honor posthumously; while several days later i:
Second Lt. Glenn H. Doman of Manoa, Pa.
was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for intrepid actions in the final capture of Tillet and its adjacent hamlet, Beau Plateau.
][ do not have before me the history of the
Fourth Armored Division. But certain facts fatally undermine the Presidential Unit Citation claim, published in "Liberators", that the 761st spearheaded the Fourth Armored’s drive into the Siegfried Line.
First, in World War 11 a standard battalion comprised one tenth--or less-- the size of a full-fledged division.
Second, compared to the Fourth Armored, the 761st
Tank Battalion was inexperienced, having arrived on the continent late in 1944.
So it is militarily absurd to believe the Fourth
Armored Division, that mighty, unstoppable force that swept from Normandy to eastern Germany and largely fashioned Gen. George S. Patton’s reputation as a dashing tank commander, would be "spearheaded" by a tank battalion which had a small fraction of the
Fourth Armored’s strength in manpower and tanks, as well as a shred of its experience.
And so it goes with other references in
"Liberators" to the 26th and 87th Infantry Divisions.
Three histories record that the 87th Division was personally selected by the European
Theater commander, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, to help spearhead the counterattack after the Germans broke through American lines in the Ardennes Forest.
Eisenhower’s order, which has been preserved, reads:
"Release to (Gen.) Bradley at once the :[:[th Armored and 87th Divisions and organize a strong Bastogne/
Houffalize attack."
Mounted with other divisions, that mighty but bloody counterattack inexorably liberated the
Airborne Division, which had been surrounded at
Bastogne in an episode which gave rise to the famous reply of "Nuts" by Gem McAuliffe to the German surrender demand.
As further testimony to our division’s performance, we remained in the line for five months, assaulted the Siegfried Line, the Rhine and Moselle
Rivers, linked up with the Russians, and garnered three battle stars, individual valorous awards reached into the tens of thousands of Bronze Stars, Silver Stars,
Distinguished Service Crosses, battlefield commissions, Purple Hearts and a Medal of Honor.
At the conclusion of the epic struggle,
Gen.George S. Patton lavishly praised the 87th
Division as a "splendid" unit and wrote the VIIIth
Corps, of which we were a unit: "None of us will ever forget the stark valor with which you and your corps contested every foot of ground during
Von Rundstedt’s attack."
So the reference in "Liberators" to i"inexperienced young greenhorns" running i away from battle is seen for what it is - an unworthy attempt to defame authentic heroes
: by three authors, most likely to promote their commercial success.
In World War :[1, there was acrossthe-board bias against Black troops.
Shamefully, the 76:[st Tank Battalion was one of the few Black units to have been committed to combat in Europe. While providing tactical support during the Bulge to the 87th Division, it performed commendably, and was not spared casualties.
In common with other veterans who feel victimized and misrepresented by the media’s avidity for sensationalized fiction, I. ask myself how this could have happened. In one frenzied hour of the Battle of the Bulge, there was enough heroism, imperishably demonstrated by the 87th Division infantrymen at
Tillet, the Siegfried Line, and through four European countries, to produce both high tradition and horrific shudders among both readers and moviegoers provided they were told the truth.
Why haven’t the mythmakers focused on the fact that in that hideously cold winter of :[944-45,
American troops were initially outnumbered by six to one--yet we, the American Army, triumphed over the
Third Reich? This information comes from Temple
University historian Russell F. Weigley, who took 35 years to comb through American and German sources to unearth it.
Or why have they never depicted the real (as against the mythologized) George S. Patton, or the real Third
Army and its manifold exploits? it was Gen. Patton, a lifelong student of war, who wrote an epilogue to the
Battle of the Bulge that needs no mythmaking to, polish it: "In this operation the Third Army moved farther and faster and engaged more divisions in less time ithan any other army in the history of the United S~atespossibly in the history of the world."
ERRORS, ERRORS, ERRORS
Factual errors abound--sometimes hilariously--in
"Liberators." The three authors, as well as the members of the 761st Tank Bn., all claim the battalion fought for the
Remagen bridge. In reality, they fought alongside the 87th
Infantry Division at Remagne, a small Belgian village not far from Bastogne, 100 miles southwest of the Remagen bridge.
The Remagen bridge was in the First Army area. At the time, the 76:[st was attached to the Third Army.
The authors, plus the Battalion members who supplied the information, also claim the Battalion fought in the Maginot Line, which was mostly in France. Although the
Battalion served In France briefly, the tankers actually fought in the Siegfried Line in Germany.
The book "Liberators" now comes with a printed apologia from the publisher for making unwarranted claims about discovering the Dachau and Buchenwald concentration camps. The Remagen bridge and Maginot i_ine are not addressed.

~ .: ~ ~ ~
By Norman Rosenblatt, G-345
In January, 1999 my wife Harriet and I booked a 10 day "Taste of Europe" tour for mid May, 1999, that covered 6 countries: England (London), Bel~]i,.m
(Bruges, Brussels), Holland (Amsterdam, Volendam),
Germany (Cologne, Bonn, Remagen, Koblenz,
Rudesheim, Trier) Luxembourg and France (Reims,
Versailles, Paris). It was. wonderful tour which included sleeping in the Koblenz Mercure Hotel which was located at the intersection of the Moselle and Rhine
Rivers, about 1 mile from the exact point where on
March 16, 1945 my G-345 comrades and I crossed the
Moselle in assault boats into Koblenz. The tour also included a 2 hour cruise up the Rhine river which began at Boppard from the exact point where on the night of March 25, 1945, my G-345 comrades and I crossed the Rhine in assault boats and just after midnight, a few minutes after landing, I was hit by
German mortar shrapnel and 2 days later was flown to a U.S. hospital in Paris.
In March, 1999, I phoned Jim Amor, our GAN editor with another matter in mind and learned from him that he and his wife Louisa had visited the Ardennes
Battlefields four times in recent years. I told Jim about our "Taste of Europe" tour which was ending in Paris on
May 23rd before our return flight to California and asked him if he had any suggestions about how Harriet and I could include a mini-tour to the Ardennes into our itinerary. Jim quickly told me about Nathalie and
Pascal Hainaut, the young Belgians that write the
"Belgium Calling" article in each GAN. Jim then gave me the Hainaut’s phone number and e-mail address to enable us to make swift and personal contact with them. We then read their "Belgium Calling" article in the March, 1999 GAN which we had just received and now let me briefly quote a portion of their article:
"It is always a pleasure and an honor for us to welcome the veterans who come back to Belgium and to drive them to the battlefields and through the Ardennes. If one day, some of you wish to come back to Belgium, let us know, we will do all that free of charge. It is our way to thank you for all what you did for our countw."
We then phoned the Hainauts and for us the rest is history. Between phone and e-mail and fax, we quickly set up the details of our tour to the battlefields. On
Sunday May 23, we would take the Thalys High Speed train from Paris to Brussels where the Hainauts would meets us, and we both would wear our green 87th
Division caps so they would be able to quickly find us in the crowd. This would enable us all to spend the rest of the day locally, and on Monday, May 24th starting at
7:00AM spend the entire day in the Ardennes which is
1 1/2 hours away by auto and on Tuesday May 25th we would return by train to Paris to complete our flight home to California, two days after our original return date.
Everything went as planned and Nathalie and Pascal greeted us at the Brussels train station with wide smiles on their faces and off we went in their auto to their home in Sint Pieters Leeuw, which is a s~uburb of
Norman and the tribute to
Allen Bailes, KIA, A-345
Brussels. Their home was warm and friendly with paintings, photos and many artifacts and mementos of the "Battle of the Bulge" everywhere, including two mannequins completely outfitted in WWII GI battle gear. A mini - museum! We then exchanged gifts and

The 345t!~ the Hainauts presented me with a handsome bas-relief plaque, made with wood and earth from the Ardennes, of an 87th Division GI, Golden Acorn and all. We will cherish this gift always.
The Hainauts then made several
~,,~,~,~t~=~r suggestions to plan our afternoon adventures and off we went. Our first stop was "Fort Breendonk", which, starting in 1940 and throughout the German occupation, which ended in
January, 1945 became the only Nazi concentration camp in Belgium. It was a very dismal and unforgettable place.
Nathalie and Pascal then drove to the Hotel Campanile where Harriet and I checked in for two nights and then we all spent the balance of the afternoon in the hotel lobby getting acquainted and bonding with our Belgian friends. They had invited us to go back to their home for dinner but they accepted our invitation to have dinner at a local restaurant of their choice, which turned out to be a wonderful time of more bonding and much laughter. We th.en said our "good nights" and, they left for home and rejoined us at 7:00 AM on
Monday May 24th for a quick breakfast at the hotel and then off for a ~. 1/2 hour drive to the Ardennes.
Our first stop was the town of Bande to the site of where the Nazis slaughtered 34 young seminary students on December
24, 1944. This was another dismal place but one that we had to see.
acts of bravery.
During this day, we visited the sites of three 87th Infantry
Division engraved plaques put there by the 1996 Earle Hart tour group as follows:
First - at Tiller - in tribute to S/Sgt Curtis
Shoup who was awarded the Medal of
Honor posthumously for his extraordinary
Second - At Pironpre - known to all as the "Bloody
Crossroads" where our division repulsed repeated
German attacks in Lifting the ’Siege of Bastogne’ and played a critical role in winning the Battle of the Bulge.
Third: At ~oircv for how our division threw back massive German Attacks and fought on to link up with the U.S. First Army in the Battle of the Bulge.
These were wonderful moments for the four of us.
On the way to Bastogne, we stopped at the "Peace
Woods" where the Hainauts had arranged for and presented to me a white birch tree with an engraved plaque at its feet showing; my name, the 87th Infantry
Division, G-345 and California. Suddenly, we heard in full volume, what sounded like a large military band playing both the American and Belgian National
Anthems. (I later learned that the Hainauts had hidden an amplifier with huge speakers in the ~.
trunk of theirS, car) All of this,~ was a great:, surprise to me ’ and then
I read the ~ personal letter ~ the Hainauts; presented to me, experienced an
"emotional moment" Part of their letter read: "It is our pleasure to offer you your plaque and tree. You will be the 12th veteran of the 87th to get his plaque. This is our way to show you our gratitude and to let you know that we will never forget what you did for our freedom. Thank you for all. Pascal and Nathalie Hainaut, May 24,
1999".
We then visited the nearby Mardasson, the huge memorial that the Belgian Government dedicated to the American GIs who fought in the Battle of the Bulge and contains the following:
1. A listing of our 48 wartime states
2. A display of the insignias of the 50 U.S. Army units that took part in the historic Battle of the Bulge:,~,
3. A total of 10 huge engraved tablets which detailed the story of the Battle of the Bulge.
4. A crypt with three altars for Catholic, Protestaht and
Jewish religious services.
5. A huge roof shaped as a 5 pointed star (from a sky-view) with a panoramic 360 degree view of
Bastogne and the surrounding countryside.
We will never forget the grandeur of La Mardasson!
Then we drove into the modern and thriving town of
Bastogne and visited the Maison Mathelin, a wonderful war museum with photos and artifacts covering the historic defense and liberation of Bastogne, December,
1944 to January 1945. Awaiting our arrival there was
Mr. Robert Ferglout the secretary of the Circle of
History of Bastogne. As a souvenir, he presented me with a small clear plastic box which contained, 1: a .30
cal bullet shell, 2: small parts of one of the parachutes that dropped badly needed supplies prior to the liberation, (a piece of red silk parachute and a piece of white nylon cord), 3: A small packet of sand, taken from a GI Bastogne fox-hole. A wonderful surprise! He

then gave us a personal tour of the museum. He showed us the wall dedicated to the 87th and on this wall he showed us a large memorial plaque for
Pfc Allen W. Bailes, A-345, who was killed in action on March 17, 1945 in
Germany. The plaque contained a large photo of him next to a personal tribute to him, signed by our Jim Amor. This tribute was written in French, so I am not able to detail in English the wording of Jim’s tribute to his foxhole buddy, Allen.
We then drove to the home of Albert and Ida Goebel.
Albert has written, "My Battle of This Ardennes".
Wherein his childhood memory of the German attack on December 16, 1944 is detailed, a chilling document of the dark days of the Bulge for both the American
GIs, but also the heroic Belgian people. The Goebels have an elaborate mini-museum in their home, including 2 mannequins outfitted in full German battle gear and I recognized one of these German soldiers.
His name is "Hans" and he tried to kill me many times, but now I got him!
It was now getting late and Nathalie and Pascal had to go back to work early the next morning. So they drove us back to our hotel. During this 1 1/2 hour drive, we spoke of our emotional adventures of our 1 1/2 days and also, the fun and laughter we enjoyed together as friends. Finally, we shared warm "Good-byes" and we all said that we would now be looking forward to seeing each other again in September at our 50th Reunion in
Kentucky.
Now, Harriet and I would like to express our warm thank you to the following friends of the Hainauts:
The Dermience Family - Nicole and Jose and their daughters Corrine and Ingred, for their kindness to us in their home and to Jose’s two brothers, Victor and
Vital (who is now completing his second book about the Battle of the Ardennes.)
The Urbain Family, - Pascale and Eric and their daughters Amandine and Noelle and their son Nicolas
(with his friend Severin) for their kindness to Us in their home which included a delicious lunch for us.
Olivier Girard - Who was dressed in a full GI uniform as an MP and challenged us at rifle point (Garand) as we arrived in the Ardennes. Also, special thanks to him as he drove me in his 87th Division Jeep to this town of
Rondu, to help me find the farm house there
(unsuccessful) where a Belgian family had befriended me 55 years ago.
Nelly and Armand Schmitz - for joining us at the
Peace Woods and bringing with them a huge Bastogne flag. Armand was a German P.O.W. for 5 years in
Poland.
Pierre Urbain - for joining us at the Peace Woods and bringing two children with him, Tonny and Dorothee, also he asked me to sign his silk neckerchief which had a full map of the Ardennes on it.
Ida and Albert Goebel - for their kindness to us in their home and for serving us a delicious dinner. Also special thanks to Albert for giving us a GI helmet for us to bring back for our two grandsons, Kevin and Jason.
Harriet and I noticed that Nathalie and Pascal and all their Ardennes friends had many similar character traits. All have a strong "Zest for Life" with strong love for their families and friends. They adore their children and it was a pleasure to see the love, respect and good humor they all displayed to each other as they spent time together and as they left each other. We also observed the tranquillity of living in the Ardennes and
I remarked to them all that my feeling is that you will all "Live Forever!"
We know that the Hainauts felt this way and on
September 1, 1999 they moved to their new home in
Houffalize, about 7 miles north of Bastogne,.. in the heart of the Ardennes. ’,
Our warmest wishes for good health, beaucoup .amour
and good luck to our special friends, Nathali’e and
Pascal in their new home, and we know that now they also will live forever! Also a special thanks to Jim Amor for his swift action in introducing us to the
Hainauts and for his kindness to all,
Finally, extra special thanks to
Nathalie and Pascal for their special friendship, for their kindness, for their continuing smiles and good humor and for all their efforts that enable old veterans to fulfill their
"Impossible Dreams!" []
I

By Andrew Rodgers, CAN-345
I know, but I am sure they have been recorded in the
Game Book.
We received the following letter written to Edwin A.
Triebe, CAN-345 by Andrew Rodgers in 1993. Rodgers recently discovered a copy and forwarded it to us for publication in this, our Christmas issue. ED.
Dear Treebah:
The "Treebah" at the beginning is inspired by your
"misquote" from Lt. Rawlinson. Ed, Hawley Rawlinson could never ever pronounce your name or anything else without an overpowering SOUTHERN accent. He would say "Treebah, layvil yo’ buh-buls]" (I have not seen or heard from Hawley in several years and wonder if he has gone to a better place?)
Because of uncertain health, I had vowed to send absolutely no holiday missives. Then, your communication comes along and shatters all my firm resolve! On this day 49 years ago, in addition to being
Radio Operator for Cannon Company’s Forward
Observer, I was Radio Operator for Second Battalion
Commander Lt. Col. Lehrfeld, his.operator having been invalidated after wounding. This was my first "real" combat experience, for that at Metz was child’s play compared to the Saar Campaign and particularly the heavy casualties in the fight for Medelsheim and a couple of other towns. Fox and George Companies had about 50% casualties and this had to be radioed to
Regiment and Division. (Those and other reports from
Second Battalion Company commanders are somewhere in my files today.} The days were rugged, indeed, before we were pulled out to go to the Bulge.
As I am sure you know, Willis Johnston went to that better place last year. He visited me on occasion during the years and I do miss him and his visits and our phone conversations. He kept me up to date on many of our fellow veterans, and always on Lew Kirby and
Ray Con/. He had recovered remarkably from the brain surgery before his last visit here. The doctors called him a "walking miracle"! He did go peacefully and without any of the pain usually expected with cancer.
Billie, his wife, and the children were with him at the end, and his oldest son, "Dr. Brad", heard his last breath through his stethoscope. Willis was one of the finest men I have ever known! War can do some good, for I would never have known him or you and so many other great guys except through military service to our country.
And that Christmas Eve, 1944, has lasted in memory more than any other one day of incidents. You were in the barn and some of us were in a house that had been shelled with more than slight damage. Someone (and
I believe it was Willis Johnston {God keep him in peace!) commented that the Germans must not like tripe for cattle innards were in the front yard, the garden and the barn area. The house - was that near
Lostroff?. - was occupied by a young mother with two small children, a boy and a girl. Of course, we moved them to one room downstairs and took over the remainder, placing our sleeping bags and blankets on the floor.
Heart surgery a couple of years ago has left me with periodic spells of debilitating, destructive, damned annoying clinical depression. So far, all antidepressants medical in nature that the doctors have prescribed have resulted in the opposite end to that intended. But, we will continue to drain the last one out and try the newest until, God willing, positive ends result. After all,
I am still quite young, only 72, and must not succumb to minor irritants.
After we turned in that night, there was a bit of quiet talk about home and families. In listening to the mother and children, we came to understand that St.
Nicholas was going to come that night, no matter, and that Father was going to be safe with the German
Army on the Russian front. After we became quiet, suddenly there were prayers from the little family. (We had noticed earlier that the children had placed their sabots - wooden shoes outside their door, so great was their faith in St. Nicholas!) Then they sang "Stille
Nacht".
Now in my sixth or seventh retirement and am not enjoying it entirely. Maybe I can stir up some consulting on administration, management and finance for some of these doctors and/or their P.A.’s. Anyhow, one will be tried in January and February. Thirteen years as President of this condominium and I thought I had sneaked out of it at the November meeting for
1994. No one realized just what had happened until after the meeting. Then, they descended on me! Even threatened me with bodily harm in a not too joking manner. So, weak as I am, agreement was for me to serve at least one more year. Also, I am heading a political committee promoting restoration of beaches in this part of Florida.
There are stalls and a corral for the horses, but one of
Eddie’s managers usually brings them down only at the young folks’ request. I no longer hunt, but spend many days in the woods. The family hunters have brought in about thirty deer so far this season, 14 of them on a long weekend just after the beginning of the Season on
October 30th. Turkeys have not been counted so far as
I ramble too much! May God preserve and keep you and all my Golden Acorn buddies! And, if any of you are this way, stop in and stay a bit. With notice, there is always room. (I do not go north of Florida to northern states after October 1 or before May 1, except under extreme duress).

DONALD E. PAGE,
E-345. Don lives in
Urbana, Ohio, is retired from the U.S. Post Office, is not married, YET. He belongs to many organizations, has been
’Santa Claus’ for many years. Pictured here, .]an.
’99 with his great-niece
AMY BRIGHTMAN.
STEPHEN Z.
CIESLAK,
C-912FA. Stephen is 87 years young, shown here with his wife ANN, in their home in Des Plaines,
Illinois. They have three children, eight grandchildren, five great grandchildren.
DUWAYNE
MOLDENHAUER,
87-RCN. Duwayne is a retired rural mail carrier, living in Markesan,
Wisconsin with his wife
DONNA, who has an incurable cancer. They have two sons. Photo shows the couple on their 50th Anniversary last year.
DR. WALTER A. FABIAN
JR. A-346.
His wife EULALIA, has passed away. He is a retired
!Psychologist / University
Professor. He lives in
PA, has a son a daughter.
DONALD DIAMONDr
CAN-345.
Photo shows Donald with his mother, LUCILLE on her 100th birthday,
9/:[1/99. She was in U.S.
Navy in WWI, at submarine base, Groton
City, is in excellent health. Don is married to
NORMA.
WILLIAM T. HUBBARD, E-345. Bill is a retired
Accounting Department Supervisor. He and his wife
CHARLOTTE, live in Roanoke, Virginia, have a son,
RICHARD. He has 33 years perfect attendance with competitive swimming.
ROBERT L. JACOBY, ~ i
B-912FA. Bob just ~ " joined the Association ,~. ....
this year. He is retired, :~, ~ has one son, lives in ..-, ¯
Scottsdale, Arizona, ~ belongs to DAV and
VFW. Photo shows him with a special friend on his lap.

DWAYNE
BLOCKER,
C-346.
,ne is a widower, has seven kids, sixteen grandkids, six greatgrandkids. He is retired, lives in Watertown,
South Dakota. The photo shows son STEVE, Dwayne, and daughter ROBYNE at the 1995 reunion in
Charleston, WV.
EMERSON SHEAR, 87-RCN. Is married to BETTY, lives in Piqua, Ohio. He is retired, plays musical instruments. Photo shows a group at an 87-RCN mini-reunion in Florida last February. L to R - Emerson
Shear, HARRY BROWER, WINTON HUGHES, JIM
GERARD and JOHN LAMOND,
WALTER E. BYRNES, C-347. Married DOROTHY,
1949, they have four children and e i g h t grandchildren.
Photo shows the couple celebrating their S0th
Anniversary.
They live in
Cary, North
Carolina.
DOMINICK J.
VELLA, 1-345.
Dominick is pictured here with his wife, MARIE, on New Year’s Eve,
1998. They have a son DONALD and live in Lakehurst,
New Jersey. He is retired, likes to play tennis, pool and billiards.
MICHAEL J. MASTRANGELO, K-347.. Michael and his wife ROSE, have four kids, live in Allendale, New
Jersey where he is a retired Lawyer. The photo shows the couple and their son JOHN, taken at son’s home in Louisville, Colorado.
GEORGE J. KLOOS,
MED-336FA.
George is retired from UPS, in Westlake, Ohio. The photo shows George and his wife
ERNA celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary.
They have three children,
DAVID, DONALD and
CAROLYN,
LEONARD D. LAREAU,
JOHN VERESPY, B-334FA.
Leonard lives in Keeseville,
NY and John lives in Dalton
PA. Leonard is a widower,
John is married to
SHIRLEY. The picture was taken in June 1999 and is the first time they have seen each other in 52 years.

RAYMOND E.
GRIERSON,
L-347.
The picture is of
Raymond and
M A R T H A celebrating their
50th Anniversary on 6/11/99. They live in West
Lafayette,
Indiana.
He is retired employment.
from
HERMAN E.
KLOTZ, M-347.
Herman is shown here with his wife,
DORIS on their fiftieth wedding anniversary on
3/19/99. They live in
Lakeland, Florida.
He is retired after 37 years with Sealed
Power Corp.
WILLIAM W. TURNER, D-347
Is married to
DOREEN and they live in
Johnstown, PA where he is retired. They have two daughters,
M A R S H A,
¯ ~’,;i DENISE. The couple is shown in their kitchen,
4/24/99
THOMAS J. BENSON,
D-346. Thomas is married to KATHLEEN and they live in
Albuquerque, New
Mexico. The couple is shown in a recent photograph. He is retired, has a liking for paleontology, prepares dinosaur bones at the
New Mexico Museum of
Natural History.
JOHN PAWLIKr
M-347.
John is married to
ROSEMARY and the picture shows them on their 50th w e d d,,,i n g anniversary.~ They live in Car~,negie,
PA where ~he is retired from the
D r a v o
Corporation. He still likes bowling, golfing traveling.
and
CLIFFORD P. BOCUZZOr C-347. Is retired and is a widower. He lives in Melbourne Beach, Florida, belongs to VFW, likes fishing and boating. The picture shows him on his 81st Birthday.
LAWRENCE O. POLING,
H03-345.
Lawrence and MARJORIE have four children, is retired in Junction City, Ohio. Photo shows the two of them together. He likes to search word puzzles and read.
Belongs to Legion, Lions
Club.

HQ1-345: LOUIS L. CIOTTI, Louis lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with his wife, BEVERLY. He joined the Association in 1995, has been a loyal.dues-paying member since then. He didn’t send any more data:
LUMEN F. NORRIS, He and ETTA reside in Emmitsburg,
Maryland. He didn’t send any more data, but our records show he has been a dues-paying member for many years.
A-345: DAVID QUAYLE, son of WILLIAM QUAYLE, just joined the Association this year. He lives in St. Cloud,
Minnesota, phone (320) 251-0973: LAWRENCE V. DODD, lives in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, where he is a retired educator. He and JACQUELINE have two daughters, LINDA and JEANNE. He likes bowling, reading and traveling (USA only): LAURENCE E. WILLIAMSON, lives in Sigourney,
Iowa, where he is part time City Treasurer and Insurance
Agent. He is married to LILLIAN, has two daughters,
MARCIA and AMY, and four grandchildren. He sent us his
1999 and 2000 dues, said he finds the Golden Acorn News very interesting. B-345: VICTOR D. CROSS, lives in Clio,
Michigan, and is a WWlI devotee. He signed up his area library to receive GAN issues, then gave a WWII talk to the
High School American History Class and was amazed at the undivided attention they gave, so he signed the teacher,
Mrs..1UDY SHERIDAN, to also receive GAN issues. He is an out~ standing 87th devotee; NORVAN R. SPICKARD, lives in Hoopeston, Illinois, which is the home of the
"National Sweetcorn Festival and Pageant" He has two daughters, KAREN, LYNN, and is retired from the Postal
Service. He belongs to American Legion, VFW, Elks, and
Some golf groups, says he is a football and baseball devotee.
C-345: PAUL KLEEFELD, He and LOIS live in Amherst,
Ohio, where he is retired. He likes to do volunteering work for local hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, Sunday School.
In between, he likes to play harmonica. He signed up the local library to receive GAN; KENNETH A. MOXHAM, is married to NETTIE, lives.in Manassas, Virginia, where he is retired. He had a mild heart attack in late 1998, says he has been sick for a year. Favorite activities now include walking the dog, playing the lottery, picking four-leaf clovers. D_~-
345: CHARLES H. DREDGE (also SV-345.), is retired in
Kaysville, Utah. He is married to BETH, has four children,
PAUL, CAROLYN, DOUGLAS, DANTZEL. He just joined the
Association in April. States that his favorite hobbies include
"food and sleep": GIRARD L. CALEHUFF, is a ’snowbird’, lives in Virginia and in Rochester, Minnesota. He is married to CAROL, has five kids, LINDA, KATHY, HEATHER,
PHYLLIS, AMY. He is retired, is consulting to the paper industry. He headed up a tour of WWII battle locations in
May and .lune, 1998. HQ2-345: GENE LITTLEFIELD, sent his dues from his home in Sandpoint, Idaho. He is married to
CATHERINE. In addition to sending his dues every year, he also sends a donation to our General Fund and Memorial
Fund, which he has been doing for some years now;
KENNETH E. JOHNSON, is married to MARGERY, and they live in Cambria, California. He mailed us his 1999 dues, informed us that his emergency contact is his daughter
DENISE. He didn’t include any more information. E-345:
JEROME T. JABLONSKI, wrote to us from his home in
Chicago, Illinois, where he lives with HELEN. He has four children, ten grandchildren, and fifteen great-grandchildren.
He is a retired plumber, likes to play golf, do gardening and go traveling, if all the offspring will permit him to take the time for those activities; PAUL A. WEIAND, lives in
Dunsmuir, California with his wife, ARLENE. They have three children, MARY, MICHAEL, STEVEN. He is retired from Hewlett-Packard, belongs to American Legion, VFW,
AARP.Favorite activities include coin collecting and collecting
WWII History Books. F-345: WILLIAM F. GERROW JR., is retired at his home in Lexington, South Carolina. In
September, 1998 he remarried to ELIZABETH SHEALY. He belongs to VBOB, Lions Club, likes to spend spare time doing photography. He can be reached at WFGTKE@AOL.COM:
MRS. GERDA BORZA, widow of VICTOR, lives in Fort
Pierce, Florida, (561) 465-2545. She sent in her dues for the year 2000, and also signed up their daughter, VICKIE
(BORZA) OSWALD as a new member of the Association.
Vickie lives in Beacon, New York. G-345: HOWARD W.
MAYO, calls Bluff City, Kansas his home. He is married to
KATHRYN, and they have two kids, WANDA, and a son,
H.D. He sent two years dues and notified us of his new address. He is a farmer, favorite hobby is fishing; NORMAN
ROSENBLATT, is married to HARRIET, lives in Costa Mesa,
California, and has two sons. He signed up his two sons,
DAN and REUBEN as members of the Association. Dan lives in Flower Mound, Texas and Reuben lives in Tulsa,
Oklahoma. H-345: WILLIAM R. LUCK, lives in Reiffton,
Reading, Pennsylvania, where he is retired, but was one of the founders of the W.K&S. Railroad in Kempton, PA. He has no wife (YET). Likes to mess with railroads and horses;
HAROLD ROSEN, home is in North Woodmere, New York
(HANKJOYCE@AOL.COM). He is married to ,10YCE, has two sons, PETER, .10NATHON. He is a retired Engineer, likes to play golf, do cooking and reading. HQ3-345:. LOREN E.
ANDERSON, He and HELEN had four sons, KEN, RON,
PAUL, MARK, now resides in Zanesville, Ohio, after serving as a missionary for 36 years in Guatemala; DONALD
EDWARDS, sent us his ’99, ’00 dues from his home in
Westchester, Illinois, where he is married to BETTY LU. He says he is retired, belongs to VFW and the 87th. 1-345:
.1AMES ,1. LEONHARD, lives with FAY in Goldthwaite,Texas, where he is a ranch manager. They have two children,
KATHRYN, RANDALL. He says his favorite hobby is
’helping others; RICHARD A. MASER, is married to DORIS, living in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a retired photographer, likes ’gaming’ and computer programming, belongs to VBOB,
VFW, MOPH. K-345: WILLIAM C. FOSTER, just recently joined the Association from his home in Gouverneur, MY, where he lives with his wife, JOYCE. They had nine kids,
JILL, JAY, CLARK, JOHN, STEWART, FREDERICK,
TIMOTHY, WENDY, MATTHEW, ranging in age from’30 to
45. He is finally retired; LESTER E. PETERY, has ~been married to READITH for 59 years. They live in D~nver,
Pennsylvania. He is retired, enjoys baby-sitting wi(h his great-grand daughter. L-345; OSCAR KOCH, sent in three years dues from his home in Phoenix, Arizona, where he and his wife, VIRGINIA, keep in touch with their three kids,
ROBERT, KATHY, SUSAN. He is retired, likes fishing and hunting; RALPH TIANO, wrote to us from Kingston, New
York, requesting to join the Association and wants a copy of the Company roster, so he must be interested in contacting other members. Phone is 914-336-8664. M-345; GEORGE
.1. PELLETIER, He and CECILE live in Fitchburg,
Massachusetts, where he is a retired police officer. He belongs to Amer. Legion, DAV, It-Amer Vets, VBOB, is on the board of Council On Aging; HOWARD H. WATSON, sent his dues and a generous donation from his home in Elyria,
Ohio, where he and STELLA live. They had six children,
HARRY, IZETTA, PEGGY LEE, DIANNA, KENNY, CINDY.
. He prefers hunting, fishing, traveling since he retired. HO-
345; MILFORD P. CHRISTENSON, sent another
GENEROUS donation to the General Fund. He and
MARGARET live in Griffith, Indiana, where he is an auto dealer; RICHARD A.. MOORE, he and RUTH just had their
50th wedding anniversary. Had three kids, PETER, SUSAN,
SARAH. He is retired from teaching at Carnegie Mellon

University (30 years) in Pittsburgh, where they award the
Richard A. Moore Prize for life-time achievement in education and teaching. CAN-345: PAUL KEETHLER, is retired in
Sardinia, Ohio, where he lives with MILDRED. They had two daughters, .lOAN, BEVERLY He belongs to American
Legion, Senior Citizens,and PERI. SV-345: KENNETH .1.
SMITH, is married to HELEN, lives in Ellicott City, Maryland.
He is retired, and is Past Commander of the Fort Meade
Chapter of M.O.W.W.. Likes to do woodwork and go golfing;
County Library in our GAN program; .1OHM .1. MUZA, He and
DOROTHY have five children and both are retired in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He sent two years dues, says he belongs to VBOB and Knights of Columbus. They keep active with golf, walking, bike riding and volunteer work. F-346:.
THEODORE F. MASSE, is married Lo LUCILLE, and they have three children, SUZANNE, I(EVIN, LAURIE. He is retired and lives in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. He sent us his year 2000 dues and requested unit and state rosters; H.
ALLEN LIGHTMAN, is a widower, lives in New York, NY, where he is a marketing executive. Belongs to DAV, Amer.
Legion, VBOB. Is in "Who’s Who in America 2000". Favorite hobbies include politics, photography and ’single attractive women’. G-346-" .1OSEPH A..1ONES, wrote from his home in ML. Holly, New Jersey, where he is a retired construction
AT-345; ELMER D.DURANTE, lives with his wife,
KATHRINE, in Philadelphia, PA. Heis a semi-retired barber, belongs to Amer. Legion, Sons of Italy, VBOB. Favorite hobbies include racing, card playing and ’eating’; W. B.
STAINBAC:K, lives in Lakemont, Georgia, phone 706-782-
6158. He sent us his 1999 and 2000 dues, but no other information. MED-345 ROBERT W. RUSSOM is a widower.
He is retired in Mechanicsville, New York. Hobbies include gardening, strolling, television. He belongs to VFW, CSEA contractor. His wife is MARY LOU, and there are three children. Hobbies include hunting, fishing, gardening and
’reading GAN’; ROBERT .1. RENFROW, is a widower, is retired in Moorestown, New Jersey. belongs to VBOB,
Amvets, DAV, XPOW. He sent his dues and a generous donation to the funds. H-346: EDWARD J, DOHERTY
.1R., lives in Collegeville, Pennsylvania with his wife, retirees. HQ1-346~ KENNETH R, WIRTH, is a widower, had three children. BOB, AUDREY ,MIKE. He is retired, lives in Waldwick, New Jersey, sent his 1999 dues and requested a unit and state roster; A-346: ALFRED .1.
BABECKI, is a retired metallurgist, living in Barefoot Bay,
Florida, with his wife, DORY. He is very active in civic activities, served as officer in VBOB, Amer. Legion, 1255th and state rosters, and donations to the funds. He and
DOTTIE live in Huntington Beach, California, had two children, GREGORY, DWAYNE. He retired from Mobil Oil
Corp. after 42 years. HQ3-346: KEN SPERRY, contacted us from his home in Kindred, North Dakota, where he is married to ADREA. He is a beekeeper. Sent in his 1999 dues and a donation. Is interested in woodworking and prairie
Engr. C. BN., etc. He also has a Maryland address;
RICHARD .1. GALLENTINE, calls home in Conrad, Iowa, where he is a retired farmer. Wife is HELEN, and they have restoration; EVERETT L. HALE, mailed two years dues from his home in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where he is married to DOROTHY. They have two kids, PAMELA, DAVID. He is two kids, RICHARD W. and .1ON T. He belongs to Masons,
Shrine, American Legion, Royal Order of Jesters, spends retired, belongs to VBOB and various Masonic organizations
(32° Mason). 1-346; HAROLD L. WILKIN, died in 7/97. His wife, DOLORES WILKIN, and sons, PAUL, PHIL, are
DOROTHY are retired in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. He likes looking for info about their father’s military service. Phil can to go fishing, but big interest is golf. He belongs Lo be contacted at 1621 Longbourne St., Cincinnati, Ohio
Metropolitan Golf Assoc., And New Jersey SLate Golf Caddy
Scholarship; MANUEL FREEDMAN, sent us two years dues
45230, (513)232-6213; FRANK.1. DWYER, He and SARAH live in Bonita Springs, Florida (e-mail=dwyf4709), where he from his home in Richboro, PA, where he is a retired insurance broker. Is married to DEBORAH, belongs to
VBOB, Masons, senior clubs, but main interest is family and
"all my army buddies". C-346-" RAY H. KING, SR. lives in
Jackson, Michigan. His wife, PATRICTA, writes that he is too ill to correspond. They have three children, LINDA,
.1ENNIFER, RAY .1R.; VINCENT WILKEN, lives with
ALDRID in Fairmont, Minnesota. Writes that he had a stroke last year and "Can’t write or spell very good but geLLing better". D-346= KENNETH B..1ONES, lives in S. St. Paul,
Minnesota, where he is a retired attorney. He and MARY is retired. He likes to serve as a volunteer at the local hospital in Naples. K-346: COL. LOUIS J. NORTH, is retired from the regular army. Recently remarried to .1ANET
LEE, acquired a "wonderful instant family". He lives in Sun
City, Arizona, belongs to Retired Officers Assoc., MOPH,
NRA, likes shooting sports, biking, cooking, traveling; MRS.
WAYNE (ROSALIE) VANZANDT, husband passed away in
1998. She lives in Washburn, Missouri, (417) 662-3259. She is an ardent 87th supporter and also belongs to VFW Aux.
L-346: Lt. WILLIAM .1. COOK, sent a generous d0na~ion to the funds, from his home in Hendersonville, North Carolina have four kids, CHERYL, CONNIE, KAY, .1ASON. Favorite activity is golfing, belongs Lo two different country clubs,
Tianna and SouLhview; ALBERT L. KOONS, lives with RITA in Williamsport, PA, and have three kids, .1ANIS, ALBERT
.1R, KAREN. He is fully retired, likes to mess with photography. HQ2-346: SMITH RUSSELL, .1R., sent his
(e-mail= budcook@brint.com), where he is retired width his wife .1OYCE. There are two children, STEVEN, MARILYN.
He belongs to Amer. Legion, Country Club, Senior Golf
Assoc. He runs a print Shop for Pardee Hospital..1AMES H.
OGDEN .1R. lives in Huntingtown, Maryland, is married to
MARY. He is extremely active in keeping track of L Co. and dues from Burbank, CA, where he lives with FRANCES.
(e-mail = fandsrussell@msn.com). Still singing, sailing, amateur radio (WB6IPY), had a total knee replacement, says it’s terrific; MELVIN L. BROOKS, is retired, is married to
HELEN. They live in Tawas City, Michigan (pops@aol.com).
He belongs to VFW, American Legion, Eagles, Elks. E-346:
E. GENE ANKROM, has been married to MARY for over 51 years, has four kids, .1EANNE, RANDY, .1ANET, ROGER, ten grandkids and one great grandchild. He lives in Fair Play,
Missouri, where he is a county commissioner, enrolled a Polk
STELLA. He likes to mess with military history, especially likes contacting buddies. In addition to sending his dues and donations, he requested five unit rosters; JACK
STZTZINGER, sent his dues for two years, requests for unit
346th members, had a big display at the reunion in
Kentucky. Belongs to Maryland Historical Society and World
War II Studies Commi~ee. M-346: ANTHONY .1. SIDOTE, lives in Wappingers Falls, New York, where he is retired. He is married to MARY, and has a son, ANTHONY .1R. He belongs to VFW, DAV, favorite hobbies include fishing, hunting, collecting coins and stamps; CHARLES R.
NELSON, sent in his 1999 and 2000 dues from his home in
Red Bank, New Jersey. He is a retired Industrial Engineer, belongs to VBOB, American Legion. He works for a charity called Wheels Appeal-- donated autos are repaired and given to needy people. HQ-346: WALTER THOMSON, lives in
Lena, Wisconsin, where he is retired from heating and air conditioning business. He is married to CAROL, has eleven children, SALLY, CAt, .1ERRY, .1EANNINE, :IIM, STEVE,
DENNIS, ROSANNE, KITTY, SANDY, WALTER JR, has 32 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. Spent seven months of 1998 being treated for Lymphoma (cancer of

lymph glands): RUFUS MARSHALL, sent his 1999 dues from his home in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where he is married Lo SHIRLEY, has two children, STEVEN, BEVERLY.
He is retired, works part time, likes Lo travel and do photography. MED-346: RICHARD J. GIPE, lives in
Virginia City, Nevada. He is retired, is married Lo
LORRAINE, belongs Lo DAV, likes Lo go motor home traveling; 3OSEPH COWAN, is married to SHEILA, and they live in Cape Coral, Florida. He sent his 1999 dues and a donation Lo the General Fund, but no further information.
SV-346: DAVID M. MATSON, is a widower, had three children, 3EFF, GREG, DOUG. He lives in Washington Court
House, Ohio, where he is retired, but works part time for
CAC. He belongs Lo American Legion and Masons; PAUL
DONALD WZNKLER, lives in North Platte, Nebraska, is married to ROSE. He lists fourteen children from 26 to 50 years of age. He is pushing for the 87Lh to install a ’lifetime’ membership, but the Executive Committee voted against it aL the 1999 reunion. AT-346.: GENE F. WILEY, is a
’snowbird’, living in Surprise, Arizona in the winter, Windfall,
Indiana in the summer. He is married to MARY ELLEN, and is retired. He sent his 1999 and 2000 dues. HQ1-347:
DANIEL J. BOLBROCK, wife is BEATRICE. He moved from
Armonk, New York to Brewster, Massachusetts, where we think he is an Electrical Contractor. He sent his annual dues and a contribution Lo the Memorial Fund; VERNON L.
MAYES, is married Lo BEULAH, had three children, JOYCE,
VERNON, JUDY. He lives in Ridgeway, South Carolina, or
Winnsboro, South Carolina, where he is a retired machinist.
A-347: DELMAR J. GORSALITZ, home is in Birch Run,
Michigan. He is married to INGEBORG, has five kids, and stepkids, GARY, LYNN, STEPHEN, ROBERT, BRIGITTE.
He is retired from retail and wholesale petroleum business, belongs to VFW, Amer. Legion, Moose, Masons, likes to go fishing and hunting, do chores and repair stuff; HENRY W.
MOOSEKER, lives in Olympia, Washington, is married Lo
CAROLINE. He is a retired Chemical Engineer, likes swimming and fishing, belongs Lo VBOB, is 1st Battalion
Historian. B-347: NORWOOD CREASON, home is in
Braymer, Missouri, where he and OJUITA MARIE live. He has five kids, TERRY, SUE ANN, MARY LUE, KENNETH,
RANDALL. He is retired, but has so many activities you wouldn’t believe his retirement, belongs to many Historical
Associations, political committees, and civic groups such as
VFW; MRS. CARL (THELMA) BLAKE, lives in Westford,
Massachusetts. Her husband passed away in August, 1998.
She sent dues for herself, a grandson and another 87th veteran, plus, she enrolled the local library In our GAN plan.
C-347: CARL A. BLANCHARD, is married to CONNIE, has two children,.. He lives in Pueblo, Co{orado, where he is a retired fire captain. He belongs to Eagles, Elks, Lions, likes to travel with their R.V.; WILLIAM KELLEY JR., lives in Santa
Fe Springs, California, where he is retired. He is married to
BETTY (SUGAR). He belongs to ’Rec. Adv. Board (?) and a garden club. His hobby sounds interesting--as a softball umpire. D-347-’ MELVIN N. VESELY, is a widower, had two children, CAROL, ED. He lives in Pittsburgh, PA, (e-mail = meln@stargate.net). He is a retired Public School
Administrator. Favorite hobbies include organ, piano, and computer music; CARMEN M. FERRANDO, home is in
Batavia, New York. His wife is ROSE, has four kids, DEBBIE,
ROSELLE, CARMEN JR., DANIEL. He is retired, belongs to
Amer. Legion, VFW, DAV, MOPH, VBOB, and 87th. HO2-
347: ROBERT L. STORY, sent his 1999 dues and a donation to the General Fund from his home in Ralston,
Nebraska. His wife is LILLA, and there are two children,
ROXIE, RONALD. He is a signmaker, belongs to VFW,
Amer. Legion; JOHN G. ARAMANDA, contacted us from his home in Beaufort, North Carolina. His wife is JOAN, and the three kids are CAROL, BILL, JAY. He is retired, belongs to
VFW, AARP, enjoys woodworking and fishing. E-347:
ERNEST P. OISTAD, sent dues for two years from
Karlstad,
Minnesota, where he is "retired, maybe also retarded". His family had an 80th birthday party for him, including 44 kids, grandkids and great grandkids; CLYDE E. WESTBROOK, lives in Fremont, Michigan, where he is retired. His wife is
KAY, children are LINDA, VICKI, GREG, BARB, SHARON,
SHELLEY. He sent his 1999 dues and requested a unit roster. F-347: FREDERICK S. WILDER, is married TO
BARBARA, and is a snowbird. From 5/1 Lo 9/30 they live in
Canton, New York (e-mail = FSWILDER@AOL.COM), from
10/1 Lo 5/1, lives in Sun City West, Arizona; DELTON R.
GROOTHUIS, is retired, lives in Granite City, Illinois
(delwang@posLneL.com). He is married to WANDA, has a daughter, LISA. He does tutoring, volunteers in AARP Lax program. G-347-’ ANTON F. TEISL, wrote to us from his home in Muscoda, Wisconsin, where he is a retired railroad chief draftsman. He is married to BETTY. In 1998 he had triple by-pass surgery and a new aorta valve, and says he feels fine; PETER N. OTIS, just joined the Association. He is married to MARGARET, has two children, NICHOLAS,
THOMAS. He lives in St..]ames, New York, where he is retired. He likes to mess with painting and sculpture. H-347:
DAVID V. FERBER SR. sent his 1999 dues from his home in Dalton, Minnesota, where he lives with his wife, ELAINE.
He has three children, DARLENE, DAVID JR., DENISE.
Says he is retired and is enjoying life at 82 years and 59 years of married life; BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, is a retired attorney from Ithaca, New York, Wife is CAROLYN, kids are
JAMES, BRUCE. He enrolled an Ovid, NY library in our GAN program. HQ3-347: ARTHUR S. KUNIN, M.D., is a retired physician, living in Shelburne, Vermont (e-mail = akunin@200.uvm.edu). His wife was named MADELENE. He has been a member of the Association for over 35 years;
GEORGE R. SMITH, is married to LOUISE, and they live in
Tucson, Arizona, where he has been retired for over 21 years. He is still playing softball at age 81, with 51 age minimums. 1-347: IRA F. GLIDEWELL, He and NANCY live in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and he is a big help Lo the t Company reunion which is held there, and had 73 people present at their 1999 reunion; GEORGE A. KWAK, was I Co. radio operator ’way back when’. Now is married Lo
LOIS, lives in Chicago, Illinois with an accounting/ bookkeeping service. Wife just had hip replacement §urgery, so they couldn’t make it to the Kentucky reunion. K-347:
ERNEST A. SHAULL, another retiree, lives with his in
Toledo, Ohio. He is married to CAROL, hwife,
PHYLLIS, in Ladora, Iowa. They have five children,
DAVE, HARLEY, JOHN, MARY, LORRIE. His favorite hobbies include cooking and ’fixing’; THOMAS F.
STIMSON, is retired from the Life Insurance business. He is married to REBECCA (BECKY), has four kids, SUSAN, ROBERT, THOMAS, REBECCA.
They live in Chattanooga, Tennessee, had a dinner with BOB WELSH, author of "Two Foes To Fight".
L-347: JAMES E. HUNTER, home is in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, where he is a retired Mechanical Engineer.
His wife is YVONNE, they have four children,
CATHERINE, JEAN, JAMES, WILLIAM. He is active with YMCA, local and international, likes to fish, read history, and play piano. His 98 year old mother died in
March, 1999; RUSSELL L. WYCKOFF, lives with his wife, MARGIE, in Vinton, Iowa. He is retired, belongs to Amer. Legion, VBOB, AARP, Izaak Walton. Enjoys traveling and trapshooting. M-347: JAMES R,
TRAMMELL, His wife, ALICE, died last ]anuary, leaving him and their daughters, JUDY, JANE, JEAN

ANN feeling lonely. He is a retired furniture store owner in
Breckenridge, Texas. Had triple by-pass heart surgery late last year, says he is getting a little better each day; WM. D.
VANDIVORT, sent in two years dues from his home as three children, KEITH, DANIEL, HEIDI. He is retired from
Owens-Coming, likes to go walking. HQ-347: WILLIAM H.
ANDRIE, is a widower, has two kids, VON, BONNIE SUE.
He is retired, lives in Mogadore, Ohio, belongs to VBOB,
Masons. Favorite activities include golf, music; GEORGE
MORANIAN, wrote to us from his home in Arlington,
Massachusetts, where he and his wife, HELEN, are spending their retirement. He belongs to VBOB, DAV, MOPH, builds miniature planes, plays with his grandchildren. SV-347;
URBAN A. KLEIN, he and GINNY live in Sainte Genevieve,
Missouri, and had six children, PAUL, JEROME, MARY,
BARB, TIM, JOHN. He sent in his 1999 dues and not much more info; WILLIAM M. PENICK, writes that he is not a snowbird, already lives in Heaven, El Cajon, California. He and his wife, BERNICE, are retired, and she has been disabled from a stroke many years ago. Fortunately, he likes to cook. MED-347: DEWARD F. KNIGHT, lives with MAE in Radcliff, Kentucky (e-mail = DEWARDMAE@AOL.COM). He is retired from the military and from Sears, spends his time woodworking and entertaining grandchildren; CAN-347.’.
MRS. FRED (RETA) DAHMS, lives in Glenview, Illinois, sent two years dues and a generous donation to Memorial
Fund. She and GERDA BORZA are planning to attend the reunion in Kentucky. HQ-334FA: CHARLES W. THORSON, lives in Farmington, Maine, with his wife, DORIS. They had three daughters, SUE ANN, JUDITH, JANET. His e-mail =
Thorcd44@aol.com. He is a retired Engineer, belongs to the
Service Corps of Retired Executives, paid his 1999 and 2000 dues; JOHN E. LUCEY, he and SARAH sold the farm and moved to Middle Haddam, Connecticut this year, (e-mail =
John.Lucey@snet.com). He paid two years dues and made a contribution to the General Fund. A-334FA: JAMES C.
HEEREY, Sent his dues and a donation to the Funds from his home in Madison, Wisconsin, where he is retired with his wife, EDITH (PEGGY). He belongs to VBOB, Amer. Legion,
Telephone Pioneers. When not traveling, he likes to do antiques and volunteering; B-334FA: WILLIAM M.
CARRICO, He and CLARINE live in Springfield, Kentucky.
They had six children, BARBARA, HELEN, CHARLENE,
NANCY, KEVIN, LENORA. He is a small farmer, likes square dancing and belongs to the Kentucky Square Dance
Association and the Farm Bureau; J. GREGORY COLE, sent his 1999 dues payment from his home in Troy, New York, where he is retired. He is a member of Amer. Legion, VBOB.
Favorite hobbies include gardening ~nd model railroads.
C-334FA.’. REX O’MEARA, sent his dues from home in W.
Hall:ford, Connecticut, belongs to VFW, VBOB, Amer. Legion,
H. JONES, is a retired school teacher, lives in Denver,
Colorado. He belongs to the Colorado Welsh Society and teaches a Welsh language class. He underwent an
Angioplasty in May to correct a 99% artery blockage, with favorable results; JACK STRANGE, He and BELLE, live in
Lorain, Ohio, celebrated their 52nd anniversary in Nov., 98, still enjoy traveling- Las Vegas at Christmas. E-mail = jstrange@kell.net. He is a volunteer at the local hospital, belongs to Amvets, VFW, DAV. HQ-336FA: ALFRED J.
PARSONS, is married to MARGERY, lives in Peabody,
Massachusetts. He sent a check for his 1999 dues, but didn’t send any more information; B-336FA: DANIEL L. LATSHA,
He and MARGARET live in Elysburg, Pennsylvania, had five kids, DAN, RONALD, JOYCE, GAIL, KENNETH., have been married for almost 57 years. He is retired, belongs to VFW,
Amer. Legion, VBOB, likes to go bowling, had perfect game in 1962. C-336FA: JOSEPH M. CA[A, is married to IRENE for 57 years, had three children, JOSEPH, SANDRA,
CHERYL. He lives in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, where he is retired, but is a ’snowbird’, goes to Kissimmee, Florida in the Winter.
HQ-912FA: RICHARD J. BOOTCHECK, just joined the
Association. He is married to LOUISE, and they live in
Michigan City, Indiana, phone 219-874-3816. He sent a check for 1999 dues, but no further info; LINUS G. WELP, is married to ’JANGIE’ for 50 years, has five kids, JOHN,
JANE, JOE, JUDY, JACKIE. They live in St. Anthony,
Indiana. He belongs to Amer. Legion, VFW, KOC, Fraternal
Order of Police, Holy Name Society. He sent in three years dues and a donation to the Memorial Fund. A-912FA;
HARRISON L. SEIP, lives in Sigourney, Iowa, except for three winter months when he .and ’BERNIE" go to Gulf
Shores, Alabama. He tutors kids in science and math, and she helps with first graders. They deliver Meals on Wheels on
Monday of each week; EDGAR PEDERSEN, is married to
MARIE, and they live in Watertown, South Dakota. He is retired, belongs to Amer. Legion, VFW, Elks, Quarter Back
Club. He sent 1999 dues and requested a unit roster.
B-912FA; BILL KORANDA, is a widower, lives in Seymour,
Wisconsin. He sent us a story of how a PFC at the Induction
Center managed to cheat all the new recruits out of cash;
HARRY W. STEINMANN, calls Crown Point, Indiana home, lives there with EDITH, has one daughter, KATHLEEN. He is retired, belongs to Amer. Legion and VFW, likes to collect
~tamps. C-912FA: CHARLES CHIODO, is a widower, had three children, CHARLES, DAVID, BRIAN. He is a FiDancial
Planner, lives in Melbourne Beach, Florida. He likes ballroom dancing and plays golf, is a volunteer for the local Chamber of Commerce. DIVART: JOHN J. LOEFFLER, is marl~i~ed to
[AURENE, has three children, FLORENCE, JOHN JR, MAJ.
GERALD. Home is in Cape Girardeau, MissoUri. He mailed in his 1999 dues and is paid up-to-date; COL. CARROL W.
BAILEY, just joined the Association from his home in K of C. Rex is well-known to our members because of his comedy acts at our reunions. He has been married to ETHEL for over 57 years. She writes the comedy and he delivers it;
DAVID C. HARTLEY, is a widower. He had three children,
MARILYN, RODGER (dec’d), STEPHEN. He is retired in
Leesburg, Florida. He sent a check for five years dues.
SV-334FA: COOLIDGE S. COPELAND, sent 1999 and
2000 dues and a donation to General Fund from his home in
Argyle, New York, where he lives with his wife, JANE. He is a retired Educator, likes to spend spare time playing golf.
HQ-335FA: JOHN F. BISHOP, is married to CAROLYN,
(since 1/10/42), had three children, JOHN III, SHEILA,
NICHOLENE, and seven grandchildren. He is a semi-retired farmer in Akron, Alabama, belongs to VFW, Amer. Legion.
Paid his 1999 dues and a donation to the Memorial Fund;
B-335FA: ROBERT J, SINGLETON, is a widower, lives in
North Royalton, Ohio. He sent in his 1999 dues and generous donations to the Memorial and General Funds. He is a member of Amer. Legion and VBOB. C-335FA: DAVID
Holden, Massachusetts. He was in the 87th from activation in
1942 to deactivation in 1945 and was CO of 87th DIVART,
HQ & HQ battery, and S-4 335FA. H&S-312ENG: CARL
RUESS, lives in Olmsted Falls, Ohio, where he is retired and is married to MARY (known as JEAN). They have a son,
MICHAEL., Belongs to Amer. Legion, Kiwanis, and likes to play golf, but not too well; PAUL LESHER, was enrolled into the Association by ALBERT DA COSTA, of the same unit.
Paul lives in Bend, Oregon, but we don’t have any m o r e information; JIMMIE R. YEARGAIN, He and BETTY have four kids, LINDA, LARRY, JERRY, JANET. He is a retired partsman, lives in Farmington, Missouri, belongs to VFW, really enjoys reading GAN. A-312ENG; HENRY H.
HOLDEN, is a retired Excavator in Cincinnati, Ohio. Wife is
EILEEN, and there are eight children, PEGGY, BONNIE,
HANK, SUSAN,ANDREW, NORMA, KATHLEEN, AMY. His favorite hobby is ’living’. He enrolled his local library in the
GAN program. C-312ENG: GORDON E. [ARSON, He and

ROSEMARY live in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, have three children, DEIDRE, LYNETTE, BRIAN. He is a retired
Electrician, keeps busy trying Lo maintain a 1920 home, delivering Meals-On-Wheels. He sent his 1999 dues and enrolled his local library in our GAN program; GEORGE
DECOUX, just joined the AssodaLion. He is an Accountant-
Lawyer, living in McComb, Mississippi. He and MARY have two kids, GEORGE ,1R., ELIZABETH. Sent in dues for
1999--hope we hear from him again. HQ-312MED-" R A Y
McMILLEN, Ray lived with his wife HELEN, in Perrysburg,
Ohio. She wrote Lo us that he became ill right after
Christmas, was hospitalized with an inoperable brain tumor, and passed away Feb. 21,1999. B-312MED-. BENJAMIN A.
ROSENBERG M.D., He is a physician in Brooklyn, New York.
He sent: in his 1999 dues and informed us.that he is a musician, plays the trombone. C-312MED: MARVIN A.
CAPLAN, lives in JenkinLown, PA with ELLA. Had four kids,
CRAIG, JOAN, LEE, DARA. IS retired, likes pistol and rifle shooting, sports cars and fishing; STUART REED, He is retired with ANNE in Frederick, Maryland, had three kids,
BARBARA, PAUL, JEFFREY. He likes gardening, woodworking and doing odd jobs for friends and neighbors.
D-312MED: DUNG-YUNG LOUIE, Home is Nashua, New
Hampshire, where he is retired with RUBY. Choice hobby is gardening, belongs to Nashua Senior Activity Center, and
Main St. United Methodist Church; SPRUILL M. BAKER, horn is in Knightdale, North Carolina (e-mail= grey1337@aol.com). His wife is GREY, with three kids,
MARSHALL, CRAIG, MITCH. He is a mobile home park owner. When he isn’t fishing or traveling, he’s being a good granddad to ’his seven grandchildren. DIVHQ: ARTHUR
JESSET, Sent in his year 2000 dues from his home in
Parma, Ohio, where he is married to URSULA. lie is a retired Mail Carrier, says he "still walks 3 to 5 miles per day and still ticking"; THOMAS W. WILSON, lives with his wife,
ORPHA, in New Straitsville, Ohio, where he is a retired meat cutter. He belongs to AARP, VBOB, sent his year 2000 dues and enrolled his local library in our GAN program. 87-RCN:
HARRY C. BROWER, is married to HARRIET, for 53 years, living in Ocala, Florida, had three kids, CHARLES,
DEBORAH, SHERRIE. He is involved in Nursing Home
Ministry as a preacher, liarriet plays the keyboard. He belongs to DAV, VFW, and a local golf club; GERALD B.
HITTLE, he and BARBARA have four children, GARY,
DEBBIE, LINDA, CHERYL. They live on ’Old Dead End Road’ in Taneyville, Missouri-does that mean anything? He is retired, sent his 1999 dues. 87 SIG: SAM ZARO, just joined the Association this year. He lives in Fort Lee, New Jersey
(e-mail = esz2000@aol.com). His wife is EDYTHE, has two children, JEROLD, LINDA. He is retired, sent in his 1999 dues, but no further info; MRS. MARVIN (DOROTHY)
RILEY, sent in her year 2000 dues from her home in
Omaha, Nebraska. 87-QM: MARVIN P. SNYDER, He is a retired machinist, living with’ MARY in Alpena., Michigan
(e-mail = mpsnyder@freeway.net); likes sailing and traveling; FRANK JACOBS, lives in Towson, Maryland, is married to LORRAINE. lie has an antiques shop in Lewes,
Delaware, sent in his 1999 and 2000 dues. 787-ORD:
JOSEPH KURZEAK, is married to MARIE, lives in lieber
Springs, Arkansas, where he is retired, sent his 1999 dues and a generous donation to the two Funds; ARVID L.
MOCK, calls Eugene, Oregon home, is married to PARALEE.
He mailed in dues to take him through 2003, plus a generous donation to the two Funds. 87 MP:. TED
SAMUELSON, is married to MARILYN for 50 years, has two sons, DANA, TOM. He is retired from M&M/MARS, lives in
Denver, Colorado, likes bowling, golf, bridge; CURTIS
SANDERS (and G-346), is single, lives in Bowling Green,
Kentucky, is retired, sent his 1999 dues. 549-AAA: J. C.
HOLMES, is a retired Chiropractor, lives with MARION in
Belleview, Florida (jcholmes@worldnet.all:.net). Has five kids, belongs to VFW, Legion; HAROLD FISCHER, is a snowbird, Lansing, Illinois and Thonotosassa, Florida. Wife is
WILMA. He sent dues for 1999 and 2000.
SUBMIT[ED BY Bill Young, HQ-345
History is "his" "story" and your story! We need your story to complete the picture of the greatest
Generation. Fred Whitaker, HQ1-347.
345th Regiment Historian: 347th 1st Battalion
Historian
Chuck Foreman, HQ1-345
1515Lynn Avenue
Marquette, MI 49855
906 226 3000
Hank Mooseker, A-347
1412 Madrona Beach
Road
Olympia, WA 98502
360 866 0645
346th Regiment Historian:
George Watson, M-346
63-31 Carlton Street
Rego Park, NY 11374
718 639 6216
347th 2nd Battalion
Historian
Barbara Strang,
B-912FA
6614 Ivy Hill Drive
McClean, VA 22101
703 893 5019 Asst. Regiment Historian
Henry Dart, MED-346
664 Osage Lane #B
Stratford, CT 06497
203 381 0804
347th 3rd Battalion
Historian "
346th 3rd Battalion
Historian
James Ogden, L-346
301 Plum Point Road
Huntingtown, MD 20639
410 535 3748
John McAuliffe, M-347
425 Pleasant Street
Elm Park Tower #1410
Worcester, MA 01609
508 754 7183
347th Regiment Historian
Fred Whitaker, HQ1-347
863 Matilija Road
Glendale, CA 91202
818 242 6577
Special Troops
Dr. Fred Woodress
222 N. Winthrop Road
Muncie, Indiana 47304
317 288 8892

For some years now, a young lady by the name of June
Sultan has been sending us articles on the bomb cleanup at Camp McCain, Mississippi. This article appeared in the May 11, 1999 Daily Sentinel Star -
Grenada, Mississippi. Ed.
By TOBIE BAKER Staff Writer
Federal officials will hold a public hearing in Grenada this month to discuss the results and provide recommendations regarding a $1.9 million ammunitions search on private land surrounding Camp
NcCain,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson Claude
Leake a~nounced Monday a public hearing would be held on May 18. Leake said the aim of the hearing is to discuss the final Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis report as well as receive feedback from the land owners.
An Atlanta based geophysical firm was responsible for the eight-week ammunitions search last Spring. Crews were instructed to look for lost, abandoned, discarded, or buffed ammunition on private land once apart of the
Camp McCain military training facility south of
Grenada.
Using high-tech geophysical equipment 2,166 fragments of ammunition were discovered scattered across 42.7 acres of nonresidential and residential land, reports said. Even though crews were unable to find any unexploded bombs, the report states residents may be at risk.
According to reports, the highest risk of exposure to unexploded bombs through direct contact exists on land west of Providence Road in Grenada County and on land south of Greensboro Road and east of Hayword
Road in Montgomery County.
Since acquiring the surrounding land, many property owners have discovered items left behind from military training exercises. Montgomery County resident Grady
Marter said he discovered a dead six inch diameter bomb fragment while digging post holes nearly 20 years ago. Kenneth Campbell, another Montgomery
County resident, said he discovered four 81 mm shells on his property during the Spring of 1997, one of which exploded damaging a bulldozer.
A 1996 government report concluded that most of the ordnance on the former property of Camp McCain should have already been found. The same report, however, said it was possible for land owners, to continue finding live explosives, mainly mortar shells manufactured between 1914 and 1953.
The Corps of Engineers warns property owners never to touch, remove, or disturb any ordnance or suspected ordnance items. If any item is found, corps officials said to report it immediately to the sheriff’s department or call the Corps of Engineers in Huntsville at (205) 895-1510.
The search project is a result of a ongoing seven year effort by the federal government to aid officials in determining how to best resolve the community needs and Department of Defense liability issues resulting from ordnance contamination.
The public hearing will be held at the Holiday Inn in
Grenada on May 18 beginning at 6 p.m. Questions or comments may be directed to Leake by calling (334)
690-2604.
The government report can be viewed at the Elizabeth
]ones Library in Grenada or by logging onto the internet at: www. projecthost.com/mccain.
Camp McCain was established in 1942 as an infantry basic training camp for soldiers during World War II on
42,000 acres of land south of Grenada. []
We received an e-mail message from Ken Lyons that stated the following:
"About two days after I received my copy a neighbor of mine received a call about my father. The neighbor down the istreet from me has the same last name as I but is not a relation. My number is unlisted so the caller saw the Lyons address in
Broadview Heights and called. He stated he was looking for me and wanted to tell me something about my father. My neighbor mistakenly wouldn’t give out my number and didn’t think to ask the caller his name or number. The caller told her he would write. To date
I have not received anything from him.
Would you please run the article again and place my phone number in it. 440-526 0887. I was really disappointed and frustrated by missing his call.
Hopefully, the man will call again when he sees this article.

I just learned of the passing of Lt. John Noble Hall,
HQ-345. In my five years in the service, I had the honor and privilege to serve under Lt. Hall. He was, without a doubt, one of the finest men I ever met.
Lt. Hall was hard when he had to be but very kind and gentle otherwise.
August 9, 1999
Kim O’Brien
955 Swanton Road
Swanton, MD 21561
(301) 387-5390
Dear Mr. Amor,
I am writing to advise you of the recent death of my father, Lawrence E. Skipper. My dad served in the 87th Infantry Division, Company 1-347. Dad was a sergeant under Raymond Miles.
I know his family will miss him greatly because he had to be a fine husband and.father.
God bless him, wherever he is and I hope we meet again.
Sgt. Elmer Durante
345th Antitank and HQ2-345
Pfc. Grover B. Proctor, c=ompany F (2nd Rifle Platoon) , of the 345th Regiment.
Can anyone help me with information about my father’s time with the 87th? As his only child (he passed away in 1982), I am researching his tour of duty and writing a history of it for my widowed mother, his siblings (all still alive), and me.
My father joined the 345th as a replacement in December 1944, shortly after the Saar offensive. He was with the outfit through the remainder of the Bulge fighting, through the breaching of the Siegfried
Line, and into the early days of the
Rhineland campaign. He was badly wounded near OIzheim, Germany on February 9, 1945.
I am also trying to find a Sgt. Edward F. Allison.
Thanks to information provided by the leader of the
2nd Platoon, Lt. William Prather, it appears that Sgt.
Allison may have been my father’s squad leader. Other names that seem to be associated with that squad are
Pfc.’s Brown, Chadwell, Dickerson, Cannon, Nowak,
Carey, Stanton, Mehler (?), Osborne (?), Lau, and
Dima.
If anyone knows of any of these men, I would certainly love to be in touch with them.
I have been in contact with some of you that were in F Company, but I did not have a photo to show you at that time. Perhaps the one published here will help.
If you have any information that would help my research, please contact me. Thank you in advance!
Grover B. Proctor, Jr.
708 Sylvan Lane, Midland, MI 48640
(517) 636- 7219 (home)
My father was only hospitalized for eleven days prior to his death on April 20, 1999. Our family had little time to prepare for the loss of such an important loved one/friend in our lives. He had some health problems during the prior nine months, but at no time did we imagine losing him so quickly.
Dad spoke very highly of the men he served with, especially Mr. Miles. My family was hoping that you could possibly publish something in your Golden
Acorn News to let other men that served with dad know about his passing. We would greatly appreciate any acknowledgment that you could give to him. If you have any type of memorial fund or tradition of recognizing former service men, please let us know.
We would love to do something in memory of dad.
My mother, Mildred M. Skipper, still resides at the home address of 4288 Broadford Road, Oakland,
MD 21550. She can be reached at (301) 334-1533. I am in the process of renewing the Golden Acorn News so that she can continue to read about the 87th
Infantry Division and keep in touch.
Sincerely,
[signed]
KIm O’Brien
Dear members of the 87th Division.
Thank you so much for your support and love, the beautiful flowers, cards and letters as we try to get through this difficult time, losing our beloved husband and father.
Several of the 87th Division members attended, namely, Reta Dahms, Harry and Ruth Keller, Vince
Farin, Ann and Steve C:ieslak and Paul Nessman.
It was a very large funeral and the procession had over
70 cars. A wonderful tribute to a great person.
God’s Love and blessings to all.
The family of Raymond Jemc, 336FA Bn.

*Alick, Andrew F.
Anderson, Margaret
Arling, Martin H.
Armistead, Thomas M.
Baker, Harold W.
Baker, Dorthy
Ballin, Michael
*Bate, George C.
Behmer, Ella Mae
*Belden, Dallas
Blake, Carl
Bly, Wiley D.
*Brakebill, Walter Jr,
Brown, Arthur L.
Buhl, Norbert
*Burgess, Louise
*Busdieker, Rita
Campbell, Pauline (Polly)
Camper, Carl
*Caporali, Camillo
*Carmichael, Christine
*Carpenter, Elaine
*Carr, John H.
*Cassel, Merlyn C.
Cate, Frances
*Chappell, George E.
*Coder, Chester
Cody, Francis P.
Coffman, Charles
*Collinsgrove, John W.
*Corbin, Donald
*Craig, Theresa E.
Crowell, Gene
Daschbach, Norman
*DeVries, Elmer
*Delaney, Lorraine
*Dirksen, Alfred L.
*Dodd, Clinton W.
Driskill, Leo
*Eck, Frank
Engebretson, Vernon
Episcopo, Joseph
*Faulkner, Walter M.
Feltman, John
Ferraro, John A.
Flamm, Arnold M.
*Franzenburg, Meta
Freese, Henry S.
*Galbreath, Odie L.
Gilman, Roland I.
Goostree, Billy E.
Gordon, William E.
Gross, Bernard M.
*Hall, John Noble
*Hansee, James K
Hochmiller, William
*Hofferbert, Max: M.
We have learned of the passing of these members since last year at this time.
A-345
1-347
1-346
G-347
87 QM
87 QM
HQ-345
87 SIG
A-334FA
HQ1-347
B-347
A-345
87 RCN
K-346
SV-347
HQ1-345
A-312ENG
B-345
787 ORD
C-347
K-347
G-345
1-347
B-334FA
C-347
SV-346
K-346
H-345
1-346
K-347
K-346
G-346
347th
K-345
E-345
HQ1-347
K-347
SV-335FA
A-912FA
H&S-312ENG
B-312ENG
B-347
K-346
C-346
C-912FA
HQ3-346
1-346
HQ3-346
L-346
K-345
A-345
87 RCN
C-345
HQ-345
E-345
B-912FA
87-RCN
*Isom, Virginia
*Jemc, Raymond R.
Jetmore, Mary
Jongas, Chris
*Kadien, Thomas A.
King, Esther
Kinnally, Richard D.
Kinner, Charles L
*Kowalski, Joseph G.
Kratt, Glenn A.
Kroontje, Milton
*L’Hommedieu, Samuel J.
Larson, Allen A.
Lee, Robert E.
Lovelace, Hershel
*Lutterman, Delbert
*Harold Madigan
*Maezes, Anne "Bubbles"
*Martin, James C.
Martin, Roger S.
*Mayo, Howard
McCaffrey, Lawrence C.
McMillen, Ray W.
McNaron, Thomas G.
*Moldenhauer, Du Wayne
Moore, George M.
*Moores, David G.
Nangle, George
Naylor Eugene
*Neal, Col, John M,
Nelson, William H.
Nett, William J.
O’Neal, Lois
O’Shell, William W.
Paolantonio, Robt. "Pete"
Patterson, Forrest
Paul, Clyde R.
’,*Pendley, Robert
*Pendley, Vivian
*Petansky, Harvey
Perhac, Andrew
*Petrie, Leman A.
Pies, June
Pike, Marty
*Porter, Ike
*Pransky, Kermit
*Rank, Jerome
*Reed, George W.
Ring, Martin H.
*Ring, Raymond A.
Roberson, Tommie L.
*Roebuck, Simon R.
Romeyn, Charles B
Rutherford, Macy G.
Scharff, Evelyn
Schenk, Boyd
Schmidt, Malcolm J.
*Schopf, Adam
*Schuetz, Bennett H.
Scott, Robert W.
Serulneck, Sylvia
HQ3-347
E-346
Unit Unk.
HQ1-347
HQ-912FA
1-345
SV-346
L-347
HQ3-347
H-345
H-345
G-347 ",
1-346
HQ3-345
K-347
B-345
D-312MED
HQ-336FA
F-347
M-346
CAN-345
SV-347
F-346
C-345
HQ3-345
H-345
E-347
D-312MED
A-345
Unit Unknown
1-347
HQ-345
M-347
D-345
A-336FA
L-346
G-345
E-345
787 ORD
C-345
L-345
87-RCN
NED-346
E-347
H-347
F-345
A-345-MPs
C-345
1-346
87 RCN
F-346
E-346
MED-346
G-345
K-345
HQ-312MED
SV-334FA
87 REC
87 SIG
MED-347
SV-347

Shayte, Daniel I.
*Sherry, William
Shue, Percy H.
*Skipper, Lawrence E.
*Smith, Phillip,
Sperring, Ross
St. Georges, George W.
*$teiff, Clair H,
Tefft, Graham K.
Thomas, Becky
Trammell, Alice Kate
*Travis, Col. Leroy O.
Trostle, Nancy
Unsicker, Benjamin W.
Urnikis, Adam L.
Walker, Grant
Wilkin, Harold
Wines, Arlene J,
Witt, Joseph F.
Yaramishyn, Jean
Young, Howard O.
Ystilart, John L.
*Zummo, Anthony G.
H-345
F-347
D-C-345
Z-347
Unit Unknown
B-347
8-347
87-RCN
F-346
C-347 rvi-347
MED-347
A-336FA
B-346
B-335FA
K-346
1-346
F-345
DIVHQ
1-345
D-549AAA
B-347
HQ1-347
* Since our last issue.
Day is done, gone the sun
From the lakes, from the hills,
From the skies.
All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.
Thanks and praise, for our days
’neath the sun, ’neath the stars,
’neath the sky.
As we go, this we know, God is nigh.
I am writing a book about Plauen, Germany, during that period when it was occupied by the U.S.Army,
April 16, to June 30, 1945. However, I can’t find photographs of the time and I am interested in any information you may have of that time.
Who was in Plauen at thattime (87th. Div.) ?
I am interested especially in photos of soldiers, cars and meetings with german people, also photos from the .town or the surroundings or the Plauen-
Headquarters. Interesting are also reports and experiences, adventures.
Does anyone remember the Strassberg-camp near
Plauen, where a lot of German disarmed soldiers lived?
My address:
Dipl. Ing. Joachim Mensdoff
Wettinstrasse 8
D - 08525 Plauen
Germany
March, 2000 issue
June, 2000 issue-
Jan. 15, 2000
Apr. 15, 2000
September, 2000 issue----- July 15, 2000
December, 2000 issue------Oct. 15, 2000
Material submitted on or after these dates cannot be guaranteed to appear in the subject issue, ED
Rein and Julie Schutte, 1-347 recently wrote: "Joe
Beach, A-345 spent a week with us in Hastings,
Nebraska where he discovered there’s more to farming than just growing crops. We have proof he learned how to feed swine and drive a tractor. Joe said he wanted to listen to the corn grow but was disappointed he missed that opportunity because it rained too much during his visit. He really found out where the food basket of our country is located."

2000 REUNION CHAIRMAN
EARLE R. HART 610 366 9079
2756 EARHART COURT
OREFIELD, PA 18069-2253
GOLDEN ACORN NEWS EDITOR AND TO
LOCATE FORMER COMRADES
JAMES AMOR
P.O, BOX 4092
718 937 9160
FAX 718 937 9160
LONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11104-0092
E-MAIL jimamor@msn.com
The Golden Acorn News Is the VOICE of the 87th Infantry Division
Association. Readers are free to share or pass on news of interest to family and friends, except that any commercial or profit making use of the articles, accounts, descriptions and stories without expressed written consent of the 87th Infantry Division Association Is prohibited.
Any such use is subject to penalties ~:overed by the Intellectual
Property Protection Act of 1996 and other related laws.
For permission to use Golden Acorn News Items for a commercial purpose, please contact’.
William C. Young, National Secretary
400 Hemlock Road
Flourl:own, PA 19031-2211
Tel# 215 836 4961
Fax# 215 836 2274
E-malh wcyoung87@aol.com
Secretary
Treasurer
Harold Tendam, 87 QM
Sergeants At Arms
Robert E. Jenkins HQ-345
Vito J. Catrambone, 1-346
George Watson, M-346
Trustees
Archivist
Historian

Ray Rissler, G-345, Association Chaplain that we can still offer a vital service now, at this stage in our lives, just as we provided a vital service long ago.
I suggest three different kinds of contributions that we can make, recognizing of course that some of you are already actively involved in one or more.
"Serving" was the common bond that brought us together.
First. Share your great store of wisdom with young people. So many today seem determined to learn about life the hard way, so hard that some never recover. Sure, I know kids don’t want to listen. Doris and I have five children and sixteen grandchildren.
Lecturing them is a turnof!! But there are ways to relate stories of cause and effect from our own lives that will get their attention, and they will benefit from gentle and thoughtful guidance.
Our mission was to serve our country. We had other names:
G. I., foot soldier, etc., but really we were servicemen and servicewomen. We served our country and much of the world at a time when powerful forces in Europe and the Far East were committing crimes that were terribly wrong. We served, and we served well.
We were a varied lot -- some just out of high school, still boys. Others in their 20’s and 30’s, many with families back home. Yet for all of us, the war was a transforming experience. The boys matured. Everyone became more resourceful. Teamwork and help to others took on new meaning; insight into human behavior under stress deepened for everyone. And with some, prayer began to bring a new dimension into our lives, a sincere spiritual belief and reliance on
God to guide us and bring us through.
Well, so what? .... I’ll try to tell you so what!
Tom Brokaw, in his recent best selling book of this name, calls us the greatest generation. A very bold claim, but he backs it up in hundreds of pages of convincing stories. So we may not be in his book by name, but our life work, our standards, our principles, our achievements and our relationships all reflect the point Brokaw seeks to prove -- namely that the changes in American society that our generation has brought about have had a greater positive impact on our American lifestyle and our nation’s well-being and status as the predominant world power, than in any other period of United States history.
Second. Leave something important behind.
I’m not thinking about money or keepsakes. I’m thinking about information. Haven’t nearly all of you lost a parent or grandparent or aunt or uncle and within weeks or months said or thought "Why didn’t I ask him or her about that? And now it’s too late."
Think about the ancestors you knew that your grandchildren or nieces or nephews will never know anything about. I mean information that goes beyond simple genealogy -- where born and when, where died and when, etc,, I mean who were they, what were they like, what did they believing, how did they relate to one another; some really memorable events that revealed what their character and personality were, what their standards and values were.
And the same about yourself. So think about writing these things down, or talking to a tape recorder. Most o’f us have the time to do some of this. Let’s leave the young ones a meaningful legacy of information. ~,,
Third, and finally. We can all, very likely, take steps to improve or mend our relationships with others.; Life has rough surfaces -- things happen or are said that cause separation. Or simply time or distance make contact less frequent or lost entirely. There’s growing evidence in the Golden Acorn News that some of us are interested in renewing old relationships and sharing experiences. Is there something you really want to tell someone but just haven’t gotten around to it? It might be something you have admired about them, or something you really want to forgive. Just don’t wait too long!
So is it now time for us to settle back and leave the stream of progress, and simply observe what is going on around us? ! think not! ! think God has richly blessed us to bring us through this journey of life with the spirit to reassemble and renew relationships and share stories from our experiences as we did with such enthusiasm at our Fiftieth Reunion in Kentucky in late September and October. So I conclude, and urge you to consider afresh the thought
So it seems to me that there are ways we can serve in our later years that go beyond the commitments we made when younger to work on church committees,
Scouting leadership, civic positions, hospital volunteers, and so on. Let us of The Greatest
Generation not just fade away as old soldiers are sometimes said to do. Let’s still be of service now! []

John McAuliffe, our "stalwart
& strong" National Commander, retired at the Cincinnati Reunion by handing over the gavel to me. John has served his beloved 87th Division Association - and all veterans with great energy and leadership. He has overcome more than a fair share of life’s challenges not only on the battlefield. John is the consummate soldier for all battles - we salute him and thank him for a job well done.
As our membership inexorably diminishes, it was most reassuring, to meet with so many of our successor Golden Acorns at the reunion - our sons and daughters, their spouses, etc. Thanks to Barbara
Strang (daughter of Ted Anderson B-912FA and author of F Company - 3477, 75 sons and daughters were registered (possibly 100 total including spouses). Barbara organized a well attended meeting of the group including several dedicated 87th historical researchers. Jim Oaks (son of P. Oaks -
HQ3-345) ran the meeting and explained the organizational structure of an Infantry Division and the different roles performed by we G.I.’s. 87th WWII photos and memorabilia were on display, WWII slides were shown and John McAuliffe and I spoke to the group. There was an informative group discussion - it was a very reinforcing, bonding get-together.
This group is our hope for the future - the ability to pass on our legacy. Our honored dead and those who endured the ravages of war must never be forgotten we live in their debt. Our priority must be to nurture, indoctrinate and expand this vital nucleus
- our tomorrow’s advocates. As our numbers and vitality ebb, we must get on with this transition - "on the double"!
To facilitate this process, we must evaluate the Association’s existing structure - identifying, updating and documenting our policies, practices, networks, etc. We must organize ourselves so it will be possible for our successors - with little background in our affairs - to readily keep the organization functioning, and in accordance with our documented guidelines.
This will require the participation of many, especially those on the Executive Committee. The process will be broken down into narrow project areas
- manageable by individuals or small groups - all volunteers are welcomed.
Immediate action must be taken to make appointments for two new, Executive Committee positions: Military Affairs Officer and Foreign Liaison
Officer. These are vital, active functions (traditional in many veterans organizations) that are presently being conducted on a fragmented, self-initiative basis - the coverage being very incomplete and mostly after-thefact. There is no organized communication among individuals or with the Association.
There continue to be problems caused by inappropriate public representations that are mistakenly attributed to the 87th as its official position. I recently received a call from the WWII
Memorial Committee regarding an 87th related problem of this type (it has been resolved). Only official representatives of The Association can speak authoritatively on matters that affect the 87th’s relations with public sector entities. This includes:
U.S. & foreign governmental/military agencies, U.S. & foreign veterans support groups, WWII veterans groups, etc.
The line generally exists between public and in-house exposure. We can make all the claims about how great we are as long as it doesn’t discredit other veterans and is kept within the 87th family. Please be aware that The GAN and other veterans newsletters are distributed widely to all the entities mentioned above. I am certain our GAN editor will exercise the appropriate editorial judgment. Our good relations and credibility are involved, we must represent the
87th accurately, fairly and responsibly. The addition of the two new officers can be of great help in dealing with these matters.
There is a large reservoir of historical information, personal contacts, resource networks, memorials, memorabilia sources, etc. that exist but are not documented at the Association level. These areas are constantly undergoing dynamic change someone must stay in touch, keep the organization informed and arrange for our participation, etc.
Current examples: reorganization of 87th Division
Reserve units to active duty status / WWII Memorial events / Belgium & Luxembourg WWII anniversary events, etc.
I, and other 87th members~ will be attending the Reflagging Ceremony of the 188th Infantry
Brigade to the 4th Brigade, 87th Division (Ts) on
October 23, 1999 at Fort Stewart, Geprgia
(Savannah). I will make a report of the evolving change to active duty status of six 87th Division
(Reserve) Brigade units in the next issue Of the GAN.
A long-term personal project has been to establish a perpetual depository (museum) for my
(and others) collection of 87th / WWII memorabilia currently located in my own museum. With the current changing of 87th Division (Reserve) units to active duty status, there may be sufficient support interest / funds / facility - to achieve this goal. I will be talking to the Director of the Fort Stewart Museum about this during my visit on Oct. 23.
Some timely advice - make your hotel reservation for next year’s reunion early while there’s still room in the inn.
Many thanks for voting me aboard. Let’s all take full advantage of the precious time with which we are still blessed.
Yours in Comradeship.

When Earle began to take tours to European
Battlefields, he asked me (along with others) to assist and we were in constant communication. Earle became more of a brother to me than a brother soldier. I truly love the man.
As the year 2000 comes upon us, we are reminded of an article we read many years ago in the "Lifetime
Speakers Encyclopedia". Copyright
1962. The article was written by a
Kenneth McSabin and we include it here just as he wrote it.
"In the year 2000, February will have two extra days
- 29 and 30. This will keep on happening once every
1,000 years because the leap year day we slide in every 4 years doesn’t take up enough slack!"
Thanks for your friendship Earle.
On another tone, if you have noticed that we are printing material from familiar sources, sources that forward items to us all year long, you are not incorrect.
We appreciate the efforts of those members and we are sure that our membership also appreciates those efforts. But why not you?
We are certain that everyone out there has a story to tell and we will be most happy to have it in print.
We wonder if he’s still around to eat his words.
And as we speak of the millenium, many people are concerned about the Y2K bug and how it will affect their lives. We, at the Golden Acorn News, have a similar problem which we have solved rather simply.
When you order a roster, our program will not print the date on that roster as 1/01/00. It will not allow us to print the/00. So we have elected to print the date as 1/01/20, and let you imagine that there are two more zeroes at the end. In the year 2001 we will not have that problem.
With this issue we welcome our new
National Commander Earle R. Hart.
Earle and I go back a long way to that time when he was my squad leader in those hectic days when we stampeded across Germany on tanks. Earle was always a stubborn, focused individual who would not take "No" for an answer.
He does not remember me too well since I was only a face out of many in a rifle squad that changed members so frequently that trying to learn each man’s name was too much. Chances are that he wasn’t going to be here tomorrow anyway, so why bother. But for those of us that came into this division as replacements, our immediate officers were important to us since we trusted their judgement even though,
(in many cases) the replacement was older than the sergeant. Earle was just short of two months older than me.
Imagine my surprise when as I entered the hotel in Albany during the 1987 reunion, (my first) the first person I spot is Earle Hart. Nope, he didn’t remember me but as. we began to talk, during that reunion, he began to remember some of the things that I remembered and so we began to put events, names and faces together.
We recently had one member state that his writing wasn’t "very good anymore" and would it be alright if he would put it on a cassette.
You Betcha! We’ve done it in the past and we will do it again..lust send it in to us. We have both the standard cassette and the micro cassette players.
We have such a diversity of people as members with so many stories to tell and if you have read Earle’s column you will note that he asks that your experiences be put down on paper
EDITOR
3ames Amor, A-345
P.O. Box 4092
Long Island City, NY 11104
718 937 9160
FAX Call 1st 718. 937 9160
EDITOR EMERITUS
Gladwin Pascuzzo,
D-312HED
2374 N. Dundee Ct.
Highland, IVlI 48357
248 887 9005
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
William C. Young, HQ-345
400 Hemlock Road
Flourtown, PA 19031
215 836 4961
ART EDITOR
Mike Petrick, M-346
6456 Craig Ave.
Bensalem, PA 19020
215 757 6379
DISTRIBUTION EDITOR
Richard Pierson, 787 ORD
3217 Algonquin Pkway
Toledo, OH 43606
419 472 6527
FAX 419 472 0953 before we no longer have that opportunity. If you think for one moment that our children and the children of this land would not be interested, you are sadly mistaken. All you had to do was to come to our last reunion in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky and see the children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren present there to talk to listen to and learn from us, t, he old veterans, what it was like during, those hellish days of our youth.
And while we are on the subject bf the reunion, we wish to thank Lou and
Jeanne Gueltzow for presenting us with one of the most memorable reunions we have had in many years. And thanks to
Our Past National Commander, John
McAuliffe for selecting two wonderful
Lovely People as our Honored Guests,
Nathalie and Pascal Hainaut. We were so moved by their speech we had to print it in its entirety at the beginning of this issue. Would you believe that they were asked for their autographs on the reunion menu by many members.
And as we close out this year, we wish each and every one of you a most joyful
Hol!day Season and a healthy and wonderful New Year. []