· vosges valor victory

'

1945

· Vosges Valor

Victory ;...______,.._

)""" - ~~

+

The~· best When Infantry fought without armor or air American Gl prevailed

• • •

The gallantry of the Infantry which defeated Hitler's final offensive in the Vosges, is convincingly recorded in a new book, "When the Odds Were Even."

Salek. Among them were some of the enemy's toughest, battle-tempered foot soldiers.

Roads, narrow, twisting and steep, in the rugged Vosges were, at best, far from ideal for tanks-and even lighter armor. Mud, rain, slush and finally record snowfall largely eliminated effective mechanized combat. Air power was shackled by chronic fog and low visibility of late autumn and ear ly winter.

The author is Keith Bonn, a West Point graduate and former executive officer of the 9th Infantry Division that fought in Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany. He explodes the commonly accepted evaluation that the German Infantry proved itself the best in two World Wars.

He points out that in WW2 battles were usually not won by the Infantry alone. In most engagements the odds favored the side which could bring most armor or air power into the battle. For example, the early "blitzkrieg" of the Germans exploited its superior armor. Superior air power won the Battle of Britain for the English.

That left it to the Infantry of both sides. For weeks the opposing forces had maneuvered against

each other. Finally the strife climaxed in what the author calls "among the most fierce but least known struggles of the war in France."

Allied Infantry won.

In the whole ETO, there was only one area where neither side could use tanks and planes in sufficient numbers to tilt the scales of battle. That was in the Vosges Mountains of Alsace from Oct. 15, 1944, through jan. 15, '45. There the Americans Seventh Army under Lt. Gen. Alexander Patch and the French First Army under Gen. delattre DeTassigny fought against the German 19th Army commanded by Gen. Friederich Wiese and the Army Group Gunder Gen. Helmuth

German military philosophy inhibited initiative among the troops. American training fostered individual prerogatives and acceptance of responsibility in combat. In the final analysis, the good guys won because the American Infantryman simply outfought his German opposite .

The book is published by the Presidio Press and can be ordered through any bookstore. Or it may be ordered from Barnes & Noble, 126 Fifth Avenue, New York 10011.

*

2

The Trailblazer

is published four times a year by the 70th Infantry Division Association and friends. Subscription: $12 annually.

Editor Edmund C. Arnold 3804 Brandon Ave., S.W. #415 Roanoke. VA 24018 (703) 776-2415

* Associate Editor Chester F. Garstki 2946 N. Harding Ave. Chicago, IL 60618 (312) 725-3948

Staff Artist Peter Bennett

* 3031 Sir Phillips Dr. San Antonio, TX 78209

Volume 53 Number l Winter, 1995

One Companys losses show wars intensity

A reminder of the deadly fighting for Saarbrucken are the numbers researched by Ha r old Lewis for just one company, C/275.

From Feb. I 7 to March 5, I 945, the outfit suffered 96 casualties. These included KIAs, missing, wounded and POWs.

There is not a listing of POWs but the company had at least 30 of its men captured, 30 of them at Philippsbourg. Tom Higley, who was in the hospital during that period, bel ieves the numbers are even higher. "By the time figures of the action go to the platoon leader to Company CP to Battalion clerk, as much as two weeks might have elapsed. So it's impossible to get accurate compi lations from morning reports," says Tom.

He notes that over the years, of these 96 men, 36 have been or are Association members.

Tom also recalls that members of his squad always carried "a very nice mixture of wine and brandy in our canteens. It did not freeze and was very warming." It may

not have been exactly SOP (standard operating procedure), but certainly was DAT (done all the time).

* Wentz made round-trip from Fort Meade By EDGAR WENTZ E/274

My military days started when I was inducted at Fort Meade, Maryland, April 4, I 944. After 17 weeks training in light and medium tanks at Fort Knox, Kentucky, I joined the 70th at Fort Leonard Wood in September, '44. I fought with the 70th till • the end of the war and in August, I 945 , I transferred to 3rd Division and Occupation in Bebra, Germany. I came home with part of 79th Lorraine Djvision on ew Year's Day of 1946 and discharged 19 days later at Fort Meade.

My most memorable time was on the morning of Feb. 23, 1945, atop Karputzbery Ridge when attack was made on theE Company C-P and the Mortar Squad. One was killed, two wounded and three captured from squad after firing from hill late in evening.

• 70th Division Assn. TRAILBLAZER

Spicheren Heights monument to honor whole 70th Division

T HIS GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY PERIOD that has seen the dedication of five commemorative Trailblazer plaques, will be climaxed by the installation of one

that is unusual. It will be the first one on a battlefield that memorializes the whole 70th Division.

The monument, to be dedicated May 7, will stand on Spicheren Heights where the ghosts of old soldiers stand guard on ground that has been contested for centuries.

This is an area that Hitler named "sacred Nazi soil." Here he set foot on the first French territory that his Panzers had taken early in World War II. And this is where the 70th won the battle that opened the Saarland to Allied forces that went on into the German heartland. So there is deep emotional and symbolic significance in the site.

The Trailblazer axe-head is emblazoned on other battlegrounds. But there-at Wingen-sur-Moder, Philippsbourg and Lixing, it is units of the Division, fighting as Task Force Herren, that are primarily honored. Two plaques-at Camp Adair and at Fort Leonard Wood honor the 70th; but they are at sites where 'Blazers trained rather than fought.

Spicheren was the first battle that the Division fought as a whole unit. The task force, which had fought bravely and successfully in stopping Operation Nordwind in the Vosges, had been joined by Divarty and Special Troops and, complete again, began its Saarland operations.

T HIS MONUMENT, TOO, is unusual in its founding. The plaques at Adair and Wood were voted by the general meeting at the 1992 Louisville Reunion. The

Wingen and Philippsbourg monuments were regimental projects, financed by gifts of their members. The Division monument had been debated for almost six years. It was the zeal of Charles Kelly, HQ/70, that spurred the project to successful completion.

When the Louisville meeting rejected the plan for a Division monument by a slight margin and a great number of spoiled ballots, Kelly began a personal effort. Alex johnson, then Association president, appointed him to head a project that would not entail Association funds and therefore would not negate the assembly vote.

Kelly met with Mayor Alfred Reiff of Spicheren and also with Marcel Hay, who had been a Free French Freedom Fighter and now is a newspaper reporter. Forty-four citizens of the Alsace-Lorraine area wrote to offer their cooperation in erecting a monument.

An area of the Heights has been designated as Memorial Square. Here a monument has been erected to mark the new European Community. Several other new monuments are emplaced there along with others that date back to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. The site has become a tourist attraction for the region.

Winter, 1995

Here the local government offered a site for the 70th memorial and promised perpetual care of it. Both the French and United States Battlefield Monument Commissions have approved the project.

T HE FORBACH DISTRICT COUNCIL appropriated 35,000 francs-about $6,000 U.S.-for the masonry. The cost of the metal plaque would be borne by

Trailblazers. That plaque will be in three languages, French and German that are spoken in that region and English.

Before the St. Louis meeting, Kelly had collected more than $800 in unsolicited gifts. Before the men's luncheon, he had reported on the project and asked for voluntary contributions. A glass bowl was placed to receive donations and within 10 minutes some $1,385 had been collected. That's sufficient for the plaque and to build decorative brick paving around the monument.

A large contingent of 70th men and their families are expected for the dedicatory ceremonies on a Springtime Sunday morning. Most will probably be on the Return-toEurope tour which will be housed for the weekend at Forbach. Others are expected to be travelling individually. A detailed schedule will be presented in the Spring issue of this magazine so tourists can plan their itinerary.

AMIDST THE CROSSES .... At the Military Cemetery at St. Avold, France, four men from Company 11275, pay tribute to Trailblazers buried there. They were in the party that attended monument dedications in Alsace last summer. From the left are: Charles Stender, John Skeen, George Marshall and Harry Mumm.

Warm welcome by Alsatians as 70th plaques dedicated By Don Docken C/275

Trailblazer veterans were welcomed with open arms by the citizens of Lixing and Philippsbourg as the villages staged impressive ceremonies honoring the 70th for liberating and defending their towns.

At Philippsbourg the 70th delegation marched in-step down the main street to the stirring tunes of a 30-piece U.S. Army Band. The order of march was as follows: a smartly-dressed, well-disciplined joint U.S. Armed Forces Color Guard; the 70th Division flag made and held by Robert Crothers; forty-two 70th veterans with heads held high; local flag carriers, local firemen, a French army detachment, children of the village, and WW II army vehicles driven by French collectors.

There were many teary eyes as we approached the monument site and saw hundreds of people clapping a.nd cheering. The monument itself is artistic and impressive. It is a Peace Memorial with four large stone pillars in a semi-circle. The main pillar has a beautiful crystal dove standing at the top. In the middle of the stone are crystal figures of people moving up to the dove. One pillar depicts children seeking peace for the future. Etched into the columns are names of local French men who died in various wars. Two of the pillars carry the 70th plaquesone English, one French.

The U.S. flag was raised by Col. George A. Barten. The French and European Community flags were also raised. Patrice Jacquel, Mayor of Philippsbourg, gave a welcoming speech. Maj. Donald C. Pence gave a colorful account of an incident on the Bitche Road when, after the German ambush, he dried his clothes in the house of a French family. Shirley E. Barnes, U.S . Consul General in Strasbourg, paid tribute to the veterans and to the village. Col. Barten dedicated the plaques. A wreath was placed at the plaque by Russell Sellmen, Ralph Ruggles, and Lionel Fourrier. The climax came when 100 homing pigeons were released and flew away into the sky.

A mayoral wine reception and dinner at a local restaurant for 130 guests concluded the day.

4

When U.S. Consul General Shirley Barnes heard that the appearance of a U.S. Army Band

would be canceled, she called the American Ambassador in Paris. He in turn contacted a couple of generals in Army Headquarters in Germany. As a result an excellent band was present and accounted for in Philippsbourg. The people of Philipps bourg did a won

derfuljob of creating the magnificent monument. It has attracted a lot of people not only because it is so handsome, but also because it sits beside a busy road and is lighted at night.

The village of Lixing also welcomed us with an outpouring of hospitality, friendship and appreciation. We came into town with the Division flag flying above the bus. The people lined the streets, clapping and cheering us on. A religious service began the ceremonies with Chaplain Don Docken participating with the local priest. A fine choir enhanced our worship. Next came the

BRONZE AND STONE ....

dedication of the monument in the town square with Maj. Pence giving a graphic account of the liberation of the town.

After an elegant mayoral reception, a longtime friend of the 70th, Robert Mallick, hosted a buffet dinner in the backyard of his home. We even had a sampling of his homemade apple wine.

At both ceremonies, Lixing and Philippsbourg, many French government officials and army officers and veterans were in attendance. Children ofthe vi II ages participated prominently; in Philippsbourg they presented Chaplain Docken with their own painted picture. Their names were signed around the French verse, "Dessinemoi un demain" (Show me tomorrow).

Pictures and extensive articles covering the events appeared in the regional papers. You can be sure that the 70th Division was remembered with true appreciation in the

(Continued on next page)

Posterity will be reminded of the gallantry of Trailblazers at the Battle of Philippsbourg by the plaque mounted in a native stone pillar. An honor guard from joint American forces added color and dignity to the dedication ceremonies last summer. At the left is Ralph Ruggles, A/27 4: Chaplain Don Docken stands at the right.


'

' Lixing liberators deserve right IDs

Kenneth Luoto, 1/275, admits what we all ought to: Old recollections are not necessarily always accurate.

But he still passes along one of his: "In the Summer issue, in the story about Lixing John Enochs was identified as being with 1/276. If my memory serves me at all, John was with l/275. While we managed to get a few men into Lixing, the toll unfortunately was heavy. The Germans managed to separate our forces. In our attack Sgt. Enochs was shot by a sniper, right through his helmet. The few of us who got into the town were busy trying to maintain our tenuous position and couldn't get to John. We had to watch with horror as chickens in the

yard pecked away at his brains. Some of our troops were south of the town but our group of four men were near a church, right in the enemy li ne of fire.

"Communication was very limited. I ran with messages to several small groups and luckily escaped being hit. We weren't all that lucky, though . Some good buddies died trying to get into the town, not knowing of the barbed-wire defenses and German machine gun coverage. This was the second of our forces sacrificed, one which struck me with indescribable emotions. I think we did more than we were expected to. I thi nk Sgt. Enochs-and a ll the menshould be properly identified."

* 274th is now a Railsplitter but proud of 'Blazer past

Among the guests at the men's I uncheon at the Reunion and participating in the 274th meeting afterward, was Maj. Daniel Harlan of St. Louis. He is executive officer of the "new 274th's" 2nd Battalion.

The modern-day 274-which was the

P'bourg (Continued)

hearts and minds of the French people. We on our part wi II never forget the experience.

We stopped at the St. Avoid Military Cemetery and paid our respects to our Division comrades who are buried there. It was a solemn occasion as we walked among the graves and sought out the fam i I iar names of our comrades.

At Boppard, Germany, the military part of our tour concluded with a visit with German veterans of the 6th Nord Mountain Division. From a fellowship dinner, we parted with, "Gestern Feinde, heute Freunde" (Yesterday enemies, today friends).

We have sent several mementos of the celebrations to the Benton County Historical Museum at Philomath, Oregon: a onedimensional replica of the crystal peace dove, the children's picture, the commemorative program from Lixing and a town flag from Boppard.

Winter, 1995

Wyoming Regiment of the WW2 70th-is now in the 84th Division (Training) with headquarters in Mi lwaukee, Wisconsin. Maj. Harlan's battalion is in Farmington, Missouri. The other two battalions are in Oshkosh and Appleton, Wisconsin. (In WW2, the 84th, the Rai lsplitters Infantry Division, fo ught in the Ardennes and Hanover, Germany.

The 84th, like the "new 70th," is in the Army Reserves. Both have the duty of giving basic training to Infantry recruits in the case of national mobi lization. Twentyseven members of his unit served Desert Storm. The current regiment is proud of the trad ition it has inherited from the 70th Division and its publications display the Presidential Unit Citation that the 2nd Battalion earned at Wingen.

Karl Landstrom presided at the 274th St. Louis meeting. He urged Trailblazers who live in the 84th's area to maintain ties with the past and present 274th.

The memories remain vivid By JOHN HIGGINS C/275

My part in the strugg le that took hundreds of thousands of lives was small. But my memory is still vivid of the silent ly sailing mortar shells blasting the trees in front of us, the ringing in my ears that has

LIXING LIBERATION ... The small Alsatian town said thanks to the 70th for freeing it from Nazi domination in 1945. This monument was dedicated July 15, with a Trailblazer delegation as guests of honor.

continued until this day and the fear of the "screaming meemies" that always sounded -as though they were meant for no one but you.

I think most of all of the bone-chilling co ld-they say that was the worst winter in 50 years. When you add the lack of sleep to all of this, you get a pretty nervous bunch.

I went back to France with my wife and one of my sons a few years ago. We visited the museum of the invasion and we walked along roads above the Normandy beaches. We walked among the many thousands of graves in the cemetery for American servicemen. I felt very sad and I couldn't stop the tears.

I joined the 70th in February, 1945 on the hills above Saarbrucken. I was a staff sergeant in the machine gun section of the Weapons Platoon in Company C/275. When the war ended in Europe I was to transfer to the Pacific. But then the Pacific war ended and I was sent to Vienna. While there I took a trip to Paris and London.

I finally arrived back home in May, 1946, about three years from the time that I was drafted.

* • 5

SIJil-llf)J)I~Il Company G of Wyoming played pivotal role in textbook victory

Awesome responsibilities for the Lives and deaths of others, are Loaded onto the shoulders of young men in warfare. A Trailblazer who bore such burden with distinction is Fred "Casey" Cassidy, G/274.

Casey was perhaps typical of the American GI. He had Lived all his Life in Lincoln, Nebraska, a typical Midwestern city. In his third year of pre-Law college, he enListed in the Army in April, 1943, at the

time the 70th Division was a-borning in Oregon, and was commissioned a second Lieutenant.

As 1945 began, the 274th was stretched thin on a 21-mile defensive Line along the Rhine. Casey had just marked his 22nd birthday and had assumed command of the company just two days before. Operation Nordwind was Launched at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. The surprise attack surged into northern Alsace.

In their first battle, 'Blazers fought with skill and bravery By F R ED CASSIDY G/274

As Company G was preparing defensive positions at Puberg on Jan. 4, 1945, the decision had been made to have Companies E and G sweep the ridge that ran two to three miles between Puberg and the woods overlooking Wingen. Each company committed two platoons to form a skirmish line, G on the left, E on the right. Col. Samuel Conley, Regimental commander, and Maj. Buford Boyd, 2nd Bn executive officer, led the operation.

We proceeded cautiously, hindered by the snow and rough terrain.

Somewhere along this ridge we ran

into either a German outpost or a patrol. Shots were exchanged and G took its first battle casualties: S/Sgt. Ba ker , Pfc Malcom Da niels and E r n ie H ayes, all of whom were wounded and evacuated.

G also claimed its first enemy casualties, one whom we laboriously tried to transport on a blanket stretcher. He would be afforded medical attention and be debriefed concerning the enemy's positions and strength. Unfortunately, he died en route.

In the Puberg area with F and H Cos. outposting the perimeter, G settled downwe thought for the night-in any warm place that could be found. But during the night I was summoned to the battalion command post and told that the Germans were advancing toward Puberg from

American Lines reeled. After a Long all-night-Jan. 3-4-truck

ride from Drusenheim, on the Rhine, to Puberg, west of Wingen, his Company G joined the rest of the 2nd Battalion to Link into the perimeter defenses of Puberg.

Then followed the Battle of Wingensur-Moder. It has been studied by the Army's Infantry School as an example of effective small-unit operations. It earned for the 2nd Battalion of 274 the Distinguished Unit Citation.

Company G played a pivotal role in the final victory over the 6th SS Mountain Division at Wingen and it is interesting to note how Cassidy reports without dramatics or heroics.

*

Wingen. My instructions were to move my company toward Wingen, along the ridge and to set up a main line of defense. Despite confusion, we quickly assembled and moved out.

At what I felt to be the most advantageous positions to defend, we stopped and the men started digging in. Heavy snow and frozen ground did nothing to brighten our spirits. During the early hours of Jan. 5 I got orders to move once again along the ridge toward Wingen, as the German advance on Puberg had failed to materialize. , My company was to clear the ridge and secure the woods up to the edge of the town.

I felt relatively sure that at most we would run into only a German outpost until we reached the woods overlooking Wingen. So I planned to proceed slowly to a position to attack by daylight.

At the woods, shortly before daylight, I assembled my officers and platoon sergeants and gave them my plan of attack. The I st and 2nd platoons would be committed with the 3rd platoon in reserve. We had not advanced very far when the Ger-

6 70th Division Assn. TRAILBLAZER

' ' mans opened up with heavy fire from outposted pockets, machine gun emplacements protected by riflemen located in most advantageous fire lanes.

Both the lst and 2nd platoons were by now under intensive fire and hugging the ground. T/Sgt. Hughie Shellem, platoon sergeant of the 2nd, seeing his platoon pinned down, moved about exhorting them to advance. He completely disregarded his personal safety. He, himself, with grenades knocked out a machine gun emplacement. Then, in a crouched running position, he gave signals to his men where to advance.

A German machine gun blast almost cut him in two.

He crumpled to the ground to fight no more. One of the Medics raced to Hughie's side to administer to him. I was close and went too. To no avail; he was dead. (It was at that moment that the utter futility and senseless waste of war struck me.

Hughie Shellem was a young man in his early 20's. He was born and rai sed in the Germantown area of Philadelphia. He very much resembled and could do a perfect imitation of actor Jimmy Cagney. Hughie and I were friends and had spent many happy times together in the States. Only shortly before we shipped over he had introduced me to his girlfriend whom he planned to marry after the war.)

Seeing that our advance was at a standsti ll , I decided to pull my troops back, set up a rolling barrage of mortar fire and move behind it.

This ploy worked. Moving forward, each man fired round after round. The Germans retreated out of the woods. As we neared the edge of the woods, Sgt Wexler 's squad observed a white flag waving out of a house near the edge of the woods. He stood up to yell to them in German to come forward with their hands up. Then a German machine gun barked and the sergeant and several of his men were hit. Another bitter lesson was learned.

We secured the woods in the early afternoon. As we dug in we observed fighting on the hill to the left, overlooking Wingen, and some activity in the town itself. The 276th was involved in that battle. Shortly after I was approached by a captain of the 276th. He told me my company was now assigned to the 276th and that I was to take two platoons and attempt to enter Wingen through or alongside the railroad underpass.

To accomplish this, we were to go around the left flank, which exposed us to fire from the hill. He assured me that that would pose no problem; the 276th had control of the hill.

Winter, 1995

IT DID NOT take long to find out that he was wrong. So I pulled my two platoons back to our original position in the woods. A little later I discussed this turn of events with Col. Wallace "Bob" Cheves. He ordered me to maintain our defensive position in the woods. Later in the afternoon, Co. E under Capt. Gene Sisson and Co. F under Capt. Robert Davenport moved into the area preparatory to attack. Co. H, the Battalion heavy weapons company under Capt. James Kidder, moved into support positions in the woods; so did Lt. John Copeland's anti-tank platoon.

Sgt. John Sims moved his squad to our right flank to clear and occupy some houses along the Zittersheim road. Reaching their objective, they found wounded Gls of the 276th. They soon joined in the action with a company of the 276th which was approaching from Zittersheim. During this action we sustained our second fatility, Pfc Fred Hurst.

George Company has its first heroes -and first KIA

I THE LATE afternoon or night of Jan. 5, E and F Companies moved through the G 's defensive positions, engaging the enemy in heated exchanges as dusk fell.

At a staff meeting at Puberg, I learned that Col. Cheves had been placed in charge of the entire Wingen operation. To me this was excellent as I knew him to be not only an outstanding tactician but one whose troops came first. Further, I knew that he could not be pressured into attacking helterskelter just because some general wanted to get the job over with.

His plan was for the 276th to continue efforts to secure the overlooking hill; for F

to lead the attack on the village, with E following them in, with G Company held in reserve.

Early in the morning of Jan. 6, Co. F moved into attack positions and were met by murderous fire. They were pinned down near the entrance to the town along the ditch running at the bottom of the railroad tracks.

At 9 p.m. with G on the left and Eon the right, we moved into the attack. I recall crawling over the bodies of many Co. F comrades lying in the ditch near the underpass. (I had fir t served with F when I joined the battalion.)

As we made our way into town, we took the first few houses without too much difficulty. The main problem was the heavy machine gun and rifle fire coming from the hill.

Talking with Lt. Wayne Meshier, a Co. E platoon leader, we decided to split the town with his platoon attacking the sector to the right and we attacking to the left. Wayne moved off and while directing hi s platoon was killed by fire from the vicinity ofthe cemetery. (Wayne and I had attended

. the same university, entered the Army at the same time and had trained together. Just before we shipped over he had married his childhood sweetheart, a lovely girl whom I also knew.)


• 7

(Continued) With the 1st platoon leading the way, we

soon encountered a fence which had to be cleared. I directed as much fire power as possible towards the hill and we moved forward and over the fence, one by one. The house immediately in our path had to be entered from the side towards the cemetery. As we rounded the comer and entered the house, Sgt. J ohn Schwaegel engaged in a bayonet fight and won. It was our first hand-to-hand combat and I thanked God that we had been prepared through hours and hours of bayonet drills.

We moved on through town with the rifle squads alternating taking houses and covering the next squad's advance. With nightfall descending and our tank support moving back to refuel, we started to button up for the night.

Just then the Germans came off the hill in a wild charge, spraying machine gun fire into our positions. I tried to get everyone to hit the ground and return the fire but it was difficult being heard over the noise of the shots. Sgt. George Krumme grabbed a machine gun and cut loose in rapid fire. This stopped the attack long enough for me to organize that part of the company that was caught out in the open and move them back to some houses near the edge of town. ,,,

HE NIGHT of Jan. 6-7 is to this day the longest night of my life. I had left a large number of men in Wingen and even though the fighting had ceased, I was unaware of their fate .

We spent the night in contact with Battalion headquarters and in reorganizing the remainder of my company for an attack at daylight. Col. Cheves decided to delay the attack, giving us more time during daylight to reorganize and also time for tank support to join us.

At approximately 9 a.m. we moved out and advanced rapidly. I think foremost in everyone's mind was to reach the house where Sgt. Krumme and the rest had spent the night. Resistance was light. We were

8

Co. G soldiers find comrades

who were cut off

able to join up with Krumme and the rest of the company. We then moved on through town, clearing all the remaining houses and setting up defensive lines at that point. E Company freed the !79th Infantry doughboys who were being held captive in the church.

Our cooks brought up hot chow for all. Those civilians who had remained in their homes soon appeared on the streets.

Soon after the battle ceased, we were taken by trucks to a convent nearOberbronn. I had been without sleep since we left Drusenheim on Jan. 4. I had walked through a stream somewhere along the lines and my shoepacs were frozen to my feet. I was so hoarse I could hardly talk.

After a visit to the chapel where I prayed for my three comrades who had lost their lives and for the recovery of the 43 G men who had been wounded. I was tended to by those wonderfu l nuns who cut my shoepacs off and bathed my feet in warm water.

The battle was over; the memories will never be.

* Training paid off at Forbach and Saar By CH ARLES JOHNSO N HQ/882

Fortunate circumstances and Lady Luck followed me through basic to the 9lst Fir Tree Division and on to the cadre for the Trai lblazers' Field Arti llery. I was with the 70th from the start in May, 1943 to our deactivation in October, '45.

I spent my first two weeks in the Army doing KP at my induction center, Fort Sheridan, waiting for the Quartermaster to find a jacket and boots for my lanky Iowa farmboy frame. My first break came when I headed to Fort Si ll , Oklahoma where I showed aptitude in fire direction skills during basic training.

I was promoted to staff sergeant and then when the 9 1 st went to Italy, I remained Stateside in the cadre. ! helped train our fire direction teams.

The high light of my service was in the spring of 1945 when we put al l that training to the test-fire support to the advancing 274th during the capture ofForbach and the Saar River cross ing.

*

William or Kenneth -was Chaney the same guy

In the Summer, '94 issue, Andy McMahon , E/276, tells about "William Cha ney" who was killed by a sniper during the Forbach attack. My good buddy " Kenneth C ha ney" - who was in my squad- was killed at Forbach and I wonder if this isn't the same man. Also, Marion Ter Louw, mentioned in the story, was and is a good friend of mine.

At the time of the Forback attack, I was in the hospital at Epinal , having been "injured in action" , earlier that month.

Ken 's widow, now Ruth Parman, lives in Arkansas City near Wichita. My wife Louise and I are always in contact with her. Ruth said that Max Maybie, E/276, was in Forbach action and furnished her with all the information about Ken.

Guess what! I paid my dues on July I! Louise keeps a reminder in her appointment book. J oh n Burch E/276

*

FRIENDLY FIRE(WOOD) .. . • Gathering fuel for a campfire to ward off the bitter Alsatian cold is this 70th soldier. He is not identified nor are any details known about the site of this activity.


"Outstanding" awarded to four The highest honor the 70th Division Association can be

stow on a member is to name him "Outstanding Trailblazer". Since the award was first given in 1982, 49 men were so honored, three of them posthumously.

Now four more-all rifle company veterans-have been so distinguished by their fellow members. They were inducted at the St. Louis Reunion .

*** Walter C. Cox, ]r., E/276

Not only has Wally attended every Reunion since his first one in 1978, he has served on at least one committee for each one. He also served as vice-president/East.

He has been an active recruiter for the Association and tons of members thank him for letting them know that their old buddies had banded into a civilian organization. He proposed the Life Membership program which has proven eminently successful and is a strong booster for it.

He served E/274 and now practices law in Lexington, Kentucky.

*** Cornelius "Con" Cremer, F/275

Con and the 70th go way back. An Oregon native he joined the Trailblazers at Adair and he was active in ceremonies that dedicated a 70th plaque there th is year. He joined the Association a year after it organized, in 1965, and has attended every Reunion since then. He was in charge of the most successful Western Mini-Reunion at Corvallis this Spring and has served on several committees including the current one on long-range planning.

A retired educator with the Portland school system, he served with the 1 04th Reserves Division and retired as a colonel. He was with F/275 during WW2.

*** Rex Doug Jeffrey, F/275

Doug set the standards for Mini-Reunions when he organized the first one for Western states in 1989. It has proved an excellent pattern for those which followed. He was also on the site committee that did the first work on the St. Louis '94 Reunion .

Since joining the Association in 1982, he has taken part in every Reunion and in three Return-to-Europe trips. He has served on many committees.

He has been a very active recruiter for the Association and is zealous in finding former members of the Division. He is retired and with his wife Audrey lives in Sun City West, Arizona. He served with F/275.

HIGHEST HONOR .... Named "Outstanding Trailblazer," the Association's highest honor, are (standing at the left) William Pierce with Walter Cox.

Seated at the left is Rex Jeffrey with Con Cremer. (Photo by Byron McNeely)

William Pierce, C/275 Bill was the 70th's ambassador to Europe for many years

since joining the Association 20 years ago. A career Army man, he retired in Heidelberg, Germany and lived there many years. He was active in American veterans activities on the Continent. For 16 years he personally presented memorial wreaths in ceremonies at the military cemeteries of St. Avoid and Epinal.

While living in Germany, he always met Return-to-Eu-rope groups and made their stay there most pleasant. ,

A veteran of C/275, he now lives in Chelsea, Michigan . He has attended every Reunion except one since his first in Overland Park, Kansas in '74.

'We sweat; you froze'

says Pacific 'Blazer

While we were sweating, you fellows were freezing. It's just something we can't go through again.

of address. My 46-year-old son had a heart transplant in May. He had been in the hospital five months waiting for a heart and almost ran out of time. Both of us are doing OK now. Even though I went to the Pacific as a

replacement I enjoy reading about the paths of the Trailblazers in France and Germany.

Winter, 1995

I had a pacemaker installed Dec. 26, 1993, and was under the weather for a few days. Then I moved in January and I 'm sorry I fo rgot to inform you of the change

Harry Hurst, Life Member M/276

• 9

Milestones of 1945 The year of maturity for the Trailblazers

Nineteen forty-five is seared into the hearts and memory of every 70th Division man. It was the year that the Trailblazers came of age: Boys became men; raw recruits became gallant veterans. It was a year that began at the turn of midnight with the deadly Operation Nordwind.

It was a year when the 70th took Saarbrucken and opened the final gate into the heartland of Germany for American forces. It was the year of victory in Europe.

It was the year that unleashed the age of atomic terror, the year that Japan surrendered abjectly, the

January 1 January 9 January 20 January 30

February 3 February 4

February 19 February 25

March 3 March 7

March 11

April1 April9

April12

April 25

Operation Nordwind begins. U.S. Army lands on Luzon, the Philippines Hungary signs armistice with Allies Americans and British meet at Malta to prepare for talks with Stalin

American Army enters Manila Yalta Conference begins and continues through the 12th Marines land on lwo Jima B-29 raid on Tokyo demonstrates effectiveness of incendiary bombs

Japanese resistance ends in Manila American Army crosses Rhine on Remagen Bridge U.S. forces land on Mindanao, Philippines

American troops land on Okinawa Allies begin major attack on Gothic Line in Italy Franklin D. Roosevelt dies Harry S Truman assumes Presidency Conference in San Francisco organizes United Nations

year the Cold War began and the Iron Curtain fell between the free West and the brutal Communist dictatorship.

It was also the year that the 70th Division came home and was deactivated. It was the year that some Trailblazers went from the ETO to the Pacific, the year a few came home to civilian life, the year that most began Occupation duties.

It was a year prominent in world history-and certainly in that little piece of history that is the personal heritage of every 70th man.

Momentous days in 1945:

April28 April 23

April30

MayS

May 7

May8

July 16

July 26

August 8 August 9 August 14 August 30

September 2

September 11

Mussolini is executed by Italian Partisans American and Russian troops link up on the Elbe River Hitler dies in Berlin bunker

German forces surrender in Netherlands, Northwest Germany and Denmark All German forces surrender unconditionally at 2:45a.m. at Rheims, France V-E Day proclaimed

Big Three begin Potsdam conference through August 2 Potsdam Declaration issued Russia will enter war against Japan and guarantee free elections in Poland

Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki Japanese surrender American forces begin landing in Japan

Japan signs instruments of Surrender V-J Day 70th Division inactivated

From Day 1 to now Steele was in cadre

"I was in 274th Anti-Tank since Day One," says Ralph Steele. That's right; he was cadre and stayed with AT for the long haul. He came from the 91 st, of course.

"I was in my home in Provo, Utah, when I got an unexpected and very pleasant phone call from Henry Clarke, and old buddy I had lost track of. He was enroute

from his home in Saratoga, California to Colorado. He had a li st of old friends and found me in the phone book. We had a long and pleasant visit with him and his wife Madeline. I was so glad to learn about the 70th Association and joined at once." With his wife, Anna May, he lives in Orem, Utah.


Mail

Call

Is 70th Association • substandard•? Poll!

Losing 430 members for not paying dues won't be solved by paying their dues. A written survey should be made of these members to find out why they dropped out is the only intelligent way to go. For example, three questions are suggested:

I. Do you agree with the adoption of the 70th Div. bylaws in 1992?

2. Do you agree that the last history book did not give full credit to the 275th Infantry?

3. Do you agree that three Reunions be held in the same city?

Twenty percent of the members dropping out is too many members just to let happen and not find out WHY. Return postage should be paid from 70th Div. funds.

If you ask the right questions you will get the right answers. You only run one risk with this survey and that is finding out why the 70th Div. Assn. is substandard. Ken Holloway, Life Member, B/725 FA 1805 Wilshire Drive Xenia, O hio 45385

* "Didn't Run"- Swell Dell enjoys the "Trailblazer" and the

Summer '94 issue article. "They Didn't Run," was especially meaningful. We are looking forward to reading all about the St. Louis Reunion. Carol Burgess (Mrs. Delbert Burgess, G/275)

* It was a cold Fourth, but memories are warm

I express my appreciation for the picture of the Fourth of July parade in Wiesbaden that ran on the back page of the Summer, '94 issue. I have never been more emotionally stirred than by the patriotic numbers rendered by the 70th Division Band on that occasion.

And I have never been colder on the Fourth than that evening as we returned to our base riding on a GI truck. David Howery HQ Co/70

*

Winter, 1995

Life Membership is 'honor' I enclosed my check for $1 00 that allows

me the honor of becoming a Life Member of our wonderful Association

My thanks to you, Louis Hoger, for the tremendous job and effort that you are applying to make the 70th Division Association the first class organization that it is. And thanks to all officers, past and present, and to all members who have served on committees and in other capacities. E. F Rayse D/275

* Two indelicate wounds earn Purple Hearts, Bn Surgeon recalls

I really enjoyed the article about Ted "Chug-Butt" Myers in the Summer, "94 issue. I must make a correction, though, I did give him the Purple Heart because it was a battle wound suffered in combat.

Another Purple Heart is worth noting. When we were at Merlehbach, above Forbach, the Germans would throw lots of high-explosive shells at us about the same time at bedtime. One night a rifleman was urinating from the back door of the house where he was billeted and was hit by a fragment of such a shell.

At my aid station, examination showed that the shrapnel had whizzed past his body and struck only his penis . It was bruised and swollen and a little bloody. It looked as if it had been hit between a sledgehammer and an anvil.

We gave him first aid - and a Purple Heart. It may be a little embarrassing for him to explain how he got that medal. James McKay, M.D., Battalion Surgeon 3rd Bn HQ/276

* l DOth Division hears 'Blazer Homily

Last weekend I had the great pleasure of. delivering Edmund Arnold's Homily, 1992, to a rapt audience at our 47th annual Convention at Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The occasion was our Memorial Service, which was overflowing.

I have rarely seen an audience so emo-

tionally moved and credit the Homily for that effect. I, too, found myself under its power and barely able to deliver it at times. The author should be very proud of his work and I thank him and the 70th for permitting us to use it. Stanley Posess lOOth Infantry Division Association

* Your story of WW2 should be written for two journals

As the 50th anniversary of our baptism of fire passes, many of our members ' memories are stirred and we are transposed to a time long ago.

These memories, many never told or written, however painful to recall, are of great interest not only to our buddies, but to historians and of a more immediate nature to our current publishers.

Trailblazers, rally around your editor. Write your story. Send it along with your name and unit, dates as you can recall or reconstruct. Also seeking copy is your Trailblazer buddy, Arthur Zoebelein, L/274, editor of the Rhin-et-Danube Association Magazine, at PO Box 1113, Front Royal, Virginia 22630. You do not have to be a member of R&D to do this and a copy will be relayed to you. Lee M iller D/275

* Rite•s guest speaker receives plaudits

Kathleen Loomis's commentary at the Memorial Service in St. Louis was the best I have heard. She did a great job and she had everyone's attention from beginning to end. It was too bad that the entire membership wasn ' t there to hear her. I think it , should be published in a future ''Trailblazer". Don Wilson 1/276

* Kathleen Loomis put into words what a lot of veterans' children have felt over the years. Sgt/lst class Ed Lane Fort Knox, Kentucky

* •

11

Whclt did you do in the "War, Daddy? These are the remarks given at the 1994

Memorial Service in St. Louis by Kathleen Anne Loomis. She was born while her father, Edmund Arnold, HQ/70, was in Germany with the 70th. A history major, she is a World War II buff. She is director of communication and marketing for William Mercer, a national actuarial firm spe-

cializing in employee health benefits. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky with her husband, Kenneth, who served in Germany with the Cold War Army and later was a civilian on the staff of the European "Stars and Stripes" in Darmstadt, Germany. They were married when both worked on the Louisville "Courier-journal."

What did the "War do to you, Daddy?

A TTHISMEMORIALSERVICE, we're here to remember. We remember people who died in

the war, and we remember the war itself, which for most of us in this room may have been the single most important shaping force in our lives.

For the last four years we as a society have been remembering WW2 a great deal because of the 50th anniversaries. That's a good thing, because even though the great majority of Americans do not remember the war personally, and were not even born when it was over, the war has molded our history and our society.

It's good to remember .... We must learn from history, because that's all we have to learn from, and what we remember is important. And yet when it comes to wars-and even to this particular war-I sometimes wonder what we do learn from history .... Perhaps what we choose to remember about war is the wrong thing. And I believe there's something you can do about it, and that this is an excellent time to do it.

Fifty years ago you were all called to perform an important duty, and you rose to the moment. You joined the Army, wenttoEurope,foughtand won, and you changed the United States and the world for the better. Now there's another important duty that you can perform; that's to make sure your children truly understand what this was all about and what we should learn from it.

And if your generation has any wisdom to pass on to my generation that you haven' t passed on already, you'd better do it fairly soon because my generation is starting to run things and we can use all the wisdom we can get.

I believe that's why you extended to me the great honor of addressing you

12

today: because I'm a representative of your children's generation-and because the time is coming when you all, as individuals and as an organization, are beginning to focus on the memories you will leave behind to us.

Of course, most of us children know some things about the war that you've told us for the last 48 years or so. But I suggest that maybe you haven't told us the whole story-and we would very much appreciate hearing it now. I expect that many men came back from the war and told a very selective story about the war, which left out as much as it told.

And that's totally understandable. You must have seen and been through terrible things, and it's only natural to censor your reports of those things, painful to remember and you want to spare your loved ones the horror that you were forced to see and participate in.

You may have felt that war was so overwhelming and incredible that it was virtually impossible to describe to anybody who hadn't been there.

At first, the people back home probably did not encourage you to tell them a lot about the war. They were so glad to have you home that they wanted only to look ahead-and no doubt, you did, too.

T HERE WERE some practical reasons for not telling the whole story:

Few ordinary soldiers actually knew what had gone on, had any idea of how their battles fit into the whole scheme of the war. A lot may not have even had any idea of where they had been.

All of you were very young, and didn' t have the maturity to really understand what's going on. It must take many years to sort through and digest

an overwhelming experience, and properly describe the totality of the experience.

And finally, although I don't want to sound like a talk-show psychiatrist, there's a strong tradition still, and probablymoreso50yearsago, that real men don' t have feelings-or if they do, they don' t talk about them. So the common thing to do would be to leave out the emotions when you talked about the war, even though those emotions must have been profound.

I do know, from reading the Trailblazer over the last 15 years, the kinds of war stories you tell to one another. Many focus on the facts of battlewhich unit attacked from which direction, and which unit got there first, and how many people were captured in the battle.

I see the same focus in the 50th anniversary commemorations: most recently it was the paratroopers reenacting their jump over Ste. Mere Eglise, maps in newspapers showing the route of ships to Normandy and of troops toward the east. And I must admit that when I have visited Omaha Beach and Pearl Harbor, I have tended to look at the same things.

ow, this view of war has its very tangible benefits. For one thing, it gives us heroes, and every society wants ' those. When you stand at the top of Pointe du Hoc in Normandy and look over the edge and think of how impossible it was for the rangers to climb that cliff, it inspires wonder and pride, and some of that is a good thing. Heroes enhance patriotism and national unity.

But there's also a bad side of focusing on heroes. It sets an unrealistic standard which may lead ordinary soldiers to feel that their stories and their experiences aren't worth talking about.

70th Division Assn. TRAILBLAZER

'

The chapel at the U.S. Military Cemetery at Hamm, Luxembourg.

Worse yet, too many tales of heroism can even get people to believe that war is glorious-and maybe that's one of the reasons why we keep getting into wars over and over again.

I was a history major in college and remember taking a course on the effect of the Civil War on American history. The professor spent half a semester leading up to the war; the other half on the aftermath-and about five minutes on the war itself. Somebody raised his hand and said he was kind of confused-since this was a course on the Civil War he thought we would be studying about the battles. The professor said, "The only thing you need to know about the actual war is who won and thatonlytakesonesentence. What's important is why they fought it and what came afterwards."

I certainly don't mean to denigrate what you soldiers did in the war and of course you can't dismiss those deeds in a single sentence. But in recent years, I have become far less interested in battles and more in the whys and aftermaths. I'm less interested in the heroes than in the ordinary people like all of you who actually fought the war.

As I contemplate World War II as a

Winter, 1995

personal event, when I think about how the war affected my family, I'm far less interested in where my father was standing during a given battle than in how the war changed him as a man, and how it affected his outlook on life, and how that experience shaped all the rest of us.

I know that some veterans complain that their children don't seem to care about World War II. That's very frustrating to men who want to be sure that their experience isn't lost in the passing of the generations. But maybe those children just aren't hearing the kind of war stories that they would find compelling and moving.

The old cliche has always been, "Daddy, what did you do in the war?" I would like to suggest that a better question, "Daddy, what did the war do in you?"

Now that almost 50 years have gone by, you've all had time to reflect on these things and make as much sense of them as can be made. Speaking on behalf of all your children, I wish you would share them with us. Tell us the real war story: the story of you.

We'd like to know, for instance. • What you thought when you got

drafted, or what made you volunteer. Whether you had regrets about it later. What you might have done if you had it to do over again.

• What you talked about with your buddies as you marched across France and Germany. Whether you ever talked with civilians and what you talked about.

• Howyoufeltand what you did when you received a telegram telling you that the baby had been born back at home, or when you finally got enough points to go home.

• What it was like the first time you were shot at, or the first time you shot at a German, or when your friend was killed.

• What you wrote to your wife or your parents-and what you didn't write about.

• What the war did to your religious faith.

• Whether you questioned what you were doing during the dark nights of battle, or resented the men who got to stay home.

• Whether your career was set back by the interruption of the war, or whether it was sent on a whole new direction that you would have never dreamed of in 1940.

• How you took part in democracy when Y<;'U got home-whether you voted differently or thought differently or became active in a political party or a civic organization because of your war experiences.

• Whet~er you ~ad a hard time getting acquamted w1th your new babies or reacquainted with your brothers and sisters or your older children when you came home.

• Whether in the years afterward you think the war was worth all the sacrifices and the suffering-by you and by everybody else.

• The dreams you had and the resolutions you made, while you were in ~erma~y, about how you were gom!? to hve your life and raise your ch1ldren-and whether you carried them out or changed them.

• How your ideas about World War 2 have changed since you came home and raised families, saw the Cold War begin and end and saw history move on. These are the things that we would like to

know about you.

A D WHILE we're at it, we'd like to know about our mothers, because they're as much

veterans of the war as our fathers are. One of my disappointments about the "Trailblazer," which I have discussed over the years with its editor, is that we read so little about what the wives were doing at home. The editor tells me that whenever he asks for this kind ofletter, he receives very little response. But I hope that he might ask again, and that if he does, more of you women of the 70th Division would share your homefront stories with the rest of us.

Of course, this kind of conversation between parents and children that I am wishing for probably couldn't have taken place 40 years ago or even 10 or • 20 years ago. We weren't old enough to understand what you would have told us.

But especially this winter, at the 50th (Continued on next page)

"Please tell us" kids, grandkids

ask of vets • .

13

CAPTOR AND CAPTIVES .... Interrogating a group of captured German officers is Trailblazer Capt. G. B. Wiederanders of the 276th. In the closing days of combat, Germans were eager to surrender to American forces, knowing that the Russians, descending from the East, would wreak heavy vengeance on prisoners of war.

On both sides ...

Soldiers' honor prevai Is ByCHARLES"BOB"BURT H/276

Picture a typical low mountaintop in the wooded Vosges, where 2nd Battalion of the 276th has just taken the high ground, courtesy of an orderly withdrawal by the opposition.

Capt. James R. Michael, CO of Com-

Generations ask

(Continued)

anniversary of the 70th Division battles, it seems like an excellent time to bring the subject up again. And if you do, I expect that your children will be happy to listen, and grateful that you have chosen to share with them these deepest reflections and insights.

My generation probably doesn't acknowledge frequently enough, even to

pany G and his executive officer, Lt. John Hennessey are on the forward slope of the company position, leading down to a wooded ravine, trying to spot enemy activity. A squad leader of Co. G (whose name I never learned) was a member of the detai l, along with me, a squad leader of an 81 mm mortar squad , H/276, attached toG Com-

ourselves, the great debt we owe to your generation for how you endured and won the war. That is indeed a great debt, and weadmireyougreatly-both our fathers and our mothers-for what you did for the world. But much as we admire you for those deeds and sacrifices, we mainly admire and appreciate and love you just for being our parents, and in the long run that's far more important than the deeds you performed. And your stories of how the war made you the people you are today are the most important things for us to remember.

pany for the mission. About 150 yards away, across the ravine,

lay a wounded German soldier calling for help. Like something out of a Wagnerian opera strode an enormous German Medic with the Red Cross emblazoned on both front and back. He reminded one, physica lly, of ex-pro football great, Alex Karras. He dropped on his knees with his body between us and the wounded soldier and opened his first aid kit, which was rather large.

The G Co. sergeant whispered to Capt. Michael: " I think that's a radio and that Medic is about to call in our position. Say the word, Captain, and I'll shoot theS.O.B."

"Hold your fire, Sergeant," the captain responded in a quiet but firm voice. The German Medic completed his first aid , picked up the wounded man , and carried him as easily as I would have a combat pack. o rifle shots were fired by the detai I, but sporadic mortar and artillery fire continued to be exchanged. The Germans usually had fire data for every major position they vacated.

I cannot pinpoint the date, other than by the tragic fact that on returning to the bivouac area I learned that my first gunner, Cpl. George Sudick of East St. Louis, Mo. lost his li fe that gray afternoon. "Little Spud" lay there for hours before he could be evacuated. He will never be forgotten as long as I live.

Capt. Michael and Lt. Hennessey were West Pointers and highly respected by their men. The captain was the first commander of Co. H. Later he was to serve on the Battalion staff of Lt. Col. TheodoreMataxis. He took early retirement as a full colonel to pursue graduate studies. The lieutenant eventually reached the rank of Lt. General.

In my judgment, the actions of the G Company group reflected great courage and sound , cool judgment under fire . The same most sure ly can be said of the German Medic.

* Basic three times-all at Camp Adair

Matt Wozniak, M/275, says he took basic training three times at Camp Adair. Inducted at Camp Grant, Illinois, he joined the 'Blazers in August, '43 . He also served with the 3rd Division after combat.

He racked up 50 years in the wheels industry as a civilian. He was in several management positions with Railway Express, Pepsico Trucking, White Motor Trucks and the like. He and his wife Julia live in retirement in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.


Mail Call

Reminders about dues bring good results

Within the past two weeks I have sent out about 302 personal letters to members who are two or more years in arrears with their dues. Another 71 letters went to members who have paid their current dues but not their back dues.

ow the checks are coming in, six to I 0 a day and most of them with a note telling how happy they are to know exactly where they stand. I guess I just didn't understand that some people really cannot or will not keep track of their dues payments. Calvin Jones Assistant Secretary-Treasurer

* Fact, not rumor, about 27 5 prisoners

I have information, not rumor, about POWs from L/275. Pfc Thomas Chambers, Pfc Richard Sullivan and S/Sgt Walker were captured.

Also, on Feb. 21, 1945, Maj. Duffie, commanding the 3rd Battalion of275, was captured along with his radio operator and another soldier. They ran into an ambush at Ambach while ahead of our company in the Giffenwald on the high ground between Spicheren and Saarbrucken. I was first sergeant at the time. Richard Becker L/275

* Looking for CIB decal I am still looking for a place to obtain

automobile decals of the Combat Infantryman Badge. Can any one help me out? Could not the supplier of 70th Association decals supply them to us? Frank Bertch C/275 PO Box 111

* Yet another 'Blazer wore generals stars

I can add another name to the list of Trailblazers who became Army generals. We knew him as Lt. Col. Richardson, who was Executive Officer of the 275th Regiment under Col. Peter Wolfe. He rose to, and retired as Lt. Gen. Richardson. Andrew Stanley G/275

Winter, 1995

* Does St. Avoid tombstone indicate wrong rank?

Thanks to Lou Hoger's sending me the casualty list, I was able to find the graves of four Able Company men who are buried at St. Avoid.

There was a discrepancy in Joe Kufersin 's rank. He was listed as a 2nd Lieutenant but I know he was a Pfc in my platoon. His tombstone names him as a li eutenant but the monthly casualty list for January, 1945, shows him a Pfc. Strange! How did he get promoted? John Haller A/276

* Articles revive memories of Forbach

Articles in the "Trailblazer" on Forbach were especially interesting to me. As platoon sergeant of 2nd Platoon, Co. H, I had been ordered on detached service with a section of heavy machine guns to support a rifle company of the 1st Battalion. We were pinned down near the railroad embankment mentioned on Page 7 of the "On to Saarbrucken" article in the Winter, 1994 issue.

I need to do some research into my records to refresh my memory of that engagement. I was wounded, along with others from my platoon, and did not rejoin my company until July. Ivan Erwin H/276

* "You gave us bullets to fight for honor -and we thank you"

From my school days- a long time ago -I remember a part of a Victor Hugo poem about the Battle of Missolonghi in Greece in 1826 against the Turkish oppressor. The poet asks a Greek youngster whom he met on the barricades, carrying a long, old rifle in his hands- a hungry, dusty, dirty-faced child- what he would like to have. Good_ food, a horse, rich clothes?

"Friend", replied the chi ld, "I want powder and bullets."

In 1943 and '44, most of us were 18 years old, we were poor- especially in weapons.

You Gis came to help us in our fight for freedom. You gave us food, equipment and so on. Most important, you gave us "powder and bullets". Thanks to those weapons from your great and generous nation, we could restore to its rightful place the honor of our fatherland, our France which merits so much to be loved.

We shall never forget that. God bless you. Henri Aubertin Rhin-et-Danube Association 92 les Bois du Cerf 91450 Etiolles, France

* Moore POW numbers

I have an anonymous "History of the 70th Division", one typewritten page, that says that 397 were taken prisoner, 755 were killed; 54 were MIA and 2,713 were wounded. Robert Ehrgott M/275

* Successful sale due to hard work of committee

Again we had a very successful souvenir sale at St. Louis. I'd like to acknowledge the fine work and great help of my committee:

Ray and Mary Ellen Bennett, George and Harda Spires, Bill and Jane Donofrio, Charles and Dorothy Johnson , Walter Cox, Tom Dickenson, William and Naomi Wolfmeyer, Henry and Madeline Clark, Clyde and Margaret Wooley, Maurice and Liz Kleiman, Bob and Dolly Buknick, and Wanda and Mary Clark.

Co-chairmen with my wife Evelyn and me were Bill and Jane Davis. Archie Smith E/274

* Axe-head patch design by Portland news artist

The 70th Division shoulder patch was designed by Quincy Scott, staff artist for "The Oregonian" in Portland. The night that the premier of Irving Berlin 's "This Is The Army" was presented at the Paramount Theater in Portland, Mr. Scott was introduced to the capacity audience and made an honorary member of the Trailblazers. Sadly, in the late 40s or early 50s he was killed in a traffic accident in that city. C "Gus" Communtzis Sv/275

• . 15

jOHN W. CATHEY had a colorful military career before he joined the 70th Divison. He volunteered a year before Pearl Harbor and went into the Artillery. He then volunteered for paratrooper duty and was in the cadre for a joint United States/Canadian First Special Services-the forerunner of the Green Berets.

Returning to the 82nd Airborne Division, he fought in the African campaign, then jumped into Sicily and won the Bronze Star for taking over when his squad leader was killed in the attack.

Wounded on Anzio Beach on Day 7, he was sent back to the States for recuperation. Out of the hospital, he was assigned to an MP unit guarding Italian POWs. Bored by this duty, he decided on a drastic way to get into action: He went AWOL, lost his stripes and was sent off as a casual replacement. That brought him to the 70th at Adair.

After the wound described in the accompanying story, he was being flown from England to the States. But shortly after takeof~ an artery in his right leg ruptured. The plane landed in Glasgow, Scotland where john underwent emergency surgery. In Dublin, Ireland a British surgeon used an artery from a sheep to repair the leg. He underwent further surgery in the States before his discharge in November, 7 945.

He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for action at Simon Mine at Forbach; two Bronze Stars, Anzio and the first day of combat in the Vosges; two Purple Hearts and the Silver Star for Spicheren Heights heroism.

Found by the late Neal Gibbs, then Association president, john joined in 7 990 and became active. He was chairman of the Nominating Committee for the past two Reunions.

16

Cathey fought bitter enemy on many fronts

By JOHN W. CATHEY L/274

Shortly after Task Force Herren was joined by Divarty and the rest of Special Troops to operate as the 70th Division, we were moved into an area between two hill s of Spicheren Heights, overlooking StiringWendel.

One morning we were receiving sporadicfire from a hill to our right so I decided to check it out. I worked my way up a natural wash that ran to the top of the hill. As I neared the top I found a huge pine tree had been blown across the ditch. Using the tree as cover, I raised my head to look around. I spotted a stack of German mines some distance away and since there was no activity right then I decided to see if they could be set off with rifle fire, even though I had been told it couldn't be done. The mines didn ' t go off but a German soldier near there took off running . I shot him twice and hit him at least once but didn ' t knock him down.

About then two rounds hit near me. I ducked behind a log. Then I heard a big engine start. As I peeked over the top of the log I saw a German King Tiger tank moving toward me. It stopped about 75 yards away with the turret swinging around. I was hugging the log and when the tank backed out of sight I took off down the hill to report to Lt. Doane. Col. James Willis and Sgt. Bill Yates from Battalion Headquarters were at the CP and the Colonel said that neither our tanks nor anti-tank guns could be moved to that position. Then he asked to see the tank so back up the hill we went, but I took along a bazooka.

When we reached the log I stuck my M-1 over the top and fired three or four rounds . Here came the tank to within 50 yards of us now and blasted a round over our heads. The turret swung around but thank goodness he couldn't lower the barrel enough to fire directly at our position. He did fire another round that struck a nearby tree and Col. Will is was hit by shrapnel in the shoulder. He and Yates went back down the hill ; the tank started to turn and as it got broad-

side of me I fired the bazooka and luckily knocked off the front bogie. The turret rotated and the machine gun fired but it was still over my head. I decided it was high time for me to get back down that hill.

At the CP a medic was bandaging the Colonel's wounds and when I told him that I hit the tank he said he would put me in for a commendation and later when I was in the hospital, I was told that I had been awarded the Silver Star for that action.

Early the next morning as we went over the same hill I saw that the tank had moved about 50 yards from where I had hit it and now it was empty. In a nearby cave I saw several bandages with fresh blood. We proceeded on down the hill to Stiring-Wendel with very little action. Lt. Carl Kuntz was killed by sniper fire that afternoon. That night we billeted in houses along the railroad tracks. About II pm the platoon sergeant and I were told to report to the CP. We received orders for the next morning to take what we thought was a factory about a mile out of town .

We jumped off early-before 6 amand it was foggy. Sgt. Donald Behrends with the BAR and Pvt. Art Zoebelein were on the point, about I 00 yards ahead of me. As they were approaching an intersection with a tank trap ditch along one side, a wooded area to the right and a field of weeds on our left, a machine gun to our right opened up. Our BAR and several rifles returned the fire and when it appeared that Behrends and the rest of the squad were in serious trouble I started running forward.

A S I APPROACHED their position I saw Behrends go flying into a ditch and then Zoebelein stepped

on a shoepack mine and went down. Then another mine went off. I thought both Behrends and Zoebelein had been killed. , As I looked down the ditch there were six German soldiers with their hands in the air hollering "Komrade." I jumped in the ditch with them, grabbing guns and yelling "Rouse, rouse." As we were moving out of the ditch I noticed one of the soldiers had a

Attack on Simon Mine exacted heavy toll on Company L~ 27 4


Tanks failed duty to baek Infantry

aeeording to plan

potato masher grenade held behind his head. I grabbed it from him and threw it in a direction where I didn't think anyone was. It exploded withouthittinganybody. About then someone volunteered to take the Germans to the rear.

Our next move was to advance on our target for the day, the brick building which turned out to be the Simon Coal Mine that served as the German Command Post. My squad started up the wooded side of the road toward the brick wall while Lt. Paul Thirion 's group headed around the other side. We reached the wall, followed it to the comer along side the road, then moved up the road against the wall for about 50 yards. There was an opening where a gate had been blown away. The building was surrounded by a brick wall, maybe nine feet high, with three strands of barb wire at the top.

I stuck my head around the edge and instantly got a swarm of bullets aimed at me. That told us there were soldiers on the inside but beyond that we didn ' t know what to expect. The wall was too high to fire over. I had eight men with me and there were a few more back around the corner. After a few moments of study, without really knowing why, I backed up about twenty feet and as hard as I could run, made it across that opening with bullets clipping at my back pockets. From that angle I could see a court yard and building. However if I stuck my nose around very far my thanks was a bullet flying at me. I could never see exactly from where the fire was coming.

Then I went to the far corner of the wall and could see nothing other than a wooded area in one direction and a wooden water towertheotherway. My next idea was to go back to the opening and attempt to fire a bazooka at the building. Pvt. John Bissinger was our bazooka man and he was sti II on the

Winter, 1995

other side of the opening. I called to him to bring his bazooka butto "run , damn it, run." He backed up about fifteen feet and carne at what seemed like a dogtrot but never reached my side as the German gun fire cut him in two before he could get to me. He died about five feet from me.

l reached out with my rifle and hooked the bazooka 's web strap with the sight and pulled it to me without anymore firing from the building. I armed the bazooka, aimed and touched off one round into the building. All he ll broke loose with what sounded like I 0 machine guns firing at that opening. It became obvious that nothing more could be done from my position. So after about 15 minutes when it had quieted down I backed up about 20 feet and made a dash across the opening with bullets following close behind . I told the men that I was going back to our CP and Sgt. Robert Gray offered to go with me. As we traveled along the side of the road to avoid the shoepack mines, we came near the German machine gun position and there was a wounded German soldier begging for help but I was anxious to get to our CP.

I reported our situation to Lt. Doane. There just happened to be a tank battalion Major there and he decided to send one of his tanks to help us out. It was agreed that the tank would pull through the opening far enough that three rounds could be fired at the building. Then during all the confusion my squad would move from behind the tank, rush to the building and lob grenades inside. With everyone agreeing to the plan Gray and I started back.

A demolition man came with us to destroy the mines in the road. I also found that Zoebelein and Behrends were gone and I assumed that both had been killed. Later I learned that Zoebelein had a foot blown off and his rifle had fallen on the second mine. Also years later I learned Behrends had not been hit but the mine concussion had forced him off the road; he had joined up with eal Gibbs and his part of the platoon on another side of the wall.

By this time two tanks had reached us so,

with the demolition man in front setting off the mines with primer cord and Sgt. Gray in the second tank and me riding the turret of the lead tank, we approached the wall again. The tanks stopped out of sight of the building and we reviewed the plan with my squad.

T HE TANK pulled forward , fired on ly one round-not the three agreed upon-and then immediately

backed up. In fact we had to jump out of the way to avoid being run over. I hollered "Let's go!" and as I reached the front of the tank I found myself in the air and blown against the brick wall about four feet from the opening. I tried to get up and suddenly realized that I couldn't move. My arms didn ' t work, my legs didn't work, nothing worked. Surprisingly I felt no pain apparently due to the shock. Two of my men grabbed me, one by the collar of my field jacket, and dragged me around the corner of the opening.

I 'd been hit by a German bazooka that had been aimed at the tank. Some six inches of bone in my right leg had been shot away. My left leg was broken above the knee, there was shrapnel in my right shoulder, left arm and my head; my left shoulder was broken. My right elbow was hit and a knuckle on my right hand was blown off.

The tanks had gone back down the road. After I had lain there for some time Lt. Chester Westphal called to me to say they were having to pull back but they would return to get me later. This all happened about I p.m. with a light drizzle falling. I remember laying there, my right eye filled with blood, I couldn't move and my right leg was twisted up with my foot resting on my chest. Before my squad took off someone straightened out my leg and someone else said that I was going to bleed to death


• 17

• ~

Cathey took hit of Nazi bazooka that stops tanks

(Continued)

if I dido 't get help. Then I was all alone. Sometime later I heard a low voice call

ing "Sgt. Cathey, Sgt. Cathey." From the comer of my good eye I saw two Medics start across the road and then a machine gun fired. I thought one of them was hit. Later I learned one was Sgt. Kohn who wrote quite a story of his experience. He bandaged what he could, gave me morphine and said my wounds were not bleeding much. He placed my helmet over my face and told me he would be back to get me later.

Hours had passed, in fact it was almost dark when I heard what sounded like a tank coming up the road and my first thought was that I would be run over. The vehicle stopped at the end of the wall , maybe 50 yards away. Someone called "Sgt. Cathey, Sgt. Cathey" and I called back "Here." Four men picked me up and put me on what I thought was the back of a tank. Paul Thirion now tells me it was a jeep equipped with a litter but I know going down that road where the mines had been exploded and with every bounce, I felt like I was dying.

When we reached our CP, they carried me inside where Lt. Doane and a couple of Medics were. Lt. Doane took my billfold with over 700 good occupation dollars, my two Italian pearl-handled 25 caliber pistols, a German P-38 and my watch and put them in an envelope under my head. By this time several men had gathered around me and I believe it was Strunk who had tears streaming down his face. Bob Gray knelt beside me, holding my hand, his eyes filling with tears . It also seemed like Don Behrends was there but for all those years I thought he had been killed earlier that day. I was loaded into an ambulance and off we went.

We arrived at the 3rd Battalion Aid Station where splints were applied, I was placed in a wire basket, then loaded into an ambulance. I woke up somewhere on an X-ray table and when I screamed as I was being turned I got another shot that put me out again. Many hours later I came to with my entire body in a cast. My mouth was so dry that I couldn't make a noise. Finally a nurse wet my tongue every so often. Then a WAC slipped a small piece of ice in my mouth. A hole was cut in the cast at my left shoulder and for the next 18 days my penicillin shots were given in that one spot and how sore that got. I asked a nurse for my wallet, watch

18

and weapons that were placed in a paper sack and put under my head when we left our CP but they were never found. Someone had "appropriated" them.

Several days later I was moved to a General Hospital in Rheims, France and my body cast was removed for an operation. I wound up with my left leg in a cast, my right leg in traction and a body cast from the waist up to my arms and shoulders. One day three officers were discussing my right leg with the colonel wanting to amputate, the captain agreeing, but the major supporting me that the leg could be saved. Thank God the major won the argument. After operations on the leg I was put back in full body cast for the trip to England.

*

SHOW THE COLORS ... . The brilliant red of the axe-head patch proudly displays the affiliation of Earl Chambers. HQ/ 275. He lives in Federal Way. Washington and his RV tire cover is a rolling billboard for the 70th.

* He met Nordwind at the opening gun

Another wearer of the Purple Heart is Harry Dickenson, 1/275. He served with Capt. Bill Long, among the earliest 'Blazers to meet Nordwind.

After his en listment a year before Pearl Harbor, in five years of duty, he served with several outfits including the 90th Division. In the summer of '44 he joined the 70th at Wood and spent a year at Percy Jones Hos-

Flatfoot Floogie with a Floy Floy

"They were the same feet I had all along," says Tom Witty , C/276.

"Those feet were OK when I took basic training at Fort McCleland, Alabama. But at Nancy, France they suddenly became too flat for Infantry duty.

"I went to clerk-typist school for three weeks after basic but they discontinued it, saying they needed more foot soldiers. So I joined the 70th at Fort Leonard Wood, for Infantry training. But some of the time I still did records work, with the company clerk, getting records completed for movement overseas. We even worked on them on the ship en route to Marseilles.

" The day we were overrun at Philippsbourg, another guy and I were guards for a telephone team trying to find out where our line had been cut by shelling during the night. We were about a mile outside the town when we heard firing from the other side of the town - which was supposed to be ours. But it wasn't oursand it wasn't then or for a while after.

"After combat we were in Germany, manning checkpoints where we checked out everyone entering or leaving town. For about a week the guys in my outfit were telling me that I was turning yellow. We didn't have any mirrors so I couldn't tell. But, to keep them from bugging me further, I stopped in at a Medic station on the way to my guard position. They took one look at me and told me to pack my things. I was flown to Nancy, France, to a hospital where all the patients had hepatitis. When I got out, several weeks later, I assumed I would be sent back to my unit.

"Not so! It was then they said I couldn't go back because I had flat feet!

"I went to a replacement depot to process records of Gls going home. I was at one in Conflans-Jamy, France until December, 1945. Then I went to one at Namur, Belgium where I was personnel sergeantmajor until I was discharged in December. A lthough the job called for a master sergeant's rank, I never made it becaus~ promotions were frozen all the while I was there. I went to college on the GI Bill , worked for Carter Oil for 13 years as apetroleum geologist and was self-employed in the field for 29 years."

pita! in Battle Creek, Michigan. He was a housebuilder and draftsman

and is retired. He and his wife Frances live in Orlando, Florida.


Spicheren rite to highlight "Back-to-ETO"

Dedication of the 70th Division monument on Spicheren Heights will be the highlight and the midpoint of the 1995 Return-to-Europe tour. It will occur on Sunday, May 7.

The 13-day tour begins at a New York airport on Monday, May 1. The itinerary, arranged by Floyd Freeman, 1/275, has been planned for the comfort of travellers who will be 50 years older than when they made their first escorted tour to France and Germany. The trans-Atlantic flight will be to Paris where the group will spend three days to get over any jet lag. Atter a train ride to Saarbrucken, they' ll spend four nights thereto give time for resting-up for the grand ceremony as well as to see the countryside where the 70th did so much fighting .

They'll have dinner at Forbach . After the Spicheren ceremonies, the

group will travel to the U.S. Military Cemetery at St. Avoid where many 70th men lie. There will be a two-night stay in the Black Forest and a final chartered bus ride on Saturday, May 13 will go to the Frankfurt airport for the return trip.

A four-day cruise on the Rhine, from Basel, Switzerland to Boppard, Germany, with a side trip up the spectacular Neckar River, will be an optional addition that begins at the end of the re_gulartour. More information is available from Freeman at 8959 California Ave. , South Gate, California 90280. You may call collect to (213) 567-0561.

* 'Own yard' proves good hunting

The old proverb tells us to look in our own back yard for gold - or old 70th comrades. And Bill Coleman, K/274, believes that now.

"After having a Trailblazer sticker on my car for more than eight months and traveling about 12,000 miles in six states, I have found a new 70th man in a shopping mall just ten miles from my house.

That sticker was his first knowledge of the Association and we talked for nearly

Winter, 1995

A COUPLE OF LITTLE SHAVERS .... Getting slicked up at CP-2 at Marseilles was no simple task. The water was cold and quarters were crowded. All those rocks in the foreground suggest that these members of the 70th Band didn't have a very soft bed in their shelter halves.

How we won the war By ROBERT CALAHAN D/274

My favorite "war story" took place on or around Christmas 1944. We had arrived from Marseilles and had been billeted jn a schoolhouse in Bischwiller. We had no real knowledge of where we were or what we were going to be doing. We were getting settled for the night when we were told that some German tanks had been sighted a few miles away and that we were the only unit in the area and would have to go out and patrol.

We made up a patrol of two jeeps armed with our .30 caliber water-cooled machine guns mounted on pedestals, a couple of3.5-inch bazookas and grenade launchers on M-1 rifles. We were given maps of the area and off we went with windshields down and freezing to death. We roared out into

an hour." Bill asked that copies of the "Trailblazer" be sent to Victor Brawley, 3330 Whitehall, Manchester, Missouri 63021.

the suspect area and roamed around, stopping occasionally to listen.

On one of these stops we heard tanks. We listened. They were coming closer. We took action by driving the jeeps off either side of the road and into the woods.

The gunners manned the machine gun, Sgt. Cox shouldered the bazooka. I loaded for him and stood by with another round at the ready. The driver readied his M-1-mounted grenade launcher and we waited. The tanks came closer for awhile and then appeared to tum off; the sounds faded out and were gone.

We decided to terminate the alert and proceeded to unload. It was then we discovered that I had loaded the bazookas with a rifle grenade and was standing there ready to reload with another.

When we tried to drive out, the road banks were so high and steep that it took all members of both squads to push a jeep back up on the road. We don ' t know how we got down without getting killed.

The next day we found out that the tanks were ours.

19

. The_ Editor's Edmund C. Arnold

Barracks Bag

As I look out to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, I always contrast them to the Vosges. From the scenery, weather, food and warm bed, the two ranges have little in common. One thing, though, that is just like 1945-the best-laid plans still go awry, 'way, 'way awry.

It started out when I decided to include the report of the St. Louis Reunion in the Fall issue instead of holding it for this Winter edition. My wife Viola and I hurried home and I sat me down to write some 6,000 words about a great convention. The U.S. Postal Service didn't break any speed records in getting my copy to the printer, back in Richmond, who has printed this journal for the past decade. The postal people also took a Columbus Day holiday that lost four more days.

Then a batch of photographs was lost. The result is that although I started writing on the Fourth of July, the Fall magazine is five weeks late. At least I hope it 's not six or seven.

I don't know because I had to start on this issue before the previous one even went on the press. Supposedly, as I sit over this steaming computer, huge presses 150 miles away are churning out the Fall magazine.

Each issue of the magazine brings a flood of correspondence from you guys. Lots of it produces copy for the next issue. Right now, though, you r responses to the Fall issue will have to wait for the Spring number.

Please bear with me.

* Accolades may have been delayed, but Ed Kraus, F/274, deserves many a pat on the back for his major contribution to the successful St. Louis Reunion. Ed was the point man for the multitudinous details that a meeting of 1,100 people entai ls. He lives in nearby Afton, Missouri, and did all sorts of duties on site that would be difficult to handle by mail.

Ed, thanks!

* If you live in Missouri, you may have another reason to thank Ed. For three years he worked--doggone hard-Dn a committee that was successful in getting a state law passed: Veterans who have been awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge can be issued special auto license plates. On a brilliant white background, printing will be in Infantry blue. The CBI insignium and the

20

title replace the state slogan on regular plates.

To obtain such a plate, you' II need proof of your award and also need to fi II out form 1716. If you need more information just ask the clerk at the li cense office. And don't be shy; you've earned this honor.

* I 'm happy to report that our Phearless Photographer, Chet Garstki, has recovered from the emergency surgery that kept him from the Reunion. As a daily newspaper picture editor and as an advertising director, I have worked with many a cameraman. And Chet is the best! Much of the quality of this magazine comes from his great pictures and I am gratefu l.

The 70th is also most fortunate to have a great staff artist in the person of Peter "Tex" Bennett, HQ 2nd Bn/276. His drawings are powerful and capture the very spirit of our ETO campaigns. I just wish this were a slick full-color magazine that could reproduce hi s fine paintings.

* Tex wore a handsome embroidered Com-bat Infantryman Badge at the Reunion. It drew lots of compliments and inquiries. He

Trailblazer "died," then came back to life

He was "dead." But 60-some years later, Robert Postwood, 270 Engineers, is still alive.

"When I was 20, I was in the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps). I died. I never ever felt better than when I went out of my body and calmly watched my companions trying to bring me back to life.l stood in a cone of bright light and was taken almost all the way to Heaven. But a voice said, 'Your time to go has not yet come.' I was sent back into my body again, much to the surprise of my companions.

"Since then God has shown and told me what this world is all about.

"There were five of us brothers serving in World War II and two of us had sons in Vietnam."

tells me that the insignium cost $4.95 and can be ordered from Mrs. Abe Suprun, PO Box 8221, San Antonio, Texas 78200. Tell her Tex sent you.

* We can't take advertising in this maga- "-, zine. But we do run notices of interest to Trailblazers (like the paragraph above) sim-ply as a service to the members.

In that category comes this item: When Dr. Frank Ellis, Medics/274,

went to Philippsbourg for the dedication of the 70th monument, he took along his son Brian. Good idea! For Brian made a 2-hour video of the journey that Don Docken, Association chaplain, honchoed. An unexpected feature is the 274th Fight Song which is included in Bob Cheves' "Snow Ridges and Pillboxes." It is sung by Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce of "Frasier" fame.

Brian has cassettes available at $35, including shipping. You can order by mail to 1324 Norton Ave., Glendale, California 91202-2045 or telephone (213) 956-4358.

* Alex Johnson, then our president, or-dered 50 brass on walnut commemorative plaques that record the 70th's record. Some were on sale at the Reunion and they went faster than the proverbial hotcakes. (I was lucky enough to get one and it's a cherished possession.) They may be ordered from Richard Sandich, 5503 Pebble Springs Drive, Houston, Texas 77006. Cost is $33.50, postage paid. And it's worth it!

* A non-commercial is this note from Malcolm "Muzzy" Muszynski, K/276. He tells me that he and his brothers visited "Michigan 's Own Military and Space MuseUin" (no admission fee!) in Frankenmuth, Michigan. It 's having a special exhibit to mark the 50th anniversary of the Battle o~ the Bulge.

Brother Melvin was with the 4th Armored Division and Brother Clarence with the 42nd Rainbow Division.

The museum is unique, the only one in the country devoted solely to servicemen from a single state. One exhibit honors the "Polar Bears," the 339th Infantry Regiment that went to Russia to fight the Communists in 1919. This is a chapter in American history that has almost been forgotten.


Frankenmuth-here comes a Chamber of Commerce plug-1s a Little Bavaria that has become Michigan's No. l tourist attraction. And it's where I acquired a weekly newspaper right after I got back from the ETO. It's also the home of the largest yearround Christmas store that alone is worth the trip there. If you visit this charming place, drop in on the "Frankenmuth News" and tell my old staff I'm still alive.

* Intriguing trivia: The stone of the Philippsbourg 70th monument is the same as that used to build the great cathedral at Strasbourg. Don Docken passes on this information.

* Tea for two • •• or more Wow! Betcha Ernest Sorenson, H&S

Company, 270 Engineers, is one of a kind among Trailblazers. He is a tea and coffee taster, blender and buyer.

He's a Camp Adair veteran, joining on Organization Day. He and his Phyllis have retired to Lake Mary, Florida. He remembers that our first general, John Dahlquist, was reprimanded for treating POW Hermann Goering with military courtesy.

* POWs stranded in abandoned train By IRWIN CONE A/275

After having been captured Jan. 22, 1945 in a German ambush with nine other men and our company commander, I wound up in Stalag XII-A prisoner-of-war camp in Limberg, Germany.

For weeks we could hear artillery in the distance but getting closer and closer. Finally, on March 21, 1945, the Germans loaded us into tiny rail freight cars and started moving us east.

Locked in the cars, we sometimes traveled slowly and jerkily along. Sometimes stopped for long periods. At times we could hear airplanes, bombs, and machine guns. Of course there were no windows so we could see nothing that was going on outside. We were packed so tightly that there was barely room to sit on the floor. Several days later, we stopped and never started up again. After several hours, someone in one of the cars managed to get out and went along the tracks unlocking the car doors. We had been completely deserted by the train crew and guards!

The train was in a ravine with high rock walls on both sides. There was a stone bridge overhead. We were in a town. A

Winter, 1995

FIRST REUNION .... Two years after the 70th was de-activated. these men of G/275 got together for the first time as civilians. They met at the Silver Dollar Bar in Boston, Sept. 15. 1945. From the left are Dominic Catanzaro. Aldo Veronelli, Jack Brown and Lerber Rezendes. The latter is deceased.

couple of old women wandered by and threw a few little apples down to us. An occasional German soldier hurried by but paid no attention to us and did not stop.

On March 29, came the great moment! An American jeep with three men of the 99th U.S. Army Division stopped up on the bridge and shouted down to us. They had just occupied the town (Burgsolms). Within moments another jeep came bumping down the tracks with an American chaplain. He and his aide unloaded a tiny field organ and

What•s in a name?

we proceeded to have a thanksgiving service then and there.

* Link winds up in Stalag Welcome to new member C hris Link,

Jr. of Gillespie, Illinois. "I was with Co. B, 275th and was one of the 220 Americans taken prisoner on the slopes of Falkenberg on Jan. 8, 1945. I fmally wound up in Stalag IV-B in Muhlberg.".

*

No periods for Pettyjohn The Army always had trouble with the

names of its men. It solved one problem by inserting "NMI" (No Middle Name) between given and family names when a man had just two names. So it wasn't rare at all to see, on a company roster, "John NMI Doe."

But what if you had only initials instead of a conventional name? Ask HC NPA Pettyjohn. (That stands for "no periods at all.")

Says Brother Pettyjohn, HQ 2nd Bn/276: "I believe I'm the only member of the

70th with a legal first name of only initials. This was rather common for males born in the 20s in Texas and other parts of the South. But for years, I myself, incorrectly signed my name as "H period C period Pettyjohn." But on my birth certificate it's just "HC."

"It was also quite common for boys who did have full names-like John Ross Smith-to answer to "JR," using only initials. Most of my orders and records during my Army life had to be amended because they'd come out "John H.C. Petty."

"I was one of the original Trailblazers, joining the 70th in July, 1943, a month after taking the oath at Fort Sill , Oklahoma. In fact, I think that's me on page 9 of the History Book third from the left, turning my head to the rear.

" I thank all the officers of the Associa-- tion-and you as editor-for the fine job

you are doing. I am grateful that the Association was able to keep track of me when I was moving around a lot in the 60s in the New York area. You always managed to find me and I missed only a few issues of the Trailblazer."

• 21

•

• '

Meet your new officers

Dale Bowlin, C/883 President

Dale's left leg was amputated in a German hospital three days after he was wounded and captured at Alsting, France. After being moved to several temporary medical facilities, he was placed in a hospital in Donauschingen with two other wounded American POWs.

After the French Army liberated him on April21, 1945, he was moved to Strasbourg, France; Mannheim, Germany; Paris and finally McCloskey General Hospital in Texas. There he was fitted with an artificial leg and discharged in January, 1946.

A lettered football player at Kansas State Teachers College, he entered the Army in '43 and trained with AntiAircraft in two California camps. Then he was chosen for the ASTP program at Brigham Young University for nine months.

He came to the 70th at Camp Adair and was assigned to Divarty, with which he served in combat.

He graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from Kansas State University in 1948. He held management positions in several locations-a hydrogen peroxide plant in Vancouver, Washington (where he now lives with his wife Phyllis), a soda ash mine in Wyoming, a barium operation in California, a swimming pool chemical plant in Livonia, Michigan (now headquarters of the "new" 70th Division) and finally back, as a plant manager, to Vancouver, where he retired in '83.

Dale has been very active in 70th affairs, especially during the 50th anniversary events at nearby Corvallis. He has been back to Europe seven times and knows well the areas where Trailblazers were in combat. He is involved in religious and civic work.

* George D. Marshall, I/275 President -elect

George was an early victim of the cruel Vosges winter. After surviving the Liesch back ambush on New Year's Day, 1945, and as a light machine gunner fighting German forces that surrounded his outfit for two days at Philippsbourg, he fell to trenchfoot and was evacuated on Jan. 6.

He had gone into service in March,' 43, and, via the 8th Armored Division, was sent to ASTP at Princeton University. After a short stint with the 104th Timberwolves Division, he joined the 70th at Leonard Wood a month before its departure for the ETO.

In Occupation he was on guard duty at SHAEF headquarters in Frankfurt until returning home for discharge in April, '46.

Until his retirement in 1986, he designed molds for bottles, dies for casting and extrusions and tools and dies.

22

With his wife Geraldine, who died in 1975, he had three sons. He acquired another son and a daughter when he married Barbara in Scottsdale, where they now live.

Since joining the Association in '88, he has been active in its activities. He has worked on many Reunion committees, was Vice-president/West and was co-chairman of the Western Mini-Reunion in '91.

He is a miniature railroad buff and is a volunteer in the museum at the Scottsdale Railroad Park. A major recent activity has been writing a 300-page book that required six years of genealogical research. He has made seven hiking trips into the Grand Canyon and has climbed 14,500 feet to the top of Mount Whitney, California.

He does a lot of motor-homing around the country and says some day he may well drop in on you.

* Alex C. Johnson, H/274 Immediate Past-President

Just like old times, thought Alex as he checked into the Reunion in St. Louis. For it was at that city in 1966 that he attended his first Reunion-the first time the whole Division was represented as an Association. He also attended the 1978 Reunion in St. Louis-when 356 members attended. And it was like old times when he presided over Reunion affairs. For he had served for almost four years as President and was in charge at the Louisville meeting.

Alex is the first 'Blazer to succeed to that office on the death of a sitting President. When Neal Gibbs died in January, 1991, Alex, was President-Elect, next in line.

A native of Chicago, Alex took basic at Camp Blanding, Florida after entering the service in November, '43. He became part of a cadre and went through two more basic cycles before joining the 70th at Leonard Wood. He was a heavy machine gun squad leader. Early in combat at Wingen, the section leader was killed. As the only noncom in the section, Alex took over that leadership.

After combat he was assigned to the Army Rest Centet in Nice, France and then drove a Red Cross Clubmobile for a month at Le Havre. He was discharged at Camp Grant, Illinois in early 1946.

For 41 years he was with the Chicago Transit Authority and retired as manager of transportation in 1987. He served as Association Chaplain for 14 years, '76 to '90. He established the present format for the Memorial Service. Then he was named President-Elect at the Las Vegas Reunion. With his wife Helen, he lives in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

* 70th Division Assn. TRAILBLAZER

Raymond K. Y.adon, M.D., B/274 Vice-President/Central

"I didn't realize that it was a handicap," says Ray about his left eye, blinded in a childhood accident. So he became a proficient athlete and an expert rifleman.

He moved from his native Springfield, Missouri to Portland, Oregon and worked in the shipyard there. When his number came up, he was given the choice of remaining on his "war essential" job or going into "limited service" in the Army. To the dismay of his family, he chose the latter.

In January, 1943, he was assigned to Medics basic training. As the European forces' need for manpower grew, Ray and others like him were re-classified and he volunteered for the Infantry. He was sent from Fort Lewis, Washington to Camp Adair and assigned to M/276. But because he had a friend in B/ 274 and would be a rifleman there rather than an ammo bearer of a machine gun squad, he asked to be assigned there.

On March 15,1945, the company was on a hill overlooking Saarbrucken. Fighting was fierce and only three or four men were left from his platoon. A direct mortar hit on his foxhole killed one man and seriously wounded Ray and another.

After 13 months in hospitals he wound up at O'Reilly General in Springfield, where he met the girl whom he married in 1946. Because of the permanent disability of his left leg, he changed his career plans. He went into radiology and practiced it until his retirement in 1985.

His first wife died after 24 years of marriage, leaving him with three teen-agers to raise. He became reacquainted with a high school friend, a widow with four children. They married and had five teeners in the new family.

As soon as he heard about the Association, in 1984, he joined up and has been active ever since. He assiduously tracked down six members of his platoon and five became members. He and his wife Phyllis have made five Returnto-Europe trips.

* Andrew McMahon, E/276 Vice-President/South

Another Purple Heart veteran, Andy took a German bullet at Kreuzberger Ridge, above Stiring-Wendel, on March 1, 1945. After 48 days in hospitals at Epinal and Paris, he returned to duty and, after V-J Day, was assigned to the 463rd AA Bn. He was a squad sergeant and platoon sergeant during combat.

After graduating from high school in South Euclid, Ohio, he worked in a defense plant until called up for Army service in May, 1943. He took basic at Camp Roberts, California. He came to the 70th in ovember, '43, from the ASTP program at Montana State College in Bozeman.

After discharge, he continued his education at John Carroll University in Ohio and embarked on a 41-year career in the finance industry. His job took him and his wife Ema Dell to live in 10 cities in the South and Midwest. He retired in '89 as branch manager for Chrysler Credit Corporation.

Since he first heard of the Association in '88 he has been an active member. He has attended every Reunion since then and made three Back-to-Europe trips.

At the moment he is working with Lynn McGuire, Richard Meinheartt and Phillip Lester in writing the history of

Winter, 1995

Company E, 276th. He was honored by election to his high school's Athletic Hall of Fame and is active in sports, especially golf. He thinks the new geographical alignment of vice-presidents will facilitate regional Mini-Reunions as well as recruiting new members.

* Robert Crother, B/275 Vice-President /West

"I found a home in the Infantry." That ironic joke of World War II proved true for Bob

Crother. He was in the Infantry because he wanted to be. Entering service at Camp Custer, Michigan in 1942, the

Michigan native served with the MPs at Fort Ord, California. He then volunteered for the Queen of Battles and came to the Trailblazers at Adair in '44.

On Falkenberg, during the Battle of Philippsbourg, the co~pany was surrounded and captured. He wound up at the mfamous Stalag IX at Bad Orb, Germany, until his liberation near the end of the war.

Making a ca~eer in the Army, he served 27 years, rising to sergeant maJOr. He served at several U.S. installations and in Germany, Japan, Panama, Korea and Vietnam. He won the Bronze Star with an oak leaf cluster, the Army Commendation Medal with two clusters and the POW medal.

When he took off the uniform, he, his wife Noreen and dau9hters Mi~helle and Renee moved to Monterey, Califorma. After s1x years as a security officer, ol' wanderlust got him. He bought a big rig and spent almost nine years driving tractor-and-trailers through 48 states.

Since joining the Association, he has served as chairman for the 1992 Western Mini-reunion and was on the committees for the Minis in Colorado and Oregon. He may well be the only 'Blazer to attend all three 50th anniversary celebrations last year-at Camp Adair, Leonard Wood and Livonia, Michigan. For good measure he made two Back-to-Europe trips.

He s~es the recruiting and maintenance of membership a~ a pnmary concern of the Association and his personal atms.

William Sole, K/275 Vice-President /North

*

~ two_-tii?e member of the Association, Bill first joined wh1le shll m the Army. He moved so often that his ties were broken for a time. Then, 10 years ago, he joined again and has been a very active member.

He is a veteran of three wars. He served with the AntiTank Platoon of the 275th' s 3rd Battalion Headquarters and took a Purple Heart. Then he was transferred to K Com- , pany for the Spicheren-Saarbrucken action.

En route to the Pacific in a 40-and-8 crossing France, his transfer was halted by the end of WW2 so he re-enlisted for Occupation duty for two years with the Army Air Force and a year with the Big Red One, the 1st Division. Leaving service in '49, he took two years of college and then en~sted in the Army Reserves and volunteered for active duty m the Korean War. In Japan he met his wife Reiko.

He wrote military history for three years in Stuttgart, Germany, where he also completed his degree with the University of Maryland's Army program. Other assignments took him to Vietnam and Italy. Retiring as Sergeant

23

•

' ...

Officers (Continued)

First Class, he worked for two newspapers in his native Hartford, Connecticut and then for that State for 15 years. Then he served a couple years as a VISTA volunteer.

His son Thomas is a West Point graduate and a major with the 3rd Division. He has another son and two daughters. He edits newsletters for K/275 and for "Nutmeg Trailblazers."

Louis Hoger, G/275 Secretary-Treasurer

*

One of the best customers at the Mission, Kansas post office is our Secretary-Treasurer. For he carries on a voluminous correspondence doing Association business.

Lou is the only Board member who was re-elected at St. Louis, and is second in length of service on the Board.

Although Lou took his basic training at Camp Hood, Oregon, he didn't join the Trailblazers until he-and ithad travelled eastward to Fort Leonard Wood. After the Battle of Baerenthal, he was named company communications sergeant.

His unit saw Occupation duty in Wiesbaden, Frankfurtam-Main and Niederselters. He was in the first group that swapped 70th low-pointers for 3rd (Rock of the Marne) Division high-pointers so they could come home as a division rather than transients. In January, 1946, Lou came home with the lOOth (Century) Division. The 1974 Reunion was in Kansas City, Missouri, just a few miles from Lou's home. But it wasn't until two years later that he learned of the existence of the Association. That was the last Reunion he missed!

He joined the Association in '77 and that summer took the Return-to-Europe trip. In 1986 he was elected Assistant Secretary-Treasurer and succeeded Alvin Thomas in the sec-trez job at the Nashville meeting in '88.

Lou recently retired as traffic coordinator for a national trucking firm. He has spent many hours in computerizing Trailblazer records in the system the Association acquired two years ago. His wife Grace died last year.

* Donald H. Lindgren, L/274 Assistant Secretary-Treasurer

The Army Specialist Training Program was begun just before the 70th Division was organized. It recognized that with combat technology growing all the time, there was need for brains as well as brawn in the modern Army. More than 200,000 men with high IQs were sent to 212 colleges for specialized training in programs ranging from engineering to its specialty, more than 25 foreign languages.

it there?

Among them was Don. After his induction in March, 1943 and basic training at Camp Hahn, California with an AntiAircraft unit, he was assigned to ASTP at Brigham Young University.

When demand for foot soldiers intensified, the program was stopped and its men assigned to the Infantry. So Don came to the 70th at Adair with several hundred scholarsoldiers and joined L/274

On March 3, '45, D-Day for the Trailblazer attack on Forbach, Don was wounded by shrapnel from a tree-burst in action around Stiring-Wendel. After being hospitalized in Mirecourt, France, he came back to his company three months later. When the Division returned to the States, he transferred to the 3rd Division, and finally came home with a Signal outfit in February, '46.

He married Genevieve in June that year and both attended and graduated from the University of Washington. Don practiced as an architect and had his own firm in Vancouver, Washington, until retirement in 1986.

The Lindgrens have four daughters and 10 grandchildren and belong to the Friends Church.

* Edmund C. Arnold, HQ/70 Editor, "Trailblazer"

There has been no upward mobility for Ed; after 51 years he is still on the same job, editing the 70th's publication.

He came directly to Camp Adair after induction in Michigan in July, '43. Assigned to Division G-2, he took basic training with A/274 and was named as editor of the ''Trailblazer", then a magazine in the style and format of "Life". In Europe, the periodical became a weekly newspaper which was printed in Nancy, France. There he also served on "Stars & Stripes".

Twice he was under fire as he covered the Battle of Wingen and, with Chester Garstki, he went into Forbach with the first infantrymen to liberate the German map paper which he swapped for newsprint for the "Trailblazer".

As a civilian he continued his interest in military journalism and conducted many workshops for Army editors. He was awarded the Army Distinguished Civilian Service Medal. He taught journalism at Syracuse and Virginia Commonwealth Universities and as a consultant has designed such newspapers as "Boston Globe", "Kansas City Star", "Christian Science Monitor", "National Observer" and the original "Today". He has been called "the father of modern newspaper design" and won the Overseas Press Club's Award for the first of his 27 books. He is in the Journalism Hall of Fame of two states.

He is the only appointed member of the Board and is , now its senior member, serving since 1982. His wife Viola handles the 2,400 circulation of the magazine.

Another notch another story

If you still have your WW2 dogtags, you ' II notice a notch in the frame. Why is

Bill Parsons, editor of "The Flash" of the 78th Infantry Division Association, offered a prize for the first correct answer. He received many, many repliesmost of them wrong.

dead soldier to keep his mouth open and allow gas to escape. Some believed it was to nail the tag onto an identifying post.

The real reason is far more mundane. The notch was simply to align the plate while the information was stamped into the metal.

24

Most repeated a GI belief that the notch was to be stuck into the teeth of a So goes another colorful myth!


Just toying around was Alfred Lehrer

As an 18-year-old draftee, A lf r ed Lehrer, G/275, took the long way to join the 70th during the height of Nordwind. After 15 weeks of basic, he was immediately shipped to Scotland . Train to Southampton, LCI toLe Havre (not a tourist ship!), on to Epinal and then the Battalion.

He remembers being caught between Stiring-Wendel and Spicheren by two German tanks. "Our bazooka man-his first name was Cornelius; I don't remember his last-hit one of the tanks and that gave us a chance to run like hell away from heavy machinegun fire.

"Another large-size scare was when my buddy Lennie Dudley and I were in a foxhole that collapsed under 88 fire. We had to dig our way out."

AI was a toy manufacturer, another un-

Winter, 1995

usual Trailblazer occupation. He lives in Woodmere , New York with Yvette, his wife.

* Pin medals on patient with Altzheimer's?

In June of 1993, my father, John D. Beaver, 70/Recon, entered a nursing home with Altzheimer's disease. There he remains, with visits two or three times a day by my mother. He looks good and eats like a horse but his mind is gone. The cost is $134 a day which consumes all of his retirement check.

He is generally unknown to others at the home and so I am tempted to pin his Silver Star, several Bronze Stars and Purple Heart to his chest and see what happens.

He was proud to be associated with the 70th. J ohn Beaver, his oldest son

RUB-A-DUB-DUB THREE MEN AND A SCRUB .... One of the first duties of L/274 when the company arrived at Fort Leonard Wood in July, 1944, was to scrub down everything in sight- barracks, mess halL tables, you name it. The duty apparently wasn' t too onerous for the five men above, cleaning a table outdoors. From the left they are Bob Schlapper, Jerry McCullough, Bob Gray, Isadore Silverman and Tom Rolfs.

Now it's 50 years later at Wood. Trailblazers at the St. Louis Reunion make a pilgrimage to the fort. Three of the L men (from left)-Schlapper, McCullough and Rolfs, find tables immaculate at the mess hall where the group had lunch. The other two members of the original scrub team-Gray and Silvermanweren't at the Reunion but are still alive and well.

Medic to M.D. Allison Vandenberg, M.D. is enjoying ,

retirement in Grand Rapids, Michigan. With his wife Mildred, he has five children and twice as many grandkids.

He was Battalion Surgeon for the 883rd Artillery from November, '44 through combat. Then he was at the Station Hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany. He had been at the Medical Field Training School at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania before Leonard Wood.

As a civilian he continued practicing medicine.

* 25

• '96 Reunion already in plans G reetings from Vancouver USA. As I start this it has been

just over a month since many of us were together in St. Louis. Phyllis and I are still reliving the many special

moments. Nearly 60 folks have completed and returned the Interest/

Information sheets that were in the registration packets at the Reunion. Your efforts are appreciated and your many suggestions and comments are being considered. Copies have been mailed to your Regional VP so he will have an opportunity to review them. Your unanimous praise for

the St. Avoid US Military Cemetery a few miles to the west will follow the plaque dedication. Since the Spicheren Heights affair coincides with the 50th Anniversary of the end of the war with Germany, I would encourage anyone considering the trip to make hotel and airline reservations early (like right now). A few days ago I received a call from a Major Walden in Germany regarding a request made by George Blanchard, C/274, and Ted Mataxis, HQ/2Bn/276, for a military band, color guard and such at our ceremony. Nearly 30 organizations have made similar requests.

our outstanding "Trailblazer" confirmed what we already knew: "It ' s great just the The President's way it is; keep up the good work! !"were the most popular statements.

Almost without exception the Reunion overall was rated high especially on opportunities for fellowship (and "galship"?). Constructive comments were voiced on such things as the wine and cheese party, the time allowed for the Fort Leonard Wood tour, the auction and the walking involved in the visit to St. Charles by the ladies. Any of you who have suggestions to offer regarding the Reunion or our Association in general, please complete the form if you have one or just drop me a note.

As most of you know planning is underway forthe '96 Reunion at the Clarion Plaza Hotel in Orlando, Florida, Sept. 4 through 8, 1996, the week of Labor Day. Our Time & Place Committee negotiated an amazingly attractive rate of $62 per night which is good both before and after our reunion week. With so many family attractions in the Orlando area this should be a fine opportunity to take the children and/or grandchildren for an exciting family vacation. Planning should start now.

It is rewarding to see the number of second and third generation Trailblazers who are enjoying Association events. Many were at St. Louis and Vi and Ed Arnold's daughter, Kathleen Loomis, made an outstanding contribution with her inspirational Memorial Service talk. Our son, an Associate Member living in Wyoming, has enjoyed two Western States Mini-Reunions and will join Phyllis and me on the Return-to-Europe tour next May.

The highlight of that trip for many of us will be the dedication of the memorial plaque at Spicheren Heights on Sunday May 7. Charles Kelly, HQ/70, and his committee have worked closely with friends and officials in the Forbach community and their efforts will culminate in a joint French/70th Division memorial. The French are providing an ax-shaped stone upon which will be mounted a bronze plaque with appropriate wording in English, French and German. Our members have contributed over $2,000 ($1,400 at St. Louis) to pay for the plaque. The memorial will be erected near the huge War of 1870 cross. A memorial service at

Report Dale Bowlin

Your executive committee, expanded with two more VicePresidents, is working on our Association priorities -locating former 70th men who do not yet know of our Association and providing opportunities to meet and in various ways treasure those bonds that were forged 50 years or more ago. Different publicity approaches are being explored including getting reunion notices in local papers. At least two mini-reunions are scheduled next year- the Lee Miller/Dick Brown, both D/275 , "Florida Lunch Bunch" at Orlando Wednesday, Feb. 8 and Dick Haycock's 7th Annual Western States mini-reunion at Sacramento, California, April27-29. Those of you who are scheduling a get-together in 1995 should notify your Regional VP of the place and dates as early as possible to get coverage in the "Trailblazer."

To close my comments I'd like to share my latest Trailblazer experience. I participated in Vancouver' s annual Veteran 's Day parade, riding on the Ex-POW float. As the parade ended I heard someone call "Hey, Trailblazer!". It was Bob Wolz, K/274, in a VFW 6x6 from Camas, a town 12 miles east of Vancouver. I had seen Bob 's name in the Roster but we had never met. No doubt we will get better acquainted, maybe at the Sacramento minireunion. Bill Bergren, B/276, of Brush Prairie was in the same parade.

Warm regards until next time,

Spicheren will highlight '95


'

Reunions in ETO include civilians

Floyd Freeman, l/275, gets back to Germany often in his capacity as a travel tour arranger. (He has led the Return-to-Europe trip for the past several years.) But a recent one was especiall y memorable.

northwest of Frankfurt, I noticed a sign for Bad Cam berg. It reminded me that in 1945 I had played the organ in the Evangelical Lutheran church in that town. At that time I was an assistant to Chaplain Ronald Hubbard with the 370th Medics.

there. A phone call located him and five minutes later Helmut met me at the church and took me home to meet his wife and children.

"They had heard much about a young American soldier named Freeman and welcomed me warmly. Helmut, now 62, is president of a company that manufactures all kinds of brushes. It was a wonderful experience to meet someone whom I hadn 't seen for all those years. "As I was driving down the autobahn,

" I got off the freeway and stopped at the church. I asked the current pastor whether he knew if the former pastor or his son, Helmut Menken were still living in the town . Helmut had been 12 when I was

The Treasurer's Report

Treasurer's Post-Reunion Report 10/1/94 Thru 10/9/94

BANK BALANCE 10/1/94: Mission Bank, Mission, KS-Ckg. Acct. Mission Bank, Money Market Account .. ... .

1994 St. l ouis Reunion Income and Expense Report

INCOME: Reg istrations & Ticket Sales ... . .. . . Less Refunds .............. .. ... .

$122,068 9,991

Mission Bank, Certs. of Deposit .......... . Citizens S&L, Eureka, IL, Cert . of Dep ... ... .

$ 6,379 25,699 50,311 10,000 62,769 10,000

Net Registration I nco me . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11 2,077

Valley View Bank, Overland Pk., KS--Ckg .. . Valley View Bank, Cert . of Deposit ....... .

Total Beginning Balance . .. .. .. .. ...... . .. $165,158

RECEIPTS: Regular Dues . . . . . ... .. . ... .. . . $ 120 Life Memberships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 Associate Dues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Total Dues Payments .. . . ... . ... . .. $ 632 Interest on Deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259 Souvenir Merchandise Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,368 Reun ion Registrations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,769 Auction Proceeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,460 Liquor & Soda Pop Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 826 Spicheren Heights Monument Donations . . . . 1 ,415

Total Receipts ....... . ........ .. . ... . .. .

DISBURSEME TS: Postage .............. . ............. . . Reunion Expenses* ...... . ....... . ..... . Reunion Registration Refunds ... ...... .. . .

29 92,251

3,471

Total Disbursements . ... . .. .. . ..... .. ... .

ENDI G BA K BALA CE: Mission Bank Checking Account . . . . . . . . . . 3,025 Mission Bank Money Market Acct. . . . . . . . . . 15,772 Mission Bank Certs. of Deposit . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,446 Citizens S&L Cert. of Deposit . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0,000 Valley View Bank Money Market Acct. . . . . . 2,769 Valley View Bank Cert. of Deposit . . . . . . . . . 10,123

Total Ending Balance ... . .. . .. . .. ......... $

Less: Spicheren Heights Reserve Fund ..... .. .

22,728

95,751

92,135

-2,250

et Association Funds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 89,885

*See breakdown of Reunion receipts and disbursements on a separate report.

Winter, 1995

Sales Table Income ....... ...... ......... . 7,368

Auction Receipts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,460

Total Income ..... ... . .......... .. . $121,905

EXPENSES: Paid to Regal Ri ve rf ront Hotel for M ea ls, M eetin g Roo ms & Hospitality Room .. .. . Hospitality Room Supplies ......... . .... . . . Bus Transportatio n for Ft. LW & Ladies Tours . . . Ladies & Ft. Leonard W ood Lunches ... ..... . Ladies Gifts .. ................... .. .. .. . . 50th Anniversary Pins .................... . Registration Printing, Name Tags, Envelopes, etc. . Reunion Liability Insu rance ............... . Other Gifts ......... .. .. .. . . ........ .. . . Sound System Rental ...... . ... .. .. . ..... . Souvenir Sales Items Purchased ............ . Friday Nite Music ...... . ...... .......... . Saturday Nite Music ................... .. . Memorial Service Flowers, Pianist & Bugler ... .

89,606 2,335 3,300

11 ,436 1,523 2,370 1,093 1,03 1

75 1 ' 132

11 ,891 440

1,250 42 1

Total Expense ..... . ............ . .. $127,903

Deficit ............ .. .. . ......... .

Less Cost of Souvenir Items On Hand ........ . Less Credit for Unused Liquid Refreshments ... .

Net Gain o n Reunion ........ . ....... $

•

-5,998

6,365 827

1,194

27

•

' Vosges veterans joined in protest of 'history'

Veterans of "The Forgotten Battle" have for 50 years chafed at the omission of their victories. These are men of divisions that stopped Operation Nordwind in the Vosges in January, 1945.

Now they are joined in their protest by equally forgotten men who fought on "The North Shoulder" of the Ardennes, the 66th (Black Panther), the 99th (Checkerboard) and the 1 06th (Lion Head) Divisions.

Although Nordwind was actually Hitler's last offensive and was designed as the second push of a double-pincer attack, the media of that day and most historians since, have concentrated on the Ardennes operation that they erroneously call "the last German offensive." They ignore the Vosges thrust and do not mention it in "The Battle of the Bulge."

Fighting in the Vosges were the 45th (Thunderb ird), 65th (Battle Axe), 76th (Lorraine), and the 1 OOth Divisions, two Task Forces, Linden of the 42nd (Rainbow) and Herren ofthe 70th, and many other Artillery and Armor units.

The organization ofThe Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge officially include these troops. But even in its ranks are a few vocal members who insist that only the men who fought in the Bastogne sector should be identified with the Bulge.

But those troops who fought on "The Northern Shoulder" in Belgian are doing more than just voicing their ire at being overlooked. Members of the 99th are contacting the media to make the record accurate. One member wrote to George Will, the Washington columnist, "The defense at Bastogne, heroic as it was, was little more than a sideshow to the main event. The most critical action was at Eisenborn Ridge, just inside the Belgian border in the vicinity of Krinkelt, Belgium. (There the 99th erected a Division monument last year.)

ANOTHER MEMBER complained to Andy Rooney of "60 Minutes" on CBS about that network's coverage. Rooney, who was with "Stars and Stripes" in '44,

replied that he understood the frustration but "no one is ever going to straighten out the history."

The 99th had arrived in Europe in mid-November and the 1 06th in December. They had relieved the 9th Division, veterans of Africa and Sicily, and the 2nd (lndianhead) which had landed in Normandy. The 99th has sent four of its nine battalions north to take part in the attack on the Roer River dams.

Led by the notorious Lt. Col. Joachim Peiper, the German spearhead hit the Losheim Gap, defended by the 99th. He expected the understrength and relatively inexperienced Americans would fall back in confusion during offensive that surprised even the Allies high command.

Hitler's top generals had picked five routes to the vital port of Antwerp. Through Losheim was the most direct.


28

BODIES IN THE BULGE ... This captured German photo shows the corpses of American Gls that had been stripped of all their equipment "somewhere on the Western front." The picture was made, apparently in Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge.


'Paper planes' Germans feared our grasshoppers -and threw everything at them

The "Grasshoppers" were small and fragile. But they played an important role with the 70th. So recalls Chuck Ferree, HQ/ 884. He rode those little bugs as an observer for Divarty.

"Lt. Troy Hammond was the pilot and I went along as hi s observer. Our main duty was to spot for Divarty, seeking out targets of opportunity or, more often, to help find difficult targets, tanks, machine gun nests, German mortars or whatever prevented our troops from advancing. Often five or six L-4 planes were around, ready to help.

"There was a belief at the time that the Germans would never shoot at the grasshoppers for fear that we would zero in on them forthwith. That was a big fallacy!

"The enemy used all kinds of automatic weapons, 20mm, 88s, rifles, shotguns and mess kits. They probably threw sticks and stones to boot.

"Another hazard was that we flew under the arc of our own artillery fire. When we called for "fire for effect," all rounds went over us. Several L planes were blown to smithereens either by accidental direct hits, a short round or a detonated ' proximity fuse.' And when we came home our reports that the enemy still held territory was usually backed up by numerous and sundry holes punched through the ai rplanes.

"I especially enjoyed working with American fighter bombers, mainly the P-47Thunderboltsofthe inthAirForce. We used a special radio frequency on such missions and our job was to seek out appropriate targets for those fellows to bomb and strafe. We came to love and respect those guys. They always showed up when we needed them.

"German fighters always presented a

Vosges (Continued)

threat, right up until the end of combat. We were easy pickings for those last -gasp Krauts who hated to quit fighting. Our best defense was to head right straight for the ground. If we had time, we'd put the plane into a spin which made it an even more difficult target.

"Everyone with an ounce of brains knows that the Infantry does the real heavy-duty work. The question is: Were the dogfaces glad to see air cover? All I know is that they loved to see airplanes in the sky, even if they were little cloth-covered grasshoppers.

"The few former German combat troops that I have encountered on my visits to Europe all told me that they hated to see those little 'paper planes ' in their area. 'Death was usually only a few minutes away,' they'd say. 'We would rather face machine guns.'"

"Lt. Hammond went on to make a career in the army. The last I heard he was written up in major media for a special L-plane mission on Korea. I'd like to know if he's still around. Previous searches have proved futile.'

Occupation duty in Austria wasn't a big holiday for Louis Brazier, B/370 Medics. For the medical service stayed busy long, long after combat ended. In fact, even after hi s return from Europe he served at Fort Eustice, Virginia, in the Medical Department until his discharge in June, 1946. He was awarded two Bronze Stars in the ETO. As a civilian he was an accountant and a store manager. He married Mollie Lynam in '50 in Indiana and lives with her in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is financial secretarytreasurer for his church and handles the finances for several bowling leagues.

*

FLYING FERREE ... Among the few airborne Trailblazers was Charles Ferree, an observer for the 884th Field Artillery. While flying was far less arduous than the Infantry's hikes, it was just as hazardous. The Flying Grasshoppers were tempting targets to German anti-aircraft gunners.

It took a while for Earl Cogan, Medics/ 274, to hook up with the Trailblazers. He was inducted at Cincinnati and took basic at Camp Grant, Illinois. He served at Fitzsimmons General Hospital in Denver at the Surgical Technicians School. Then he served at the 185th General Hospital at Walla Walla, Washington, before going into ASTP at Montana State College in Bozeman. From there he was sent to Fort Leonard Wood and sewed on the axe-head shoulder patch. He won the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.

After the war he became a United Methodist minister and a school psychologist. He married Carmen Purcell in Terre Haute, Indiana, in '49 and they have two sons, a daughter and I I grandkids. They live in Elkhart, Indiana.

TH ERE THE ATTACKERS met an I&R platoon of less than 20 men. Thatgallantgroup held up the Germans forthe greater part of the day and threw their schedule com

pletely awry. Although the 1 06th was cut off and two of its regiments captured, the 99th stubbornly fell back to prepared positions on the Eisenborn and withstood several attacks.

The 3-day delay, however, gave time for the American 101 st Airborne to get to Bastogne just hours before the Germans surrounded it. There Gen. Anthony McAu I iffe was visited by a German officer under a flag of truce. By surrendering, he was told, he could spare his men the inevitable defeat. His one-word reply captured the admiration and attention of media and public then-and held it for half a century. "Nuts!" he said.

Stalled in Belgium, Hitler launched what truly was his last offensive, Operation Nordwind. And there the Trailblazers wrote their small but heroic chapter of history that it does not want America to forget.

Peiper got permission to withdraw and try a more southerly route. That was through Bastogne, the longest of the five original northern routes.

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ABBOTT, Fred W. 233 Baer Dr. Apt. 2 Erie, PA 16505 70 MP - Mary lou

BAKKER, lee R. 4965 Bummergreen Run Hudsonville, Ml 49426 H/275- Thelma

BAMBRICK, Eugene P. 136-32 244th St. Rosedale, NY 11422 A/276 -Mary

#BARNHART, William 3605 Rosebriar Ave., Apt. 3 Glenshaw, PA 15116 HQ/3 Bn/274- Patricia

BASCH, Andrew G. 938 Four Oaks Dr. Fenton, MO 63026 -?--Marie

# BAUM, Donald D. 969 Coventry ln. Highland Park, ll 60035 70 QM - Muriel

#BLACK, Willis W. 1106 W. Third St. Willmar, MN 56201 E/276- Fredrika

#BON ACKER, Russell l. 10 Warrington Dr. Bella Vista, AR 72714 B/370 Medics- V. louise

BOWMAN, joe l. P.O. Box 571024 Houston, TX 77257 HQ/3 Bn/274-

#BRADFORD, Clarence W. 2329 S. 14th St. Springfield, ll 62703 M/276 -Jean

BROOME,). M. 208 lamplighter lane MI. Holly, NC 28120 -?--

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Q .... -~.g -u s::o tjfll -rn .E< ..r: -0 to--

New Members

# BRYLES, Moody C. Rt. 2, Box 609 Poplar Bluff, MO 63901 M/274- Kathleen

BURGY, Marlowe, P. 26621 S. New Town Dr. Sun lakes, AZ 85248 HQ/725 FA- Mary

BYERS, Claude F. 4317 Cambridge Independence, MO 64055 C/274-

BYNUM, l. M. 514 Albert St. Albertville, Al 35950 -?--Bernice

CATANZARITE, Frank 7424 Juniper Rd. joshua Tree, CA 92252 CN/276-

CEBULA, Dan 473 Robinson ln. Campbell, OH 44405 1/275-

CHERRY, Clifford D. 1613 Pine log Rd. Aiken, SC 29801 l/275- Vera

CLARK, jack F. 6206 Holland Rd. Bremerton, WA 98311 E/274-

COLE, Wilson P. 10230 MI. Vernon Rd. Auburn, CA 95603 -?--

COOPER, Robert H. 2025 logan Ave. Salt lake City, UT 84108 570 Signal- Clarice

HAGELGANS, Fred # KOSEDNER, Walter J. 312 Delma Ave. 4325 Tanglebrook Dr. Pasadena, MD 21122 Florissant, MO 63033 K/275- Edythe HQ/1 Bn/275- Dorothy

#CUMMINGS, lawrence C. #HAGLUND, Warren N. LEIK, James W. 7618 Rustling Rd. 28295 742 Ave. 211 Walnut lane Austin, TX 78731 Dassel, MN 55325 New Holland, PA 17557 B/882 FA- Freda B/274- Rosalie D/274- Gloria

CUNNINGHAM, lewuel E. HAINES, Richard M. LEWIS, ).C. 7000 W. Seven Rivers Dr. 7703 McCallum 12008 Graceland Rd. Crystal River, Fl 34429 Philadelphia, PA 19118 Northport, Al 35476 Hq/DIVARTY- Naomi A/274- E.274- Olga Mae

DAHLIN, Alvin HAUSWALD, john P. LOEPP, Paul D. 475 Hacienta Ver. 1 Southerly Ct. #401 2310 Spring Blvd. Winter Shores, Fl 32708 Towson, MD 21286 Eugene, OR 97403 -?--Mildred H/275 - Doris E/276-

DAIGLE, Elvin HEITSCHMIDT, Herbert MacNAUGHTON, Ralph 850 Webster St., #723 Box 218 140 Rt. 46 Palo Alto, CA 94301 Kanarado, KS 67741 Mine Hill, NJ 07801 H/275 -Helen B/276- Edna -?-

#EARLEY, George R. HOPTRY, Thomas E. MAGGARD, john H. P .0. Box 1564 956 Fall River Dr. R2. Bx 231, 3335 Twin Crk No. Eastham, MA 02651 Hayward, CA 94544 West Alexandria, OH 45381 A/884 FA- Marcia HQ/3 Bn/274- Marjorie H/275 - Selah

ECKER, john M. HOSKIN, Donald l. MARKS, lewis M. 35489 Sheridan Dr. 40465 Rock Mountain Dr P.O. Box 2054 Ingleside, ll 60041 Fallbrook, CA 92028 MI. lake Park, MD 21550 K/275 -Evelyn D/276- Donna A/274-

EDWARDS, Boyd JAMES, Kenneth H. MARVIN, Oscar T. 21 Newfound St. 54 New St. 8073 Holton Rd. Canton, NC 28716 Quitman, AR 72131 Holton, Ml 49425 B/274- C/274- Mary E/275-

FICETO, Walter l. )URICK, Robert H. #MATTSON, Walter G. 26-2 Preston Terr. 1357 Boxwood Dr. P.O. Box 92 Waterbury, CT 06705 Hewlett Harbor, NY 11557 Twig, MN 55791 B/274- E/274- Marilyn C/884 FA- Mary

FORSLINE, Carl Richard KAISER, Charles E. McKEEVER, Thomas W. 3521 W. 1 03rd St. 1230 W. Valencia Dr #C 700 Bethlehem Rd. Bloomington, MN 55431 Fullerton, CA 92633 Catasauqua, PA 18032 1/274 -Lois 570 Signal- 1/275- Helmi

#FULLER, Roger W. KINDT, Warren F. MEYERS, George l. RR #5 2205 Bramleton Ave. 525 Major Dr. Manchester, lA 52057 Roanoke, VA 24015 Santa Rosa, CA 95403 Hq/2 Bn/276- Betty lou HQ/3 Bn/274- HQ/276 - Patrica


MILLER, Chester C. SENKERIK, jerry). Associate Members 4096 Robin Hill Rd. 2329 S. Gunderson Ave. Flintridge, CA 91 011 Berwyn, IL 60402 M/276- Natalie C/275 - Louise Crothers, Michelle

1000 S. Main St., #52B MORRISON, Craig W. SHEEHAN, Nelson F. Salinas, CA 93901 703 Second St. E. S 5212 Glendale Ave. Cresco, lA 52136 Hamburg, NY 14075 Crothers, Renee HQ/DIVARTY- Flossie H/276- Elizabeth 1000 S. Main St., #52B

Salinas, CA 93901 # MUCK, Orville L. SHEPPARD, Edgar M.

30B7 Oak Ave. 601 E. Moreland Ave. Drury, Patricia A.

* * Slayton, MN 561 72 Wyndmoor, PA 1903B 21311 Rockwell TAPS C/275 - Marie E/274- Polly Farmington Hills, Ml 4B346

#PETERS, William F. STIGMAN, Lloyd Ellis, Brian ). 6071 Mercer Dr. BOS N. Main 1324 Norton Avenue ANDRUSISIAN, Peter LLOYD, Willard Brook Park, OH 44142 Park Rapids, MN 56470 Glendale, CA 91202 232 Rothsville Rd. 271 Magnolia Ave.

E/276 - Lucille L/275 -Helen Akron, PA 17501 Vacaville, CA 956BB Hagglund, Mary HQ/275 D/275

#PORTWOOD, Robert F. #SWANSON, Glenn 0. 2176 E. Ross Avenue # #

Coronado Shores, Bx 20 Rt. 1, Box 199A St. Paul, MN 55119 Lincoln City, OR 97367 Mason, WI 54B46 ALVARO, William MARROW, Gisha

270 Eng - Marcile B/274- Karen Hayden, Mrs. john G. 13 7 Liberty Street Marksville, LA 4224 N. 16th Drive Hackensack, N) 07601 G/275

# RAPIER, Herman G. TAYLOR, Melvin C. Phoenix, AZ B5015 H/274 Died in 1992 671 Hogreffe Rd. P.O. Box 37B6 #

Independence, KY 41051 Columbia, SC 29230 Lambert, joseph W. MINTZER, joseph H. Medic/1 Bn/275- Evelyn C/275 -Elise 5373 N. Normandy BROTHERS, Sam 49 Ridge Road

Chicago, IL 60656 Newburg, Oregon Hartsdale, NY 1 0530 REED, Thomas D. #TEPPER, Harold C/BB3 FA HQ 70

P.O. Box 690 BS-09- 151st Ave. #5-BC Loney, Richard Died August 25, 1994 #

Bigfork, MT 59911 Howard Beach, NY 11414 6324 Holgate Ct. CLAY, Grover )r. C/270 Eng - Betty Medic/3 Bn/274- Evelyn Ft. Wayne, IN 46B16 MYERS, Richard 335 W. Barnard Street HQ/1Bn/276

REED, William P. TROST, Melvin W. Marovich, George West Chester, PA 193B2 Died in 1993

Rt. 2, Box 44 Rt. 3, Box B4 331B Dias Drive M/275

Charleston, WV 25414 Concordia, KS 66901 San jose, CA 9514B # ROSENBAUM, Albert L/274- -?-- 70QM

McMahon, john DOOLAN, )ames W. #

RIDDLES, Leonard WAGNER, )ames E. BBOO NW 20th Crt. 3914 Randhall Drive

Rt. 1, Box 150 10615 W. 97th Terr. Sunrise, FL 33322 St. Louis, MO 63125 SEIBERT, Richard Walters, OK 73572 Overland Park, KS 66214 M/276 2116 Eastview Avenue

B/BB4 FA- Eva B/725 FA- Aida Nelson, Dean C. Died in 1975 Louisville, KY 40205

3032 County Rd. H2 G/276 ROGERS, Barber WITIY, Thomas E. Mounds View, MN 55112 FRANCE, Paul Died Sept. 26, 1994 1500 N. Peninsula 3320 Dana Drive 11 01 Bridgeport

New Smyrna Bch, FL 32169 Enid, OK 73703 Parsons, Gregory P. West Memphis, AR 72301 SULLIVAN, Richard E/2 74- Elaine C/275 -Virginia 144 Blue Church Ct. AT/274 2309 Edwards Street

Columbia, SC 29212 Died july 14, 19B9 Marysville, CA 95901 SABATINO, Ralph) . WOODLAND, Charles C. L/275 51 Moraine St. 3036 W. Adams Pierson, Edwin G. HAMIL TON, Renzie # Belmont, MA 0217B St. Charles, MO 63301 2904 Payton Randolph #202 754B Swanson Lane

-?- HQ/3 Bn/276 - Ruth Falls Church, VA 22044 Sarasota, FL 34231 TEELAR, Frank HQ/1 BN/276 70MP

# SANDERSON, Charles L. # ZIMMERSCHIED, jack R. # 2002 Rural St. 1 001 Foxfire Ln. #203 KNIGHT, Thomas

Rockford, I L 61107 Naples, FL 33942 M/275 # No other information

K/275 - Lucille B/BB2 FA- Wilma # available

# Reinstated

Winter, 1995 31

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70th Division Assn. Louis Hoger 5825 Horton Street Mission , KS 66202

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JUBILANT JULY ... To mark Independence Day. Trailblazers gathered in the huge amphitheater overlooking the Rhine River at the Rock of the Lorelei. The empty seats at the right were soon filled and the audience overflowed onto the adjacent hillsides.

Center of attraction was. of course. the Stars and Stripes. standing high on the podium.


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