Hello veterans and friends of the 75th Division !

The last Memorial Day boosted our newsline: In the days since the last issue, I recieved requests for information from 5 new members.
Please do me a very big favour: Please send the new members a Hi! and see if you can help, any little information or tip will be helpful for them. Remember the time when you started your search, you were at a point where they are now. Please send a CC to the newsline so we can share the new infos with others. Maybe your hint rings the bell of another vet.

Another request:
I am thinking about to post new webpages, maybe with the private WWII photos of our readers. I need the help of someone that can maintain the webpages and send them to our server in Germany, he would have direct access. I dont find the time (and do not have the knowledge) beside the newsline to prepare new pages, but if you will read in the discussion below, that the new pages would be very helpful for everyone who is researching the WWII time of his father or grandfather. Please send in your comments about the project.
 

*Keep five yards.
(*Means spread out so one round won't get us all.)

Rolf G. Wilmink
„German by birth, american by heart, P.I. by profession„.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For your calendar:

Next 75th Div reunion:  Houston, Texas, September 9th, 10th and 11th 1999
City tours will be offered and include a Round About Houston,The Houston Space Center with an optional Galveston Evening , an experience of Texas history and tour of the Battleship Texas and a Waterfront tour, as well as two unique post reunion trips,a 3 day,2 night program to San Antonio and a 1 week Mexican/Caribbean Cruise on the Norwegian Lines both start Sunday Sept. 12th and a barbecue evening on the 75 exercise group property is also planned.

The coordinator is CSM Phillip Kraus. His adress:
                              CSM Philip Kraus
                              75th Infantry Division (Exercise)
                              1850 Old Spanish Trail
                              Houston ,Tx  77054-2025
                              Phone  800-390-2530    ext 7509
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
75th Div reunion year 2000: Peoria
(more infos as soon as we have them or contact the
75th Div Vets. Assn. President Parker, see adress below).
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

                    List of contents:

1.) Feedback regarding newsline No. 35   ( 28 May 1999 )
2.) The project „Virtual Album of veterans photos“
3.) This says it all
4.) Poem from the Battle of the Bulge
5.) Peirson Memorial Page
6.) MEMORIAL DAY
7.) Medal Of Honor
8.) Who knew 75th Div member Tydings and has photos ?
9.) Who knew Anthony T. Foster
10.) Who knew PFC Ralph Heller ?
11.) Where are the buddies of Russel Snow, 291st Co. L ?
12.) Who knew Machinegunner Walter Smith ?
13.) Where to get a 75th Div flag ?
 

                                   \\|//
                                  (o o)
----------------oOOo-(_)-oOOo------------------------------75th DIVISION online
**********************************************************************************
DON'T BE A LURKER.... GET INVOLVED... YOU ARE A MEMBER... MAKE THE MOST OF IT
**********************************************************************************
(actual count: 163 members online worldwide !)
 

1.) Feedback regarding our newsline No. 35 ( 28 May 1999):

From: twinsemi@us.ibm.com
Date: Wed, 2 Jun 1999 11:04:47 -0600
Re: Poem from the Battle of the Bulge - Post

Rolf,
Elmer's poems are really powerful and really make me feel some the emotion of the war. All of them (in #24) together are too much for me at once though. I still haven't been able to read through all of them yet.
Thanks,
Tom
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.) The project "Virtual Album of veterans photos"

From: "Jay Puckett" <jpuckbird@email.msn.com>
RE:    290th regiment
Date:  Sun, 30 May 1999 13:51:51 -0500

Hi Rolf,
Enjoyed the last Newsline, I think the idea of a 75th Division Official Website is excellent!!  I just wish more members of the Association were "connected."

I have sent you some photos of my dad, Resol B. Puckett, (290th - 2nd Bn - Co F and 290th - 3rd Bn - Co L) with the hope that someone may be able to identify the men in the group photos or maybe someone actually knew these men or my dad.  I understand if you do not have the space. If at all possible, could you please at least post my dad's photo (sitting on couch).
I believe these photos are of men from Co L 3rd Battalion at Camp Pittsburgh.  One of them is of men named Chandler and Atchen posing with two Russian soldiers probably somewhere in Germany.  Anyone's help is greatly appreciated!!

Thanks again Rolf!!
Jay

290th friends at Camp Pittsburg.jpg

Chandler and Atchen.jpg

Pic of dad's friends.jpg

Pic of Dad 2.jpg

Dear Jay,

thanks for your email, will be published in the next newsline.

Re. the website:
I talked to my webmaster and he told me, that it is no problem, that somebody from the States adds pages or changes pages on our website directly. We thought about the photos that you have send and a new member wants to send. These will not appear in books, they cannot be found in the National Archives. You recognize your father on the photos, but who are the other G.I.s ? If we make a kind of photo album in the website, sorted like 289, 290, 291, 575 Signal etc., other members (and future members) could check the photos for their dad. Lets use the advantage of the internet. What we would need is a member of the newsline (maybe a son or daughter of a vet that is in the association) to do the work and post it in the net. The newsline costs a lot of time, and I have not the time and the knowledge to maintain the sites.

Greetings from Germany
Rolf G. Wilmink
-----------------------------------

Date: Wed, 2 Jun 1999 07:10:31 -0800
From: Rik Peirson <rik@dayone.com>
Re: 290th regiment

Rolf --
I could do some of this work, just as you describe, and would be happy to do it, as you (and the Newsline) have done so much for me.

I have a copy of the 75th Infantry Division "Yearbook" that shows the 75th unit pictures taken at Fort Leonard Wood.  But there are many pictures, and it would take some time, as I have built and also maintain the website for AWON (The American WWII Orphans Network) -- which you'll find at http://www.awon.org -- and I have an ongoing responsibility to that site, and to AWON.

Who is your webmaster in the states?  Maybe I could scan and send the pictures, a couple at a time, as time might allow -- and he could post them to your site.  I agree that it would be a GREAT way for sons and daughters and friends, etc. to identify their Fathers and friends, by using the power of the internet.

Also, I'm sure that Rob Smith has sent you a copy of the Regimental Crest of the 290th Regiment, which he also sent to me.  It caused a tremendous revelation, as a Cross that is on the crest (the Cross of Lorraine) was one I wore on my own dog tags when I was in Vietnam, although I didn't know at the time that it had any connection with my Dad's unit.

I put up a web page with both the Regimental Crest and a picture of my dog tags at http://www.dayone.com/peirson5.html if you have interest.

Just let me know how I might be of help, Rolf.
In Their Memory --

    -- Rik Peirson
    Proud son of 1LT John Peirson
    KIA 25 Dec. '44 at La Roumiere

----------------------------------------------
From:  "Jay Puckett" <jpuckbird@email.msn.com>
Re: 290th regiment
Date: Wed, 2 Jun 1999 16:45:44 -0500
Microsoft Corporation

Rolf,

The only men I can identify are my dad (seated on the couch) and the picture with four men in it.  The pic with the four men are from left to right - A Russian soldier, "Chandler", Russian soldier, and "Atchen."  The location where this pic was taken is unknown to me.  The other pics, I believe, were taken after the surrender of Germany at "Camp Pittsburgh" in France. So....most of these men were probably in 290th, 3rd Bn, Co L, as that was the unit my dad was assigned to at the end of the war (originally he was in 290th, 2nd Bn, Co F.)

If I understood your message correctly, you referred to the possibility of developing a web "photo album", of all the regiments, where pics could be posted....is this a correct interpretation?  If so, I think that would be a great idea!  I would volunteer to get involved in this effort..but it sounds like I would need to learn the ins and outs of being a webmaster.  I am willing to learn and help in such efforts if anyone has any suggestions.  I could send the veterans pics to you from my location but would need the originals or photographic quality copies - regular copies just don't scan very well.

Anyway, I am glad that we are all in this together!  Let me know if what I can do.

Thanks again Rolf!
Jay
------------------------------

++From the moderator:++

Dear Jay,
just some thoughts:

1.) We have to find somebody, that
a) has the knowledge how to maintain webpages and can send the ready pages to my webmaster here and puts them directly on the server. (He would have direct access to the server)
b) has a good connection to the vets assn to verify informations if they are correct and to spread the informations about the project.

2.) This person is the collection adress for all readers of the newsline. The readers take their own photos, scan them, add the information what can be seen on the photos and sends it as an email to the collection adress. (So nobody needs to give his original photos out of his hands)

3.) The collection adress has to sort the photos in an inventory list, like:
Div HQ, 289, 290, 291, 575 Signal, Anti Tank, FA, Belgium, Germany, Plettenberg etc.

4.) The photo website contains little photos on one page (f.e. 289th photos) so that the page has a short download time. (I think it is called "thumbnail function"). If a reader wants to see one photo better, he can click on it and it will be enlarged and the text informations displayed. If a reader recognizes his father or knows where the photo was taken, he can send this information to the collection adress to be added in the photo album.

5.) With the time, we would build up a "private" photo album, that thousends of people could browse through, and the owners of the photos would not be in danger, that their original photos get lost. Other readers would have the possibility to find a photo of their father, even if they never would have met the owner of the original photo. I know that a lot of vets have some private photos from their duty, and with this project, they could easily enlarge their collection, even find other photos of themselves that their buddy took. Over the photo book, they could get in contact with the owner of the orignal to get a duplicate.

This would be only one possibility, to preserve important memories of the 75th Div, before the photos rot in some shoebox in an attic.

(By the way: When I attended the 75th reunion in 1995, Atlanta, there were a lot of photo books laying on the tables. They contained privat photos and I think were put together by the late historian Ted Breeden. Naturally, only the person that has the books can look in. The assn member only can look in once a year when he is on the reunion. Maybe these books would be a basic stock for the virtual photo book. In one of the books are photos, that are very important for my hometown Plettenberg. They show soldiers and civilians in front of the city hall burning Nazi books and posters. Nobody here has seen the photos before, they also were not in the National Archives. Ted Breeden wanted to make some copies for me, but he died shortly after the reunion in Atlanta. I would love to get digital copies of the photos via email. I could forward them via email to our two newspapers for publishing. Imagine: No loss of quality, but sending the photos in minutes from USA to a german newspaper. Also sons or daughters of veterans could download pictures of their father from the internet in a good quality.)

The same thing can be done with documents. As you can read in the next newsline, the problem of the new members of our newsline is always the same, something like: "My father was in the 75th, 291st. Where can I find more infos, photos or films about this unit to honor what my father did ?"
Mr. Roxbourgh (I dont have his new email adress) already has build up a fantastic collection, maybe something of that could be posted in the web.

Interesting would be a good adress to buy all the books about the 75th.

The website could be the first adress to get more basic informations. Maybe we could put the roster of soldiers on the web. The reader could check where the name of his father is and would know which unit he was in and which other men served with him. He could try to get in contact with them or search for their photos, if his father is on them.

I hope I did not let myself carried away too far, but:
If we dont collect the memories and the information and preserve them now, they might be lost forever. If we put them in the internet, all interested people can take a look on them, regardless where they live.

Lets keep in touch about that !

Greetings from Germany
Rolf G. Wilmink
-------------------

From: "Jay Puckett" <jpuckbird@email.msn.com>
RE:  "Virtual Photo Album"
Date:  Thu, 3 Jun 1999 19:35:35 -0500

Rolf,
You did not go on too long at all!  I think that this is really an excellent idea and would be very helpful to many, many people.  I think of my own research concerning my dad, and all of the possibilities with having  photo and document pages for the 75th accessable on the web!  What a fantastic research tool it would be!!
 
I am glad we are having these discussions, I really do want to help in some way.  As for the site "management," I am more than willing to do what I can.  I plan on doing some research on how to webmaster, so I can offer more help to you.  Maybe someone could give me some email tutorials on the subject, as I am not altogether sure how it all works.  In the meantime, I offer you my full participation and support.
 
Thanks again for posting my pics in the next Newsline, maybe someone will remember those fellows.  If not, I'm sure the Newsline readers will enjoy seeing them.  I know I have enjoyed seeing pics in the Newsline.
 
Thanks again and please stay in touch on this matter!
Jay

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

3.) This says it all
From: Tim Johnson <dbugman@dbugman.com>

              Forgotten Fighter
In World War II, he whispered, I was wounded by a blast.
As he began his story, Reminiscing of his past.
I was just a boy back then, I lied about my age.
To get into the Army, And fight for the USA

I love this country very much, It's still the very best.
And I would fight to keep it free, And safe from foreign pest.
We won that war, and I came home, My wounds had healed enough,
To reenlist with other men. The Army made us tough.

Then a little flare up, In Korea called us out.
A threat against our freedom, Spreading fear without a doubt.
There I caught a bullet, When I tried to save a friend.
Another wound for Uncle Sam, They sent me home to mend.

"Soldier have you had enough?" My Sergeant said to me.
"Or do you want another tour, If ever there's to be?"
We would train and fight again, If ever it need be,
Because we love America, We'll fight to keep it free.

It didn't take too long, Before my boys were off again.
We were shipped off to a war, We thought would never end.
I didn't understand it much, If it was wrong or right.
But, I was a US soldier, And my country said, "Go fight."

I never questioned orders, That were sent from up above.
I did it for America, The country, that I love.
I fought to keep my country safe, Again, in Viet Nam.
Then, wounded I came home again, A victim of napalm.

My fighting days were over now, And, I had given all.
But, some had given more than me, Their names are on a wall.
I am now well up in years, A soldier old and worn.
I could only sit and pray, As I watched Desert Storm.

So proud of our boys over there, Who stand for what is right.
Freedom is the battle cry, The reason why they fight.
Young soldiers fight for liberty, Protecting freedom's bliss.
Old soldiers dream of by-gone-days, While fighting loneliness.

We were heroes in our day, He said, and then he sighed.
Forgotten in some VA home, And all my friends have died.
I never ask for anything, Just wanted to live free.
But, if you read this story, There are many just like me.

Who fought to keep our country, Safe and free from every foe.
Only to come home again, And have no place to go.
Sadly, when the limelight fails, Heroes fade away.
Some men fight the silent battles, Till their dying day.

Please remember what it took, And what we had to pay.
And join with us remembering, On this Memorial Day.
Memorial Day is special, It is not just summer's start.
The reason that we have this day, Should be etched on your heart.

Lives were lost, and young men died, To keep this country free.
So, take a moment on that day, To meditate with me.
Remember all those valiant men, And women who fought for,
The lifestyle that you now enjoy, Because they went to war.

**********************************
Date:  Mon, 31 May 1999 09:28:54 -0700
From: Tim Johnson <dbugman@dbugman.com>
Re: memorial day

Be my guest and pass it on to everyone.
Tim
Here's something else you may want to post.
tj

WHAT IS A VET?
Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.

Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg -or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity.

Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.

You can't tell a vet just by looking.

What is a vet?

He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.

He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a million times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.

She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.

He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL.

He is the TRADOC drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into soldiers, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.

He is the parade - riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.

He is the career logistician who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.

He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.

He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.

Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU".

It is the soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier,
Who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who permits the protestor to burn the flag."

-- Father Denis Edward O'Brien, USMC
-------------------------------------------------------
To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
------------------------------------------------------
Tim Johnson
Technical Security Consultants Inc.
http://www.dbugman.com
480-786-0909
****************************************************************

4.) Poem from the Battle of the Bulge
From: twinsemi@us.ibm.com
Date:  Tue, 1 Jun 1999 14:42:04 -0600

Rolf,
My mom just gave me box of old things that were my dad's. (L. Kent Winsemius, F Company, 290th) In with the letters home from training camp, there was one item that caught my eye. It is a poem written by a soldier in the Bulge. I don't know anything about the person who wrote it, or how it got in with the letters that my dad sent home to his folks. It was handwritten (not my dad's handwriting) and folded into a square like the rest of the letters my dad sent home from Europe.
It may have been copied from a published poem and sent to him by his family. Was the author, Edward A. Richards, in the 75th?
Tom Winsemius

The Hills of Bastogne
            - by Pfc. Edward A. Richards Jr.

The crops should be full in Belgium this year,
The soil should be fertile, but the price has been dear,
The wheat should be red on the hills of Bastogne
For it's roots have been drenched by the blood of our own.

Battered and reeling we stand in their way,
It's here we are, and here we will stay.
Embittered, wrathful, we watch our pals fall,
God, where's the end, the end of it all?

Confident and powerful, they strike at our lines,
But we beat them back, fighting for time.
Berserk with fury, they are hitting us now,
Flesh against steel - we'll hold - but how?

For each day that we stay, more mothers must grieve.
For each hill that we hold more men must we leave.
Yes, honor the men who will some day come home,
But pray for the men 'neath the hills of Bastogne.

   "A poem I wrote after the Battle of the Bulge. I don't know how, but the
words just seemed to come out - Love, Ed"
--------------------------------------------------
++ From the moderator:++

Dear Tom,
I checked the roster of the vets assn. but found only Jerome and Ted Richards, not Edward. That does not mean that he has not been in the 75th. I will post it on our newsline to see if somebody else knows him or the poem.

Greetings,
Rolf
***************************************************************************

5.) Peirson Memorial Page

From:  rmsmith1924@webtv.net (Robert M Smith)
Date:   Mon, 31 May 1999 15:21:09 -0400 (EDT)

Rolf, Greetings-- This is reconstructed version of the 290th Regimental Crest circa 1945 and a remarkable story of an unusual coincidence regarding the Cross of Lorraine.  The page was prepared by  Rik Peirson, son of 1st Lt. John S. Peirson.  Lt. Peirson was the  290th, 3rd BN--
S-2  who was KIA on Christmas Day 1944 at the battle for La Roumiere.

If you can't get my attachment, go to:
http://www.dayone.com/peirson5.html

Regards, Rob Smith, formerly Antitank Co.-290
GREETINGS  FROM  FLORIDA - U.S.A.
***************************************************************************

6.) MEMORIAL DAY

Date:  Mon, 31 May 1999 09:55:48 -0700
From: john lamontia <jlamontia@earthlink.net>
 

  Happy, perhaps, is not the word.
  But have a pleasant and enjoyable Memorial Day Holiday
Jack and Carol
***************************************************************************

7.) Medal Of Honor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FUNK, LEONARD A., JR.
Rank and organization: First Sergeant, U.S.A., Co. C, 508th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division.
Place and date: Holzheim, Belgium, 29 January 1945.
Entered service at: Wilkinsburg, Pa.
Birth: Braddock Township, Pa.
G.O. No.: 75, 5 September 1945.

Citation: He distinguished himself by gallant, intrepid actions against the enemy. After advancing 15 miles in a driving snowstorm, the American force prepared to attack through waist-deep drifts. The company executive officer became a casualty, and 1st Sgt. Funk immediately assumed his duties, forming headquarters soldiers into a combat unit for an assault in the face of direct artillery shelling and harassing fire from the right flank. Under his skillful and courageous leadership, this miscellaneous group and the 3d Platoon attacked 15 houses, cleared them, and took 30 prisoners without suffering a casualty. The fierce drive of Company C quickly overran Holzheim, netting some 80 prisoners, who were placed under a 4-man guard, all that could be spared, while the rest of the under-strength unit went about mopping up isolated points of resistance. An enemy patrol, by means of a ruse, succeeded in capturing the guards and freeing the prisoners, and had begun preparations to attack Company C from the rear when 1st Sgt. Funk walked around the building and into their midst. He was ordered to surrender by a German officer who pushed a machine pistol into his stomach. Although overwhelmingly outnumbered and facing almost certain death, 1st Sgt. Funk, pretending to comply with the order, began slowly to unsling his submachine gun from his shoulder and then, with lightning motion, brought the muzzle into line and riddled the German officer. He turned upon the other Germans, firing and shouting to the other Americans to seize the enemy's weapons. In the ensuing fight 21 Germans were killed, many wounded, and the remainder captured. 1st Sgt. Funk's bold action and heroic disregard for his own safety were directly responsible for the recapture of a vastly superior enemy force, which, if allowed to remain free, could have taken the widespread units of Company C by surprise and endangered the entire attack plan.

++ Moderators note: ++
The above is not from our unit, but was in the same area same time. Does anybody have something like this on a 75th Div soldier ? I would be happy to publish it. I asked the newsline, from where I have the above information, for infos about a 75th Div soldier, but got no response.
++ ++
***************************************************************************

8.) Who knew 75th Div member Tydings and has photos ?
From: BLTYDINGS@aol.com
Date:  Mon, 31 May 1999 17:44:34 EDT
RE:    75th inf. div.
 

DEAR ROLF, MY FATHER WAS IN THE ARDENNES MOUNTAINS DURING WW11. HE HAD MANY STORIES WHEN I WAS A BOY ABOUT THE SNOW, COLD WEATHER AND SUFFERING IN THE 75TH INF. DIV. HE CAPTURED SEVERAL GERMAN PRISONERS. HE HAD METALS, BADGES, PISTOLS ETC. THAT HE KEPT FROM THE WAR. I HAVE THOSE ALSO, BINOCULARS, CANTEEN, MESS KIT, SWAZTICA, OLD MONEY. I `M INTERESTED IN ANY PHOTOS.
BILL TYDINGS

++From the moderator:++
Dear Bill,

thanks for your email above.
You were asking for photos. There are a lot of photos and books existing, even motion picture about the 75th in WWII. In the next edition of our newsline (I already included you in our subscription list) you will find some private photos.
I would help to find the most interesting photos for you, if you could find out in exact which unit your father was. We have about 160 veterans and friends of the 75th Div online that can help you further. You might even find veterans that were serving with your dad. Also there is a 75th Div veterans association, that brings out the printed newsletter "Bulge Busters", you will find the adress of the president of the assn at the end of our newsline. You can read past issues of the newsline on our website.

Please check with the unit of your dad, I will publish all of your info in the next newsline so other readers can get in contact with you.

Greetings from Germany
Rolf G. Wilmink
***************************************************************************

9.) Who knew Anthony T. Foster ?
Date: Tue, 01 Jun 1999 15:46:03 -0400
From: "Doris M. Foster" <nbccc@meganet.net>
RE: My Father

Perhaps you could assist me.  My father was in the 75th Infantry during WWII and sadly passed away in 1972.  I have found your website and am not sure how to use it to find info or even relay some to you.  My Dad had photos, newsarticles, etc. and my sister and I would like to share them, or even access records, etc. you may have.  His name was Anthony T. Foster of New Bedford, Massachusetts.  What should I do first?
Thanks for your help.
Doris M. Foster
---------------------------------------------

++ From the moderator:++
Dear Mrs. Foster,

first let me thank you for sending your email to me.
There are several ways what can be done:

1.) I am publishing here a free email newsline for veterans and friends of the 75th Division. In it, I publish emails just like yours so the people can get in contact with each other and exchange documents, photos, informations etc. Your message will be published in the next newsline together with additional information that you send me. One important info would be the exact unit of the 75th in which your father was in. You are already included in the subscription list. It would be great if you would scan the photos so I can include them in the newsline or post  them on the website. We are thinking about making are part of our website a "photo album" with private pictures, that you cannot find in books or in the National Archives. You will find some examples in the next newsline.

2.) There is a 75th Inf Div veterans association, which publishes an official printed newsletter, "The Bulgebusters". The secretary is Jim Warmouth, you can find his adress on our website. Maybe he can include your photos too. You will find the adress and phone number of the president of the association on the end of each of our newslines. You can read past issues on our website.

3.) There is a history book about the 75th coming out in the nearer future, I will inform you about its publication over the newsline as soon as its on sale.

4.) The 75th vets assn also has a historian, if you have special questions, he would be the man to contact. I have some documents here, maybe I also can help.

5.) The 75th Div has a museum in Houston, Texas, which is always a good place to donate items. So the history of your father will be preserved and can be accessed by other people.

FYI: I am sitting in Plettenberg, Westphalia, Germany, and researching mainly the time of the 75th Div in my hometown. I am interested in all documents (rosters, After Action reports, photos etc.) from that time.
The National Archives have around 43.000 pages regarding the 75th Div in WWII, so it is not so easy to find exactly what somebody is searching for.

I hope I could help you with my first informations. Please send me more details that I can forward to other members of the unit and publish in the newsline, so others can contact you.

Greetings from Germany
Rolf G. Wilmink
***************************************************************************

10.) Who knew PFC Ralph Heller ?
Date: Wed, 02 Jun 1999 23:38:29 -0500
From: bill hedgpeth <billhedgpeth@integrityonline2.com>
RE:  Ralph Heller

Hello,
My name is Susan Hedgpeth and I am trying to find out how  and where my cousin PFC Ralph Heller died. He was in the 75th and was wounded on Oct 23rd 1944 and died  the following day. I have his Purple Heart and some of the patches from his uniform, cap and belt, and  all his letters back home to his mother (my aunt Eva.) Ralph was her only child and much loved in my family. I would  also like to find someone who knew him.
Can you help me, or direct me where to go to find this information?
Thank you in advance for your help.
Susan Hedgpeth
Mesquite Tx

++ From the moderator:++
Dear Susan,
please do one thing: Please check in your documents, in exactly what unit your cousin was. (289, 290, 291 Regiment, which company ?) Please tell me also where he died. This would help to find other vets that might have known your cousin. (The more details the better. )
I will publish your message in our 75th Div newsline, so that other veterans can read about your search.
You can also get in contact with the 75th veterans association, they have a printed newsletter, the Bulge Buster and a historian, that can help you further.
The secretarys adress is:

75th Division Veterans Association
James E. Warmouth Secy.
6545 W. 11th
Indpls., Ind. 46214

You can read past issues of our newsline on our website, you are already included in our subscription list for the free newsline.
I hope I could help you at the moment. Please send me the details and I will see that you get the help you are looking for.

Greetings from Germany
Rolf G. Wilmink
------------------------------

Date: Thu, 03 Jun 1999 11:49:28 -0500
From: bill hedgpeth <billhedgpeth@integrityonline2.com>
Re: Ralph Heller

Dear Rolf,
Thank you for replying so quickly! I am looking over the letters from Ralph and the one V-Mail I have. The letters were all written while he was in training in the US. I know he was wounded and died in France on the dates I gave you, but I do not have any letters from overseas. The return addresses on the letters say various things which I am not sure are helpful. His number appears to be 36812264, this is consistant on all the letters. One of the letters which is dated Aug 3rd 1943 says CO-A  ASTP Star Unit . The V-Mail address which is from France dated Sept 28th 1944 says  Regimental Hqs Co.  824 INF and what looks like either APO or HPO 44.
I also know he was buried first of all in France, and then much later sent home and buried in a Military Cemetary in Rock Island Illinois. Does any of this help at all?
As a side note, my mothers side of the family is from Germany. My grandpa, Ernst Hidde and grandma Amanda Werth came here at the turn of the century from a little village in fairly close to the Polish border. I think the correct spelling is Rothen Klempenow.
We have very dear friends in Munich who managed to find out that my grandparents families still live across the street from each other in the village.
Susan
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11.) Where are the buddies of Russel Snow, 291st Co. L ?
From: Di6191@aol.com
Date:  Thu, 3 Jun 1999 21:05:33 EDT
RE:    75th Infantry Div.

  Dear Mr. Wilmink,

My father was in the 75th, 291st. , Company L.  His name is Russell Snow and was from Greenfield Massachusetts, now East Longmeadow Massachusetts.  He would like to find others from his unit.  Do you have any idea how?  I have shown him your website and he thinks it's wonderful.  Any advice you could give me would be great.

  Thank you,
  Diane Horrigan
  West Springfield, Massachusetts
  USA

++ From the moderator:++

Dear Diane,

thank you very much for your email above.
There are some ways to get in contact with other vets:

1.) I will post you message in our free newsline, that goes out to friends and vets of the 75th Div. You are already included in our subscription list. You can read past issues on our website and at the end of each newsline, there is the adress of the president of the vets association.

2.) The 75th Div has a veterans association. You can send a letter to the secretary (adress in the next newsline, coming out maybe this weekend), so that the secretary also can publish your request in the official, printed newsletter "Bulgebuster". Your father can be a member of the association and by that, has the possibility to buy the roster of the members. Under most of the names, there is listed in what unit they were in so it might be possible to pick out old buddies.

3.) I strongly suggest that your father attends the next reunion of the 75th Div, which will be in September in Houston, Texas, where also the actual 75th Inf Div (Exercise) and the 75th Div museum is.

I hope I could help you with these first informations, please wait for the next newsline and the response that you will get from that.

Greetings from Germany
Rolf G. Wilmink
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12.) Who knew Machinegunner Walter Smith ?

From: "becky smith" <willy@kellnet.com>
RE:    75th division
Date:  Thu, 3 Jun 1999 14:20:48 -0400

Dear sir,
      I have recently discovered your 75th Division web page.
My grandfather was a member of the 75th .He saw action in the Battle of the Bulge . His name was Walter Smith. I do not know his outfit/company.I have just started my search for information . I do know he was a machinegunner in the infantry. He was wounded in the Colmar pocket on Feb. 2, 1945. He was hit by machinegun fire 7times.
He was hurt so bad he was left for dead. He managed to crawl to a road ,and was found by a jeep full of Americans. He was taken to a hospital ,and saved. He never got to thank the guys in the jeep. So I will. He also wondered what  became of some of his buddies . If anyone knows him or knows what became of 3 soldiers named Dransick,Adamsack,or Jones please email me  willy@kellnet.com
Sorry I don't have first names. I got the names from an old photo.
    My grandfather passed away Aug.18  1985.
I was 15 at the time so I did get to hear some of his recollections about the war and just about being in the army. If I find anymore historical facts I will forward them.
 
                                              Thank You,
                                          Steve Smith
                                      willy@kellnet.com

++ From the moderator:++

Dear Steve,
thank you for your email.

I will publish your message in our next email newsline, that we send out for free to vets and friends of the 75th Division. You are already on the subscription list. You can read past issues on our website.
Very helpful for your search would be, if you could find the exact unit your grandfather was in. Do you maybe have some discharge papers ? Maybe you also contact the nearest Veterans Administration office. I hope that some readers of the newsline recognize the names that you mentioned and send you an email.

The 75th Div also has a veterans association that has a historian and sends out the official, printed newsletter Bulge Buster. You will find the adress of the secretary in the next newsline, at the end of each newsline, you will find the adress of the president of the association.

I checked the names that you mentioned and could not find Dransick or Adamsack in the roster of the veterans assn. I found 9 Jones so we would need the first name or the unit to find out which one could be the right one.

I hope I could help you with these first informations, please wait for the next newsline and the response that you will get hopefully from that.

Greetings from Germany
Rolf G. Wilmink
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13.) Where to get a 75th Div flag ?
From: "Thomas A. Snyder DC DABCC" <tschiro@wcnet.org>
RE:      75th Div. FLAG
Date:  Wed, 2 Jun 1999 11:42:50 -0400

Hello Rolf,
Thank you for your time and effort putting together the 75th Div. newsline. I enjoy reading them.
My Dad was in 'M' Co. of the 291st Regiment.  I'm still working on him to share some of his memories.  He even recently bought a computer.... He also receives your newsline now that he has his own e-mail.  I used to print it off my computer and send it to him via snail-mail. (He lives in another state.)
The reason I'm writing to you is to ask if you have an address where to buy a 75th flag?  Jim Warmouth was suppose to send you this according to the last newsline.  I'd appreciate any help in tracking an address or number as to where to order this flag.  My mother would like to get the flag as a surprise for Father's Day.
Thank you in advance, I remain, a proud daughter of an American Vet,
Jacqueline
(We will remember)
 

++ From the moderator:++
Dear Jaqueline,

I dont have the adress yet. I got the last issue of the bulgebusters and a letter, but no more infos about a source to buy a flag.
I will send this email as a CC to Chuck Allread, he might have some ideas.
I also forward the message to three other guys on the list, that have been in Co M, 291st, just in case you dont know each other.
Greetings from Germany
Rolf G. Wilmink
++ ++

From: Velotec@aol.com
Date:  Wed, 2 Jun 1999 21:30:18 EDT
Re: 75th DIV. FLAG
To: tschiro@wcnet.org
CC: mkw-detective@t-online.de

In a message dated 6/2/99 11:55:34 AM Eastern Daylight Time, tschiro@wcnet.org writes:

Dear Jacqueline:
        Greetings ... from one baby boomer to another. I don't have the address you need. The only one I know for sure that has it is not online. His name and address is;

75th Division Veterans Association
James E. Warmouth Secy.
6545 W. 11th
Indpls., Ind. 46214

Among his other duties as secretary of the 75th, Mr. Warmouth publishes the Bulge Buster. The newsletter of the 75th Div. Vets. Assoc. At the recent National Executive Meeting held in Nashville, my father made a motion to include Rolf Wilmink's name to the mailing list for the Bulge buster. That motion carried. At the same time, Dad asked if Mr. Wilmink could be provided with the address of the same outfit that has sold flags, medals, and other vet. related articles to Mr. Wilmink in Germany, who had expressed an interest in flying the flag of the 75th in his home town of Plettenberg, Germany. Mr. Warmouth said he would send Mr. Wilmink the address. My father, who is the national treasurer of the 75th, talks to Mr. Warmouth regularly. When last they spoke, he had yet to send it out.        I have asked my Dad to get the address for you next time they speak.
You might also write Mr. Warmouth. And/or, ask Rolf, (publisher and moderator of the newsline) to forward the address to you when he gets it.
        Dad is under the impression that they don't have flags ready made, but put them together by special order only. This might be too little time considering that Father's day is less than three weeks away. We can only hope we hook you up in time.

Yours Truly,
Forest Ratliff
(aka velotec@aol.com)

Ps. I will send a carbon copy of this to Rolf in Germany.
------------------------------------

++ From the moderator: ++

Dear Forest,

thanks for you help.
Just a thought:
The vets assn sells baseball caps and t-shirts of the 75th Div, so wouldnt it be possible to get a US company to print the 75th logo on a nylon flag to sell it on the next reunion ? The prize (compared to german companys here) would be around 20 $, affordable for each vet, even if he puts it out only on memorial or independence day. If you put a note in the Bulge Buster, I put one in the newsline and you sell it on the reunions and meetings or in the museum of the 75th Div in Houston, TX, im am sure that we could sell 100 of it easily. (I remember the reunion 1995 in Atlanta: Bill Burke had patches of the actual 75th, they ripped them out of his hands). Maybe the military itself (the 75th Div Exercise and their soldiers) would buy the flags because as far as I understood, they have none or only expensive ones.

Greetings from Germany
Rolf G. Wilmink
--------------------------------------

From: "Thomas A. Snyder DC DABCC" <tschiro@wcnet.org>
RE:     75th DIV FLAG
Date:  Fri, 4 Jun 1999 07:55:40 -0400

Good morning Rolf,
In response to your note about Dad receiving the newsline, let me tell you that he gets it directly from you.
The wonder of this technology is amazing. I heard back from Bert Witt and Forest Ratliff but to no avail re: the 75th Div. Flag.
Let me explain - because I didn't mention who my Dad was, and just the fact that he was in 'M' company, you sent a cc to him because he is on your list.  It never dawned on me to alert you to the fact that he already was on your mailing list.
However, this will not be a problem as there evidently is no flag to be had.  I called Mr. Warmouth in Indiana and he is gone for two weeks. The person who answered the phone knew nothing about a flag or where to purchase one.
Thanks for your help but maybe someone out there would be able to find a flag making company who would be happy to make some.  What do they look like????
Thank you for your efforts.

Sincerely, Jacqueline Snyder (tschiro@wcnet.org)
Daughter of Richard Schmid from 'M' company (crhome@execpc.com)
 

++ From the moderator:++

Dear Jacqueline,

let´s ask the experts from the veterans association, how the flag would have to look line, but what would have to be on it is the logo that you can find on our webpages, the blue and read 75 on a red, white and blue background. Maybe the words "75th Division" could be added.
The logo could be donwloaded from our webpages in the internet, so the webproducing company would have it very easily. If I remember correctly, it also can be found in a Version of "Coral Draw" !!

Please, if anybody is out there that has a good connection to a flag company, can you ask them what it would cost to print a 75th Div flag ? If you send me the prize quote, we could compare them in one of the next newslines to get something going. The 75th Div veterans association is online, I am sure that they will be interested where to order the flag for a good prize.

Thanks all for your help !

Greetings from Germany
Rolf G. Wilmink
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And in the next newsline...............
                                       ........your feedback to this newsline !!!!

Greetings from Germany
Rolf G. Wilmink
75th Inf Div WWII Veterans Association Unofficial homepage
www.mknet.de/75th
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    1104 Tanner Rd.
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    USA
    Phone: 1-813-752-6988

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