Hello veterans and friends of the 75th Division !
Your messages are flooding in, thanks. I recieved so many emails, that I cannot publish a pure photo session, but you will find some of Reg Perkins photos at the end of this newsline. More photos in the next one, also about the reunion in Houston !
*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. 37 ( 9 July 1999 )
2.) THE FORMER COMMANDER
3.) The Sacrifice of Abraham
4.) JUST A SIMPLE SOLDIER
5.) 75th I.D. book
6.) New member James E. (Jim) Dillman, 2nd Platoon, Company E, 291st
Rgt
7.) Who knew Adam Lewandoski ?
8.) Website Veteransearch
9.) Website finds
10.) Carlisle Barracks
11.) world news
12.) 275th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
13.) A nice tribute
14.) My 75th Division Dad
15.) Reg Perkins photo session
\\|//
(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: 176 members online worldwide
!)
1.) Feedback regarding our newsline No. 37 ( 9 July 1999):
From: AShap5565@aol.com
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1999 22:40:42 EDT
Am aware of the organization. I live in Eugene, Oregon. Any others in
the area of Oregon and Washington state?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: rmsmith1924@webtv.net (Robert M Smith)
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1999 21:54:43 -0400 (EDT)
To: billhedgpeth@iolt.com (bill hedgpeth)
Re: Ralph Heller
Dear Susie,
Here is the identification of the patches you have;
#1- Lamp and Sword-- Army Specialized Training Program--- a/k/a
ASTP
#2- 75th Infantry DIVISION
#3- the number 4 back to back in a circle-- The 44th Infantry Division
#4- The letters AA in a white circle surrounded by blue circle
-- Anti-Aircraft Command
Here is how I would piece the story together:
Your cousin was in the Anti-Aircraft Artillery at the beginning of
his army service and then selected to attend college in the ASTP.
This was a program of high IQ people that the army was training
for specialized duties after the war was won.
Some now prominent people selected for the program were Robert Dole
and Henry Kissinger, but in those days they were just another bright GI.
The need for manpower caused the ASTP to be disbanded in early
1944 and many of the participnts were sent to the 75th Division then
on maneuvers in Louisiana/Texas. This is what happened to me.
I was sent from an Infantry Training Center after Basic Training
to a college in New York where I studied for two semesters. When
the progran folded, I ended up in the 75th Division.
In fact, Bob Dole ended up in the same Antitank Company of the
290th Regiment to which I was assigned. After maneuvers, the 75th
went to Camp Breckinridge , Kentucky.
Every so often, while we were training there, groups of 75th GI's were
transferred out as replacements to other divisions already
in combat which were in need on men. I suspect this is what happened
to your cousin. I checked the Order of Battle for the 44th
Division and they were fighting in France in October 1944. This
is probably when your cousin was wounded fatally.
I hope this helps Susie. I will send you some web sites on the ASTP program and the Order of Battle for the 44th Division.
Best, Rob Smith
GREETINGS FROM ROB AT FLORIDA - U.S.A.
***************************************************************************
2.) THE FORMER COMMANDER
75TH DIVISION (EXERCISE)
COMMANDER'S BIOGRAPHY
Major General Claude J. Roberts, Jr. has served in the Army for 36 years. More than 26 of those years he served with the 75h MAC and its successor, the 75th Division (Exercise).
He entered active duty in the U.S. Army in April 1961 as a second lieutenant. Previously, he spent a year in an army reserve control group. During two and a half years of active duty, he served in several command and staff positions with the 2nd and 5th Infantry Divisions. He returned to army reserve duty in October 1963 and joined the 75th MAC in December 1965. General Roberts left the 75th MAC in June 1991, when he was appointed commander of the 95th Division (Training) in Oklahoma City, OK. During June of the same year he was promoted to major general. On Oct. 3, 1993 he assumed command of the 75th Division (Exercise), becoming its first commander.
General Roberts served as president of the Reserve Officers Association Chapter 33 in 1976, one of the largest ROA chapters in the country.
His military education includes Infantry Officer Basic Course, Air Transportation Course, Officer Emergency Medical Care Course, Infantry Officer Advanced Course, Command and General Staff College, Quartermaster Officer Advanced Course and the Army War College.
His awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (with two oak leaf clusters), Army Commendation Medal (with oak leaf cluster), Armed Forces Reserve Components Achievement Medal (with three oak leaf clusters), Armed Forces Reserve Medal with Ten Year Device and the Army Service Medal.
A graduate of High Island High School (High Island, Texas), General Roberts earned his BS degree in business administration in 1960 from Northwestern State College in Natchitoches, LA. He is employed as Manager Products, Texaco Lubricants Company, a division of Texaco Refining and Marketing Inc.
General Roberts resides in Houston with his wife Jan. They have two sons, Claude and Monte, and two grandsons, C. J. Roberts IV and Boyd Colson Roberts.
++Moderator´s note: ++
I found this on the homepage of the 75th Division (Exercise).
Today´s commander is General McDaniel.
++ ++
***************************************************************************
3.) The Sacrifice of Abraham
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 10:53:16 -0400
From: Dan Shine <danshine@iconn.net>
The Sacrifice of Abraham
Near Dusseldorf, Germany
April 4, 1945
To stand erect meant certain death, so they pressed themselves against the muddy ground. Amid the firestorm, they clung together on the sloping embankment of the Autobahn. Just overhead, 88mm shells whooshed and small arms fire snapped past them in an unending rhythm.
The lieutenant was shouting something into the handset of the SCR-300 backpack radio as the private covered their position with his M-1. Private Daniel R. "Bob" Shine could barely hear the lieutenant's voice above the furious din, but he knew what he was saying--the lieutenant was reporting their casualties from the German 88s that were bombarding Item Company's positions with murderous accuracy. On the far embankment, German Panzers and self-propelled guns had positioned themselves and lowered their muzzles to fire point-blank on the American infantry positions. Shine and the lieutenant were cut off from their rear area by the shells that were constantly exploding behind them.
Splang! Shine heard the familiar ringing sound above the roar of battle. It signaled that his M-1 had just ejected another empty clip. He would have to watch it--his ammunition was getting low. Holding the M-1's breech open with the heel of his palm, Shine mechanically thumbed the new clip into the opening in the top of his rifle. He then let the bolt slide closed behind it with the hard snap that was so reassuring. As it did so, he watched one of the massive .30-'06 cartridges slide from the clip into the M-1's chamber.
Shine then returned his attention to targets on the reverse slope of the Autobahn. As he watched the near horizon across from him, a German helmet rose in silhouette, and then the shoulders and a Mauser began to rise with it. At times like these, Shine always wondered with a chill if the grey-clad form was that of an uncle or a cousin from Stuttgart or the Rhineland. Shine allowed the head to fill the aperture in the M-1's peep sights. He deliberately slowed his breathing as his index finger began its slow squeeze on the trigger. It would be just a moment now...
Just that morning he had sat in his muddy foxhole, idly reflecting as he watched the steam rise slowly from his damp uniform and boots. He had been thinking of all those other young dogfaces who had come over on the troop ship to Europe with him; so many had been killed or maimed in one battle or another. He had left them behind on snowy fields and hills, and in shattered forests and devastated villages. Many had died the slow and awful deaths that no man deserves but no man ever forgets.
His memory led him back to a rubble-strewn village street where his squad leader had bled to death under heavy fire as the medics watched helplessly. And he recalled his good friend Abe Levy, a squad leader in another company, gone when the war was so nearly over. Abe was kind and bright, yes and always afraid as most of the men were. Of the original 200 men in Item company, now only fifteen or twenty remained. The rest of the company were infantry replacements who had joined them somewhere along the line.
Shine had mused that morning about an old Bible story he remembered, the one about Abraham and his favorite son, Isaac. In the story, Abraham had led Isaac to the mountaintop and had prepared to offer him up in sacrifice as commanded by his God. Shine tried to recall how the story had ended, but he could not.
Why, he had asked himself, did nations call upon their favorite sons to serve as sacrifices to the god of war? But suddenly he realized that he already knew the answer.
To Shine, the GIs' role in this war had a high purpose. The GIs had come to Europe to give the gift of freedom to others. And only America's favorite sons were up to the task. As he sat there in the mud, lost in his musings, the company had received the order to assemble and advance. As they moved out, Shine had one last abstract thought that lingered long: would it soon be his fate to be called to the mountaintop?
The spring days came and went. The attacks went on and on, as did the river and canal crossings and the long marches down the endless muddy roads stretching across Germany. Shine fought and marched those long miles, always wondering about the mountaintop, and when his time might come. Though winter was long past, his feet were frostbitten for life, and starvation was always near at hand. As they passed through villages and farms, the dogfaces searched hungrily for any food they could find and steal. As was said, "an army travels on its stomach, and a hungry stomach has no conscience".
The Allies had surrounded several German divisions in the industrial region of the Ruhr, and they were slowly reducing this large pocket of resistance--but with heavy casualties. The Ruhr must be taken; lying within the region were the munitions factories that fueled Germany's ability to wage war. Without them, the Third Reich would be finished.
Day after day, long columns of German prisoners marched westward, toward the Allied stockades--but day after day other German soldiers remained to fight the Allies. And then one day the Ruhr Pocket was eliminated and the battle was over. Dusseldorf, the focal point of the battle, was flattened. The 75th resumed its long march toward Berlin.
Their advance met with less and less resistance now. In the villages and on the farms, white flags and bed sheets flew everywhere in surrender to the Allies. Finally as they reached the town of Plettenberg, the word was received: Germany had surrendered--the war was over.
As Shine received this news he was flooded with the profoundest relief. Here he was, just one year past his teens, but with a war-ravaged spirit that left him feeling like a ragged old man lived within him.
His days of war were over, but how could he find an inner peace? Would he be able to put all of this death and destruction behind him? Suddenly he remembered the ending to the story of Abraham's sacrifice. An angel had descended and had stopped the sacrifice of Isaac at the last possible moment.
Around him, he could now hear cheering and the ringing of church bells. Shine suddenly felt like the doomed son who had been given back his life. How would he use this gift? He did not know. But what he did know was that he would never forget his friends, his comrades, and all those pale battalions who now lay beneath Europe's battlefields, their sacrifice complete.
He must somehow go on and return to his life back in the States where his girl Muriel waited for him. He couldn't imagine returning to college classrooms after all of this. Schooling, and the trivialities of daily life--these things seemed so superficial now, after months of kill-or-be-killed. His postwar thoughts, so long suppressed, now envisioned a career, a home and a family. Children--would he someday be able to tell his children about any of this? He doubted it. There was so much he himself would like to forget.
On VE Day, the shattered forests of the Ardennes were just beginning to bloom. Where the ground had shaken and flowed red with American and German blood, all was now quiet as nature began the rebuilding process. Shine imagined those forests, those shattered trees, and knew he too must rebuild. A young man, now with an old man's eyes and spirit, he must turn from death and destruction and embrace his freedom--and learn to live again.
***************************************************************************
4.) JUST A SIMPLE SOLDIER
From: "Thomas A. Snyder DC DABCC" <tschiro@wcnet.org>
RE: Trying again - Something for your
next newsline - Jacqueline
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 08:18:59 -0400
JUST A SIMPLE SOLDIER
He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion,
Telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he had fought in
And the deeds that he had done.
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, everyone.
And 'tho sometimes,to his neighbors,
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened,
For they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For ol' Bob has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer,
For a soldier died today.
He won't be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.
He held a job and raised a family,
Quietly going on his way;
And the world won't note his passing;
'Tho a Soldier died today.
When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell of their life stories,
From the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier,
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution,
To the welfare of our land,
Some jerk who breaks his promise,
And cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow,
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country
And offers up his life?
The politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are sometimes disproportionate,
To the service he gives.
While the ordinary soldier,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.
It's so easy to forget them,
For it is so long ago,
That our Bob's and Jim's and Johnny's,
Went to battle, but we know.
It was not the politicians,
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom,
That our Country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever waffling stand?
Or would you want a Soldier,
Who has sworn to defend,
His home, his kin, and Country,
And would fight until the end?
He was just a common Soldier
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us,
We may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict,
Then we find the Soldier's part,
Is to clean up all the troubles,
That the politicians start.
If we cannot do him honor,
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage,
At the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline,
In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
For a Soldier died today"
------------------
Thomas A. Snyder DC DABCC
President American College of Chiropractic Consultants
<tschiro@wcnet.org>
Bowling Green
Ohio 43402
Ph: 419-352-7214
Fax: 419-686-5108
***************************************************************************
5.) 75th I.D. book
From: "Jan Bos" <82circle@telebyte.nl>
Betreff: 75th inf Div
Datum: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 18:05:36 +0200
Sehr geehrter Herr Rolf Wilmink,
grusse aus Nimwegen. Just had a word from george tachuk that the 75th
Infantry Division history book will be published at the end of the year
by Turner Publication in Kentucky. The Roll of Honor that was made by the
members of the Historical Section of the Liberation Museum 1944 will be
in the book, as well as three colored maps we made of the battle area.
Take care my friend, thanks for sending me the 75th newsletter
Jan Bos
***************************************************************************
6.) New member James E. (Jim) Dillman, 2nd Platoon, Company E, 291st Rgt
From: "James E Dillman" <Jdill26@hitter.net>
Re: 75th Div newsline
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1999 16:29:58 -0400
Greetings, Rolf Wilmink,
I got your address from the BULGEBUSTER. I am James E. (Jim) Dillman.
I was a member of the 2nd Platoon, Company E, 291st Rgt, 75th Infantry
Divn. from Feb 1944 until the Division was decommissioned in Chalons sur
Marne, FR.
I now live in Ocala, FL,USA. My E-Mail address is Jdill26@hitter.net
I am a member of the 75th Divn Assn. and the Company E/291 organization. I will not be going to the Division reunion in Houston this summer. Instead, my wife and I will fly to UK for a cruise around those islands. The first day we call at Le Havre and I will tour to Omaha Beach, which I have not seen. I have not seen the movie "Private Ryan" yet and perhaps will not until we return home.
I have been doing genaology research of late and have found my ancestor, George Christopher Dillman, was a Hessian soldier, who, while in England awaiting transit with his unit to the rebelious Colonies,"jumped ship" and joined the 84th Highland (Scottish) Rgt, fought in New York City area, was discharged in Halifax, Nova Scotia, married a Scots lady and settled.
He was born in Bad Schwalbach, Hesse in 1752, which I see is near Wiesbaden.
Now I shall have to search for Regensberg.
Regards,
Jim
---------------------
Dear Sir,
thanks for your email. I checked a bit my phone cd-Rom, but there are
too many Dillmann in Germany to send you over.
I checked Bad Schwalbach and I found one there:
Dillmann, Hermann J.
Phone 01149-6124-77072
Do you look for Regensberg (as a city, maybe the name would be Regensburg,
which is the bigger one) or for that name as a person ?
Greetings from Germany
Rolf G. Wilmink
-------------------------
From: "James E Dillman" <Jdill26@hitter.net>
Re: 75th Div newsline
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 13:15:55 -0400
Thank you, Rolf. Is there a mail address for H. Dillmann in Bad
Schwalbach?
I found Plettenberg in "Mapquest" and see it is only about 50 miles
northwest of Bad S.
Also I found your 75th webpage and now realize I heard your lecture
at the Atlanta reunion.
I'm delighted to be aboard. Perhaps some other 75ers will e-mail
to me.
Regards,
Jim
---------------------------------
Dear Jim,
I phoned the Mr. Dillmann in Bad Schwalbach today, and he told me,
that he was coming from the region, but he was not born in Bad Schwalbach.
The name is very common in the area, and it would be possible the he has
to do with your ancestor, but he is not sure about it.
***************************************************************************
7.) Who knew Adam Lewandoski ?
Date: Sat, 17 Jul 1999 21:16:37 -0400
From: barbara morse <BamHouse@epix.net>
RE: father's brother
I am looking for information for my father, Adam Lewandoski, about his
Brother, Ted Lewandoski, who is deaceased, that was in the 75th 289, Co.G.
and was wounded between Jan.-April 1945, In Dortmound, Germany. My
father would like any information about the 289th. Can you refer me to
any sort of material.
Thank you, Barbara Morse
***************************************************************************
8.) Website Veteransearch
From: Rich@VETERANSEARCH.com
RE: Thank You for signing
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1999 12:57:48 -0700
Thank You for signing our GuestBook."If we're ALL here, we'll ALL find each other" Our Goal is to reunite ALL Veterans with their Service Buddies. "Welcome Home All Veterans" Search as many times as you wish ! "GOOD LUCK" Your Brothers, Rich & Jack
++Moderators note: ++
Please check out their fantastic website at: www.veteransearch.com
++ ++
***************************************************************************
9.) Website finds
From: "Jan Bos" <82circle@telebyte.nl>
RE: national archives
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1999 13:58:47 +0200
Dear friends,
someone in the United States asked me if I was able to provide the
E-mail address and/or homepage of the National Archives. Since I cannot
remember who asked me this information and since I threw the message away,
I decided to write to everyone in my E-mail addressbook, so here it is.
If you think it is of interest write them, if you are not interestes in
it, ignore this message.
The National Archives and Records Administartion can be visited
NARA HOMEPAGE http://www.nara/gov/exhall/exhibits.html
NARA archival information locator (NAIL), a pilot database of selected holdings http://www.nara.gov/nara/nail.html
JFK assassination records collection database http://www.nara.gov/nara/jfk/jfk.html
full text of daily federal register http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html
general refernece inquries inquire@nara.gov
best wishes from Nijmegen, the family is doing well,
Jan Bos
***************************************************************************
10.) Carlisle Barracks
From: "Jan Bos" <82circle@telebyte.nl>
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 21:11:21 +0200
received these E-mail addresses and home page of the United States
Army Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks to-day. Their address
is
22 Ashburn Drive, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania 17013-5008 USA
phone +1-717-245-3971 - fax +1-717-245-3711
veteran's survey coordinator 717-245-3225
E-mail AWCC-DMH@awc.carlisle.army.mil
home page: http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/
reference (books,periodicals,unit histories) http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/HRmail.html
archives (manuscripts,lettersmdiaries, documents http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/ARmail.html
special collections (photographs, maps, videos) http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/SCmail.html
best wishes from Nijmegen
Jan Bos
***************************************************************************
11.) world news
From: "Jan Bos" <82circle@telebyte.nl>
Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 14:01:48 +0200
Dear friends,
there was a lot of news around the world last week, would like to pick
out two items that caught my mind. One happened in the States and the other
happened right here in my home-town Nijmegen.
Would like to start with the news that John F. Kennedy Jr died in a
planecrash. I did not know John Jr personally but I knew him and I saw
him for the first time when I was 10 years old. What did I knew about politics
at that time, but I knew that John F. Kennedy was the president of the
United States of America. At that time I started to get interest in the
military, with my friends I played soldiers and indians. Suddenly I was
awakened by my father. The presidant was shot and the whole family sat
in the room watching the news. I stayed up for the ceremonies and I saw
the president's funeral. I saw John Jr saluting the casket holding his
father's remains. The president was buried at Arlington National Cemetery
in Virginia. Since then the name Kennedy was in my mind and during the
years I always thought that this family was cursed by someone. A lot of
things happened to the Kennedy family, Robert Francis Kennedy was shot,
their childeren had problems, illness, drugs, they were always in the news.
Now the United States and the world was shocked that another Kennedy had
died, the news brought the pictures on TV again, showing the little boy
crawling under his father's desk in the Oval Room in the White House and
the saluting John Jr in November 1963. I visited the Kennedy's grave several
times during the visits to the United States. John Kennedy Jr was buried
at sea.
The other news was that Nijmegen was around the world for the whole
week. We had our four days international marches again. This year was the
83rd time the marches were held. It all started early this century when
the Dutch soldiers, stationed at Nijmegen, were trained for the occupational
duties in the Dutch East Indies. The commander of the base wanted his soldiers
in good condition and gad them walk with full loads in the area around
Nijmegen, 25 miles each day. During the years civilians joined it. There
were three distances, depending on age and civilian/military. The military
walked 25 miles with full pack, the civilians till 16 years 20 miles and
the other 35 miles. When you became 50 years, you could walk 25 miles a
day, four days in total. The people come to Nijmegen in the week-end preceeding
the marches, every year, the third full week of July. The whole week the
cenetr of Nijmegen is closed for traffic, there are beertents, parties,
celebrations throughout the whole center, shops are opened every evening
till 2100 hrs, the walkers go to bed early, the others stay in town till
0200-0300 hrs. The official ceremonies start on Monday evening with a parade,
speeches ... I declare the Marches oprn .. This parade and ceremony was
held almost in our backyard, some 33 yards from our house. We stayed home
and enjoyed the speeches, music from the bands, etc from our backyard.
(the same park was also used three and two week-ends ago for a concert,
given by e.a. Aerosmith from the USA). Early in the morning of the Tuesday
the walkers/marchers started, lots of pains and blisters. When I was a
kid of 12 years old I took my bike and went looking for soldiers, I found
a group resting in a field and I approached the men, someone gave me a
canteen and said something that I did not understand, he wanted to have
water, recognized that word and I went to get water, someone else wanted
to have water or a coke and the group of soldiers turned out American paratroopers,
stationed in Mainz Gonsenheim (Germany) I stayed with that group for the
entire four days, riding my bike, getting water/coke for them, checking
out rest-areas, the troopers gave me a patch and a red beret and actually
this started my interested in the history of the US Army. Wrote a letter
to Ft Bragg and received several pictures from troopers jumping from a
plane and the AA patch. The next year, had English at school, found the
same group and actually every year this platoon came to Nijmegen to walk
25 miles a day. I stayed with them all the time, in the meantime I grew
and then started to give me pieces of their uniform. I bcame in soldier
in their team, they let me walk, while someone wa riding my bike, I sang
their military songs and one day I was invited to come to Lee Barracks
in Mainz, had a ride in their bus, had to hithchike back to Nijmegen, saw
a night jump. When I joined the Nijmegen Police Department 25 years agao,
I stopped with my task at the 4 Days Marches, I had a lot of fun and learned
a lot. Every year the Marches were held again and when I had duty in uniform,
and I saw the troopers, I saluted them. A couple of years ago there were
no more American paratroopers coming from Mainz, in stead paratroopers
from the 508th Airborne Combat Battalion from Vizenca in Italy come over.
This year we had 57 nationalies from all over the world to come to
nijmegen to walk the marches. This year almost 37,000 participants started,
some 3,350 men and women dropped out due to various reasons. The others
completed and received a cross or the number that they walked over the
years. According to the newspapers there were some 400,000 spectators watching
the last day, which end in a huge parade, the weather was good.
Your correspondent in Nijmegen
Jan Bos
***************************************************************************
12.) 275th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
From: "D. Cooper" <dcooper19@simplecom.net>
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 23:42:53 -0500
I read with interest your web site for the 75th Division.
We have just posted a web site for the 275AFA Bn, which was attached
to the 75th for a very brief period, 11 March 1945 to 13 March 1945 while
in Milligen as a part of Task Force Byrnes.
I have taken the liberty to link your site as part of our "Short History
page listing the commands attached.
We would welcome a visit to our new site at URL:
http://geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Creek/7185
You have some very useful resource links, as well as a very well constructed
site and heroic story.
***************************************************************************
13.) A nice tribute
Ray Snow L-290 recently recieved this note from Belgium.
You spoke of a friend of yours, who was in the 75th I.D.. In fact, the 291st Inf.Ret. of the 75th I.D. relieved the 504th PIR in January in my village. This regiment suffered severe lossses on the 15-16 January 1945. More than 35 men were KIAs during these two tragic days. Two plaques are dedicated to the 75th I.D. in my village. Unluckily, none to the 82nd Airborne Division who held the front line until the 24th of December (505th PIR) and liberated definitively my village (504 PIR) from the germans. I often write the same thing, but I will never forget the sacrifices of all those young men, who gave their lives for peace and freedom. My grandfather was a resistant and he always told me that without your help, we would have been under german control. Again, thank you for my freedom.
Eddy Lamberty
11 Rue de Farnieres
6698 Grand-Halleux
Phone (home): 080-214147
Email: eddy.lamberty@village.uunet.be
++from the moderator: ++
the email-adress was printed in the bulgebuster as: eddy.lambety@village.uunet.be
but I think the missing r was a typing error.
++ ++
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14.) My 75th Division Dad
Date: Sat, 17 Jul 1999 08:30:17 -0400
From: Dan Shine <danshine@iconn.net>
RE: 75th Division Dad, 290th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Company
F, 290th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion, Company L, Ardennes,Central
Europe, Rhineland Campaigns of World War II, Camp Breckinridge Ky,Maneuvers
in Louisiana, porthcawl wales, Swansea Wales, initial combat on the 24
Dec 1944 at La roumiere near the towns of Hotton and Soy Belgium
http://www.members.tripod.com/hldnoqtr/75thdivisiondad.html
My 75th Division Dad
Resol B. Puckett
This site is dedicated to the memory of my dad and to his service......
Inducted on the 3rd of March, 1943, Dad was a member of the 75th Infantry
Division during World War II. He was a S/Sgt -Squad Leader in the 290th
Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion,Company F until April 18, 1945 when he
was transferred to the 290th's 3rd Battalion, Company L. Dad attended basic
training at Ft. Leonard Wood Missouri, maneuvers in Louisiana, and combat
training at Camp Breckinridge Kentucky, prior to being shipped out to Wales
aboard the USAT (United States Army Transport) Brazil, where combat preparations
continued.
The 290th crossed the English Channel and debarked onto the beaches of Le Havre, France on the 13th and 14th of December 1944. They left the assembly area near the town of Yvetot, France on the 19th of December, traveling for two days in bitter cold across northern France and a part of Belgium by convoy and boxcar, utilizing the same 40-and-8 cars that had been used by the doughboys in WWI. They arrived in Hasselt, Belgium, on the 20th of December.
The German counter offensive in Belgium (the Battle of the Bulge) brought on an abrupt change of mission and sector in which the 290th Infantry was to enter the fray. With Von Rundstedt threatening a full-scale breakthrough and the entire strategy of the western front endangered, the 290th streamed out of Hasselt by motor convoy shortly after midnight of the 22nd and raced for the ruptured lines of the First United States Army.
Above, is the 290th Infantry Regimental Crest. The Pine Tree represents the Ardennes Forest (Battle of the Bulge), the Cross is the "Cross of Lorraine" and represents the Colmar Pocket of France in the Alsace-Lorraine, where the 290th helped to drive the Germans out of France. The White "Dexter Bend" (Heraldic Term for a diagonal) represents the Rhine River and the crossing of it by the 290th into Germany. The Toothed Gear represents the Ruhr Industrial Area of Germany, where the 290th helped to liberate Hitler's slave labor camps and fought against furious German opposition.
Baptism of fire........ I have never known what my dad went through in WWII - on a personal level. Like so many combat veterans, Dad would never speak of the war and certainly never went into any specifics. I only knew that he was in WWII and the Battle of the Bulge. Here I will relate what happened concerning the 290th's first major combat experience, beginning on the 24th of December, 1944.
To begin, one must first understand the circumstances surrounding this
particular battle. On the 24th of December, 1944 the 3rd Armored Division's
Task Force Hogan, of seventeen tanks, two half-tracks, and approximately
400 men had been cut off in the village of Marcouray, on the northern shoulder
of the Bulge. The Germans had surrounded the village with three Panzer
Divisions.
On the 25th of December, Major Gen. Maurice Rose, the 3rd Armored's
Commanding Officer, radioed orders to Hogan to destroy his heavy weapons
and vehicles and to get out on foot. Task Force Hogan was to proceed north
and cross into the American lines.
Meanwhile, the 290th's 2nd and 3rd Battalions were to the north of Hogan about ten miles. 2nd Battalion Companies had secured the town of Wy northeast of La Roumiere. Both the 2nd and 3rd were attached to the 3rd Armored at this time. The problem was, for Hogan's Task Force to pass into the American lines, a passageway or "door" would have to be made in the German lines. As fate would have it, it fell upon the 2nd and 3rd Bns of the 290th to open this door.
The "door" was a hill called La Roumiere', located just south of the Hotton-Soy road by about 1000 yards. La Roumiere' was held and heavily defended by crack German troops armed with mortar and machine-guns. The approach to the hill, across which the 2nd and 3rd would attack, was an open uphill field with absolutely no cover. The field was approximately 200 yards across and 500 yards wide. "Hill 81" (La Roumiere) was strategically critical, because it overlooked and dominated the towns of Hotton and Soy, the Ourthe River bridges, and vital roadways. La Roumiere was critical to the German advance by the 2nd SS Panzer Division and the 560th Volksgrenadier Division in their push to reach the Meuse. There is also strong evidence that other American units, including the XVIII (Airborne) Corps., had been in combat against the Germans at La Roumiere prior to the 290th's arrival. Veterans of the 290th found Paratroopers folding stock carbines on the hill but saw no paratroop units until the hill had been secured. This all indicates that the 290th succeeded in taking La Roumiere in less than 24 hours - something other units had been unable to accomplish in previous days.
On the 24th of December, the 3rd Bn was committed to attack and did so at approximately 11:30pm. It is important to note here that this was a night attack, these men had never seen combat, there was no artillery support, there was no recon and no maps provided, the only glimpse they had of the hill was in the fading daylight the evening of the 24th, and most of the men carried much less than a full "combat load" of ammunition.
In the first and second attacks by the 3rd Bn's Companies K and L, they were overwhelmed by the Germans. 3rd Battalion men fell everywhere, killed and wounded by German weaponry and the weapons of their fallen comrades that had been captured by the Germans. The lack of artillery support was evidently the result of a communication breakdown. The record indicates that the first attack was to take place at around 6:30am on the 24 Dec but was postponed until 11:30pm that same night. According to veterans of the battle, the artillery command never got the message about the change of attack times. A prepatory barrage of artillery did hit the hill at 6:30am on the 24th as scheduled. By the time the 11:30pm attack was launched, the Germans had regrouped and had already sighted in their weapons during the day in preparation for a night attack by the Americans. In other words, the darkness did not inhibit the Germans from accurately hitting their targets - the American GIs were sitting ducks. On the second attack, which took place at approximately 6:30am on the 25 Dec, K and L companies took the hill and held it briefly. The Germans drove the 3rd off the hill after the 3rd ran out of ammunition. Enough cannot be said about the bravery and determination of Companies K and L in these first two attacks.
On the 25th, the 2nd was committed, along with the remainder of the 3rd, to attack the hill a third time. The men were marched to the debarking locations as mortar fell around them. At around 3:00pm, the men of F Co were ordered to "fix bayonets" and prepared to charge across the open field toward the hill. The sound of a whistle signaled the men to attack. On the first blast of the whistle the men found that they could not penetrate a barbed wire fence running along the edge of the road and field, so they passed wire cutters down the line. One S/Sgt from F Company said that he "...couldn't understand why there were bees flying around in December." On the second whistle the men of the 290th charged across the open field - trying only to survive the onslaught of the mortar and machine gun fire raining down upon them. Their objective at that point, was only to reach the other side where they might find refuge in the treeline at the bottom of La Roumiere'. Fighting into the night, and again suffering heavy casualties, the men of the 2nd and 3rd secured the hill by the evening of the 25th. In the early morning hours of the 26th, the first arrivals of Task Force Hogan began to pass through the lines of the 75th Division's men. (Please refer to the "Clarification of the Historical Record.")
The Battle for La Roumiere' brings to my mind the invasion at Normandy on D-Day and the infamous infantry charges of the Civil War era. as I stated, these men had never seen combat and had even thought that they would only be an occupational force. One veteran of combat told me, "...had these men been seasoned combat veterans...they may not have accepted the order to attack that hill." The attack on La Roumiere was, in my opinion, suicidal. >From what I have read, there is absolutely no reason the initial attack could not have waited until daylight and after the enemy strength had been evaluated more accurately. Although both 2nd and 3rd Bns were hit hard, it was the 3rd Battalion that suffered the brunt of casualties in this "rescue effort," the entire regiment being under heavy pressure from Maj. Gen. Rose to secure the hill quickly. The purpose of the action at La Roumiere was twofold, it stopped the German advance (made primarily by the 560th Volksgrenadiers and the 116th Panzer Division in their effort to thrust further north in that sector) and it secured a passageway for Hogan's men to enter into American lines.
I believe that the war changed my dad forever. I don't know if the turning point was this particular battle, but it certainly could have been. My mother has told me that my dad related to her how his entire squad, save himself and one other man, were ambushed and killed in a field....I will always wonder if this was the field. Many men of the 290th were killed and wounded at La Roumiere' and the battles to come. I feel so fortunate that I and my sister were able to have our Dad for the short time that we did. Sadly, so many sons and daughters of combat soldiers have never known their fathers.
(Left) Photo of Dad with liberated Russian Soldiers and girls. (Right) Photo of Dad in Iserlohn, Germany where the 290th's Command was at the end of the war. (Right) Probably so clean and happy in the photo at Iserlohn because the war was over and the 290th had participated in a huge Victory Parade, where they marched before dignitaries including General De Gaulle, of France.
There are thousands of sons and daughters of veterans and, from what I can tell, most of us had the same kind of relationships with our fathers. My relationship with my Dad was very distant. Today, I am making amends with myself and with my Dad, that is partly why I created this site. It is my way of giving my Dad the respect he always deserved. I know today, better than I ever have, the human cost that has been paid for my freedom. By studying my Dad's involvement in WWII and developing this website, I feel that my Dad - even in death - has given me a better understanding of the price that Americans have paid for our freedom.
The hills of bastogne
by PFc. Edward A. Richards
The crops should be full in belgium this year,
the soil should be fertile, but the price has been so dear,
the wheat should be red on the hills of bastogne,
for its 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 wheres 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 we stay, more mothers must grieve,
for each hill that we hold, more men must leave,
yes, honor the men who will someday come home,
but pray for the men 'neath the hills of bastogne.
Thankyou Dad.....
I would also like to express my gratitude to the Veterans of the
75th Infantry Division and the 290th Infantry Regiment. I would like to
especially thank R. Smith of 290th Antitank Co., G. Van Cleve of 290th
F Co., W. Blincoe of 290th F Co., A. Roxburgh of 289th Cannon, G.
Nelson of 290th L Co., P. Ellis of 290th K Co., R. Barnhart of 290th F
Co., and all those men who have taken the time to contact me.
Without the help and support of these fine men, this site would not
have been possible.
Web address
http://www.members.tripod.com/hldnoqtr/75thdivisiondad.html
Last revised: July 16, 1999.
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15.) Reg Perkins photo session
From: "Louise F. Perkins" <bodacious1@foothill.net>
RE: Champagne Time
Dat: Sat, 19 Jun 1999 04:31:20 -0700
Rolf:
This is Art Neubauer our Platoon driver. We took a little time out for a nip of French nectar. Location, Camp Cleveland near Reims, France. Approximate date June or July 1945. We have had scanner problems hope this one comes through o.k.
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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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