75th Division newsline No. 5
28 May 1997 - Dear veterans and friends of the 75th Div,
again I have collected some emails from you. I post them here, because
they may be interesting for you.
No. 1:
The german and the american veteran, that had contact on christmas eve
1996 after 52 years. The story is so interesting, that it might appear
in a newspaper in New York.
No. 2:
Again we have found somebody which has connections to the 75th WWII.
Please check your rosters if you have something about the veteran that
is searched !
No. 3:
Maj Larry E. Wollenberg is a member of the 75th Div (Exercise) HQ. I am
sure that he will answer your questions about todays active 75th
Division, because he and his wife are proud members of that unit and
plan to be around for a long time! Maj Wollenberg spent 4 years in
Germany near the Stuttgart area and he liked it.
No. 4:
If you want to know, where the 75th homepage is noticed, read No. 4: We
even have a guy in Sweden, interested in the 75th !
___________________________________
- 1 -
From: Steve Graber, son of 75th veteran Jack Graber
Rolf,
I had sent the below information to Sharon, the Newsday
journalist.
Newsday is a large newspaper in New York City. I believe the story
will run either this Sunday or next Sunday (6/8/97). I will send you a
copy when it runs. I still intend on sending some issues of the
Bulgebuster but have been occupied with other activities. I will send
them at the same time. However, from a recent e-mail, it sounds like you
located the flag. Why doesn't the antique dealer wish to sell it?
Did he provide any reasons?
Sincerely,
Steve
-----------------------------------------------------
>From Rolf G. Wilmink
to Steve Graber:
Steve:
- We know where our mayors chain is, but the Nazi collector in PA does
not want to sell it back to us. He said his fried, that bought it at a
flee market (?????), wants to keep it. He did not mention any reason, he
did not ask for a special amount of money. He also mentioned two flags,
but does not give out details. We are looking for help.
May I make two little corrections to your letter below ?
- Our towns name is Plettenberg, the area(county ?) is Westphalia.
- The queen was Elisabeth from Prussia, the year 1843.
Everything else is correct.
Greetings, Rolf
--------------------------------------------------
From: Steve Graber
To: Sharon McDonnel
Newsday, NY
sharon7@webtv.net
Sharon, nice to hear from you. This is a great story and I hope
you will keep me informed on when it will run.
My father, currently residing in Troy, NY, is a veteran of the 75th
Infantry Division, 291st Regt. during 1944-1945, fought and was wounded
in the Battle of the Bulge during the Battle of Grand Halleaux on 16 Jan
1945. After recooperating from his injuries in England, my father
rejoined the 75th Div and was later responsible for a contingent of
German POW's "Category A".
One German POW, Gerd Brandt, served as a translator for the Americans to
the other German POWs. Jack Graber and Gerd Brandt would talk politics,
world affairs, etc. Some of the Americans and Germans would have snow
ball fights, etc. On one occasion, the truck with Americans and Germans
lost its brakes rumbling down a hill. After the war in Nov. 1946, my
father received a letter from Gerd Brandt thanking Jack Graber for the
kind treatment while under his supervision. Gerd also stated it was very
bleak in Germany at this time. My father, busy raising seven children,
never returned Gerd's letter but always wondered if Gerd was alive &
well..
Currently, my father and I are very interested in obtaining information
pertaining to the 75th Div. during WWII and also enjoy finding veterans
of the 75th. Some time early in 1996, I had posted a message on a WWII
forum that simply read, "Father, Jack Graber, 75th Div, Battle of Bulge,
seeking contacts". I had hoped other veterans would respond. Rolf
Wilmink had seen the posting and contacted me.
Rolf is from a town near Westphalia-Plettenburg, Germany. One of the
75th regiments occupied areas near there in 1945. At around this time,
Rolf states that a flag, given to his Rifle Association by Queen
Catherine in the 1840's, went missing. Rolf thought to explore contacts
of the 75th division to see if he could find information pertaining to
the lost flags. Therefore, Rolf would check WWII internet sites looking
for 75th div contacts. When he saw my posting, he contacted me.
My father was never in the areas that Rolf describes, nor did Jack
Graber know anything about the flag Rolf was seeking. However, since
Rolf was a German private investigator, I asked if there was any way to
find Gerd Brandt. Hopefully in time for my father's Christas eve
birthday. Rolf obliged by stating he would submit a request to
newspapers in the areas that I provided from the Nov. 1946 letter - a
town called Supplingenburg. Some time went by and I did not hear
anything.
Dec 23, 1996 arrived and I sent another email to Rolf requesting the
German newspaper articles that were run. If anything, I will be able to
provide my father with the articles stating that I tried to find Gerd
Brandt of 51 years ago. Rolf found that the article never ran and took
it upon himself to contact all 70 Gerd Brandts in the phone book. He
finally found Gerd Brandt who remembered Jack Graber well.
On Dec 24, 1996, Rolf responded via email BINGO!. Rolf provided Gerd's
address and phone number. On the same day, Jack Graber and Gerd Brandt
spoke on the phone. Since then, they have exchanged photographs, etc. It
was a very unique birthday/Christmas present and a great story.
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- 2 -
I am trying to find out how my Great Uncle died while serving in the
75th division during WWII. I have been told that it was during the
Battle of the Bulge, but I would like to know more.
If you could help, point me in the right direction it would be most
helpful.
I doubt that you would have any information on him, but his name was
Calvin Cummings and I think he was a private. Thank you for your time.
Bill Swift
2837 Braeburn Circle
Ann Arbor, MI
48108
USA
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- 3 -
Mr. Wilmink, I am attempting to get your town a 75th Division Flag. I
would like to meet Mr. Mistler. Thanks for the news. Am working on
other 75th Div members to get them on line with us. Bye.
Larry E. Wollenberg
Military Test Plans Analyst
Headquarters, Test and Experimentation Command
Fort Hood, TX 76544-5065
ATTN: ECSTD-TES
(817) 286-6418
EMAIL txh2718@texcom-hood.army.mil
Fax (817) 286-6409
(DSN 566-Ext), Bldg 91014
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- 4 -
Dear Mr. Wilmink
Thanks for your reply regarding the 75 Division sleeve insignia.
You asked why I was interested in that unit. My answer is that I am a
wrighter of swedish military historic books. And I am also a military
medal and badge collector.
And finally Yes I am interested in receiving news from the 75 Div from
your Email-server.
Sincerely
Kjell Olsson
kjol7338@hem.passagen.se