Hellcat News, (Heidenheim, Germany), Vol. 3, No. 1, Ed. 1, Saturday, May 19, 1945 Page: 4 of 4

                                
Page 4
HELLCAT NEWS
May 19, 1945
Engr. Bn. In
Thick of Fight
Largely responsible for the
super-speed with which task force
elements of the 12th slammed
across France and Germany was
the outstanding record of the 119th
Engineers whose mission was to
construct and destroy.
But because their role in the
broad dramatic picture lacked
the color of fighting infantrymen
and tankers, the tendency was to
overlook their achievements. And
yet they, too, sometimes laid
aside their tools to fight.
No doughboy or tanker, who
participated in the Weyersheim-
Herrlisheim action, will ever
forget the heroism of the engi-
neers. No spearheader is una-
ware that the fifth half-track in
the column contained a squad of
engineers who blasted road-
blocks, cleared road mines.
Record Bridges
Commanded by Lieut. Col.
Henry E. Haltom, of Crosbyton,
Texas, the 119th in five short
months of combat established re-
cords that will find their place
on the pages of any martial jour-
nal.
At Wurzburg, for example, Co.
A., commanded by Capt. Arandel
Cotter, of Rochester, N. H., built
a 140-foot Bailey bridge which
might prove to be the longest
ever constructed. It spanned the
Main River.
B Co., commanded by Capt.
Robert Wilson, of Holly, Col., built
a 150 foot Bailey, by using the
still-standing center support of
the blown bridge, in three hours,
a near record. Over the Loisach
River near Bichl, it was a double-
double on its longer side — that
is, it was strengthened by the
addition of twice the number of
panels as employed on the other
side — so that normally it should
have taken longer to construct
than the average Bailey.
B Co. also built an unusually
long ;dry treadway bridge at
Adelsdorf over the Zenn River. It
was 72 feet long and supported
in the middle by the undamaged
center column of the blown
bridge.
As mine sweepers, the engi-
neers played their most important
role at Dillingen when C Co.,
commanded by 1st Lt. William
Bos, of Hamburg, N. Y., performed
the dangerous mission of re-
moving nine 500-pound bombs
and Italian demolition charges
from the Danube River bridge.
NEW PROGRAM —
(Continued From Page 1)
cational programs.
Battalion classes wil) include
the more basic subjects, for which
a greater demand is anticipated.
More advanced or specialized
topics, with a correspondingly
smaller enrollment of students
and instructors, will be handled
at division level, those attending
to be placed on special duty
similar to army schools in the
states. It is planned to set up
interview boards to choose men
for the third level of study — uni-
versity center. A select few whose
prime interests are in advanced
schooling may be recommended
to attend universities such as
those of Paris, Glasgow, Sorbonne,
Brussels, Oxford and Cambridge.
Those attending universities will
be enrolled on the same basis as
civilian students, and will there-
fore receive credits for completed
work. It is pointed out that parti-
cipation in any recreational or
study program will not interfere
with a soldier's chances to go
home. He'll pack up and go
when his orders come, whether
he's an instructor or a student,
and whether the class is half-
finished or just half-started.
Military Duty First
However, Major Turner em-
phasizes, military duty comes first,
and participation in these pro-
grams is secondary to any train-
ing plansi sent down from army,
and to be pursued in off-duty
hours. Hellcats are seeing a re-
sumption of many garrison fea-
tures of military life—military for-
mations such as reveille, retreat,
authorization of the helmet liner
during^ duty hours and the gar-
rison capr after duty, with the
carrying of T/O weapons no
longer required except for guard
or security detail. And for athle-
tics, GIs may dress to suit the
sport. So far, no word has been
received concerning issue or
authorization of sun-tan clothing.
Unit commanders may designate
special uniforms for formations
or detail, Major Turner said. A
continuing flow of passes to
France, England, and points of
interest is expected, with the
greatest number of the division's
quota going to combat outfits.
The Wolf
SILVER STAR—
(Continued From Page 1)
by its urew when a rocket was be-
lieved to have set fire to it, and
drove it to his own lines under in-
tense enemy fire. 1st Lt. Eugene C.
Lewis, Brooklyn N. Y., of the 494th
AFA Hq., received the award for his
action when his column was held
up near Speyer by well-concealed
anti-tank and machine gun positions.
Lt. Lewis advanced on foot under
hostile small arms fire, to locate the
positions.
Cpl. Arthur W. Owens, Minneapo-
lis, Minn., of A. Co., 43rd Tank Bat-
talion weans the Silver Star for pul-
ling two of his tank crew members
to safety after they had been
stunned by a direct hit on the tank,
even though an enemy anti-tank
crew continued to fire at the dis-
abled vehicle. Owens was twice
knocked down by concussions as he
made two trips. Also decorated was
PASSES —
(Continued From Pane 1)
also allowed for the Riviera, with
Nice generally designated for EM
and Cannes for officers. Passes will
begin on arrival in Nice. Paris leaves
are for a total of 64 hours after
arrival in the city, and lodging is
arranged at the Central Registra-
tion Office. Meals are served in
hotels for military personnel at a
total charge of sixty francs for EM
and 120 francs for officers. Eating
in civilian restaurants is prohibited.
Those going to Brussels will have
72 hours in the city, with billeting
arrangements at the Oise base
transient oamp. Five days and six
nights are allowed in Grenoble, with
the Savoy Hotel designated for of-
ficers, and the Denice Hotel for
enlisted men. The trip to Grenoble
is made directly by truck, while
travel to other destinations is a
combination of truck and rail, and
in the case of United Kingdom
leaves, boat. Money will be exchan-
ged for suitable currancy before
leaving the division area.
S/Sgt. Howard J. Wood, Springdale,
Mont., C Co., 43rd Tk. Bn., who
routed the enemy from nearby de-
fenses and took ten prisoners, after
his tank was hit by Panzerfaust fire
in an attack at Hochfeld, Germany.
by Sansone
Copyright 194$ by Utwd SmoM. bjr Cimp Nmtptpv Sank*'
"Oh! I forgot to tell you- my sister was a guerrilla!"
15 EM Win Bars
By Appointment
Fifteen new second lieutenants
appointed last week bring the total
number of battlefield commissions
in the 12th Armored Division to 120
for its first five months of combat.
Commissioned May 6 was Sgt.
Charles J. Burns, North Bergen, N.
J., of the 495th Field Artillery. May
8: Sgt. Warren H. Madson, Alton,
111., and Sgt. Forrest S. DeMoss, Fort
Thomas, Ky., of the 23rd Tank Bat-
talion; T/Sgt. Melvin Satz, Minne-
apolis, Minn., of the 17th Infantry
Battalion; S/Sgt. Anthony M. Dillon,
Weehawken, N. J., of the 119th
Engineer Battalion; T/Sgt. Raymond
J. Montgomery, Hopkinsville, Ky.,
of the 66th Infantry Battalion.
May 9: S/Sgt. Thomas M. Gaffney,
Marengo, la., of the 714th Tank
Battalion; T/Sgt. Edward S. Eisele,
Peekskill, N. Y., of the 495th Field
Artillery Battalion; S/Sgt. George
P. O'Brien, East. Orange, N. J. and
First Sgt. Harry S. Anspach, Rich-
land, Pa., both of the 494th AFA
Bn.; First Sgt. Fred L. SheRon,
Decatur, 111., of the 714th Tank
Bn.; First Sergeant Norman E.
Youngberg, Murray, Utah, and Sgt.
Joseph Morris, Jr., Wyoming, Pa.,
Free Fag Days to
End; PX to Open
Now that you've won the war,
smokes and candy are no longer
on the house. But there'll be lots
more of what you can buy than
what you used to get "for free."
In addition to candy and cigar-
ettes PX'is will sell cigars, beer,
watches, lighters, pfens, pencils, mir-
rors, and other items to be added
as they become available.
Also, according to division PX
officer Capt. Robert De Masellis,
your PX will accept films for de-
velopment, and also gift purchase
orders. These may be selected from
a catalogue for delivery in the
States.
Hungary has no navy, but main-
tained a police patrol on the Danube
before the war.
both of the 572nd Anti Aircraft Ar-
tillery Battalion.
May 12: T/Sgt. Herbert M. Tyler,
Greenport, L. I., of the 43rd Tank
Battalion, and May 14: M/Sgt. Tim
M. Scott, Springfield, Mo., of the
Division Ordnance Office.
Hellcats Snare 524 Battle
Awards; 500 More On Way
12th Armored men have been pre-
sented with a total of 524 special
battlefield awards and a large num-
ber of British and French decora-
tions as of May 3, 1st Lt. John M.
Lester, division awards and deco-
rations officer, has announced. The
figure does not include Combat
Infantry Badges.
In addition, four men in the di-
vision wear the Soldier's Medal and
one of the holders also has the Oak
Leaf Cluster to this award.
A breakdown of the total shows
that, so far, 12th soldiers have been
awarded: one Distinguished Service
Cross; 77 Silver Stars and one Oak
Leaf Cluster to this medal; 253
Bronze Stars and two Oak Leaf
Clusters; 16 Air Medals and 16 Oak
Leaf Clusters; and 159 Certificates
of Merit.
Honors for accummulating the
largest number of awards are shared
by the infantry and tank battalions.
All men in the division are enti-
tled to wear the battle star on their
overseas ribbons for the Battle of
Germany.
The Distinguished Service Cross
is given for extraordinary heroism
in military operations, involving the
risk of life; the Silver Star Medal
for gallantry in action; the Bronze
Star Medal for gallant and meri-
torious acts in combat or bravery
in support of combat; the Soldier's
Medal for distinguished acts of hero-
ism not involving action with the
enemy; the Air Medal for missions
accomplished by field artillery liai-
son pilots and observers; and the
Certificate of Merit for meritorious
and outstanding service.
Lt. Lester said that his section
is at present processing another 500
awards and decorations.
121h's POW Box
Score 70 Grand
Box score on PWs shows that
the 12th Armored Division cap-
tured seven German soldiers for
every one man in the division
during our five months in action.
Grand total was 70,166.
Hellcats caged 61,013 of those
between crossing the Rhine and
winning the war. During April
alone 30,981 Germans surrendered
to the division, 10,051 of them on
the single day of April 28. On
May 3, the biggest haul, 12,053,
went through the PW mill, nine
of them generals. And on May
5 the staggering total of 21,742
prisoners were evacuated to the
rear by the division. Allied PWs
liberated by the 12th totaled 8,413,
of whom 1,432 were Americans.
LEITHEISER—
(Continued From Page 1)
wounded Leitheiser's three fellow
crewmen. With complete dis-
regard for his own safety, he
tried to save them and left only
when he knew they were beyond
help.
By their gallantry, Captain
Charles A. Newman, then com-
mander of Headquarters Com-
pany, believes the four men
saved almost the entire company
of doughboys from annihilation
or capture.
And as one doughboy put it
before the award was made, "If
there's any papers that need to
be signed for those guys, I'll sign
the damn thing's, and there are
plenty more in the company just
like me."
It s Good To Have A Back
Left To Pat, Dough Thinks
Cpl. Harold G. Ridge way, Penns-
boro, W. Va., half-track driver in
the 56th AIB, is patting himself on
the back for a nice piece of guess-
work — and that, incidentally, is
why he still has a back left to pat.
Ridgeway was waiting for the
word to advance with the AT pla-
toon of A Co. on Speyer, when a
pair of enemy artillery ishells brack-
eted his track. "The next one," he
thought "should land right in the
middle."
It did, but by that time Ridgeway
was in his foxhole beneath the
track, where he survived unhurt,
despite a direct hit on the ammuni-
tion-laden vehicle.
Grant's tomb in Manhattan was
built by popular subscription at a
cost of 600,000 dollars from 1891-97.
HELLCAT NEWS
HELLCAT NEWS is published weekly
by enlisted men oi the 12th Armored
Division for the officers and enlisted men
of the division. News, features, photo-
graphs and art material accepted from
members of the division. No payment
made. HELLCAT NEWS uses Camp
Newspaper Service material. Republi-
cation of credited matter prohibited
without permission of CNS, 205 East
42nd Street, New York City.
This paper is printed in Germany by
the Division Public Relations Office under
auspices of the G-3 Information and Edu-
cation Section. It has been censored and
may be sent through the mail.
Public Relations Officer: Capt. John
H. Morgan.
Editorial Staff: Sgt. Arthur Martin,
editor; Cpl. Rollin C. Steinmetz. Cpl.
George J. Schulman, Pfc. Seymour }.
Greenwald and Pvt. Stephen A. Malls,
staff writers.
Mechanical Staff: Sgt. William L. Busby,
Cpl. Donald A. Dickinson.