Hellcat News, (Fullerton, Calif.), Vol. 59, No. 5, Ed. 1, January 2006 Page: 1 of 16
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Abilene Library Consortium and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the The 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
iPCIAl^
Rhineland
Ardennes-Alsace
Central Europe
HELLCAT NEWS
Published by the
12th Armored
Division Association
VOL. 59
JANUARY 2006
NO. 5
HELLCAT
HISTORY
12 a
ARMORED
DIVISION
Edward Waszak, Historian
4222 Drake Dr., Crystal Lake IL 60012-2018
Phone (815) 455-2446 E-mail: EDZAK44@A0L.com
DISTANT MEMORIES
Jim Stone's letter to Albert Edgington continued
"Soon I became aware of a man approaching from my left. He
had his arms raised above his head as he walked toward me. He
was dressed like a farmer. I let him come up fairly close before
stopping him. With some English and some German, he told me
there was an SS Trooper in his house changing into civilian
clothes. The farmer took a chance and ran out of there. Like many,
he wanted no part of the SS.
"He wanted us to go after him. Koeneer and I talked it over.
Neither one of us thought it was a good idea, but we figured we
had to go after him. So with much misgivings, the farmer, Koeneer,
and 1 went to the farmer's house. We searched through all the
rooms, every nook and cranny. We searched everywhere. There
was no trace of the SS man. As we opened each door or stepped
into a room, we both figured he'd cut us down. I know fear - and
I'll admit it. We did it. I'm glad we did, but I wouldn't recommend
doing that to anyone.
"We returned to the tank and checked with the radio operator,
(continued on page 2)
I" 2006 Annual Dues - 12th Armored Div. Assoc.
12th ARMORED HELLCAT BOOSTER DONATION
(^Contributions are tax deductible)
TOTAL
$15.00
Name
Co.
Bn.
Address
City
State
_Zip_
Make all checks payable to the 12th Armored Division Assoc.
Mail to: Robert Von Esch, Jr., 810 E. Commonwealth, Fuller-
ton, CA 92831
Annual Membership fees in the 12th Armored Division Assoc.
are $15.00. Return this completed form with your remittance.
Membership fees due and payable on or before January 1st.
Enclosed Lifetime Membership Dues
$75.00
Name
Co.
Bn.
Address
City
State
_Zi P_
Make all checks payable to the 12th Armored Division Assoc.
Mail to: Robert Von Esch, Jr., 810 E. Commonwealth, Fuller-
ton, CA 92831
66TH ARMORED INFANTRY BATTALION
George R. 0'Bryan, 1016 Monroe, Red Bud, IL 62278
Phone (618) 282-6079 E-mail: geoo@htc.net
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Here we are writing the
column in October and sending Holiday Greetings. Do those
greeting bring back memories of 61 years ago?
Yes, the 66th was on the front lines not far from the German
border under constant mortar and artillery fire. The battalion had
been at the front since Dec. 7 and had already suffered several
casualties. As always, every year when Christmas rolls around
again, it's for sure every surviving 66th member lets his mind
wander back to those miserable days so long ago.
After attending the reunion in Tulsa, some 66th members found
out that they are still remembered for the time spent helping to
clear out the Adolph Hitler regime. In appreciation of what WWII
vets did, one citizen of Tulsa expressed a desire to do something
for the old soldiers.
As a result, Charlie Fitts [C] addressed these words of appre-
ciation to the editorial page of the Tulsa World. He wrote, "This
letter has three purposes. First, living in Mississippi, 150 miles
from our Gulf Coast which was so badly devastated, we have seen
the generous help from fellow states. Your Oklahoma provided
services and contributions, money and otherwise, and have helped
so many. We are grateful to you for this outpouring of your interest
and concern.
m
Bob Grebl [B/66] visits the Patton Museum and the 12th Ar-
mored Memorial at Ft. Knox.
"Secondly, several of us experienced something we never have
before. We were attending the 59th Annual Reunion of our World
War II Army Division - 12th Armored - held at the Crown Plaza
Hotel, Sept. 14-18, and went to dinner at one of your fine
restaurants Thursday night, the Spaghetti Warehouse. Our group
included Joyce and George O'Bryan, Red Bud, IL; Bob
Hoeweler, Cincinnati, OH; two of my daughters, Kathy Howard
and Susan Davis, and one of my granddaughters, Sarah Davis.
"George, Bob and I wore our reunion name tags which gave our
name, Unit and a streamer indicating, 'WORLD WAR II COM-
BAT VETERAN.' About halfway through the dinner, the manager
came to our table and told us 'a man named Keith has asked to buy
your dinners.'
"We don't know Keith, we wish we did, and if we did we would
thank him for his generous gesture. Fortunately, through hard work
(continued on page 3)
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Twelfth Armored Division Association (U.S.). Hellcat News, (Fullerton, Calif.), Vol. 59, No. 5, Ed. 1, January 2006, newspaper, January 2006; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth410440/m1/1/?q=%22Military+and+War+-+United+States+Armed+Forces+-+United+States+Army%22: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum.