Hellcat News, (Seward, Neb.), Vol. 45, No. 7, Ed. 1, March 1992 Page: 3 of 32
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Kitten Tracks
March 1992
HELLCAT NEWS
Page 3
continued from front page
Since attending a dress designing college after high school
graduation, I was employed by Reed Handcraft in Kansas City,
Missouri. At Christmas time in 1942, Bob's sister and I took a
train to Camp Campbell to spend the holidays with Bob. He had
located a sleeping room for his sister and me in Clarksville,
Tennessee. However, we arrived a day early and he was at a
movie when we arrived. On the train enroute, we noticed a 12th
Armored Division Sergeant and asked him if he knew Bob
Mead. It just happened that he did. It was Bob Grebl, who was
a cadre instructor of Bob during basic training. He arranged for
us to stay in the Post Guest House for the night, until our room
was ready in Clarksville the next day. He also left a message for
Bob, when he returned to the barracks.
We had Christmas Day dinner at Service Company, 56th
Armored Infantry Regiment Mess Hall. One evening, we and
Bob's army buddy, Jim Golip, attended a function at the USO
Club in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. On New Year's Eve, we, along
with another buddy, Elmer Heinichen, and his wife, Anna, took
a bus to Nashville to celebrate. We had dinner at the "Cross
Keys" restaurant and New Year's Eve party at the Sam Davis
Hotel. It was most difficult to locate bottles of alcoholic bever-
ages for celebration. Later, Bob and Elmer found a bartender
who reached under the bar and produced two half pints of
moonshine labeled "Old Pot Still.'' It was very poor quality and
very little of it was consumed.
I did not see Bob again until June, 1943, when he came home
on furlough just before the Tennessee maneuvers. Since both of
us lived some twenty miles from Kansas City and with gas
rationing, our entertainment was very limited. Also, Bob's
grandmother died toward the end of the furlough. The Ameri-
can Red Cross was able to get it extended to enable Bob to
attend the funeral.
After maneuvers were over and Bob was stationed at Camp
Barkeley and promoted to Squad Leader and Sergeant rank, he
obtained a ten day furlough, starting the day after Christmas.
When he arrived home, we both decided to be married at once.
In the short time available, it was most hectic in making ar-
rangements for the wedding and a brief honeymoon at the
Robert E. Lee Hotel in Kansas City. We were married at
Smithville, Missouri, December 30, 1943.
I had a good job and Bob felt that his pay was insufficient to
support us in Abilene. Upon his return to Camp Barkeley, he
learned he had been automatically promoted to Staff Sergeant
on January 1, 1944. He immediately phoned me and told me to
take a leave of absence from my job and come to Abilene. We
first had only a sleeping room. On my own, I located a large
apartment over a garage shared by a Navy Officer's wife and
four year old daughter. I obtained a job at an Army khaki
trouser factory, where my job was sewing the fly on the front of
trousers.
We had one furlough back home in the summer of 1944.
Albert Kelly, Bob's Platoon Sergeant, got married at the same
time and we let them use our apartment for their honeymoon
while we were gone. I remember the train from Ft. Worth to
Kansas City was so crowded Bob and I, along with Sergeant
Tart and his wife who were going to St. Paul, Minnesota, had to
share the platform between two rail-cars, sitting on our luggage
all the way. Needless to say, we were covered with soot and
everything was black. We sure looked a mess when Bob's
parents picked us up at the Union Train Station in Kansas City.
While Bob was restricted to Post in preparation for shipping
overseas, I became ill and entered the hospital in Abilene. Bob
left before I was dismissed, but the wife of a squad member,
Paul Shrock, from Marion, Indiana, remained with me until I
checked out of the hospital. I returned to Smithville, lived with
my parents and returned to my job at Reed Handcraft until Bob
returned from overseas in June, 1946.
On his return, we moved into a furnished apartment in Kan-
sas City. Bob obtained employment with Standard Oil Company
and I had my regular job. We had no car since Bob had sold his
car when entering service; we rode the street car to and from
work. In order to get a new car, we finally ended paying a
premium of five hundred dollars over list price. Bob was later
promoted to a sales representative with a territory in southern
Missouri. I quit my job and became a full time housewife and
started raising a family. We had two boys and a girl and
presently have three grandsons and a granddaughter.
Those war years and immediately after the war were very,
very trying times. We survived and are very thankful for the
opportunity to do so.
5^3
Div. Hdq.
Units
George F. Grimshaw, Jr.
73 Manning Street
Providence, Rl 02906
Phone (401) 331-3694
Bob and Martha Mead, B/66.
DUES AND BOOSTERS: Bruce R. Johnson (Div. Trains)
NEW DIV. HQ. LIFE MEMBERS: William A. McCarthy
(Div. Trains) and Orra A. Keith (Div. Hq. Fin) Welcome
aboard, gentlemen!
Unfortunately, I must begin this month's column with two
sad reports, as follows:
FROM: JAMES C. HAWN (D-43): Death Notice, no note, of
the passing of Neal C. Danielson (Div. Hq.), of 12507 Fairview
Avenue, Blue Island, Illinois, on January 1, 1992 at his home.
He is survived by his wife, Marilyn, a daughter, two sons and
seven grandchildren.
FROM: ROBERT A. MEIER (Hq. 493): Dear George: I
thought that you might want to pass this information on to your
Div. Hq. people: Lt. Col. Leslie Dixon died last December 20,
leaving Mary, his wife of some 48 years, three children and
several grandchildren. He was a well respected attorney and
civic leader in the Monterey Carmel Community. (N.B. AD-
DRESS: 7008 Valley Greens, Carmel, California 93923) "Slim"
was S-2 of Colonel Gildart's Division Artillery throughout the
European Campaign; had been S-3 or Exec of the 494th and
Commander of Battery C of the 494th when we were activated
at Campbell. After the war, he stayed in the regular Army in
the JA's department, retiring after some 20 years to go into
private practice as an attorney. He was an old friend of mine—
sad to lose another good Artilleryman to the Grim Reaper. . . .
P.S. I was S-3 of Div. Arty, during part of the European Cam-
paign, commanding Battery C of the 493rd and was S-3 of the
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Twelfth Armored Division Association (U.S.). Hellcat News, (Seward, Neb.), Vol. 45, No. 7, Ed. 1, March 1992, newspaper, March 1992; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth410579/m1/3/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum.