Hellcat News, (Godfrey, Ill.), Vol. 41, No. 6, Ed. 1, March 1988 Page: 5 of 36
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the Smokey Mountain meeting.
I guess that says it best.
I see the people in K.C. are
wondering about the caps that
were distributed in '85 in
Orlando. I believe this to be a
good idea for they have been
readily accepted and are still
being worn by a goodly number
of our people, including me.
After leaving Long Beach and
visiting the Grand Canyon I
was approached by a man who
noticed "Mystery Division,"
turned out to be a WW II vet-
eran from Australia. All this
because of the cap. Another
time this same thing happened
because the man noticed my
Hellcat belt buckle. This man
was a WW II veteran and a
Royal Canadian Mounted
Policeman. I later sent him one
of our buckles which he really
enjoyed. So, you see, it does pay
to advertise in any way we can.
I have had several inquiries
about the advertising on my
car but never from an ex-
Hellcat. I'll keep trying. I shall
inform the people in K.C. of my
thinking on the subject.
The bash in Louisville was
certainly the greatest gathering
of Hellcats and Kittens that we
shall ever see. I truly believe
that reunion has to be the
crowning glory to all reunions
of the 12th Armd. Div. Assn. I
can easily understand why
Warren had a heart attack. A
terrific undertaking.
We are now looking forward
to our trips to Cherry Hill, N.J.
for our eastern chapter and
Kansas City for our national
gathering. I am toying with
another meeting but haven't
committed yet. Maybe we will
surprise Edna and Warren in
May. I finally got into my copy
of the history of the 12th. This
is a fine publication and Ken
should feel very proud. I know
I am proud to own a copy, of
course, I may be a bit preju-
diced since my picture is includ-
ed in three different places. I
swear I did not bribe the editor.
I asked Ruth for a copy of "The
Other Side Of Time" by Bren-
dan Phipps for Christmas so
maybe Santa Claus will do me
the honor. If not I will order a
copy myself.
On receiving my copy of the
Hellcat News, the first thing I
look at is "In Memoriam." I do
the same thing in the daily
paper, too. I can remember my
dad always doing this and I
could never understand. Now it
comes clear. Although some
day all of our names will
appear here I feel doubly sad
that some of these people have
never attended any of our
functions. They have missed so
much.
There is a saying here in the
Pennsylvania Dutch country,
"the hurrier I go the behinder I
get," and that fits me to the
letter. I am retired for more
than a year and a half and
although I have been busy as
hell I still have so many things
to do. One thing I shall never
be is BORED.
We, Ruth and I, hope to meet
with you again this coming
year wherever it may be."
Amen, brother to the state-
ment about the Louisville en-
counter. Yes, I second the
motion about the hats. Mine is
March 1988
HELLCAT NEWS
Page 5
A great example of a proud Hellcat an Hellkitten.
Edna and Clyde Robertson, A/17. Photo by Fern Bruem-
mer, Jrs. Exec. Sect. Photo from Harold Smith, 494th.
BACK TRACKS
Kenneth G. Bradstreet
Historian-Past President
1018 Prairie Street
Emporia, KS 66801
Phone (316) 342-8373
In a letter to Bob Head, edi-
tor of the HCN, Joe Ahles of
the 494th AFA, requested inform-
ation about the Army A.S.T.P.
(Army Specialized Training
Program.) Joe, we will try to
inform you and others who
have expressed interest in the
program, as a large number of
Hellcats were men from the
A.S.T.P. who joined the 12th at
Camp Barkeley.
The Army Specialized Train-
ing Program was created to fill
a need for engineering-type
officers in the Army. One of
the basic requirements was an
Army I.Q. (AGCT or Army
General Classification Test) of
110 or higher, which was the
level demanded for commission-
ing as an officer. An additional
requirement was screening by
a classification board to deter-
mine if the soldier was consid-
about worn out.
My thanks to Sal and Lu
Ignatti for some fine pictures
which will appear in the H.C.N,
from time to time. Speaking of
pictures, I would still like more
from the past.
Warren Maue and Edna and
Paul and Donna Moore Hq.
represented the 12th at the ser-
vices for Dewey Isom. I agree
with Warren. Once a Hellcat
always a Hellcat and each man
deserves the respect of each of
us whether or not he was a
member of the association.
Can you believe I darn near
left out a report on a "low level"
meeting in St. Louis. A gather-
ing for lunch was held after
Christmas. Lola and I were
visiting our kids so the Rumas,
the Kulthos, Hal Kirchner, and
the Bruemmers and the Funkes
met to eat and gab. Damn, that
can be a rowdy bunch, but it
was fun.
Well, good buddies, if this
isn't closed up Reville will be
here and then I am in big trou-
ble with Lola.
Make plans to be with us at
the "Heart of America" reun-
ion in August. It is a lovely
hotel and there are a lot of
things to see in Mizzu.
ered potential officer material,
on the premise that if the train-
ing was completed satisfactor-
ily a commission would follow.
The A.S.T.P. program course
was the equivalent of the basic
college course in Civil Engineer-
ing, but much more intensified.
The A.S.T.P. Cadets were given
intensive classroom training
and instruction, very heavy
study periods, (often lasting
into the wee hours of the night),
minimum time off, and limited
military training (most cadets
had MOS's as specialists of one
type or another.)
The shoulder patch of the
A.S.T.P. was described as, "The
sword of Valor superimposed
on the Lamp of Knowledge. "It
was almost a diamond shape
in the colors of blue and gold.
Many of the cadets referred to
the patch, (tongue in cheek) as,
"The flaming bedpan on the
pogo stick."
Minimum time off consisted
of a "Good Conduct Pass" for a
24 hour trip to the areas off the
college campus, as long as it
was not over 20 miles from the
campus. The issuing of these
passes depended on the cadets
grades and deportment.
The A.S.T.P. was terminated
starting in the month of Feb-
ruary 1944 by the Secretary of
War. The following letter was
given to each cadet to impart
the news that he would be
transferred to a combat unit.
MEMORANDUM TO EACH
TRAINEE
The following telegram from
the Secretary of War is quoted
for your information:
"You were assigned to the
Army Specialized Training Pro-
gram because it was felt that
the courses of instruction sched-
uled would materially increase
your value to the military ser-
vice. You have been working
under high pressure to master
as quickly as possible those
essentials of college training of
greatest importance to your
development as a soldier.
The time is now come for the
majority of you to be assigned
to other active duty to break
the enemy's defenses and force
their unconditional surrender.
It is necessary to hit them with
the full weight of American's
manpower.
Because of this imperative
military necessity most of you
will soon be ordered to field
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Twelfth Armored Division Association (U.S.). Hellcat News, (Godfrey, Ill.), Vol. 41, No. 6, Ed. 1, March 1988, newspaper, March 1988; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth410588/m1/5/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum.