Hellcat News, (Godfrey, Ill.), Vol., No., Ed. 1, September 1989 Page: 15 of 38
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September 1989
HELLCAT NEWS
Page 15
Getting and keeping the books straight at KC. From
left: Pres. Ed Buscavage, Ex-Sec. Norb Bruemmer and
Treasurer Bob Hoeweler. Photo: Earl Norris, A/714.
He and his wife are coming
down by train and then are go-
ing to travel on to New Orleans
for a visit after the reunion.
Len sure hopes to see George
Wells, Emil Cardomone and
Jim Michels at this Convention.
Received a phone call from
Albert Lasda of "C" Company
493rd FA Bn. He wanted to
inform us that he had been able
to contact Thomas Perrett (C)
through the reunion notifica-
tion that he had run in the
Syracuse, N.Y. Herald Journal.
Tom had called A1 as a result
of that ad and said he was sure
interested in being a member
of the Association. Apparently,
Tom had been a member sever-
al years back and had fallen
by the wayside over the years.
We have sent him all the inform-
ation and hope to see his name
on the roster of Membership
real soon. Welcome back Tom,
all your buddies will be glad to
hear from you again, and
again, A1 Lasda, thanks a lot
for your efforts.
We have a nice letter from
Gil and Aurella Heine (C) send-
ing along an article clipped
from the Omaha World-Herald
dated June 30, regarding the
passing of a Thomas Kelley,
who was with the 12th AD. The
article related that Kelley was
a long time Omaha and Nebra-
ska Democratic Party mainstay
and served with the 12th Armor-
ed Division as a Captain dur-
ing World War 2 and that he
was captured by the Germans
in 1945. He escaped twice and
was awarded the Purple Heart
and Bronze Star. There was no
indication of his Unit or if he
was or ever had been a member
of the Association. We Will for-
ward these clippings on to our
Historian for inclusion the in
the 12th AD History.
Aurella tells us that they
have been real busy and have
been entertaining several
guests and also babysitting
66th
Armored
Infantry
Battalion
GEORGE R. O'BRYAN
1016 MONROE
RED BUD, IL 62278
Phone (618) 282-6079
BOOSTERS
This month we have dues but
no news from Joseph L. Pavis
(B). Since everyone is busy get-
ting packed and ready for San
Antonio the mail box was short
this month. By the time this
column is in print we will all
be in San Antonio for the big
43rd annual reunion. Hope to
see everyone there. Additional
registrations for the reunion
this month are Charles Nichol-
son, Bob Grebl and Joseph
Pavia all of "B" Company. We
think Bob Grebl was really ser-
ious when he said "B" Com-
pany would be challenging "C"
Company for the most in attend-
ance this year. They really have
a good start in doing just that,
so watch out "C" Company.
Have a note from Len Sikor-
ski (A) letting us know that he
has made reservations for the
reunion and sure hopes to see a
lot of "A" Company buddies
there. Len said that he had writ-
ten a few months ago but
apparently his letter never got
to the Unit Rep. He informs us
that he was unable to attend
the K.C. reunion due to a heart
attack the first part of August
last year. He was in the hospit-
al for ten days and they dis-
covered that there was a block-
age of an artery and was sent
home and put on a diet to lose
weight. He also does a lot of
walking and so far has lost 60
pounds and is feeling pretty
good. Len is keeping his fin-
gers crossed and as of now
plans on being in San Antonio.
their four grand children in
Gregory, S.D. She lets us know
that Gil was the speaker at this
recent 50th High School Class
Reunion in Lexington.
Mrs. Angelina Carpenter (Sis-
ter of Carlo Brignola "C" Com-
pany) sends us a nice note on
behalf of her brother. We all do
remember Carlo and hope he
can make a reunion some day.
She said that Carlo had never
married and enjoys hunting
and fishing at their summer
camp. About ten years ago he
was hit by a drunken driver
while crossing the street and
had a badly broken left leg. As
the years went by his leg
bothers him when he gets tired
and has also put on a little
weight which doesn't help
either. Carlo will be 79 on Dec-
ember 7th and he doesn't feel
he could make such a long trip
to San Antonio but maybe can
come when a reunion is closer
to home. (Carlo, we'll all look
forward to seeing you one day -
GeoO). Brignola does wish every-
one a great time at the reunion.
In lieu of our Profile of a
Buddy article this month we
copy from the 66th SPEAR-
HEAD dated June 7, 1945 - The
Colonels Message - "I have
wanted to talk to you men and
officers of the 66th ever since
V-E day. It seems that we have
always been too scattered, or
something else was about to
take place, and I never got
around to do it.
"I welcome this, the first
issue of our own paper, because
it gives me a chance to talk to
you. No words I can write will
adequately express my feeling
of pride in your accomplish-
ments. I feel very humble, in-
deed, when I think of the many
times you have responded to
my orders, even though you
knew some of you would fall in
their execution. You were never
too tired, too cold, too hungry
to do what all good infantry-
men must do, namely: take one
step forward, and fire one more
shot. Your loyalty to your bud-
dies in the face of danger and
hardships was always an inspir-
ation to me, and kept me on
my job on more than one occa-
sion.
"We were sad every time we
were hurt. Yet, for every time
you were hurt, you struck back
at the enemy with a fury he
could not resist. For every one
of your buddies lost you killed
ten Krauts. For every prisoner
in enemy hands, you got a
hundred. For every yard of
ground you gave up, you went
forward dozens of miles. Yes,
you evened the score a hundred
times over, and our sadness can
turn to pride; because we know
we took all the enemies' best
could give us, and came back
to show him he had never had
the slightest idea what the
word "blitz" meant. From your
baptism of fire at Singling to
the bridge at Dillingen you
have never given me cause for
anything but pride in you. I
have always been proud of you
and I always will. Never has
the Army had a better Battal-
ion and they never will, as far
as I'm concerned.
"I have received a certain num-
ber of medals and honors be-
cause of your accomplish-
ments. I wear them proudly, not
because I feel I personally earn-
ed them, but because they re-
mind me I had the privilege
and honor of commanding the
finest bunch of men in the
world. And I will always feel
humble and thankful when I
think of you men of the 66th.
We can look forward to our last
test with a feeling of confid-
ence, because of our knowlege
of the past. No medal, no honor
can be as satisfying as the
medal we wear in our hearts,
that feeling of pride we should
all have of a job gloriously
done. Your Country, your Divis-
ion, and I, all thank you for
your accomplishments. Let's
never let Jerry forget how good
we are. Show him each day in
your dress, your walk, your con-
duct, that you are the best
soldiers in the best Army in
the world. Because you are."
Lt. Col. Clayton W. Wells
Address Changes
JOHN O. BRUNO, Sv/43
(4641 Werth Road)
Alpena, MI 49707
JAMES E. STONE, D/43
(502 Willow Street)
Mapleton, IA 51034
MERRY SUS, C/134
(1823 S. Harlem Avenue)
(Berwyn, IL 60402)
CHARLES R. MOORE, C/17
(13507 Ballad Drive)
Sun City West, AZ 86375
JOHN B. LEWIS, Hq/66
(1006 4th Street - 10th Floor)
Sacramento, CA 95814
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Twelfth Armored Division Association (U.S.). Hellcat News, (Godfrey, Ill.), Vol., No., Ed. 1, September 1989, newspaper, September 1989; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth410693/m1/15/?q=%22%22~1&rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum.