Hellcat News, (Godfrey, Ill.), Vol., No., Ed. 1, September 1989 Page: 5 of 38
38 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
September 1989 HELLCAT NEWS Page 5
■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□I
-
■ .
3rd Platoon, C/17 July 5, '45 Wasseralfinger, Ger-
many. Pic by Howard Gillard, C/l 7.
told him where the Militaerrege-
rung (Military Government)
was set up. Our squad patrolled
along the Danube River in our
halftrack and found beaucoup
stuff. We collected a large num-
ber of Panzerfausts that the SS
had left in the villages while
the war was still going on. The
SS ordered the civilians to use
them on the American armor.
Having not done it, the citizens
surrendered them as soon as
we came into the towns.
"The wild part of the story is
this. Do you rememer the big,
raw-boned Mormon farmer
from Rexburg, Idaho, named
Arlo Ward? Arlo was our half-
track driver. We had a dozen
Panzerfausts in our 'track and
he told me he had wanted to
fire a Panzerfaust since he first
saw one. I was in charge, so I
said I didn't think he should
take the chance since we knew
nothing about the weapon. Be-
sides that, the literal interpreta-
tion of the name is armor fist.
The name alone is intimidating
to an armored troop.
"Arlo suddenly turned the
'track off the paved highway
and down a dirt country road.
As I asked what he was doing
he stopped the vehicle and said
wait a minute. (Now that could
have been for very natural
causes, as you well know.) The
next thing I saw was Arlo walk-
ing up the road with a panzer-
faust in his hands. Once more
I told him he shouldn't try to
fire it. Arlo was hardheaded.
At about 100 feet I saw him
fool around with the thing and
put it on his shoulder. Nothing
happened. He fooled around
with it again and put it on his
shoulder again. I ducked inside
the 'track turret. There was a
horrendous BOOM!! I stood up
and saw nothing but an awful
cloud of dust (like from a 105
shell). I thought, how will I ever
explain this! I told the guys
let's get out and see what we
can do for him. Then there was
a shadow in the dust, moving.
Out walked Arlo from the cloud!
"I asked Arlo if the warhead
detonated. He said no but that
he did not want to do that
again just to see the warhead
go off. Needless to say, the rest
of the panzerfausts were turned
in to the Military Government."
No, we haven't forgotten the
Ray Bradbury of the 17th. For
those of you who are puzzled
that is Bob Stanton. The more
of the stories I read from Bob,
the more I wonder if he was
always onery. Here is one about
life on the plains at Tidworth
Barracks. Barracks? How come
Keel and I and a few others
were in a dumb tent?
"One night at Tidworth Bar-
racks, Anton Brandvold and I
decided to go into the nearest
town for a beer and a meat pie.
We forged blank passes some-
one had and hopped the double-
decker bus. After a very pleas-
ant evening we started back to
the barracks, and who should
we sit beside but one of our
own Lieutenants! We had a nice
conversation with him about
British girls, all the time with
visions of court martial, but no
one ever questioned us. Sadly,
I heard that Anton was killed
by an 88 shell that came in a
window. He was a real nice kid
23rd
Tank
Battalion
ROBERT L. DOWNEY, SR.
8241 CHANNEL DRIVE
PORT RICHEY, FL 34668
Phone (813) 849-3448
By the time some of you are
reading this column, some of
us will already be in Texas. Our
gang (Libby, Bobby, and Betty)
are going with us on the trip,
and going early so we can see
some of Texas before all those
executive council meetings
start. We plan on a few days in
Louisiana eating crawfish and
other strange food, then on
down thru Corpus Christi to
Brownsville area, then back up
to San Antonio for the reunion.
While it is expected to be hot in
San Antonio, the way to beat
the heat is to stay in the hotel
during the day and go to the
Riverwalk at night. A boat ride
on the river, with all the lights
and colors, makes for a pleas-
ant outing.
I wonder if anyone else had
problems with last issue of
HCN? Mine progressed nicely
until page five (where my
column appeared) which was
missing. I had two pages 9-10
of Norwegian ancestry, one of
our many lost friends."
The Colorado sun has set and
it is time for the tired old car-
penter, rep to push the weary
bones into bed.
Always remember, "Wher-
ever you go - there you are."
Bill Funke
with a page 7-8 in between and
no pages 5-6 anywhere in the
paper. I have asked for a new
copy but haven't gotten it yet.
The one thing most noticable
about reunion time is that the
notes and news from the mem-
bership dies off to a mere tric-
kle, so there is not much to
pass on to the paper. I have
heard from Jim Stowe and
Raleigh West, both of whom are
registered for the 89 reunion.
Stowe is on a European vaca-
tion right now, planning on
visiting France, Italy, Yugo-
slavia, and Greece. West plan-
ned a trip to Tennessee to see
the grandchildren, both will be
back in time for San Atnonio.
Martha, Linda, Justin, and I
just returned from a trip to
Kentucky, Martha attended a
reunion of her high school 1941
graduating class at Atherton
Girls High School, first reunion
they ever had, attended by
about 75 out of the possible 150
still living. They had a nice
time, and are now planning on
a 50th year reunion for 1991.
Got a note from Paul Lozden,
he has been chatting about the
Rogue River trout, and this
time he sent a picture. Too bad
it was so dark, it wouldn't print
in the paper. However, I will
tell all that it was a monsterous
fish of 37 pounds and someday
I will get up that country and
try to catch one myself. And
I'll make sure the picture is
clear enough to print.
Have a note from Forrest
Smith. He is not getting much
response to the blazer patch
and crest that he had mention-
ed in an earlier issue. Maybe at
the reunion if you have some to
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, (Godfrey, Ill.), Vol., No., Ed. 1, September 1989, newspaper, September 1989; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth410693/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.