Hellcat News (Garnet Valley, Pa.), Vol. 66, No. 1, Ed. 1, September 2012 Page: 4 of 28
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.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Page 4
HELLCAT NEWS September 2012
When I got home I was put to work hanging lighting
fixtures in some apartments that Dad was wiring. He had a
contract to wire several new apartment buildings that were
being built to house dependents of the people stationed at the
Alliance Air Base. My uncle Henry was also visiting at the
time and he was also working. I enjoyed my furlough very
much. I took the train back to Amarillo. While I was in the
bus station in Amarillo I heard the announcement of the D-
Day landings in Normandy. This was about 6:00. I took the
bus from Amarillo to Abilene and arrived in Abilene at about
noon. Since I did not have to be back on post until midnight I
went to the movies in the afternoon, seeing a picture called A
Guy Named Joe with Spencer Tracy. I then caught the bus and
returned to camp. I spent my 21st birthday in Abilene. I had
an all-day pass. I went into town and saw a movie and then
went to the USO club. Not a very exciting way to celebrate
the 4th of July.
Later in the month we had another Division test. We
went to Camp Bowie for this test against the 13th Armored
Division. We began with a motor march from Camp Barkeley
to Camp Bowie. This was a long ride in the half-tracks at 15
miles per hour. We went on paved highways, but it was still
dusty and hot. We went into bivouac when we arrived in the
test area. The first thing we did was dig a foxhole. One of the
lieutenants had some of the men in his platoon dig his hole.
When Lt. Fairbairn saw this, he stopped it immediately. He
told the lieutenant that every man dug his own foxhole. We
then ran a number of problems for the next few days.
One afternoon our Company was to send a patrol behind
enemy lines. I was selected to go with them as radio operator.
One of the officers gave the sergeant leading the patrol his
map case. We all had to turn in anything that we were carrying
that might identify our unit or us: pictures, licenses, letters,
etc. We left our lines about midnight and proceeded toward
the location that we were supposed to reach, passing through
a number of enemy troops and finally reaching our destination
early in the morning, about 2:30 or 3:00. We found a small
grove of trees and bedded down there. I sent a radio message
announcing our arrival at our destination. The sergeant posted
guards and the rest of us went to sleep. The next thing that I
knew I was waking up with a soldier standing over me with
a rifle pointed at me. This was at dawn. It seems that we had
bedded down in the middle of the Headquarters Company
of the reserve battalion of the enemy. We were all captured
and taken to the Headquarters tent for questioning. When
they searched the map case they found our Signal Operating
Instructions and various other documents that identified us.
The lieutenant who had provided it did not empty it of all
classified and identifying material. We were held prisoner
for several hours and then returned to our company as the
area we were in was going to be the impact area for a live
fire problem to be conducted later in the day. The loss of the
Signal Operating Instructions caused us problems for the rest
of the test as the enemy could and did cut in on our radio net.
Later in the test we were conducting a problem that
involved two companies abreast in attack. This was a live
fire problem. Each company was supported by a platoon of
Sherman tanks. I was with Lt. Fairbairn as his radio operator.
We were walking behind the riflemen as they advanced, firing
as they went. Shortly after we started I received a message
on the radio to cease firing and hold in place. After a while
the umpires came up and said that we were advancing on the
wrong line of march and were shooting into the company
abreast of us. After much discussion it was determined that
we were where we were supposed to be but the other company
was marching across our front. When this was settled we
continued the problem.
During this test we ran several night problems. On
one of these we were using sound power telephones for
communication. Each platoon carried a phone. There were six
phones in the company. I was responsible for them. One of
the phones was lost during the problem. When we returned to
Camp Barkeley I was going to be charged for the lost phone
but our supply sergeant, Sgt. Fey, was able to find a broken
phone, which could be turned in for a new one, thus saving me
having to pay for the lost phone.
When the problem ended the Corps Commander held
a critique of the test. All of the officers and NCOs of both
divisions were in attendance. He said that the officers and
men of the 12th Armored Division up through Combat
Command level were as ready to go overseas as any unit that
he had seen. He did not, however, like the performance of the
Division Staff. As a result of this the Commanding General
was relieved and we received a new Commanding General for
our shipment overseas.
The day after the critique we returned to Camp Barkeley,
this time going by back roads, no paving, extremely dry and
dusty. It was a very long day. We were glad to hit the showers
when we arrived in camp. We continued training for a few
weeks and then prepared to leave camp for overseas.
In early September we boarded trains for Camp Shanks,
NY. Camp Shanks is located outside of Nyack. (My mother
taught high school in Nyack before World War I.) This was to
be our debarkation station. We arrived in Camp Shanks and
began getting our equipment ready for overseas shipment.
While unpacking some equipment I received a cut on the back
of my hand from a piece of banding strap. It became infected
and bothered me all during the trip to England.
Episode No. 4 of Carroll s story will appear in next month s
edition.
This subway system was
built in the style of an earlier
era. It’s definitely a retro
metro!
Pictured is the front side
of a French two francs note
issued in 1944. If memory
serves me correctly, this was
known at the time as Invasion
Currency.
If you can’t get enough of
a certain caramel topped dessert, one might say you’re a flan-
atic!
Supposing two young steeds were to get married, would
the male be designated the hubby horse?
Old TV show about people who favor a certain brand of
transparent plastic: “I Love Lucite!”
Don’t even think about forcing me to consume root
vegetables. I dislike them, for beet’s sake!
In this next photo taken at Camp Barkeley, TX, your
unit representative is giving his best hand salute to either
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 (Garnet Valley, Pa.), Vol. 66, No. 1, Ed. 1, September 2012, newspaper, September 2012; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth597660/m1/4/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum.