Hellcat News (Garnet Valley, Pa.), Vol. 69, No. 6, Ed. 1, February 2016 Page: 6 of 24
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Page 6
HELLCAT NEWS
Febuary 2016
home. However there are still Frenchmen and women who
remember and honor the sacrifice those men made. They have
an organization of volunteers to promote their memory by
ceremonies and by ‘adopting’ the soldiers there. When they
adopt a soldier they learn more about him and his unit. To find
out more (and perhaps leave a note of encouragement in the
guest book) the web site is in English as well as French, http://
www. usmgef org
Finally thanks to Ed Pierce [A], who replied to my USO
question with a very informative story. It seems that at least
some Hellcats got to attend a USO show. The headliner was
Jack Benny, not Bob Hope, but I think perhaps my father got
to see this show, and that explains his lifelong commitment
to those entertainers who faced hardships to visit the troops.
Here is Ed’s story:
THE STAR-STUDDED USO SHOW
Please return with me in time back to mid or late May 1945.
We were billeted in private homes in the town of Dillingen and
one of our major duties was monitoring a displaced persons
slave labor lager there.
One day while there we learned of a fantastic USO show
that was being presented in Heidenheim. Several members
of the second platoon’s first rifle squad made plans to attend.
Among the group were Staff Sergeant Troy B. Criss [A] and I.
When the day of the show arrived, our half-track, filled to
capacity, left Dillingen for the trip to Heidenheim. As I recall,
it was a most beautiful, sunny day. The site of the show was
an outdoor amphitheater, and upon our arrival every seat was
occupied. Not to be denied, Criss, others, and I climbed to the
roof of the seating area where we were able to look down at
the stage area to see and hear the entire presentation.
The star of the show was none other than Jack Benny
who incidentally played Love In Bloom for us on his violin.
Along with him were actress Ingrid Bergman, former Benny
Goodman vocalist Martha Tilton, harmonica virtuoso Larry
Adler, and some other lesser lights. Members of the 12th
Armored Division’s Dance Band provided the music for the
program. Jack Benny and the other troupe members put on
an outstanding show for the members of the 12th. They did
not short-change us in any way, and the applause that they
received was deafening!
I am not aware of how many of you remember this event,
but I know that it is indelibly etched in the back of my mind
even though it happened all of 63 years ago.
Despite the fact that our segment of the war was over at the
time, the USO show headed by Jack Benny was a real morale
boost.
66TH ARMORED INFANTRY
BATTALION
George R. O'Bryan
1016 Monroe, Red Bud, IL 62278
618-282-6079 geoo@htc.net
The 66th Armored Infantry Battalion can still remember
this month many years ago. Well, after all you were infantry
(doughboys) soldiers, but can you recall your first encounter
with the Ml rifle? We have written this story about an infantry
soldier’s most prized possession before, but find it still with
us even after more than 70 years have passed. Recall that the
weapon weighed 9 pounds 8 ounces and that it was carried
everywhere we went, 20-mile road marches, field problems,
and to the firing range. Do you remember your score when
firing the Ml on the firing range? Some soldiers came back
from the firing range with puffy lips and black eyes from the
powerful recoil of the weapon. Remember you fired at 100
yards, 200 yards and finally 300 yards. Can you remember
when you didn’t hit the target, up came a waving white flag, or
was it red? It was called “maggies drawers” for some reason.
There was one ‘C’ Company soldier that missed the target so
often that he was tagged with the name “Maggies Drawers”
for the rest of his service days. Can anyone remember how to
field strip the Ml? Some could do it even blindfolded.
You have likely read this story in our column before, but
because it was such an important memory of most Infantry
soldiers we like to repeat it. An Iraq war veteran and a military
history buff, Sergeant Stacy Foster wrote about the Ml rifle
and many other things. He wrote, “A tribute to the Ml Garand
and the men who carried it in World War 2. This is the tale of a
weapon, a rifle to be specific, but not just any rifle....a genuine
fragment of history.
“I have a fervent infatuation with history which burns deep
within my soul, particularly World War II, European Theater
history. At this writing I am 32 years old and my generation,
and even that of my parents, has unfortunately forgotten what
our grandfathers did for us during that grand endeavor. I
believe Hitler’s Third Reich was the greatest threat to freedom
in the history of mankind.
“Yes, the former Soviet Union with its nuclear arsenal
and even more corrupt, socialist agenda may seem a more
menacing adversary, but they were destined to failure from the
start. They never really had a chance at surviving; it was just a
matter of them running their course, and the people realizing
how wrong they truly were. Nazism was much different. With
a few very slight changes in history, we could all be wearing
swastikas on our uniforms right now.
“If that had been the case, nothing we now have would be
the same. I often think of the men who saved the world during
World War II, and am very grateful for them.
“The tears, sweat, and blood those brave heroes sacrificed
is not something we can touch or taste or see, and therefore is
easily forgotten by us who did not live through it. However,
there are certain perceptible objects and places still left that
one can behold if he or she so desires. Walking the beaches of
Normandy, one can still imagine the blood washing up on the
shores and can feel the ghosts from D-Day.
“The words of the great men still ring true in their writings,
or when those still with us recite stories of battle. We can visit
museums and lay our hands on a Sherman tank that haunted
Rommel’s Panzers across the deserts of North Africa, or one
of the B-17 Flying Fortresses that kept the Nazi leaders deep
in their underground bunkers in Berlin. When you touch these
objects, you acquire a precious tactile connection with those
courageous Americans from way back then.
“Another of those tangible items I’m speaking of that
epitomizes what those valiant fellows did for us is the glorious
Ml Garand rifle. After a lifetime of desperately wanting one, I
finally procured one for myself. This is the rifle most soldiers
carried throughout the European campaign, and it really is
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Twelfth Armored Division Association (U.S.). Hellcat News (Garnet Valley, Pa.), Vol. 69, No. 6, Ed. 1, February 2016, newspaper, February 2016; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth861562/m1/6/: 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.