THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION • VETERANS OF THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE

VOLUME VI NUMBER 4 THE ARDENNES CAMPAIGN NOVEMBER 1987

was more of a house party than a memhership meeting. ”

Bill Mitchell, President, Central New York C hapter VBOB Com m enting on 7th General M embership Meeting, Sycracuse, NY

See minutes starting page, 3

PLANS BEING DEVELOPED FOR VBOB'S “

‘^EUROPE in ‘88”TRIP (See m inutes page 5)

Bi.ixui':lU'.LCJKJin',

EXCITING BLUE PRINTS FOR BATTLE OF BULGE MUSEUM

(See minutes page 5)

T H E BULGE B U G LE is th e officiai pub i ica - ' t ion of V e te r a n s of rhe B a tt le of th e Bulge It is issuerl five t im p s year ly .

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P R E S I D E N T - G eo rg e C h e k an .9 t h In fa n t ry Division . 3 9 th R e g im e n t

E X E C . V IC E P R E S . - W m . T. Greenv i l le . a 6 l h C h e m ic a l M o rta r B a tta l ionV IC E P R E S . F O R M E M B E R S H I P -Neil B T h o m p s o n , 7 4 0 th T a n k Bn.

V IC E P R E S I D E N T F O R M IL IT A R Y A F F A I R S - E u g e n e G. Drouil la rd .7 5 th In fa n t ry DivisionV IC E P R E S I D E N T F O R R E G IO N A L C O O R D IN A T IO N - W m . A S im p k in s .XIX TAC. 9 t h AFT R E A S U R E R - W m . R. H em phil l .3 rd .^ rm o re d Division . 3 6 th AIR

R E C O R D I N G S E C R E T A R Y - D oro th y S Davis , A rm y N urse . 5 7 th F ie ld Hosp ita lC O R R E S P O N D I N G S E C R E T A R Y - T omGillis, 4 t h .Armored Division. CCR

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From The President—

Sensational Syracuse S o journ ...

“ I can personally highly recom m end one o f these affairs. There are no stuffed shirts and everyone accepts and respects each other as having shared som ething spec ia l...” eloquently writes P . F. Leslie, VBOB member from Changew ater, N .J ., about the 6th General M em bership M eeting held in Syracuse.

Despite the continuous rain, the w arm th o f the Syracuse C hapter helped m ake this an enjoyable and successful 6th Genera! M em ber­ship M eeting. Com plete m inutes o f the event are recorded starting on page 3.

“ Kurope inPlans are now being researched for a Septem ber VBOB “ Europe

in ‘88” trip. It is being contem plated to hold the 7th General M em bership M eeting during thi.s visit to T .iixemhniirg and Relginm.

Battle of the Bulge Gallery, F t. M eade M useum

You will read tha t we need $30,000 in “ seed m oney” by this coming December to proceed with plans for the Gallery.

It is a m ust if we are to raise the to tal $750,000 through our p ro ­fessional fund-raising means. If we arc to perpetuate the greatest1 , . i r . , i . * i __ x i - . T T r ' * ........... ................................Ucl LLl C C V C i y l U U g l l L U y t l i C w c i h u m UC w i i i m g i.\ j

our efforts and financial support.

VBOB M em orial Service

You are invited to attend our annual cerem ony at the VBOB M em orial P laque site, A rlington N ational Cem etery, this coming Dec. 16th at 11 a.m .

You will have the opportunity to witness the changing o f the guard at the Tom b o f the U nknow n Soldier. A t this time a wreath will be presented by m embers o f our organization.

Following this we will move to our M em orial Plaque site- directly across from the A m phitheater, for a M emorial Service.

Finally, I m ust report that our illustrious editor. Bob Lemmon was unable to attend the Syracuse GM meeting because o f the flu bug. I point this out because Robert was due a personal thanks from the m em bership for his untiring interest in keeping us abreast o f the happenings within our organization. Thanks Bob from all o f u s ...an d hang in there!

Yours in C om radeship ...

GEORGE CHEKAN President

VETERANS OF THE BATTLE OF THE BULGEP.O BOX 11129

ARLINGTON. VIRGINIA 222 10 -21 29 (703) 979 -5270

REPORT OF THE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING VETERANS OF THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE

QUALITY INN NORTH SYRACUSE, NEW YORK SEPTEMBER 17, 18, 19-1987

September 17, 1987O ver 180 m e m b er s , s p o u s e s and g u e s t s f ro m 24 s t a t e s an d t h e D i s t r i c t o f C o l u m b i a r e g i s t e r e d f o r t h e 6 t h G e n e r a l M e m b e r s h ip M e e t i n g o f t h e V e t e r a n s o f t h e B a t t l e o f t h e B u l g e , Q u a l i t y I n n N o r t h , S y r a c u s e , NY.

Not o n l y was t h i s t h e l a r g e s t a t t e n d a n c e e v e r f o r a G e n e r a l Member ­s h i p M e e t i n g , b u t i t was a l s o t h e f i r s t t i m e a m e e t i n g was h o s t e d by a c h a p t e r . D e s p i t e t h e r a i n o u t s i d e , t h e r e se em e d t o b e a s p e c i a l w a r m th an d e l e c t r i c i t y i n s i d e , a s o l d f r i e n d s m e t - - m a n y h a d a t t e n d e d a l l 6 G e n e r a l M e m b e r s h ip M e e t i n g s .

T h e r e w e r e 110 s i g n a t u r e s o f v e t e r a n s i n t h e U n i t S i g n I n B o o k s .A g a i n , t h e 7 5 t h I n f a n t r y D i v i s i o n won t h e " m o s t members p r e s e n t " c o n t e s t , w i t h 11 v e t e r a n s s i g n e d i n . The 8 0 t h , 8 7 t h a n d 9 0 t h I n f a n t r y D i v i s i o n s t i e d w i t h 6 members e a c h , p r e s e n t . O t h e r s p r e s e n t w e r e a s f o l l o w s :

5 members 1 0 6 t h I n f a n t r y , 2nd A rm o re d D i v i s i o n4 Members I s t , 2 6 t h , 2 8 t h , I n f a n t r y D i v i s i o n s3 Members 8 3 r d , 8 4 t h , 9 4 t h , I n f a n t r y ; 3 r d , 9 t h A rm o re d D i v i s i o n s2 Members 3 0 t h , 3 5 t h , 7 8 t h I n f a n t r y D i v i s i o n s

82nd A i r b o r n e1 Member 2 n d , 9 t h , 6 9 t h , 7 6 t h , 9 0 t h , 1 0 3 r d I n f a n t r y D i v i s i o n s

5 t h A rm ore d D i v i s i o n 1 0 1 s t A i r b o r n e 9 t h A i r c o r p s 1 1 t h TAG

T h e r e w e r e 23 v e t e r a n s f ro m M i s c e l l a n e o u s G r o u p s , i n c l u d i n g 4 Array N u r s e s f r o m F i e l d H o s p i t a l s ; 3 A s s o c i a t e members w e r e r e g i s t e r e d .

The C e n t r a l New York C h a p t e r h o s t e d t h i s m o s t s u c c e s s f u l m e e t i n g . Members o f t h a t C h a p t e r s t a f f e d t h e r e g i s t r a t i o n d e s k , s e r v e d a s h o s t s t o t h e i n c o m i n g members an d made g u e s t s f e e l w e l c om e i n t h e c h e e r f u l h o s p i t a l i t y room . A b i g " T h a n k You" t o C h a p t e r P r e s i d e n t ,B i l l M i t c h e l l an d h i s a s s i s t a n t A1 N o c e , S r !!

The m e e t i n g s t a r t e d w i t h a "Welcome M i x e r " , on T h u r s d a y e v e n i n g .M u s i c a n d t a s t y f i n g e r f o o d s p l u s t h e e x c i t e m e n t o f s e e i n g o l d f r i e n d s made t h e e v e n t a h a p p y o c c a s i o n .

September 18, 1987The d a y ' s e v e n t s s t a r t e d w i t h a m e m o r i a l s e r v i c e c o n d u c t e d by G e o r g e H a l l , J r , VBOB C h a p l a i n . The 49 members who p a s s e d away s i n c e t h e l a s t G e n e r a l M e m b e r s h ip M e e t i n g , w e r e r e m e m b e r e d by t h e r e a d i n g o f t h e i r names an d t h e p l a c i n g o f r e d r o s e s i n a w r e a t h .Mrs H e l e n B e r r y ( Widow o f W a l t e r B e r r y , a v e t e r a n o f t h e B a t t l e o f

T h e B u l g e ) a n d B e r n a d i n e Q u i n n d i d t h e h o n o r s o f p l a c i n g t h e r o s e s i n t h e w r e a t h . I t w a s a s p e c i a l p l e a s u r e t o h a v e Ms. Quinn a n d h e r M o t h e r a t t e n d t h e c e r e m o n y - - M s . Q u i n n ' s f a t h e r , E d w a r d J . Quinn ( n o w d e c e a s e d ) h a d s e r v e d i n t h e 1 0 3 r d I n f a n t r y D i v i s i o n , 4 1 1 I n f . C o B d u r i n g t h e B u l g e , a n d B e r n a d i n e h a d h o p e d s h e m i g h t m e e t s o m e o n e f r o m h e r f a t h e r ' s u n i t .

T h e G e n e r a l M e m b e r s h i p B u s i n e s s m e e t i n g w a s h e l d f r o m 1pm t o 5pm.T h e m e e t i n g w a s c a l l e d t o o r d e r by G e o r g e C h e k a n , P r e s i d e n t ; f o l l o w e d b y t h e P l e d g e o f A l l e g i a n c e , l e d by E u g e n e D r o u i l l a r d a n d t h e I n v o c a t i o n by C h a p l a i n G e o r g e H a l l , J r .

M e m b e r s i n t r o d u c e d t h e m s e l v e s , g i v i n g t h e i r n a m e s a n d u n i t s s e r v e d w i t h d u r i n g t h e B u l g e . T he r e were 85 members p r e s e n t a t t h e m e e t i n g .T h e f o l l o w i n g r e p o r t s w e r e d i s c u s s e d a n d a p p r o v e d :

M e m b e r s h i p ................................N e i l B. T h o m p s o nM i l i t a r y A f f a i r s ...............E u g e n e D r o u i l l a r dC h a p t e r s ......................................R o b e r t Van H o u t e nB a t t l e o f t h e B u l g e G a l l e r y , . D o r o t h y S , D a v i sN e w s l e t t e r ................................ R o b e r t Lemmon ( n o t p r e s e n t )T r e a s u r e r ' s R e p o r t . . . . W i l l i a m R. H e m p h i l l

T h e c o m p l e t e B o o k o f R e p o r t s i s on f i l e w i t h t h e R e c o r d i n g S e c r e t a r y .

An i n d e p t h r e p o r t o f t h e c u r r e n t s t a t u s o f t h e B a t t l e o f t h e B u l g e G a l l e r y w a s g i v e n by D o r o t h y S . D a v i s , C h a i r m a n . E f f o r t s a r e p r o g r e s s i n g t n b u i l d a n a d d i t i o n t o t h e p r e s e n t F o r t M e a d e M u s e u m ,F o r t M e a d e , M a r y l a n d - - t h i s a d d i t i o n w i l l be used t o p r e s e r v e and d i s p l a y a r t i f a c t s a n d w r i t t e n m a t e r i a l s o f t h e B a t t l e o f t h e B u l g e .T h e M e m o ra n d u m o f A g r e e m e n t h a s b e e n p r e s e n t e d t o F o r t M e a d e a n d p l a n s a r e t o h a v e i t s i g n e d by m i d O c t o b e r . Co nc ep tu a l p l a n s h av e been d r a w n u p by a n a r c h i t e c t a n d w e r e on d i s p l a y a t t h e b a n q u e t . T h e e s t i m a t e d c o s t t o c o m p l e t e t h i s g a l l e r y i s i n t h e $ 7 5 0 , 0 0 0 . 0 0 r a n g e - - o f w h i c h $ 3 0 , 0 0 0 . 0 0 m u s t b e r a i s e d by D e c e m b e r 1 / 8 7 T h i s a m o u n t i s n e c e s s a r y t o m e e t i m m e d i a t e c o s t o f p l a n s a n d p r o c u r i n g t h e a s s i s t a n c e o f a p r o f e s s i o n a l f u n d r a i s e r a s w e l l a s t o i n d i c a t e i n t e r e s t i n t h e G a l l e r y by t h e M e m b e r s h i p . I t w a sd e c i d e d t o f o r m a " F o u n d e r ' s 5 0 0 " g r o u p ---------- a l l o f t h o s e m a k i n g aa c o n t r i b u t i o n o f $500 .00 t o t h e G a l l e r y by December 1 /87 w i l l be a member o f t h i s g r o u p , a n d t h e n am e a n d u n i t o f t h e d o n o r w i l l b e p l a c e d on a p l a q u e t o b e d i s p l a y e d i n t h e M e m o r i a l L o b b y o f t h e G a l l e r y .C h e c k s f o r $ 5 0 0 . 0 0 may b e m a d e c u t t o t h e " B a t t l e n f t h e B u l g e G a l l e r y " , a n d s e n t t o : B o x 2 5 1 6 , K e n s i n g t o n , MD 2 0 8 9 5 - 0 8 1 8 .T h i s d o n a t i o n i s t a x d e d u c t i b l e . A G e n e r a l M e m b e r s h i p f u n d d r i v e w i l l b e c o n d u c t e d s o o n - - e v e r y o n e ' s c o n t r i b u t i o n w i l l b e n e e d e d ! ! !

We w e r e p l e a s e d t o h a v e w i t h u s , B r e n d a n H a g g e r t y , F i n a n c i a l D e v e l o p m e n t O f f i c e r , A m e r i c a n Red C r o s s . Mr . H a g g e r t y s p o k e t o t h e g r o u p a b o u t v a r i o u s a v e n u e s o f f u n d r a i s i n g - - a n d t h a t m o s t i m p o r t a n t a t t h i s t i m e i s t o sh o w t h e i n t e r e s t o f t h e e x e c u t i v e m e m b e r s h i p o f VBOB b y r a i s i n g t h e $ 3 0 , 0 0 0 . 0 0 t o b e u s e d a s " s e e d m o n e y " a s s o o n a s p o s s i b l e . I n a p p r e c i a t i o n f o r h i s i n t e r e s t a n d s u p p o r t o f VBOB, N e i l T h o m p s o n p r e s e n t e d Mr . H a g g e r t y w i t h a n e m b r o i d e r e d VBOB l o g o p a t c h . A q u e s t i o n a n d a n s w e r s e s s i o n f o l l o w e d t h e s e tw o r e p o r t s .

(con 'd . fr o m page S)

A f t e r a s h o r t b r e a k W i l l i a m G r e e n v i l l e a n d G e o r g e C h e k a n d i s c u s s e d t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f a n " O v e r s e a s i n ' 8 8 " t r i p t o B e l g i u m a n d L u x e m b o u r g . A G e n e r a l M e m b e r s h i p M e e t i n g c o u l d b e h e l d i n b o t h o f t h e s e c o u n t r i e s . A c h a r t e r e d a i r f l i g h t w i l l b e c o n s i d e r e d w i t h s e v e r a l d a y s t o b e s p e n t i n e a c h , L i e g e a n d L u x e m b o u r g .M e e t i n g w i t h v a r i o u s s t a t e o f f i c i a l s a n d t r i p s t o t h e b a t t l e f i e l d s w o u l d b e i n c l u d e d i n t h e t r i p . T h e l e n g t h o f t h e t r i p c o u l d b e f r o m 12 t o 15 d a y s ( e a r l y S e p t e m b e r ) a n d i t w a s h o p e d t h a t t h e c o s t c o u l d b e h e l d t o a p p r o x i m a t e l y $ 2 0 0 0 . 0 0 . A b o u t 4 5 p e r s o n s i n d i c a t e d t h e y w o u l d b e i n t e r e s t e d i n s u c h a t r i p .

O t h e r c o m m e n t s i n c l u d e d :* I f p o s s i b l e l e a v e a i r f a r e o p e n e n d e d s o t h o s e who w i s h t o d o

s o , c o u l d e x t e n d t i m e o v e r s e a s .* G o v e r n s i z e o f t o u r g r o u p t o t h e e x p e c t e d b u s s i z e .* M o s t a i r c o m p a n i e s a n d t r a v e l a g e n c i e s w i l l t a i l o r t h e

t r i p t o t h e u s i n g a g e n c y ' s r e q u i r e m e n t s .I t w a s c o n c l u d e d t h a t t h e p r e s i d e n t w i l l a p p o i n t a c o m m i t t e e t o r e s e a r c h t h e v a r i o u s p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r t h i s t r i p a n d r e p o r t t h e i r f i n d i n g s t o t h e G e n e r a l M e m b e r s h i p t h r o u g h t h e B u l g e B u g l e .

C o m m e n t s b y t h e M e m b e r s h i p :

* N e i l T h o m p s o n - - T h e r e a r e now 4 5 3 7 l i s t e d m e m b e r s i n VBOB, b u t t h e r e i s a g r e a t n e e d t o r e c r u i t a s s o c i a t e m e m b e r s s u c h a s s o n s a n d d a u g h t e r s o f t h e v e t e r a n s , f r i e n d s o f VBOB, a n d r e l a t i v e s o f t h o s e k i l l e d i n b a t t l e o r s i n c e d e c e a s e d .

* R o b e r t V an H o u t e n - - P l a n s t o u s e u n i t / d i v i s i o n r e u n i o n s t o r e c r u i t new m e m b e r s f o r VBOB a n d d e v e l o p i n t e r e s t i n f o r m i n g new c h a p t e r s a r o u n d t h e c o u n t r y .

* E u g e n e D r o u i l l a r d - - D i s c u s s e d t h e d e d i c a t i o n o f t h e v e r y i m p r e s s i v e p l a q u e , i n h o n o r o f t h e B a t t l e o f t h e B u l g e p a r t i c i p a n t s , on D e c e m b e r 1 6 , 1 9 8 6 i n A r l i n g t o n N a t i o n a l Ceme t e r y .

' • W i l l i a m H e m p h i l l - - l n f o r m e d t h e m e m b e r s t h a t so m e o f t h e o f f i c e w o r k i s now b e i n g p e r f o r m e d by " M o v e r ' s I n f o r m a t i o n S e r v i c e " . T h i s c o m p a n y c o l l e c t s t h e m a i l ; s o r t s a n d s e n d s m a i l t o t h e a p p r o p r i a t e p e r s o n ; r e c o r d s new m e m b e r s a n d o t h e r , t a s k s a s n e e d e d . We w e r e m o s t p l e a s e d t o h a v e t h e o w n e r s o f t h a t c o m p a n y , O l l i e a n d D a l e C h a p m a n , j o i n u s a t t h e VBOB M e e t i n g .

Mr H e m p h i l l a l s o s u g g e s t e d t h a t VBOB c o n s i d e r p u b l i s h i n g a d i r e c t o r y o f t h e n a m e , a d d r e s s a n d u n i t o f t h e m e m b e r s .T h e m e m b e r s c o u l d b e l i s t e d a l p h a b e t i c a l l y a s w e l l a s by u n i t a n d s t a t e . T h i s s u g g e s t i o n a p p e a r e d t o h a v e t h e a p p r o v a l o f t h e m e m b e r s h i p .

* G e o r g e H a l l - - u r g e d m e m b e r s t o i n v i t e f r i e n d s a n d v e t e r a n s f r o m o t h e r o r g a n i z a t i o n s t o b e c o m e m e m b e r s o f VBOB.

* P e t e r D o u n i s - - O f f e r e d t o l e a d t h e i n i t i a t i v e i n a p p r o a c h i n g t h e P o s t a l D e p a r t m e n t t o c o n s i d e r t h e i s s u e o f a VBOB C o m m e m o r a t i v e S t a m p .

(con 'd . fr o m page 4)

C l y d e B o d e n , C h a i r m a n o f t h e N o m i n a t i n g C o m m i t t e e , p r e s e n t e d t h e f o l l o w i n g s l a t e o f o f f i c e r s f o r t h e c o m in g y e a r - - D e c e m b e r 1 6 , 1987 t o De c em b e r 1 5 , 1 9 8 8 :

P r e s i d e n t ........................................................ G e o r g e Ch e k anE x e c u t i v e V i c e P r e s i d e n t ................ W i l l i a m G r e e n v i l l eV i c e P re s i d e n t fo r Reg. A f f a i r s . . . . R o b e r t Van H o u t e n V i c e P re s i d en t fo r M i l i t a r y Af fa i rs .Eugene D ro u i l l a rdVice P re s id e n t fo r Membership................Nei l ThompsonT r e a s u r e r ........................................................... W i l l i a m H e m p h i l lR e c o r d i n g S e c r e t a r y ..............................D o r o t h y D a v i sC o r r e s p o n d i n g S e c r e t a r y ...................B e v e r l e y Van H o u t e n

A m o t i o n was m ad e , s e c o n d e d an d a p p r o v e d t o a c c e p t t h i s s l a t e .

The m e e t i n g was a d j o u r n e d a t 5pm by t h e p r e s i d e n t , G e o r g e C h e k a n .

Octobeffest

The members e n j o y e d a b u f f e t o f t a s t y OcLu'berftst foods, go odc o n v e r s a t i o n an d an e v e n i n g o f f u n an d d a n c i n g t o the g r e a t m u s i co f a l o c a l B a v a r i a n Band (who sa id we w e r e too o ld t o d a n c e t h e P o l k a ? ? ? )

September 19, 19S7D e s p i t e t h e c l o u d s an d o c c a s i o n a l r a i n d r o p s many o f t h e members e n j o y e d t h e b o a t t o u r o f t h e b e a u t i f u l " T h o u s a n d I s l a n d " a r e a o f t h e S t , L a w r e n c e R i v e r . A f t e r t h e t o u r , t h e g r o u p e n j o y e d l u n c h a t a l o v e l y r e s t a u r a n t o v e r l o o k i n g t h e r i v e r - - r e t u r n i n g b a c k t o t h e m o t e l by 5pm.

The g r a n d f i n a l e t o t h e m e e t i n g was t h e e v e n i n g c o c k t a i l h o u r an d b a n q u e t . A r c h i t e c t u a l p l a n s an d a r t i s t ' s d r a w i n g s o f t h e p r o p o s e d B a t t l e o f t h e B u l g e G a l l e r y w e r e on d i s p l a y f o r t h i s e v e n t .W i l l i a m G r e e n v i l l e a c t e d a s M a s t e r o f C e r e m o n i e s f o r t h e b a n q u e t p r o g r a m . C e r t i f i c a f e s o f A p p r e c i a t i o n w e r e a w a r d e d t o t h e two p a s t P r e s i d e n t s , C l y d e Boden an d R o b e r t Van H o u t e n by G e o r g e C h e k a n .

E a r l e H a r t i n t r o d u c e d t h e s p e a k e r f o r t h e e v e n i n g , H a r o l d "B ud " L e i n b a u g h , c o - a u t h o r o f t h e p o p u l a r b o o k , "T he Men o f Company K",Mr. L e i n b a u g h s p o k e a b o u t t h e w r i t i n g o f t h e b o o k ; t h e c o m b a t s o l d i e r ; and a b o u t w r i t i n g a r t i c l e s on "An Old S o l d i e r Lo o k s a t t h e New Army" . T h i s m o s t i n t e r e s t i n g p r e s e n t a t i o n was e n j o y e d by t h e many " o l d s o l d i e r s " p r e s e n t .

An e v e n i n g o f d a n c i n g f o l l o w e d t h e b a n q u e t . The s i x t h G e n e r a l M e m b e r s h i p M e e t i n g e n d e d w i t h t h e Band an d one o f t h e VBOB m e mb ers , W i l l i a m Tayman , l e a d i n g t h e g r o u p i n s i n g i n g "God B l e s s A m e r i c a " .

" i t was t h e b e s t m e e t i n g e v e r " , c o u l d b e h e a r d t h r o u g h o u t t h e l o b b y a s , o n S un d ay m o r n i n g , t h e members w e r e b i d d i n g " g o o d b y e s " t o o l d f r i e n d s an d c o m r a d e s .

(con'd. from pag€ 5)

<con'd from page 6)

Many p e o p l e w o rk e d l o n g an d h a r d t o make t h i s a s u c c e s s f u l m e e t i n g , a b i g " t h a n k yo u " t o a l l o f them T h i s l o n g l i s t i n c l u d e s :

* B i l l M i t c h e l l ................ P r e s i d e n t o f t h e C e n t r a l NY C h a p t e r*A l N o c e ................................ H i s m o s t a b l e a s s i s t a n t“' W i l l i a m G r e e n v i l l a . G e n e r a l C h a i r m a n o f t h e General Membership Mtg.' •Del i lah Dounis.................... Chaired the many d e t a i l s of r e g i s t r a t i o n'■'Barbara M i t c h e l l . . . . P h o t o g r a p h e r ' - 'Reg is t r a t ion Desk V o l u n t e e r s :

F r a n k an d H e l e n S a k o w s k i Edwin an d G l o r i a W i l d e n a u r B i l l an d L o r r a i n e G o rd e n Don an d Norma G a f f n e y A l f r e d an d A l d a C a r d u c c i

Mudge G r e e n v i l l e V i r g i n i a S c a r p e l l o D i c k W r i g h t F r a n k M i n i c h i l l o Ed Mudz ino

- 'Eugene D r o u i l l a r d . •-‘H a r o l d L e i n b a u g h . . - 'B re n d an H a g g e r t y . .

I Ed W a l d r o n'-‘C l y d e B o d e n ...................P r o v i d e d g u i d a n c e t o t h e c o m m i t t e e an d conducted

the"swear ing in" ceremony f o r the new o f f i c e r s . L e d t h e g r o u p i n t h e P l e d g e o f A l l e g i a n c e . S e r v e d a s t h e s p e a k e r a t t h e b a n q u e t .G av e a p r e s e n t a t i o n on "F u n d D r i v e s " a t

t h e b u s i n e s s m e e t i n g•- 'George H a l l , J r ............. D e l i v e r e d s e v e r a l i n v o c a t i o n s an d p r e s i d e d

a t t h e M e m o r i a l S e r v i c e* H e l e n B e r r y ..................... A s s i s t e d w i t h t h e M e m o r i a l S e r v i c e* B e r n a d i n e Q u i n n . . . . A s s i s t e d w i t h t h e M e m o r i a l S e v i c e

And o f c o u r s e a b i g " T h a n k You" t o t h e P r e s i d e n t o f VBOB, G e o r g eC h e k a n -------and t o a l l o f t h e VBOB Members w h o , , b y t h e i r p r e s e n c e ,h e l p e d t o make t h i s m e e t i n g a m e m o r a b l e e v e n t ! ! !

D o r o t h y S ^ i n b i s D a v i s R e c o r d i n g s e c r e t a r yV e t e r a n s o f t h e B a t t l e o f t h e B u l g e

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

■SCOTr = ^ s .V A V iQ r^

CONCEPTUAL PLANS, BATTLE OF THE BULGE GALLERY, FORT MEADE MUSEUM

Malcolm Muszynski, a retired River Rouge firefighter an<! survivor of the Battle of she Bulge, which was fought during V('orld War II, shows a photograph of himself and his three brothers which will be displayed in iViichigan's Own rTiiiiiary and Spacc “ uscuni in F rar .kcr .rr .u th . In the f r a m e d nhniogranh are his brothers. Melvin, a twm, n o w of Southgate, and Clarence, of Wvandotte. who also.fought !r>. the battle with him. Their brother, Paul, now deceased, and also shown, was not in the war. (Photo.by John Simon)

Rouge veteran remembers biggest W W I I battle

i n M A R T I N M L L C A H YSPECIA L

'I'o llujsf Luiii in the ba b y b o om er genera t ion , the soldiers and the batt les of W orld W a r II are only read ab o u t in history books and rem em b ered on the dates of im[)ortant w ar anniversaries.

T o veterans of the w ar, an d the civilians w ho sup- [xirte<l it, those E u ro p ea n a n d Pacific ba tt les p rov id ­ed mixed feelings of p ride, p a tr io t ism an d a rea l iza ­tion of the h orro r of war.

F o rm er Sgt. M alco lm M u szy nsk i , a R iver R ouge resident, rem em b ers very clearly his w ar experiences. H e is a W orld W a r I I ve teran of p e rh ap s the most significant ba tt le in A m erican history, the Batt le of the Bulge.

In luiditioii lu his being g ran ted two B ronze S tars and a P urp le H ear t , M us/.ynski is no tab le for his and liis two b ro th e r s ’ recen t involvem ent in M ic h ig a n ’s

O w n .Military and Space M u seu m in F ra n k e n m u th .'Phe M uszynsk i family was well represented in the

w ar by tliree of the four b rothers: M alco lm , his twin brother, .Melvin, and Clarence, the youngest. C o in ­cidentally , all three fought in the B attle of the Bulge, a lthough regula tions d ic ta ted th a t they fight in d i f ­ferent divisions.

All three cam e th rough th a t ba tt le unsca thed , but each was vvoutided at some [>oint d u r ing the war. All are alive tfxiay.

M u s z y n sk i ’s paren ts obviously had a good deal to worry ab o u t d u r ing the w ar years.

“ M y p a re n ts were very concerned for u s , ” M uszynski said. “ T h ey were very apprehensive. We received letters from them two or th ree times a w eek .”

T h e Batt le of the Bulge began the m orn ing of Dec. 16, 194-‘i , in the Fores t of Ardennes, located in

( C o n t ' d . o n P g . 9 )

Dad Sends A Christmas GreetingE v e r y m o m e n t e x p e r i e n c e d b y T e d J .B r e e d e n d u r i n g h i s t w e n t y - s e v e n d a y s o f c o m b a t in t h e B a t t l e o f t h e B u l g e w a s f u z e d i n t o h i s m e m o r y , b u t C h r i s t m a s D a y w a s t h e m o s t i g n o m i n i o u s .

As h e l a y o n h i s b a c k ( s o a k i n g u p a l i t t l e s u n ) b e s i d e h i s r e c e n t l y d u g s l i t t r e n c h o v e r l o o k i n g t h e t o w n o f G r a n d m e n i l , t h r e e L o c k h e e d P - 3 8 ' s f l e w i n t o v i e w .

A b e a u t i f u l s i g h t to a C a l i f o r n i a b o y w h o k n e w t h a t b a c k ho m e t w o a u n t s , tw o u n c l e s , h i s m o t h e r a n d f a t h e r ( T e d L. B r e e d e n ) w e r e w o r k i n g o v e r t i m e p u t t i n g t h i s t y p e a i r c r a f t i n t o t h e a i r .

B u t t h e n a s h e g a z e d a t t h e u n d e r b e l l i e s o f t h e p l a n e s o v e r h e a d , h e u n b e l i e v a b l y sa w e a c h a i r c r a f t r e l e a s e t w o sm a l l b o m b s . T h e y a p p e a r e d t o b e c o m i n g d i r e c t l y d o w n h i s t h r o a t a s h e r o l l e d i n t o t h e p r o t e c t i v e c o v ­e r o f h i s t r e n c h .

T h e g r o u n d s h u d d e r e d w i t h t h e i m p a c t , b u t t h e a c t u a l e x p l o s i o n w a s on t h e r o a d a b o u t t w e n t y y a r d s a b o v e h i s p o s i t i o n . T h e e x p l o s i o n s c a t t e r e d r e m n a n t s o f a 7 5 th I n ­f a n t r y D i v i s i o n s u p p l y t r u c k i n t o t h e t r e e s a n d b r u s h .

S o m e h o w in t h e c o n f u s i o n o f t h e d a y t h e p i l o t s h a d f a i l e d t o s e e t h e f r i e n d l y m a r k e r s o r d i d n o t t r u s t w h a t t h e y w e r e s e e i n g .

T h e s e n i o r B r e e d e n c e r t a i n l y h e a r d a b o u t t h e f i a s c o a n d h a s b e e n r e m i n d e d on n u m e r - o u r o c c a s i o n s d u r i n g t h e p a s t 42 y e a r s .

I n c i d e n t a l l y , T e d ( t h e y o u n g e r ) h a s j u s t r e t i r e d f r o m t h i s s a m e L o c k h e e d C o m p a n y w h e r e h e w a s e m p l o y e d in t h e i r P u b l i c a ­t i o n s a n d G r a p h i c A r t s D e p a r t m e n t .

I t ' s h a r d t o h o ld a g r u d g e .

. . . T e d J . B r e e d e n , C o . I , 3d B n ,2 89 th R e g t , 7 5 th I n f a n t r y D iv i s i o n

"T h is IS undoub ted ly the g rea te s t A m e n c a n battle of the war and will, 1 believe , be rega rded as an e v e r - fa m o u s A m erican victory "

Sir W inston C hurchill addressing the H ouse o f C o m m o n s

fo llow ing th e Battle o f the Bulge

On 24 J u l y 1945 a c e r t i f i c a t e w a s p r e p a r e d in t h e o f f i c e o f t h e R e g i m e n t a l C o m m a n d e r o f t h e 333d I n f a n t r y a u t h o r i z i n g WOJG A l b e r t C . C a r l i n t o w e a r B r o n z e S e r v i c e S t a r s on h i s EAME T h e a t e r R i b b o n f o r t h e f o l l o w i n g c a m p a i g n s : R h i n e l a n d , A r d e n n e s a n d C e n t r a l E u r o p e . I t w a s s i g n e d b y E d ­win M. T h i e r r y , 1st L t , A d j u t a n t .

T h i s c e r t i f i c a t e w a s s u b m i t t e d b y A1 C a r l i n a s p r o o f o f e l i g i b i l i t y to join V B O B a s a r e g u l a r m e m b e r . T h e f u l l c i r c l e i s t h a t Ed T h i e r r y , V BO B m e m b e r , w a s o n e o f o u r v o l u n t e e r w o r k e r s in V B O B h e a d q u a r t e r s p r i o r t o i t s r e o r g a n i z a t i o n s e v e r a l m o n t h s a g o . Ed r e m e m b e r s A1 a n d p l a n s to d r o p him a n o t e . I t ' s a sm a l l w o r l d .

. . .VVm. H e m p h i l l

62 9TH T A N K D E S T R O Y E R B A T T A L I O N

Dom P . O . M a r i n o , a p r o s p e c t i v e V B O B me m ­b e r , r e q u e s t s i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t h i s o ld o u t ­f i t . S o r r y - V B O B d o e s n ' t l i s t a m e m b e r f r o m t h e 6 2 9 t h . R e s e a r c h i n d i c a t e s t h a t i t w a s a s e p a r a t e TD b a t t a l i o n , s e l f - p r o p e l l e d , e q u i p p e d w i t h M- lO ' s . I t w a s o r g a n i z e d 15 D ec 41 a t F t . M e a d e , MD a n d s a i l e d f r o m NY PE 1 J a n 44, l a n d e d in E n g l a n d 8 J a n 44 a n d F r a n c e 2 J u l 44 . T h e u n i t p a r t i c i p a t e d in t h e N o r m a n d y , N o r t h e r n F r a n c e , A r d e n - n e s - A I s a c e , R h i n e l a n d a n d C e n t r a l E u r o p e c a m p a i g n s . I t w a s a t t a c h e d to 9 t h I n f . D iv , 2 8 t h I n f . D i v , 2d I n f . D i v , 5 t h A r m d . D i v , 7 5 th I n f . Div a n d 82d A b n . D i v . A n y o n e k n o w i n g i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h i s u n i t o r i t s f o r m e r m e m b e r s , p l e a s e n o t i f y V B O B , P . O . B o x 11129, A r l i n g t o n , VA 22210-2129.

. . .Wm . H em p h i l l

T H E F U L L C I R C L E

• r o u g e V E T E R A N REMEMB ERS B I G G E S T WWII B A T T L E ( C o n t ' d . f r o m P a g e 8 )

France and Belgium. It lasted 40 days.“ I t was the last big push that Hitler staged to rid

the (western) Allies of (their) Eastern F ront (in G er­m any),” Muszynski said. “ It d id n ’t pan out that way. He had the weather to contend with, and the Americans were very determ ined.”

In the battle, 100,000 Germans and 81,000 Americans were casualties. Soldiers fought in condi­tions Muszynski described as “miserable . . . it was the worst winter they had in 20 years. I t was far below zero, and snowing all the time. And once we began, there was no lull to it. Fighting was con­tinuous.”

In spite of the horrible conditions and the tremen­dous loss of life at the Bulge, the war continued on for several months. “ We were told tha t this was the last big push Germany had to make. But there was a lot of war left even after th a t ,” Muszynski said.

DOGFACECo ld m u d . P i e r c i n g r a i n . H o u r s m a r c h i n g . No r e s t . S h o u l d e r e d r i f l e , b a n d o l i e r s , g r e n a d e s a c r o s s h i s b r e a s t .F e e t w e t a n d s o r e . Mind w e a r y . His h e a r t s i c k . C a s t t o h e l l t h o s e t h i s m i s e r y d i d i n f l i c t .

N i g h t h i s b l a n k e t . T h e m u d d y e a r t h h i s h o m e . His b o d y s h i v e r s . H is h e a r t w e e p s . L i p s g i v e n o m o a n .He l o o k s u p t o God a n d a s k s . Whe n wil l i t e n d ? T h e m a k e r s o f t h i s e v i l . T h e i r d a y in h e l l t o s p e n d .

M o r n i n g c o m e s . T h e e n e m y i s n e a r . He l l . H e ' s h e r e ! B o d y co l d a n d s o r e . B r a i n a l e r t . A h e a r t in f e a r . C r a c k i n g o f r i f l e s . T h e d e m o n i s h s c r e c c h o f a s h e l l . T h e s i g h t o f b l o o d . A c a l l f o r a i d . T h e b r i n k o f h e l l .

T h e b a t t l e r a g e s . P a i n . B l o o d . A n d d e a t h h e r o i c a l l y p r e v a i l .V i c t o r y c o m e s . H o p e o f s l e e p . S o m e t h i n g to e a t . P e r h a p s , s o m e mai l .D a y n e v e r c e a s i n g in s a c r i f i c e . M i s e r y a n d p a i n . Will i t e v e r e n d ? Will l i f e e v e r b e s a n e a g a i n ?

. . . F . S . "S l im" L y c h o c k - 1 9 4 6

MEMORIES

Return of The Regiments

At s o m e po in t in t h e Vietnann war, t h e U.S. Army did aw ay wi th t h e R eg i m en t a l S y s t e m an d a d o p t e d t h e Br igade format . W h e n t h i s h a p p e n e d m o s t of t h e f a m o u s r e g i m e n t s of WWII no l onge r ex i s t ed . Many p ro f e s s io na l Army p e o p l e t h o u g h t t h i s w a s a m i s t ake .

Ail V B 0 5 inei i iuti tb iheit s e r ved c a n recal l wvith p r i de t he i r div i si on an d r eg i men ta l co lo r s s n a p p i n g in t he b r e ez e a t t h e h ea d of t h e uni t . The co lo r s a l ong with t h e ba t t l e s t r e a m e r s w e r e s y m b o l s t ha t g e n e r a t e d a go o d dea l of e sp r i t d e c o r p s for t he outf i t .

Wi thin t h e p a s t m o n t h s t h e Army h as s y s t e m a t i c a l l y r e t u rne d to t h e Reg im en t a l S y s t e m (USARS). The re will be s ixty o n e ac t ive r e g i m e n t s in t h e s t a n d in g Army. A l thou gh w e c a n n o t fully e x ­plain how all of t h e r e g i m e n t s w e re s e l e c t e d , w e ca n d e s c r i b e how o n e w a s s e l e c t e d d u e to t h e fac t t ha t ou r a s s i s t a n t ed i t o r w a s a f o rme r m e m b e r of t ha t unit .

On A ug u s t 28, 1987 E. “ Lucky” L o i a co no w as not i f i ed t ha t t h e 54th Infantry R e g im e n t had b ee n ac t i v a t ed a s a r egu l a r a rm y r eg imen t . The reg i ­m e n t is r e p r e s e n t e d by s i ng l e t r a in ing bat t a l i on ,

Cold - Co ld - t h e w i n d ch i l l More t h a n o n e w a y t o k i l l .L a r g e t r u c k s l o a d e d w i t h A i r b o r n e H e a d i n g i n t o t h e b a t t l e s t o r m ,D e c e m b e r s e v e n t e e n t h n i n e t e e n h u n d r e d

a n d f o r t y - f o u r .D e a t h k n o c k i n g a t t h e d o o r - T h e y ' v e d o n e i t a g a i n P u s h e d r i g h t on t h r o u g h t h e A r d e n n e s T r o o p e r s a l e r t t o t h e f o r e .O n e - t h i r d c o m p a n y o n l e a v e O n e - t h i r d c o m p a n y in h o s p i t a l O n e - t h i r d c o m p a n y l o a d e d u p t o g o F i v e - O - E i g h tE i g h t y - S e c o n d A i r b o r n e J o e ' sP a s s t h r o u g h S t a v e l o t - M a l m e d y - S t . V i thS t o p t o r e s t a n h o u r a t B a s t o g n eS c r e a m i n g E a g l e s will ca l l i t ho m eB u t we t o t h e N o r t h - t o h o ld o p e n t h e r o a dC o l d , Co ld a n d w i n d c h i l lL o c k a n d lo a d p r e p a r e d t o ki l lT h e w h i t e s n o w s o f t a n d c l e a nD u l l i n g o u t t h e a n g u i s h s c r e a mNo m o r e c h a n c e t o s t o p a n d d r e a mUp a n d o u t a l l a l e r tA n d d e a t h a t e v e r y t u r n .I t w a s t h e b e g i n n i n g a n d t h e e n d C a l l e d t h e B a t t l e o f t h e B u l g e .

. . . V B O B M e m b e r Al lan H. S t e i n ,508 P a r a T r o o p I n f a n t r y , S2d A i r b o r n e D iv i s i o n

2nd Bat t al i on, 54th Inf., s t a t i o n a t Ft. Benn ing , Georg i a . In t ime of e m e r g e n c y two or t h r e e o t h e r b a t t a l i o n s wou ld be a d d e d t o br ing it up to r eg i men ta l s t r en g th . The uni t co lo r s , ba t t le s t r e a m e r s and t r ad i t i ons of t h e old r eg i m e n t will be ma i n t a i n e d by t h e new t roops .

The 54th Infantry, a s we re s o m e of t h e o th e r r eg i m en t s , w a s s e l e c t e d b e c a u s e of t h e u n i t ’s c o m ­ba t r e cord in vvvvii an d mo re spec i f ic a l i y b e c a u s e of i t s hero i c s t a n d in t h e d e f e n s e of B a s t o g n e du r ­ing t h e Bat t le of t h e Bulge wh i l e s e rv ing a s t he 20th, 54th and 61s t Armored Infantry Ba t t a l i ons of t h e Ten th Armored Division.

The v e t e r a n s of t h e Te n th Armored Infantry Ba t ­t a l i on s a r e very h o no re d for having t he i r uni t s e l e c t e d by t h e Army.

VBOB NEEDS

YOUR SU P PO R T!P lea se pay your d u e s promptly!

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«TOPKICK»TOPICS

T r o o p s , I s u r e am g l a d to s e e o u r y o u n g c o m r a d e s g e t t i n g so m e o f t h e c r e d i t t h e y d e s e r v e . T h e V i e t n a m v e t s g a v e a l l t h e y h a d w h e n U n c le a s k e d t h e m to l e n d a h a n d . No t al l o f t h e m r a n o f f t o C a n a d a b e c a u s e t h e y d i d n ' t b e l i e v e t h a t t h e V ie t n a m War w a s n o t a j u s t w a r . Some o f t h e f i n e s t y o u n g men a n d w om en w e n t to S o u t h e a s t A s i a a n d d i d t h e b e s t t h e y c o u l d - t h e b e s t w a y t h e y k n e w h o w .

o o o o o o o Old S a r g e h e r e m a k e s a p o i n t o f g e t t i n g i n t o c o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h v e t e r a n s o f t h a t w a r . I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o l i s t e n to t h e m . I t i s my p h i l o s o p h y t h a t we WWII t y p e s s h o u l d n o t t r y t o c o m p a r e w a r s . T h e i r s w a s v e r y d i f f e r e n t f r o m o u r s . Vietnam, w a s a d i f f i c u l t a n d c o n f u s i n g c o n f l a g r a t i o n . T h e y d e s e r v e al l t h e p a r a d e s a n d a c c o l a d e s t h a t we c a n g i v e t h e m . T h e y a r e t o b e c o m p l i m e n t e d f o r b u i l d i n g t h e i m p r e s s i v e m o n u m e n t in W a s h i n g t o n , t h e s e c o n d m o s t p o p u l a r s i g h t s e e i n g a t t r a c t i o n in t h e N a t i o n ' s C a p i t a l . ( T h e A e r o S p a c e M u s e u m i s f i r s t ) .

You k n o w . C o m r a d e s , s o m e h o w I d o n ' t r e m e m b e r t h e p a r a d e a f t e r WWII. I s a w a n e w s r e e l o f a l a r g e c o n t i n g e n t o f s o l d i e r s m a r c h i n g d o w n t h e C h a m p s - E l y s e e s a n d a f i v e - p i e c e b a n d a n d t h r e e g i r l s i n g e r s w h e n t h e USS W h e a t o n V i c t o r y l a n d e d in N ew Y o r k in M a r c h o f 1946.

By t h e w a y , j h a v e b e e n t o W a s h i n g t o n m a n y t i m e s a n d h a v e y e t t o f i n d t h e WWII m o n u ­m e n t . N o t t o w o r r y , V B O B T r o o p s . We will h a v e s o m e d a y a m u s e u m ( t h e B a t t l e o f t h e B u l g e H i s t o r i c a l C e n t e r ) a t F t . M e a d e , M a r y l a n d , j u s t o u t s i d e o f W a s h i n g t o n w h i c h will b e a m o n u m e n t in m e m o r y o f al l t h o s e w h o f o u g h t a n d d i e d in t h e b i g g e s t b a t t l e e v e r f o u g h t b y t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s A r m y . T h i n k a b o u t i t ! T h e w a y I f i g u r e , e v e r y b o d y h a s to d o h i s o r h e r o w n t h i n g . Now i t ' s o u r t u r n . A n y q u e s t i o n s ?

A P e r s o n a l In s igh t In to S y r a c u s e M ee t in g

This year was the first time a chapter has been award­ed and charged with handling and developing the com ­plete annual meeting program.

The sponsoring Central New York Chapter presented an interesting and spectacular event sprinkled with various mini-events that we will all remember for a long time. A group salute to those 35 people who made the meeting most enjoyable.

There were registerees from twenty four states and the District of Columbia, as well as former members o f for­ty different military units, large and small.

The highlight for Thursday was the “ welcome mixer” with “ favorites o f the forties” music.

On Friday morning we had our traditional Memorial Remembrance Service, conducted by Rev. George Hall, National Chaplain. The afternoon was consumed by our General Membership Meeting which included various reports, statements, comments and election of officers for 1987-88.

Friday night was the “ Octoberfest” with German food and music (yah,das ist goot).

Throughout the meeting the hospitality room was crowded. Everyone enjoyed the snacks and drinks. The Malmedy Massacre tapes were shown many times on Saturday.

Saturday began with a tou r /t r ip to One Thousand Islands and a visit to Bolte Castle in Alexandria Bay.The group withstood the bad elements and had a great time.

The gala banquet topped off the day’s activities following a cordial cocktail hour.

Clyde Boden and Bob Van Houten were presented with framed, colorful certificates by President George Chekan for their faithful and loyal service to VBOB d ur­ing their respective terms as president.

H. “ Bud” Leinbaugh was the guest speaker and im­parted words and thoughts that still linger.

The enthusiasm and inspiration shown and acquired at the meeting should propel VBOB into other states in the years to come.

The decision to cut the national umbilical cord attach­ed to our previous meetings blossomed into northern ethnic hospitality. We will not forget it.

Pete Doiinis

MEMORIAL SERVICE-GM M eeting ,S y r ac u s e , N.Y., Sep t . 18, 1987 - Helen Berry (left), w idow of VBOB ve te ran W al ter Berry, a n d B ernad ine Quinn, d a u g h te r of d e c e a s e d Edward J. Quinn, VBOB veteran , p lac e c a r n a t io n s in w rea th memoria l iz ing th is p a s t yearfe VBOB d e c e a s e d .

11

OUR LEGACY

v v iis t ______

CONCEPTUAL PLANS, BATTLE OF THE BULGE GALLERY, FORT MEADE MUSEUM

In 1986 a sma l l room in the F o r t Meade, Md Museum was deve loped as the B a t t l e of the Bulge G a l l e r y . La r ly in 1987, iu was dec ided t h a t to p r o p e r ly p r e s e r v e and d i s p l a y the a r t i f a c t s and documents o f t h i s g r e a t con­f l i c t , more space was needed. Over the p a s t6 months F t . Meade O f f i c i a l s and members of the VBOB H i s t o r i c a l Committee have been work­ing t o g e t h e r to d e s ig n the p la ns f o r an add­i t i o n to tiic p r e s e n t F t . Meade Museuiu, to be used e x c l u s i v e l y f o r r ec o u n t i n g the h i s t o r y of the B a t t l e of th e Bulge.Conceptual p l a ns a r e shown above.

George Chekan, P r e s i d e n t , has appo in te d the fo l lo win g pe r son s to the VBOB H i s t o r i c a l Committee to p r o v id e gu idance f o r , and implementat ion o f , t he p la ns f o r t h i s p r o j e c t :

Dorothy S. D a v i s , R . N . . .ChairmanCol. Clyde D. Boden----- Vice ChairmanGeorge ChekanM Gen. W.D. C r i t t e n b u r g e r , J r Cul . Eugene G. D r o u i l l a r d Judge John D. Goodin L t . C o l . R icha rd Guen te r E a r l e R. Har t Col . James H. Leach Harold P. Leinbaugh Char le s B. MacDonald Col . David E. P e r g r i n Ms Eva Popovich Col . A l f re d H.M. Shehab L t . Gen. Dewit t C. S m i t h , J r

Advi sor s to t h i s c o f m i t t e e a r e :■Brendan Hagger ty , F i n a n c i a l Development O f f i c e , American Red Cross

•Col. Anthony K. H o l t r y , D i r e c t o r a t e of P la n s , T r a i n i n g and M o b i l i z a t i o n

•Rober t S. Johnson , C u ra to r , F t . Meade Museun

The Memorandum of Agreement has been p r e ­sen ted to F t . Meade and the p lans w i l l be se n t through chan ne l s to the S ec r e ta r y of the Army f o r f i n a l app ro va l . An a r c h i t e c t has deve loped the conc ep t ua l p l a n s , and the p r o j e c t i s now a t the "Fund Ra i s i ng " s t a g e .

The es t i m a te d c o s t f o r the p r o j e c t , i n ­c l u d in g the p l a n s , b u i l d i n g , procurement ofCU.LJJ.Cl_U3 eiiiu uucuiiitiiiLi> diiu Liie tmipxuyuitiilof a p r o f e s s i o n a l fund r a i s e r , i s range of $750,000.00 . Of t h i s amount, $30,000.00 must be r a i s e d by December3 0 /87 to proceed w i t h the p r o j e c t .

Th is $30,000 .00 w i l l be used as "seed money", to pay f o r development p la n s , to meet c o s t s o f p r e p a r in g m a t e r i a l s f o r the p ro po sa l to be s e n t to the S e c r e ta r y of the Army, to f in a n c e the a s s i s t a n c e o f a p r o f e s s i o n a l Fund R a i s e r ---- and, most im­p o r t a n t to show the e x t e n t of commitment to t h i s p r o j e c t by the members of VBOB.

To r a i s e t h i s " seed money" in such a sh o r t t ime, i t was dec ided to e s t a b l i s h the "F ou nd er ' s 500" group. Per sons making a con t ib u t i o n o f $500.00 to the B a t t l e o f the Bulge G a l l e r y by December 30, 1987 w i l l be members of t h i s g roup , and the name and u n i t o f the donor w i l l be p lace d on a p laque to be d i s p l a y e d in the Memorial Lobby of the G a l l e r y . The c o n t r i b u t i o n may a l s o be made in the memory of a r e l a t i v e o r f r i e n d who fought in the Bulge. I f the donor wishes to remain anonymous, he o r she w i l l be l i s t e d as "A Fr ien d of VBOB". P l ea se complete the " C o n t r ib u t i o n Form" and send in w i th your don a t io n .

(com d on page !})

12

As scMDn as the Secretary of the Army has approved the p r o j ec t , a General Membership fund d r ive w i l l be h e l d " e v e r y o n e ' s con t r ibu t ion w i l l be needed. Information concerning t h i s fund d r ive w i l l be in the January i s sue of the Bugle.

We Veterans of the Ba t t l e of the Bulge have

a very unique o p p o r t u n i t y - r a r e l y do the t roops who were there have th i s avenue ava i l a b le to t e l l t h e i r s tory of a b a t t l e !

I t i s t ru ly now in the hands of a few (5000 members of VBOB) to insure tha t the deeds of the many (600,000 who fought in the Bulge) w i l l be accurate ly r e c o r d e d in h i s to ry !

(CO N TRIBU TIO N FORM )

FOUNDER’S 500”T h i s c o n t r i b u t i o n o f $ 5 0 0 . 0 0 to t h e B a t t l e o f t h e Bu lge G a l l e r y i s made byName_________________________________________________ Te 1. #______________________________A d d re s s

( c i t y ; ( s t a t e ) ( T T p T yP l e a s e c o m p l e t e ( p r i n t ) one o f th e f o l l o w i n g to be i n s c r i b e d on t h e p l a q u e

Name of donor (or donor and spouse i f des i r ed)______________________________________Unit served with dur ing Bulge________________________________________________________

I----- 1 I n Memory o fU n i t s e r v e d w i t h d u r i n g Bu lg e

I f you w i s h t o be an Anonymous d o n o r , t h e p l a q u e w i l l r e a d "A F r i e n d o f VBOB"

Make o u t c h e c k s t o : " B a t t l e o f t h e B u l ge G a l l e r y "Mai l t o : B a t t l e o f t h e B u l ge G a l l e r y ; Box 251 6 , K e n s i n g t o n , MD 20895-0 81 8I f you h a v e q u e s t i o n s you may c a l l :

D o r o t h y D a v i s , T e l . # 3 0 1 - 8 8 1 - 0 3 5 6 CONTRIBUTIONS ARE TAX DEDUCIAELE

Examples o f Inscriptions

JOHN P. & JAYNE L. DOE 84 INFD 333 INF CO K

IN MEMORY OF DAVID C. DOE

84 INFD 333 INF CO K

13

Members Speak OutH a r v e y L u t z , 110th C a n n o n Co , 28 th D iv , b a r t e n d e d f o r f o u r y e a r s a f t e r WVVIl, r a n a c a b b u s i n e s s f o r f o u r y e a r s , d r o v e a c e m e n t m i x e r f o r e i g h t y e a r s , a n d s p e n t 18 y e a r s a s o w n e r of a s o d a p o p m a n u f a c ­t u r i n g c o m p a n y . He r e t i r e d f i n a l l y in 1978, p l a y s go l f a n d m a i n t a i n s a l a r g e g a r d e n .He h a s b e e n b a c k to t h e A r d e n n e s a r e a in 1984 a n d 1986. H a r v e y w i s h e s to h e a r f ro m f o r m e r m e m b e r s o f C a n n o n Co . b e t w e e n 11/25/44 a n d 7 /4 5 — w r i t e him a 14106 D a v i s R d , W o o d s t o c k , IL 60098._____________________

J o h n M. F u s c o , Co . C, 37 th T k . B n , 4 th Arm d D iv , t e a m e d u p d u r i n g t h e A r d e n n e s C a m p a i g n , a f t e r h i s u n i t b e c a m e d i s o r g a n ­i z e d , w i th r i f l e m e n f r o m v a r i o u s u n i t s - 90 th D iv i s i o n , 359 th I n f . D iv , 82d A b n .D iv , e t c . At t h a t t ime m e m b e r s o f t h e Air C o r p s w e r e g i v e n r i f l e s a n d p u s h e d u p to t h e f r o n t . T h i s g r o u p o f f i g h t i n g men w e r e b e t t e r k n o w n b a c k t h e n a s so me of t h e " b a t t e r e d b a s t a r d s o f B a s t o g n e . "

J o h n A. A l l e r , Co . H, 331st I n f , 83d I n f . D iv , s e r v e d wi th h i s u n i t f ro m Ca m p A t t e r - b u r y , IN to W i t t e n b u r g , G e r m a n y ( 4 / 1 4 / 4 5 ) a n d was w o u n d e d t h e d a y h i s u n i t me t u p wi th t h e R u s s i a n f o r c e s . His a s s i g n m e n t w as w h a t "h e l l w as r e a l l y l i k e - n o h o l d s b a r r e d . " J o h n h a s b e e n b a c k to h i s WWII a r e a s tw ic e v ia c a r ( n o t o u r b u s ) . A s h o r t w a v e e n t h u s i a s t , J o h n ' s ca l l l e t t e r s a r e VV30JX, S u n C i t y , AZ._____________________

G e o r g e A. R e z n y , 6 8 t h O r d . B n , 526 O r d .H.M. Co , T a n k , r e c a l l s b e i n g c a l l e d o u t to go on D e t a c h e d S e r v i c e n i g h t p a t r o l in n o ­m a n ' s l a n d f ro m E u p e n , B e lg iu m 12/16 /44 .He w as in t h e t u r r e t o f a n a r m o r e d s c o u t c a r a n d t oo k p r i s o n e r s in GI u n i f o r m s . He r e m e m b e r s t h e g e t - a w a y j e e p a q u a r t e r mile b e h i n d a t al l t i m e s . G e o r g e t i m e d b u z z b o m b s o v e r V e r v i e r s e v e r y h a l f m i n u t e . On t h e f i r s t c l e a r d a y in t h e a r e a , h e w a t c h e d o u r b o m b e r s h e a d i n g n o r t h w i th e n e m y a n t i a i r c r a f t g u n s h i t t i n g a f ew a n d wi th e n e m y f i g h t e r s f l y i n g s o u t h j u s t o v e r t h e t r e e s . ___________________________

R. D. G i n d l e s b e r g e n n e v e r s e e s a n y t h i n g in " t h e B u g l e " a b o u t t h e 2 nd A r m o r e d D iv . o f w hic h h e i s a l i f e t ime h o n o r a r y m e m b e r . He w ould l ike to h e a r o f a n y o n e o f C B t r y , 78th A r m d . F ie l d A r t i l l e r y ; h e w a s a mem­b e r o f t h e 5 th G u n S e c t i o n . Wr i t e him a t 1684 M e c h a n i c s b u r g R d , W o o s t e r , OH 44691.

G e o r g e G. " S t e v e " S t e v e n s o n , Co . B , 103d E n g r . C o m b a t B n , 28 th D iv , w a s c a p t u r e d 12 /18/44 in H o s i n g e n , L u x e m b o u r g , h a v i n g h e l d t h e t o w n t h r e e d a y s w i t h Co . K, 110th I n f . b e f o r e r u n n i n g o u t o f ammo a n d s u p ­p l i e s . He w a s t a k e n to S t a l a g 4 - B , t h e n to 8 A a n d m a r c h e d a h e a d o f t h e R u s s i a n a r m y f o r 58 d a y s s t a r t i n g 2 /1 4 /4 5 a n d t h e n l i b e r ­a t e d 4 /1 3 /4 5 n e a r B r u n s w i c k , G e r m a n y b y 2d A r m d . C a v . R e c o n . Co . S t e v e k e p t a d i a r y o f t h e t o w n s h e p a s s e d t h r o u g h a n d o f i n c i d e n t s o f s h o o t i n g o f GI p r i s o n e r s a n d o t h e r a t r o c i t i e s . H is e v i d e n c e w a s u s e d a t t h e N u r e n b e r g War C r i m e T r i a l s . A n y mem­b e r o f V BO B w h o w a s o n t h e 5 8 - d a y m a r c h i s we lc om e t o a c o p y o f S t e v e ' s d i a r y . Wr i t e him a t 2211 R o s e c r o f t B l v d , F o r t W a s h i n g t o n , MD 20744 .__________________________________________

Z a r o C a l a b r e s e , 3d C a v . G p . ( M ) , a s k s i f a n y o n e c a n c o n f i r m t h i s i n c i d e n t . On 12/17 e a r l y a . m . h i s u n i t r e a c h e d a t o w n on t h e s o u t h e r n f l a n k o f t h e B u l g e . His C . O ,C a p t . C h a l i f , w a s c o n f e r r i n g in t h e s t r e e t w i t h so m e h i g h - r a n k i n g o f f i c e r s a m o n g whom w a s a s t o c k y , s h o r t , r o u n d - f a c e d G e n e r a l w h o e a r l i e r h a d h a d h i s s t a r r i p p e d o f f h i s u n i f o r m b y a p i e c e o f s h r a p n e l . _______________

E d w a r d R a p p , C o . C & D, 3 5 th T a n k B n ,4 th AD, r e m e m b e r s t h a t t h e l i g h t t a n k s o f Co . D w e r e t h e f i r s t i n t o W a r n a c h , B e l ­g i u m , s e v e n mi les S o u t h o f B a s t o g n e l a t e on C h r i s t m a s E v e 1944. Ed w a s t h e g u n n e r a n d h i s p l a t o o n ( e x c e p t f o r o n e t a n k ) w a s k n o c k e d o u t a n d , a l o n g w i t h a n I n f a n t r y p l a t o o n , h a d to a b a n d o n t h e a t t a c k . Ed r e c e i v e d t h e BSM w i t h "V " d e v i c e a n d t h e f i r s t o f t w o P u r p l e H e a r t s . On C h r i s t m a s d a y t h e v i l l a g e w a s r e t a k e n w i t h a l a r g e r f o r c e a n d a f t e r a l e n g t h y b a t t l e .

F . S . "S l im" L y c h o c k , Co . F , 2d B n , 3 28 th I n f , 2 6 t h I n f . D iv , w r o t e a po em w h i l e in t h e h o s p i t a l i n 1946 e n t i t l e d " D o g f a c e . " I t i s p u b l i s h e d e l s e w h e r e in t h i s e d i t i o n .U n d e r t h e GI Bi l l , Slim b e c a m e o n e o f t h e f i r s t a n d v e r y f e w male s e c r e t a r i e s f o r s e v e n y e a r s , t h e n c o n v e r t e d to t r a v e l i n g s a l e s m a n a n d f i n a l l y r e t i r e m e n t , w o n d e r i n g w h a t h a p p e n e d to t h e g u y s w i t h whom h e n e a r l y f r o z e t o d e a t h on t h e m a r c h f r o m Metz t o E s c h d o r f , L u x e m b o u r g . A f e w o f t h e m g o t t o g e t h e r a n d v i s i t e d L u x e m b o u r g l a s t y e a r . T h e y w e r e a b l e t o f i n d a n d p h o t o g r a p h t h e i r o ld f o x h o l e s in t h e f o r e s t -

14

Veterans Administration

Q — I am a v e t e r a n w i t h a s e r v i c e - c o n ­n e c t e d d i s a b i l i t y r a t e d a t 50 p e r c e n t . I h a v e r e c e i v e d a n i n j u r y w h i c h i s n o t s e r ­v i c e c o n n e c t e d , b u t w h i c h wil l r e q u i r e a p r o s t h e t i c a p p l i a n c e . Will t h e VA s u p p l y t h i s n e e d e d a p p l i a n c e ?

A — Y e s . A n y v e t e r a n w i t h a s e r v i c e - c o n n e c t e d d i s a b i l i t y o f 50 p e r c e n t o r m o r e m a y b e p r o v i d e d w i t h n e c e s s a r y p r o s t h e t i c a p p l i a n c e s f o r a n y m e d i c a l c o n d i t i o n .

Q — My a p p l i c a t i o n f o r a VA p e n s i o n w as t u r n e d d o w n s e v e r a l y e a r s a g o b e c a u s e my i n c o m e w a s to o h i g h . T h e r e h a v e b e e n so m e c h a n g e s in my h e a l t h a n d i n c o m e o v e r t h e l a s t f e w y e a r s . S h o u l d I a p p l y a g a i n ?

A — E n t i t l e m e n t to p e n s i o n i s b a s e d on y o u r c o u n t a b l e i n c o m e w h i c h c a n b e r e ­d u c e d b y m e d i c a l a n d c e r t a i n o t h e r e x ­p e n s e s . Al so t h e i n c o m e l i m i t a t i o n i s r a i s e d e a c h y e a r a n d y o u r i n c o m e m a y n o t h a v e i n c r e a s e d a t t h e s a m e r a t e . You s h o u l d c h e c k w i t h y o u r loc a l VA o f f i c e to d e t e r m i n e i f y o u a r e now e l i g i b l e to r e c e i v e a p e n s i o n .

CEBA Celebrates 15th AnniversaryS e c r e t a r y T i l l ie Kimmes o f C E B A , t h e L u x ­e m b o u r g - b a s e d B a t t l e o f t h e B u l g e r e s e a r c h o r g a n i z a t i o n , s e n t t o V B O B a c o p y o f t h e B U L G E , a n e w s - p a c k e d p e r i o d i c a l m a r k i n g t h e 15th y e a r o f C E B A ' s e x i s t e n c e . In a d ­d i t i o n , a VBO B m e m b e r s h i p c a r d in CEBA w a s r e c e i v e d .

T h e s e t h o u g h t f u l g i f t s w e r e a c k n o w l e d g e d b y P r e s i d e n t G e o r g e C h e k a n a t t h e VB O B E x e c u t i v e C o u n c i l M e e t i n g on J u n e 2 0 t h .He p o i n t e d o u t t h a t T i l l i e a n d h e r h u s ­b a n d , R o g e r , a r e w e l l - k n o w n t o s c o r e s o f VB O B m e m b e r s whom t h e y h a v e h o s t e d a n d l e d in L u x e m b o u r g a n d w h o met Ti l l i e w h e n s h e w a s a V B O B g u e s t a c o u p l e o f y e a r s a g o . . . . C l y d e D. 3 o d e n

Be a Buddy ... Sign Up a Buddy!!!

CRIBA Researches Missing GIs

A n d r 6 H u b e r t , A s s o c i a t e VBOB M e m b e r in B e l g i u m , w r i t e s c o n c e r n i n g C R I B A ' s c o n ­t i n u i n g r e s e a r c h e s f o r A m e r ic a n v e t e r a n s k n o w n d u r i n g t h e l i b ­e r a t i o n o f h i s c o u n t r y s o a n y o n e h a v i n g a n y i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e f o l l o w i n g tw o s e r v i c e ­men a r e a s k e d to i w r i t e t h e E d i t o r , THE r̂BULGE B U G L E .

-----S a m u e l B u d F e i n ,a F i r s t L i e u t e n a n t ,H q , 14th F . A . B n , p i c t u r e d in a p h o t o n e a r a sma l l o b s e r v a ­t io n p l a n e n e a r t h e e n d o f J a n u a r y 1945.He w a s b i l l e t e d in B e a u f a y s ( n e a r L i e g e ) a n d , in A u g u s 1945, w a s in H a s s e l t .

-----On D e c e m b e r 17,1944, a B e l g i a n m a n , w o r k i n g on a f a r m a t C l e r m o n t ( h a m l e t o f la V la m er ie n e a r H e n r i - C h a p e l l e ) d i s c o v e r e d so me G e r m a n p a r a ­t r o o p s h i d i n g in t h e b a r n s . He a l e r t e d a US u n i t i n t h e b a r r a c k s a t H e n r i - C h a p e l l e , T h e A m e r i c a n s to o k t h e G e r m a n s p r i s o n e r . T h e A m e r i c a n f i e l d - g r a d e o f f i c e r ( a b o v e ) g a v e t h e B e l g i a n man t h i s p i c t u r e . His n a m e m ay h a v e b e e n VVm. L i c h t e n s t e i n ( o r - b e r g o r - b u s c h ) a n d s a id h i s a n c e s t o r s c a m e f ro m B a v a r i a . T h e old B e l g i a n man w o u l d l i k e to k n o w m o r e a b o u t t h i s A m e r i ­c a n o f f i c e r .

BILL SIMP KINS & TOM GILLIS RE C OG N IZ E D F O R L O N G - T E R M S E R V I C E ++++++++++++++++

Bill S i m p k i n s , Vice P r e s i d e n t f o r N a t i o n a l & R e g i o n a l C o o r d i n a t i o n , a n d Tom Gi l l i s , C o r ­r e s p o n d i n g S e c r e t a r y , w e r e s a l u t e d b y P r e s i d e n t G e o r g e C h e k a n a t t h e VBO B E x e c ­u t i v e C o u n c i l M e e t i n g on J u n e 20 f o r l o n g a n d f a i t h f u l s e r v i c e . F a i l i n g h e a l t h a n d a c o m b i n a t i o n o f r e m o t e n e s s a n d v o l u m e of ma il , r e s p e c t i v e l y , h a v e b e e n c i t e d a s t h e r e a s o n s f o r n o m i n a t i n g r e p l a c e m e n t s .

Bil l s e r v e d w i t h t h e 510th F i g h t e r S q u a d r o n ; Tom w i t h t h e 4 th A r m o r e d D i v i s i o n . Both a r e c h a r t e r a n d l i f e m e m b e r s o f V B O B .

We w i s h th e m well a n d look f o r w a r d to t h e i r c o n t i n u e d i n t e r e s t a n d s u p p o r t . B o d e n

Personal M em orial D edicated to ComradesLas t S e p t e m b e r C h a r l e s E. McGui re , Co. C, 187th E n g i n e e r Combat Ba t t a l io n d e d i c a t e d a p e r s o n a l memorial p l a q u e h o n o r i n g f o u r f al l en C o m ra d e s of h i s u n i t a t t h e s i t e of t h e i r d e a t h s by t h e Old Windmill a t VValdfeucht, W. G e r m a n y . T h o s e imm or ta l i zed on t h e p l a q u e a r e Lt . Owen J . J o n e s , Cpl . Allen K. B o d t c h e r , T / 5 Lou is J . Combs a n d PFC Novie N. R o ss . T h e y d ied on 22 F e b r u a r y 1945.

C h uc k w an t s to c o n v e y hi s t h a n k s a n d s i n c e r e a p p r e c i a t i o n to h i s c o m r a d e s in E u r o p e , ac t iv e a n d r e t i r e d , whose s u p p o r t a n d p a r t i c i p a t i o n in t h e d e d i c a t i o n made t h a t d a y so memorab le . T h e s e peop le a r e NATO R e p r e s e n t a t i v e C a p t . D av id J . A q u a , E x e c u t i v e Of f i ­c e r , NATO AWACS, Air F o rc e B a se , B e i l e n k i r c h e n , G e r m a n y , who p r o v i d e d t h e H ono r G u a r d , Rifle S q u a d an d B u g l e r ; VFW C o m m an de r , G e r m a n y , J . B. Vi rg i l a n d C d r . B obb ie Black a n d C om rad es of Pos t 9659 who d r o v 3 all t h e way f rom S t e i n w e n d e n ; o u r sp e c i a l f r i e n d s f rom Be lg ium ' s CRIBA o r g a n i z a t i o n , P i e r r e G o s s e t , Cyr i l l e Co l l a rd a n d Arm ond Lewis a n d to all t h e Ame r icans who se a t t e n d a n c e h e l p e d to make t h a t d a y so s p e c ia l . C h u c k ' s s i n c e r e a p p r e c i a t i o n a l so go es to t h e VValdfeucht Co m mu ni t y D i r e c t o r , Helmuth M e r k e l b a c h . Wi thout his f r i e n d s h i p , s u p p o r t a n d d e d i c a t i o n to t h e p r o j e c t i t cou l d not ha ve t a k e n p l ac e .

Off icials from T h e N e t h e r l a n d s a n d German g o v e r n m e n t s a t t e n d e d , a l o n g wi th h u n d r e d s of local peop le f rom bo th s id e s of t h e b o r d e r who e m b r a c e d t h e m e m o r i a l as a co m mu ni t y p r o je c t a n d c e l e b r a t i o n .

Ch u c k is s t i l l s e a r c h i n g f o r s u r v i v i n g fami ly m e m b er s of L t . J o n e s a n d T / 5 Com bs . T h e B o d t c h e r a n d Ro ss famil ies h a v e be e n f o u n d . Any in f o rm a t i o n o r com mun ica t i on f rom fo rm e r 187th E n g i n e e r Co m ra d es would be a p p r e c i a t e d . Wri t e C h u c k a t 4909 B a n n e r R o a d , S . E . , P or t O r c h a r d , WA 98366. He i n v i t e s VBOB c o m r a d e s t o u r i n g in s o u t h e r n Hol land o r th e G e i l e n k i r c h e n a r e a of W. G er m a ny to v i s i t t h e memor ial b y t h e "Old Th o l en Mill"

- in V/aldfeucht . T h e mill i s on t h e German H is t o r i c R e g i s t e r a n d is t h e o n l y s u r v i v i n g w in d - p o w e r e d mill r e m a in in g in t h e R h i n e l a n d . . . . C. E. McGuire

BASTOGNE CHORALE VISITS U.S.A.A g r o u p of VBOB members w er e among t h e i n v i t e d a u d i e n c e who a t t e n d e d a c o n c e r t g i v e n by "La C h a n te r e l l e B a s t o g n e " a t t h e C h u r c h of t h e A n n u n c i a t i o n in W a s h i n g t o n , D . C . on A u g u s t 4 th . In a t t e n d a n c e w ere His E x ce l l e n cy a n d Madame Her ma n D e h i n n i n , t h e Be l ­gium A m b a s s a d o r , a n d Madame a n d Guy L u t g e n , B u r g o m e i s t e r of t h e c i ty of B a s t o g n e .

"La C h a n te re l l e " is a s i n g i n g g r o u p com posed of f o r t y - f o u r c i t i z e n s of B a s t o g n e w ho se a g e s r a n g e f rom s e v e n to 77 y e a r s . T he f o r t y - f i f t h s i n g e r was an Amer ican y o u n g l a d y , B e ck y , who was an e x c h a n g e s t u d e n t . B e c k y was t h e M is t r e s s of C e r e m o n ie s .

The t o u r was a show of a p p r e c i a t i o n f o r t h e d e d i c a t i o n a n d h e r o ic a c h i e v e m e n t s of t h e Amer ican so ld i e r s d u r i n g t h e Ba t t l e o f t h e B u l g e .Th e Wash ing ton c o n c e r t in c l u d e d a v a r i e t y of se l e c t i o n s s u c h as "White C h r i s t m a s , " a solo b y Becky a n d " O h , F r e e d o m , " a b lack s p i r i t u a l . Also i n c l u d e d w e r e F r e n c h , I t a l i an and o t h e r E u r o p e a n s o n a t a s . T he c o n c e r t e n d e d wi th t h r e e e n c o r e s .

Most of t h e c h o r a l e g r o u p w ere not ev e n b o r n b e f o r e 1944, b u t al l o f them kn ew of t h e Ba tt l e of th e B u l g e . I t is u n f o r t u n a t e t h a t al l v e t e r a n s who took p a r t in t h a t ep i c b a t t l e could not s h a r e moments s u c h as t h i s . . . . E . ( L u c k y ) Lo iacono

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BATTLE OF THE BULGE COMMEMORATIVE EVENTS

As i s c u s t o m a r y , s p e c i a l VBOB a c t i v i t i e s a r e p l a n n e d t h i s y e a r t o c o m m e m o r a t e t h e b e g i n n i n g d a t e o f t h e B a t t l e o f t h e B u l g e , D e c e m b e r 1 6 .

T h i s c o m m e m o r a t i o n w i l l b e h e l d s t a r t i n g a t 1 1 : 0 0 a m W e d n e s d a y , D e c e m b e r 1 6 , 1 9 8 7 w i t h t h e i m p r e s s i v e C h a n g i n g o f t h e G u a r d C e r e ­mony a t t h e Tomb o f t h e Un known S o l d i e r , A r l i n g t o n N a t i o n a l C e m e t e r y . A f t e r t h i s c e r e m o n y , VBOB r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s w i l l l a y a w r e a t h a t t h e T om b, f o l l o w e d by a m e m o r i a l s e r v i c e a t t h e VBOB P l a q u e , l o c a t e d j u s t a c r o s s t h e s t r e e t f r o m t h e A m p h i ­t h e a t r e .

A t t e n d e e s may p a r k t h e i r c a r s a t t h e A r l i n g t o n C e m e t e r y V i s i t o r ' s C e n t e r , and t r a n s p o r t a t i o n t o T h e Tomb o f t h e Unknown S o l d i e r w i l l b e a r r a n g e d .

On t h e e v e n i n g p r e c e e d i n g t h e s e c e r e m o n i e s , T u e s d a y , D e c e m b e r 1 5 , a s o c i a l g a t h e r i n g w i l l b e h e l d a t t h e F o r t Mye r O f f i c e r s ' C l u b p r o v i d i n g a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o r e l a x a n d e n j o y t h e c o m r a d e r y o t VBOB f r i e n d s . An i n f o r m a l s o c i a l h o u r ( c a s h b a r ) i n t h e Lam p- l i g h t e r Room f r o m 7 : 0 0 p m t o 8 : 0 0 p m w i l l b e f o l l o w e d by a n 8 : 0 0 p m d i n n e r s e r v e d i n t h e h i s t o r i c a l C h a f f e e Room. A s h o r t p r o g r a m i s p l a n n e d f o r a f t e r d i n n e r .

T h e c o a L o f Lht: u i i i i i e i : i s $ 1 5 . 0 0 p e r p e r s o n . C h e c k s may be m a d e p a y a b l e Lo: "VBOB A c c o u n t / D e c e m b e r 15 D i n n e r " a n d m a i l e d a l o n g w i t h t h e R e s e r v a t i o n Form t o : D. D a v i s , 6 9 0 0 T i l d e n L a n e , R o c k v i l l e , MD 2 0 8 5 2 .

F o r p l a n n i n g p u r p o s e s a n e a r l y r e p l y ( n o t l a t e r t h a t D e c e m b e r 5 , _ p l e a s e ) i s r e q u e s t e d .

A l l VBOB m e m b e r s a n d g u e s t s , e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e who l i v e i n , o r m i g h t b e i n t h e W a s h i n g t o n D . C . M e t r o a r e a a t t h i s t i m e , a r e w a r m l y i n v i t e d t o a t t e n d t h e s e e v e n t s .

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T o t a l C o s t a t $ 1 5 . 0 0 e a c h : _ $________________________Make C h e c k P a y a b l e t o : "VBOB A c c o u n t / D e c e m b e r 15 D i n n e r " M a i l t o : D. D a v i s , 6 9 0 0 T i l d e n L a n e , R o c k v i l l e , MD 2 0 8 5 2

N u m b e r a t t e n d i n g t h e Wednesday M o r n i n g , D e c e m b e r 16 e v e n t s

17

Members Speak OutR a y m o n d H. S u l l i v a n , Co . I , 317th R e g t , 80 th D i v . w as w o u n d e d 1 /8 /4 5 a t R i n g e l , L u x e m b o u r g w hi l e on p a t r o l . He w a s l i b e r ­a t e d 3 / 2 7 / 4 5 f r o m S t a l a g X I I - A b y t h e 9 th A r m d . D iv . He c o m p l e t e d Law S c h o o l a t S u f f o l k U n i v e r s i t y in 1955 a n d i s now r e t ­i r e d d u e to d i s a b i l i t y . R a y a l s o b e l o n g s to E x - P o w s a n d A m p u t e e V e t e r a n s a n d i s a Life Me mb er o f V B O B .

C l i f f o r d F . G r o s s , C C A , 7 th A r m d . D iv , w r i t e s t h a t h e h o p e s to s e e u s a l l i n S y r a ­c u s e . (Di d he ? . . . E d . ) A f t e r t h e w a r , C l i f f o r d w e n t to w o r k a s a s t e a m f i t t e r in NY C i t y , b u t h a d to r e t i r e b e c a u s e o f w o u n d s r e c e i v e d a t S t . V i t h .

R o y D. Wolfe ( u n i t s to fo l low) w r i t e s to s a y he a n d h i s wi fe h a v e b e e n b a c k to E u r ­o p e f o u r t i m es s i n c e 1981 a n d h a v e ma de m a n y f r i e n d s w i th o u r CR IB A a n d CEBA c o m r a d e s a n d a l w a y s m a de a v i s i t t o G e n e r ­al P a t t o n ' s g r a v e a t Hamm. R a y s e r v e d w i th t h e T h i r d A r m d . D iv , S e v e n t h A r m d . D iv , E i g h t h A r m d . D iv , T h i r d A r m d .C o r p s , 535 th A r m d . I n f . a n d t h e n o v e r s e a s wi th t h e S i x t h A r m o r e d D i v i s i o n . " A r m o r All T h e Way!"

’ Wm. H. P a g e l , J r . , H q . Co , 1st B n , 33d A r m d . R e g t , 3d A r m d . D iv . w r i t e s t o f o r ­w a r d h i s a n n u a l d u e s to VBOB " w i t h t h e g r e a t e s t p l e a s u r e . ' T h e B u l g e B u g l e ' i s a mos t e n j o y a b l e , w e l l - w r i t t e n a n d e d i t e d p u b l i c a t i o n . I e s p e c i a l l y e n j o y t h e 'Mem­b e r s S p e a k O u t ' s e c t i o n . V e r y i n t e r e s t ­i n g s t o r i e s in a v e r y f ew w o r d s ' . " In J u n e Bil l c e l e b r a t e d h i s 40 th w e d d i n g a n n i v e r - s a y a n d t h e s t a r t o f h i s 15th y e a r o f r e t i r e ­m e n t f ro m F e d e r a l S e r v i c e a f t e r 35 y e a r s . ( T h a n k s f o r y o u r v e r y k i n d w o r d s . Bi l l .. . . E d . )

W a r r e n B. D a n a , B t r y . C, 334 th FA B n , 87 th Div , i s D i r e c t o r o f P u b l i c A f f a i r s f o r N o r t h Hills P a s s a v a n t H o s p i t a l , P i t t s b u r g h . He r e c a l l s t h e B a t t l e o f t h e B u l g e a s an o b s c e n e c o n t r a d i c t i o n o f b e a u t i f u l , w e l l - k e p t f o r e s t s o f e v e r g r e e n a n d s n o w - c o v e r e d f i e l d s a n d t h e d e v a s t a t i o n o f w a r - b l a c k s h e l l h o l e s , s h a t t e r e d t r e e s , r a v a g e d b u i l d i n g s a n d t h e d e b r i s o f c o m b a t . T h e n t h e r e was t h e s t r u g g l e to s u r v i v e in o n e o f t h e w o r s t w i n t e r s in y e a r s .

F r e d J . H a r a n g w a n t s to h e a r f r o m o t h e r m e m b e r s o f t h e 7 6 th FA B n . W r i t e him a t #4 G a i r D r . , " b e a u t i f u l " M a g g ie V a l l e y , NC 28751.

G e r a l d F . H o f f e r , 6 4 4 th TD B n , m e e t s w i t h h i s u n i t r e u n i o n s e a c h y e a r . He a n d h i s t w in b r o t h e r , H a r o l d , g e t t o g e t h e r e v e r y a f t e r n o o n f o r c o f f e e a n d u s u a l l y d i g u p t h e p a s t s i n c e b o t h w e r e in t h e 6 4 4 t h . J e r r y f e e l s t h i s t o g e t h e r n e s s w o r k e d o u t f i n e in t h e " B u l g e " e x c e p t t h e n i g h t H a r o l d w a s t r a p p e d in K r i n k e l t .

F e l i c e P . G a b r i e l i , S q u a d L e a d e r , B C o , 168th E n g r . C o m b a t B n , w a s w i t h a g r o u p o f b a t t a l i o n s w i t h t h e 8 t h C o r p s d e t a c h e d t o t h e 106th D i v i s i o n . A f t e r d i s c h a r g e , h e w a s a c i v i l s e r v i c e f i r e f i g h t e r a n d r e t i r e d in J u n e 1984.

G e o r g e J . P e l l e t i e r , M Co , 3 45 th I n f , 8 7 th D iv i s i o n r e t i r e d in J u l y a s a S e r g e a n t in t h e F i t c h b u r g , MA P o l i c e D e p t , a f t e r 38 y e a r s ' s e r v i c e .

F r e d e r i c k A. L e i g h , C o . A, 3 3 4 th R e g t ,8 4 t h D i v i s i o n , w e n t f r o m t h e B u l g e to t h e E l b e . He s e r v e d in t h e p r i n t i n g t r a d e s i n c e t h e w a r a n d i s E x e c u t i v e S e c r e t a r y a n d p a s t p r e s i d e n t o f t h e 8 4 t h R a i l s p l i t - t e r s S o c i e t y . A f t e r 40 y e a r s h e i s s t i l l l o o k i n g f o r f o r m e r A Co . men to g e t t h e m on t h e r o s t e r . T h e S o c i e t y now h a s o v e r3 , 0 0 0 m e m b e r s .

J o h n K. B r i e r , Co . B , 7 3 8 th T a n k B n . w a s a P l a t o o n L e a d e r n e a r Waimes , B e l g i u m . He i s t r y i n g to l o c a t e o t h e r m e m b e r s o f t h e u n i t ( e x c e p t f o r h i s g u n n e r a n d d r i v e r whom h e h a s l o c a t e d ) . B e f o r e t h e w a r w a s o v e r , h e a s s u m e d c o m m a n d o f t h e c o m p a n y . R e m a i n i n g in t h e R e g u l a r A r m y u n t i l r e t i r e ­m e n t in 1970, C o l o n e l B r i e r s a w c o m b a t d u t y in K o r e a a n d s e r v e d in Vie t N am . He h a s k n o w n Col . C h a r l e s M a c D o n a l d , M i l i t a r y H i s t o r i a n , s i n c e t h o s e d a y s in B e l g i u m .

J o h n F . L y n n , H /H B t r y , 7 6 th I n f . D iv . A r t y , w a s a s p o r t s e d i t o r f o r t h e NY P o s t f o l l o w i n g WWIl. A f t e r 38 y e a r s w i t h T h e P o s t , h e r e t i r e d in 1984.

N o r m a n D. C o h e n , 511th L i g h t P o n t o n E n g i n ­e e r s , r e t i r e d to s u n n y F l o r i d a a f t e r 40 y e a r s in t h e G a r m e n t C e n t e r in New Y o r k .

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

18

T h o u g h a f o r m e r A r m y E n g i n e e r , I w a s g u i l t y in a r e c e n t e d i t i o n o f T HE BU LG E BUGLE

E D I T O R ' S Q U An

o f s p e l l i n g P o n t o n w i t h t h r e e o ' s .Whi le t h e O x f o r d E n g l i s h D i c t i o n a r y r e c o g n i z e d " P o n t o o n , " we c e r t a i n l y d o n ' t , d o w e . E n g i n e e r s ? Mea C i i l p a , Mea C u l p a !

B a c k t o t h e V B O B L i c e n s e p l a t e ( a t l e a s t o n c e m o r e ) . In t h e l a s t e d i t i o n 1 c o u l d n o t r e c a l l t h e o t h e r VBO B m e m b e r w h o d e c o r a t e d h i s c a r w i t h s u c h a p l a t e . I t d i d n ' t t a k e l o n g , h o w e v e r , f o r L i fe M e m b e r Don R o b b i n s , 51st E n g r . Co m­b a t B n , 1111th E n g r . t o s e t me s t r a i g h t .D o n , h i s w i f e M a r t h a , a n d I w e r e a m o n g t h o s e s t a l w a r t s w h o e n j o y e d a t r i p t o t h e B u l g e a r e a in 1986. Don d r o v e a m o t o r ­c y c l e d u r i n g WWII ( a n d s t i l l d o c s a f t e r 43 y e a r s ) !

M e m b e r s a r e r e q u e s t e d to l e t u s k n o w of a n y c h a n g e in t h e i r t e l e p h o n e n u m b e r s s i n c e t h e s e a r e l i s t e d in o u r c o m p u t e r p r i n t o u t o f m e m b e r s . F u r t h e r , w h e n e v e r m e m b e r s c h a n g e mail a d d r e s s e s , t h e i r c o p y o f T H E BU LG E BU G LE c o s t s V BO B n e a r l y f i v e t i m e s t h e n o r m a l d e l i v e r y r a t e , s n p l e a s e l e t u s k n o w w h e r e y o u a r e .

On p a g e 1.3 o f o u r .Tnly 19«7 e d i t i o n , V BO B m e m b e r J o h n P . C h e n o t , J r . , w a s i d e n t i ­f i e d w i t h t h e 8 4 th I n f . D i v . I h a v e b e e n i n f o r m e d b y Wm. W. T h o m p s o n , C o . E,3 3 4 th I n f , 8 4 th D iv i s i o n t h a t I c o m m i t t e d a n o t h e r b o o - b o o . J o h n C h e n o t w as a c t u a l l y a m e m b e r o f t h e 8 t h I n f a n t r y D i v ­i s i o n . My a p o l o g i e s t o J o h n , WWT a n d t h e MP ' s w h o a r e h e r e to t a k e me a w a y f o r a w h i l e .

VVm. F . H a n n a , 111, r e q u e s t s i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t a 7 4 0 t h FA Bn in w h i c h h i s f a t h e r , Wm. F . H a n n a , s e r v e d a s a Medic f r o m s u m ­m e r 1943 u n t i l D e c e m b e r 1945. C o n t a c t him a t 6 8 D u f f y D r , T a u n t o n , MA 02780 .

J o h n A n d r y c , Co . C , 4 3 4 t h A r m d . FA B n . a n d T o n y W a c h i n s k i , Co . A, 3 8 th A IB , b o t h f r o m 7 th A r m d . D i v . w r i t e to s a y t h a t J o h n s p o r t s on h i s c a r a n O h io l i c e n s e p l a t e w h i c h r e a d s " V B O B 4 4 . " A n y m o r e o f y o u o u t t h e r e w i t h " V B O B " p l a t e s ?

A G e n . G e o r g e S . P a t t o n , J r . M u s e u m is in p l a n n i n g t o o p e n 11 Nov 8 8 i n C h i r i a c o S u m m i t , C A . More i n f o l a t e r , h o p e f u l l y , a s p l a n s d e v e l o p .

F t . M y e r , VA, 23 J u n e 1987 — C l y d e D. B o d e n , r i g h t , V B O B ' s f i r s t p r e s i d e n t , p a y s t r i b u t e to J immie a n d Mar ion L eac h a t a VBOB s o c ia l g a t h e r i n g .

N E W ARD EN N E S BOOKD a n n y S . P a r k e r , A s s o c i a t e V B O L Me mb er a n d R e s e a r c h A s s i s t a n t in V B O B ' s C h a r l e sB. M a c D o n a l d ' s A T ime f o r T r u m p e t s , i s p l a n n i n g a new b o o k t e n ta L iv e ly tu b e t i t l e d T h e A r d e n n e s C a m p a i g n a n d s c h e d ­u l e d f o r p u b l i c a t i o n n e x t M a r c h . He is a l s o p i - i n n i n g a d e t a i l e d b o o k c o v e r i n g t h e A r d e n n e s o a t t l e in g r e a t d e t a i l a n d s l a t e d f o r p u b l i c a t i o n on t h e 50 th a n n i v e r s a r y of t h e c a m p a i g n in 1994. D a n n y w o u ld l ike to r e c e i v e a n y a n e c d o t e s , c o r r e s p o n d e n c e a n d e s p e c i a l l y p h o t o s f o r b o t h b o o k p r o j e c t s . VBOB m e m b e r s a n d o t h e r s may s e n d s u c h m a t e r i a l s to him a t 801 - 1 2 t h A v e . ,H e l e n a , MT 59601. Good L u c k , D a n n y .

. . . E d .

Members Speak OutE u g e n e H. D y c h e s . B n . S g t . Maj, 630 th TD B n , w r i t e s o f h i s u n i t ' s e n g a g e m e n t s f rom N o r m a n d y ( S t . L o ) , a c r o s s F r a n c e , B e l g ­iu m a n d L u x e m b o u r g ; t h e n A a c h e n , t h e H u r t g e n F o r e s t , B a s t o g n e , t h e A r d e n n e s , C o m s r sp.d t h ^ Sssi* Y s l l ^ y . Hg p r o v i d s s n a m e s o f f i v e b u d d i e s f r o m h i s ho m e town a s p o s s i b l e ne w m e m b e r s o f V B O B .( T h a n k s , G e n e ; a p p l i c a t i o n s w e n t o u t to y o u r b u d d i e s on 9 / 6 / 8 7 . . . . E d . )

J a m e s E. G r i f f i t h , B t r y . C , 229 th FA B n , 2 8 t h I n f . D iv , w a s a r a d i o o p e r a t o r wi th p a r t o f a n FA O b s e r v a t i o n s e c t i o n r e ­t r e a t i n g w i t h a s q u a d f r o m 3d B n , 112th I n f . R e g t . His g r o u p f i r e d u p o n a t r u c k w i t h n o m u f f l e r , b r i n g i n g u p s u p p l i e s , w h i c h w a s t h o u g h t , i n t h e f o g , to b e an e n e m y t a n k . A fe w d a y s l a t e r t h e y f o u n d f r i e n d l y t r o o p s . J im w o u ld l i ke to h e a r f r o m o t h e r s w h o w e r e t h e r e . Wr i t e him at 1917 Maize D r , W o o s t e r , OH 44691.

19

Members Speak OutE u g e n e H. D y c h e s , B n . S g t . Maj, 63 0 th TD B n , w r i t e s o f h i s u n i t ' s e n g a g e m e n t s f ro m N o r m a n d y ( S t . L o ) , a c r o s s F r a n c e , B e l g ­ium a n d L u x e m b o u r g ; t h e n A a c h e n , t h e H u r t g e n F o r e s t , B a s t o g n e , t h e A r d e n n e s , C o m a r a n d t h e S a a r V a l l e y . He p r o v i d e s n a m e s o f f i v e b u d d i e s f ro m h i s home town a s p o s s i b l e new m e m b e r s o f V B O B .( T h a n k s , G e n e ; a p p l i c a t i o n s w e n t o u t to y o u r b u d d i e s on 9 / 6 / 8 7 . . . . E d . )

J o h n M. B r a n d , H q . B t r y , 16th FA B n ,9 th A r m d . D i v . r e m e m b e r s t h e S c r e a m i n g Meemies wel l . He w a s c a p t u r e d n e a r S t . V i th whi l e wi t h t h e 52d I n f . B n . He was l i b e r a t e d b y 45 th a n d 36 th D iv . u n i t s f r o m a p r i s o n c a m p j u s t o u t s i d e N u r e n b u r g , G e r m a n y .

J a m e s E. G r i f f i t h , B t r y . C , 229 th FA B n , 28 th I n f . D iv , w a s a r a d i o o p e r a t o r wi th p a r t o f a n FA O b s e r v a t i o n s e c t i o n r e ­t r e a t i n g wi th a s q u a d f r o m 3d B n , 112th I n f . R e g t . His g r o u p f i r e d u p o n a t r u c k with no m u f f l e r , b r i n g i n g u p s u p p l i e s , w h ic h w a s t h o u g h t , in t h e f o g , to b e a n e n e m y t a n k . A few d a y s l a t e r t h e y f o u n d f r i e n d l y t r o o p s . J im w o u ld l i k e to h e a r f ro m o t h e r s w ho w e r e t h e r e . Wr i t e him a t 1917 Maize D r , W o o s t e r , OH 44691.

H e r m a n R . P o r t e r , Co . B , 630 TD B n , 28 th I n f . D iv . w r i t e s o f h i s c a p t u r e in Wil tz , L u x e m b o u r g 20 Dec 44. He a n d h i s wi fe r e t u r n e d to t h a t a r e a tw o y e a r s a g o . H e ' d l ike to h e a r f r o m o t h e r s c a p t u r e d in Wil tz. Wr i te H e r m a n a t R t . 1, Box 639 , Alma,AR 72921.

G o r d o n Z i c k e r , H q . Co , 423d I n f , 106th I n f . D iv . r e p o r t s t h a t h e w as o n e o f t h e small g r o u p o f POWs in S l a u g h t e r h o u s e F i v e in D r e s d e n , G e r m a n y . H e ' s b e e n r e t i r e d f rom a b a n k i n g c a r e e r f o r a y e a r a n d a h a l f now a n d i n v o l v e d in l o c a l / s t a t e POW a f f a i r s .

H a r r y F . B a k e r , 407 th B o m b e r S q d , 92d B o m b e r G p , 8 t h US Ai r F o r c e , w r i t e s o f s e e ­i n g v e r y l i t t l e in o u r n e w s l e t t e r o f a i r s u p ­p o r t o f t h e B a t t l e o f t h e B u l g e . He d o e s , h o w e v e r , m e n t i o n t h e p r o b l e m of o v e r c a s t a t t h e t ime w h ic h " m a d e i t i m p o s s i b l e to s u p p o r t t h e G r o u p t r o o p s c o r r e c t l y . As soon a s w e a t h e r l e t u p , t h e 8 t h AF w a s v e r y much p r e s e n t to h e l p — t h e B-17s will a l w a y s be v e r y d e a r to m e . " ( T h a n k s ,H a r r y - we n e e d e d t h i s . . . . E d . )

VeteransAdministration

Q— I u s e d my VA hom e lo a n e n t i t l e m e n t in 1969 to p u r c h a s e a h o m e . I now w a n t to se l l t h i s ho me a n d b u y a l a r g e r o n e . Do I h a v e a n y r e m a i n i n g e n t i t l e m e n t ?

A — T h e ma x im um ho m e loa n g u a r a n t y e n t i t ­l e m e n t w a s r a i s e d to $ 2 7 , 5 0 0 in 1980. T h e a m o u n t o f a n y a d d i t i o n a l e n t i t l e m e n t i s t h e d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n $ 2 7 , 5 0 0 a n d t h e a m o u n t o f e n t i t l e m e n t u s e d on p r i o r l o a n s

Q— Is t h e r e a t ime l imit t o f i l e f o r r e i m b u r ­se m en t f o r t h e c o s t o f a n o n - G o v e r n m e n t h e a d s t o n e p l a c e d in a p r i v a t e c e m e t e r y ?

A — Y e s . T h e c l aim m u s t b e f i l e d w i t h i n tw o y e a r s o f e i t h e r t h e d a t e o f b u r i a l o r t h e d a t e o f p u r c h a s e o f a p r i v a t e l y p u r ­c h a s e d h e a d s t o n e o r m a r k e r .

Q— My h u s b a n d w a s c r e m a t e d a n d h i s a s h e d w e r e s c a t t e r e d w i t h o u t i n t e r m e n t o f a n y p o r t i o n o f t h e a s h e s . May I s t i l l o b ­t a i n a m e m o r ia l m a r k e r f o r him?

A — Y e s . T h e m e m o r ia l m a y b e e r e c t e d in a p r i v a t e c e m e t e r y o r m e m o r ia l s e c t i o n o f a n a t i o n a l c e m e t e r y .

T h e V e t e r a n s A d m i n i s t r a t i o n ' s n a t i o n a l c e m ­e t e r y s y s t e m m a i n t a i n s a p p r o x i m a t e l y1 , 6 5 0 ,0 0 0 g r a v e s i t e s . T h e n u m b e r o f b u r ­i a l s wil l b e 5 4 , 0 0 0 a n d i s e x p e c t e d to r i s e to 5 6 , 0 0 0 n e x t y e a r . B u r i a l in a n y VA n a t i o n a l c e m e t e r y h a v i n g s p a c e i s a v a i l a b l e to v e t e r a n s d i s c h a r g e d u n d e r c o n d i t i o n s o t h e r t h a n d i s h o n o r a b l e . An e l i g i b l e v e t ­e r a n ' s s p o u s e a n d d e p e n d e n t c h i l d r e n a r e a l s o a l l o w e d b u r i a l , e v e n i f t h e y d i e b e f o r e t h e v e t e r a n . Q u e s t i o n s r e g a r d i n g b u r i a l in a n a t i o n a l c e m e t e r y o r o t h e r VA b u r i a l b e n e f i t s c a n b e a n s w e r e d b y t h e n e a r e s t VA c e m e t e r y o r r e g i o n a l o f f i c e . T o l l - f r e e n u m b e r s a r e l i s t e d u n d e r " U . S . G o v e r n ­m e n t " in m o s t t e l e p h o n e d i r e c t o r i e s .

20

VBOB ORD ER BLANK

CIJSTOMFR NO; _________ PECDF'D NO:____GROUP A _________ GROUP B NoT(Above -for a-f-fice use only)

DATE R E C E I V E D :

P l e a s e s h i n t h e 1o 11ow i n g i t ems t o : NAME:

( f i r s t ) ( l a s t )ADDRESS:

( n o ) ( s t r e e t ) ( c i t y ) ( s t a t e ) (z ip)

GROUP A I TENA 2 P l a q u e 5 ”X 7"

P l a q u e 5" Dia(Not 2 Pen VBOB Desk Se t

PRICE * *18 .00

Shown) 11.00 2 1 . 0 0

QUANTITY TOTAL

HA 4

t P l e a s e e n o r a v e B r a s s P l a t e w i th : NAME UN I T UNIT GROUP B 1

1 AB B 2 B 2 AC 1 D 1 D 2 J 1 J 2

3J 5 J ^L 1 N 1 N 2 GROUPV 2V 2 A

BP a t c h 2 3/4"D i. am (Not Shown )S 2 . 5 0 ;;__________Pa t c h (W/c lu tch) (Not Shown) 4 . 0 0 ___________Pa tc h 4 3 / 4" Diam 6 . 0 0 __________Pa t c h (W/c lu tch) 8 . 0 0 ____VBOB B e l t Buckle (NEW) 12.50 __Decal 4" Diam 3 / 1 .00 ___________Logo 4" Wi ndsh i e ld Logo . 50 __________VBOB Lapel Pin (W/c lu tch) 7 . 0 0 ___________VBOB Tie Tac ( W/c . barS<chai n ) 7 . 00 ::__________VBOB Tie Bar (Not Shown) 7 . 0 0 ::__________vt<U& Medal l i o n (W/ribbon) 3 2 . 00 __________Li+e Mbr St a r s (heda 1 1 ] on ) 2 / 1 . 0 0 __________LIFE MEMBERSHIP CARD ( NOTE) 100. 00 __________VBOB Neel- Ti e (Close Out) 5 . 0 0 __________VBOB Bo l a Ti e (NEW) 12.50 __________

C (S p e c i a l Order)Video C a s s e t t e ( Bet a ) (NOTE) 25. 00 __________Video C a s s e t t e (VHF)(NOTE) 2 5 . 00 __________

TOTAL PURCHASES:

(not t o exceed 30 1e t t e r / n u m b e r s / s p a r e s each l i n e )

N ote;

• V2 & V2A a re approx . o n e h o u r of S y ra c u se G M M eeting.

• LIFE MEMBERSHIP FEES: S e e back cover of BULGE BUGLE.

• S ta rs a re to be worn on M edallionby LIFE MEMBERS ONLY.

• A bove p r ic e s inc lude p o s ta g e an d engrav ing of p laque.

N E W ! N E W ! ! N E W ! ! !

BELT BUCKLES & BOLA TIES and

VIDEO CASSETTES of the

General M embership Meeting in S y racuse

The sh ipment of Eiel t Buckles and Bola T i e s was wel l r e c e i v e d a t t h e 6 th GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING (GMM) in S y r a c u s e , New York. Wright Robinson, our S a l e s Manager , r e p o r t e d a l i v e l y t r a d i n g s e s s i o n each t i me he d i s p l a y e d h i s wares . The p i c t u r e a t t h e bot tom of t h e VBOB ORDER BLANK i n c l u d e s bo th i t e m s . Order up so Wright w i l l have t o r e - o r d e r .

★ B i l l G r e e n v i l l e , VBOB"s GMM Genera l Manager, h i r e d a p r o f e s s i o n a l v ide o man t o t a p e a l l t h e GMM a f f a i r s a t S y r a c u s e . He has assembled about an hour of h i g h l i g h t s f rom t h e t a p e he s h o t . The c a s s e t t e i s a d v e r t i s e d in t h e VBOB Order Blank. Order one b e f o r e B i l l c o r n e r s t h e market and t h r e a t e n s t o r a i s e t h e pr i c e .

★ Some of you h a v e n ' t seen t h e VBOB L i f e Membership c a r d . We have i n c l u d e d i t in t h e p i c t u r e of i t e m s f o r s a l e . There i s no b e t t e r b a r g a i n t ha n a L i f e t i m e Membership, e s p e c i a l l y i f you o r d e r you r s b e f o r e 30 November. Also , each y e a r you w i l l s a v e on p o s t a g e you would need t o renew an annual membersh ip- and p o s t a g e r a t e s a r e go ing up soon.

22

Members Speak OutJ a c k C. G 6 f t s , Recoi l , S q d n , 38 th C a v ,102d C a v . G p , i s a n x i o u s to h e a r f rom f o r ­m er u n i t m e m b e r s . He p l a n s to r e t i r e in P h o e n i x , b u t in t h e meant ime , w r i t e him a t 3712 N. Bell , C h ic a g o , IL 60618.

H a r r y E. B r u s e l l , Co. A, 393d I n f , 99th I n f . Div , w r i t e s to u p d a t e u s on wha t h e ' s b e e n d o i n g s in c e he was a r i f l e m a n / b a z o o k - aman in WWII. He was w o u n d e d a n d e v a c ­u a t e d to E n g l a n d , joined t h e Air F o r c e RO TC P r o g r a m , s e r v e d in J a p a n a n d r e t i r e d in g r a d e of Colone l in 1984. He 'd l ike to h e a r f rom a n y s u r v i v o r s of h i s s q u a d o r p l a t o o n . Write him a t 24071 F i r Avc , Mor­eno Val ley , CA 92388.

L e o n a r d G . B o e k e r , 103d E n g r . Combat B n , 28th I n f . Div , s e n d s a new sc l i p of h i s r e ­v is i t to t h e B u lg e in 1984 w h e r e he was t a k e n p r i s o n e r . D e s p i t e a p p r e h e n s i o n of r e ­v is i t in g t h e ax-ea, he r e c e i v e d a warm wel ­come in H o s i n g e n , Be lg i um . With a h e a d wo u n d a n d 27 p i e c e s of s h r a p n e l in h i s l e f t s i d e , he h a d b e e n le f t f o r d e a d b y h is b u d d i e s in t h e A r d e n n e s C a m p a i g n , In a bo x c a r p r i s o n , he s u r v i v e d an Amer ican f o r c e s a i r b o m b in g on C h r i s t m a s Eve a n d e s c a p e d i n t o -25 d e g r e e w e a t h e r o n l y to be q u i c k l y r e c a p t u r e d by t h e e n e m y .L e o n a r d was t r u l y i m p r e s s e d b y t h e g r a t i t ­u d e sh o w n b y t h e p e o p le of L u x e m b o u r g d u r i n g h is r e c e n t v i s i t t h e r e .

R o b e r t L. K i t c h e n , Hq. Co, 422d I n f , 106th In f . Div. was c a p t u r e d in 1944 a n d s e r v e d t ime in S t a l a g s 3, 4, 12 a n d 1, s u f f e r i n g a c o n c u s s i o n a n d h e a r i n g loss whe n t h e Allies b om b ed t h e b o x c a r in which he was h e l d .

Melvin A. J a y , Hq. Co, 84 th I n f . Div . a t - vCndcd hiiG d i v i s i o n ' s i*cvinior» r*cccntlj^C o lo ra d o S p r i n g s wi th 759 o t h e r u n i t mem­b e r s which he ld an "Old Uni form" c o n t e s t in which 24 m e m b e r s coul d st i l l g e t t h e i r u n i f o r m s on a n d b u t t o n them up ! One u n i t m e m b e r h a s a t t e n d e d al l 42 of t h e u n i t ' s r e u n i o n s .

Elmer H. G r a n t , Co. B, 8th T a n k B n , 4th Arm d . Div , s e r v e d in N o r m a n y , B r i t t a n y , S o u n t e r n F r a n c e , t h e R h i n e l a n d , L u x e m ­b o u r g , Belg ium , t h e A r d e n n e s a n d in C z e c h o s l o v a k i a .

Elmer H. J a n o s k o , Co. B, 310th S ig . Op.B n , 9 th Arm.y, i s e n j o y i n g r e t i r e m e n t , d o es f a v o r s f o r h i s n e i g h b o r s a n d a t t e n d s c h u r c h s e r v i c e s d a i l y . 23

R o b e r t L. Cole, Co. C, 47th I n f , 9th In f . Div . w r i t e s of h a v i n g moved in to Monchau on t h e n o r t h h i n g e of T h e Bulge on 18 Dec . 44 a n d t h e n p u l l in g h a r r a s s i n g a c t i o n s u n t i l t h e e n d of J a n u a r y . A f t e r WWII he h a s b e e n in th e r a i l r o a d b u s i n e s s a n d is p r e s e n t l y a VFW p o s t com m a n d e r .

R o b e r t W. B r o w n , Co. C, 141 AAA B n , r e ­t u r n e d to Ohio U. f o r a d e g r e e in animal h u s b a n d r y . In 1973 he was mi lk ing 2,966 cows a n d h a d o v e r 6 ,000 an imals of all s i z e s . T h e n i n t o t h e je w e l r y b u s i n e s s in El P a so . He a l so r a i s e s a n d r a c e s h o r s e s . T h o u g h a life m em ber of VBOB, he s e n d s a d o n a t i o n of $50. T h a n k s , Bob.

E d w a r d Om dahl , 561st FA B n, a t t a c h e d to 8th C o r p s in s u p p o r t of F i r s t a n d T h i r d US Armies n e a r S t . V i th , p ro m is e s to d r u m up more VBOB m em be r s a t h i s u n i t ' s r e u n i o n n e x t M a y .

F r a n k J . R o z s i t c h , 557th AAA B n, 84th In f . Div , a t t e n d e d h is 38th u n i t r e u n i o n in May. R e t i r e d n i ne y e a r s ag o f rom h is a u to a n d r a d i a t o r s h o p , he i s now h e l p i n g his son in t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l d i s c j oc ke y b u s i n e s s . " N e v e r a du l l rrioment," he w r i t e s .

S i d n e y Goodman, Co. M, 110th I n f , 28th In f . Div . v i s i t e d Belgium a few y e a r s a g o an d A u s t r a l i a l a s t y e a r wi th American POW's. D u r i n g t h e A r d e n n e s e r a , he was he ld at 9 -B a n d a t B e r g a . While t h e r e he was a "d o l m e c h e r " ( i n t e r p r e t e r ) .

E a r l D. T e r r y , Co. L, 357th I n f , 90 th Div. w i s h e s to h e a r f rom un i t me m ber s who s e r ­v e d a t Di l l in ge r a n d in t h e Bu lg e when he was w o u n d e d a t P r u m , G e r m a n y . Write E a r l a t 624 R o b i n d a l e , F a i r f i e l d , TX 75840.

LTC R i c h a r d M. G r a n t (USA R e t ) , H/K Co, 99 th I n f . Div, i s a C o n n e c t i c u t Y a n k e e in F lo r id a t h e p a s t s ix y e a r s as Ch ie f of S t a f f , F lo r id a O r d e r of t h e P u r p l e H e a r t .

L a r r y E. B r i g h t , B t r y . B, 777th AAAW, T h i r d US Army , w a n t s to h e a r f rom WWII b u d d i e s . Write him a t 9912 Mitchel C t . ,S t . A n n , MO 63074.

Monroe E . D u k e , 422d Ca nnon Co, 106th In f . Div , c a p t u r e d d u r i n g t h e A r d e n n e s cam­p a i g n b y en emy f o r c e s , w a n t s to h e a r f rom f o r m e r c o m r a d e s . Write him a t 3137 C he l ­se a R o a d , S a c r a m e n t o , CA 95864.

F ro m

Z i p ~

PLACESTAMPh e r e

Arlington, VA 22210-2129

Your attention, PLE A SE . • •

Use this convenient envelope to pay NOW and help maintain our VBOB Association

Your dues are $10.00

Veterans oi in'-Thank You

UNCLE SAM NEEDED YOU THEN...W E N E E D YOU N D W . . .

Our a n n u a l dues are the man source

W « a V - ' - v B r B :n r w C o ® u " .e r e :.;r o °^ ewhat o u « you were

rV"ou get V“" ^in.1 \ \1/

VETERANS of the BATTLE OF THE BULGEP.O. Box 11129 Arlington, Virginia 22210-2129

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID ARLINGTON, VA. PERMIT NO. 468

DUES • R - DUE

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED FORWARDING an d RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED

N o v e m b e r 1987 Edi t ion

OQ I 2 7 IW H E T Z E L T H O M P S O N

1 3 2 2 T E N B R O O K C O U R T

O D E N T O N MD 2 1 1 ^

3 5 2

SPECIAL NOTICE!i f BE A T THE DEADLINE ★ SA VE M O N E Y ★ BECOME A LIFER

As noted on page 14 of the previous issue of THE BULGE BUGLE (July ‘87) the cost of LIFE membership fees is going up. The current schedule of fees (Age 49 and below-$100; ages 50 thru 69-$75:age 70 and above-$50.These rates will remain in effect until the end of FY‘87 (Nov. 30, 1987).Effective 1 December 1987 new fees will be in effect.

The new LIFE MEMBERSHIP FEES may be raised 20% to 40% in ac­cordance to actuarial tables. MAIL YOUR REQUEST TODAY!! Your check and a note stating your age and requesting LIFE MEMBERSHIP will do it!!

__ _________________________ __________________________ D e ta c h a n d M a il ____________________________

A n n u al D u e s APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP$10 V E T E R A N S O F TH E B A T T L E O F T H E BU LG E

P.O. Box 1 1 1 2 9 , Arlington. V irginia 2 2 2 1 0 -2 1 2 9

DONATIONS ARE WELCOME

Name

Address

City ___

_ Blrthdate

Phone( )

State Zip

Unit(s) to which assigned during period December 16, 1944 —January 25. 1945 (Dlv. Regt. Bn, Co).

Campaign Ribbons and Battle stars aw arded,

W ounded.\

Captured .Make check or money order payable to VBOB and mail with this application to above address