September 6, 2007 - Washington Post
September 6, 2007
Pg. VA13
Military Matters
By Steve Vogel
Rudy Zamula was toiling away in the National Archives in College Park this spring when he found what he was looking for: documents going back six decades that he believes support the case for his old Army unit to receive new honors.

The 83-year-old Potomac resident, a retired CIA employee, has a job at the Archives declassifying documents. In his free time, he often looks through the records of the Army's 83rd Infantry Division, with which he served during World War II.

After landing at Normandy in 1944 and fighting its way through the Battle of the Bulge, the division raced across northern Germany to the Elbe River in spring 1945. The 83rd was known as the Thunderbolt Division, but it was more colorfully nicknamed "the ragtag circus" because the division commander, Maj. Gen. Robert C. Macon, ordered soldiers to use any vehicles with wheels to speed their advance.

The resulting cavalcade included many captured German vehicles, among them jeeps, tanks, motorbikes, buses and at least one fire engine carrying infantrymen and a banner on its rear bumper that read, "Next Stop: Berlin." The division did not stop until it had secured a position across the Elbe.

A 'Bold' and 'Arduous' Drive
For years, veterans from the 83rd have made the case that the division's accomplishments were worthy of the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest award given to an Army unit. The division was nominated for the citation after Germany's surrender but did not receive the award.

Lou Gomori, 82, the 83rd Division Association historian, worked with the office of Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) to submit an application in 2005 to the Army's Military Awards Branch. This year, he learned that the request had been rejected.

Sifting for new evidence at the National Archives, Zamula looked without luck through the 176 boxes bearing the records of the 83rd for the original nomination.
Military records archivists suggested that Zamula examine boxes from the division's higher headquarters, the XIX Corps and the 9th Army.

Zamula soon hit pay dirt. "Lo and behold, there was a recommendation for a unit citation," he recalled.

Among the more than 100 pages of supporting documents was a letter from the 9th Army commander, Lt. Gen. W.H. Simpson, recommending that the division be awarded the unit citation.

"It's pretty exciting finding these at this late date," Zamula said.

The proposed citation states that the 83rd "accomplished this role of 'breakthrough and exploitation' in a bold smashing and arduous drive which achieved such unprecedented infantry mobility and coordination of all its component elements as to mark an epochal accomplishment in the history of our arms."

Tough Standards to Meet
The 83rd Division Association is resubmitting its request in hopes that the new documentation will bolster its case. "I decided it was time to start rolling again," Gomori said.

Zamula and Gomori recognize their quest is a long shot. The standards for the citation are quite high, as defined by the Military Awards Branch. The unit must display such gallantry, determination and esprit de corps in accomplishing its mission under extremely difficult and hazardous conditions as to set it apart from and above other units participating in the same campaign. Moreover, the citation is rarely awarded to a unit larger than a battalion.

Still, Zamula and Gomori say the case for the 83rd merits a look, particularly for its actions in the closing days of the war in Europe.

On April 13, 1945, the division reached the west bank of the Elbe, which had been set as the boundary between advancing Western forces and the Soviet Red Army approaching Berlin from the east. But the XIX Corps commander, Maj. Gen. Raymond S. McLain, ordered the 83rd across the river to prevent the German army from using the Elbe to launch a counterattack. The division secured a beachhead and held it against fierce German counterattacks.

On the morning of April 15, Gen. Omar Bradley, the 12th Army Group commander, told Simpson, the 9th Army commander, that Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the supreme Allied commander, had ordered the 9th to halt on the Elbe.

"Simpson and McLain were ready to go all the way, but they were stopped by Bradley and Eisenhower," Zamula said. "For good reason. They didn't want to start World War III."

Gomori, who lives in Butler, Pa., speculates that the proposal for a unit citation was quietly dropped at the end of the war because the United States did not want to highlight the fact that the Army had crossed into territory assigned to the Soviets. "It was a touchy issue because they didn't want to make waves," said Gomori, who was a private first class at the time.

Looking Back, and Ahead
Last month, more than 100 veterans of the 83rd gathered in Washington for a reunion, with visits to the National World War II Memorial and a memorial to the division at Arlington National Cemetery.

Some of the veterans went to a reception at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, where they were honored for the 83rd's role in liberating the Langenstein concentration camp, a sub-unit of the notorious Buchenwald concentration camp. Among those attending was Charles Abdinoor of Dracut, Mass., 81, one of the first U.S. soldiers through the gate at Langenstein; he was a private first class.
The Presidential Unit Citation would be a fitting award for the 83rd, according to veterans of the division.

"I think the 83rd Division always did the job and never got a lot of credit for it, so I would like to see it happen," said William Calnan, 87, of Fairfax City, a District native and West Point graduate who served with the division's engineer battalion. "There's been a lot of effort put into it."

"Even if nothing happens, we're looking for a little recognition of an exciting exploit we're all proud of," Zamula said.  By forums@www.military-quotes.com (Team Infidel)

---

August 27, 2007 - WWII veterans still await citation

Mary F. Calvert/The Washington Times Thunderbolts veteran Paul Wagner, 94, of Wadsworth, Ohio, visited the National World War II Memorial on Thursday with daughters Irene Lawrence (center) and Ann Flory.

A sense of urgency has come upon a group of World War II veterans known as the Thunderbolts and their annual reunion. Members still reminisce each year and visit such historic sites as Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of Unknowns. But with just 680 members still alive, time is running out on their efforts to receive the Presidential Unit Citation.

The group, officially known as the Army's 83rd Infantry Division, fought in 270 days of combat, beginning with the Normandy invasion, and 3,850 members were killed and 15,013 were wounded. They also captured about 80,000 Germans.

For that, 289 Thunderbolts received Bronze Stars, 132 earned Silver Stars and the division received a Distinguished Service Cross and a Legion of Merit medal. The division was nominated for the Presidential Unit Citation, which it never received.

In 2005, the 83rd Infantry Division Association filed an application for the citation and another Bronze Star award through the office of Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, to the Military Awards Branch of the Defense Department. Only recently did the Thunderbolts learn that the application was rejected.

"Every day was an experience," said retired Sgt. Stan Bieler, 82, among about 300 Thunderbolts who attended the group's 61st reunion last week. "Every day you were under fire."

The group also fought in the Battle of the Bulge, a major German offensive in December 1944 that Allied forces in Western Europe withstood, then defeated.

Mr. Bieler, now living in Fords, N.J., recalled the difficulty of fighting and surviving in the snow and cold. He and other members said the temperature dropped to 35 degrees below zero.

"They thought we had machine guns," said former Pfc. Joe DePeri, 82, of Garfield, N.J.

Mary F. Calvert/The Washington Times W. Neal Prussman of Haxtun, Colo., was a member of the Thunderbolts, the Army's 83rd Infantry Division, during World War II. He was wounded and held prisoner for seven months by Germans.

"But we didn't," he said, describing how Allied soldiers were aligned in rows and fired in syncopated rhythms at the Nazis.

"It was just, 'Go get 'em,' and that was it," said former Pfc. Albert Vartanian, 87, of Southfield, Mich., who was awarded a Bronze Star.

Mr. Vartanian last week sat outside the National World War II Memorial on the Mall, smoking a cigar and reflecting upon how survival forced him not to make friends with other Thunderbolts.

"We didn't know each other, because if he died, it wouldn't hurt you," he said.

The 83rd Infantry was formed for World War I, but gained military recognition in World War II for fighting deep into Germany, coming within 40 miles of Berlin. Sometimes, the foot soldiers crossed more miles of battleground faster than the tanks and trucks in armored divisions.

"The speed and dispatch with which the division moved was of particular importance in the crossing of the Elbe River, making possible the successful bridgehead," said Lou Gomori, a historian for the association.

But the Elbe in April 1945 was the dividing line between territories assigned to be captured by Russian and U.S. forces. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower had ordered American troops to remain on the west side. But, Maj. General Raymond S. McLain authorized the crossing because he was concerned that the Russian Red Army was far away from the Elbe and that the un-captured east bank would allow the German troops to organize for more fierce battles.

For several days, the division defended the bridgehead territory against Nazi counterattacks and moved to within 40 miles of Berlin. In 13 days, the group fought across 280 miles of Germany, liberating 42,000 U.S. and Allied prisoners.

Ordered to return, members retreated to the river but retained possession of the east side of the bridgehead until Russian and other Allied troops arrived. In effect, the war ended. On May 7, 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender.

The group became the only American military outfit to battle in the Eastern European theater, and for that distinction also is asking for a sixth Battle Star.

Pfc. W. Neal Prussman, 87, a Thunderbolt who is now a Colorado wheat farmer, was not at the Elbe campaign.

He was wounded, then captured and held for seven months. His weight dropped from 200 pounds to 100 pounds.

"My rifle had fallen nearby, said Pfc. Prussman, now back at 200 pounds. "A German who spoke good English said, 'For you, the war is over.' "  Arlo Wagner, Washington Times - Washington,DC,USA

March 27, 2007 - Warren parade honors freedom

December 10, 2006 - DAVID SPRINGER, 1917-2006 Educator was leader of Evergreen schools

WAUSEON - David Springer, 89, a former superintendent of the Evergreen Local School District, died of cancer Nov. 26 at the La Posada retirement community in Green Valley, Ariz.

Mr. Springer retired from the district in 1975 after five years as superintendent.  Before he became superintendent, he served 4 1/2 years as the district's high school guidance counselor. He held bachelor's and master's degrees, both in education, from Ohio State University and also studied for a doctoral degree in administration and guidance at Bowling Green State University.  Before joining Evergreen Local, Mr. Springer worked six years for the Fulton County Board of Education as a curriculum coordinator, and 19 years as a teacher, basketball and baseball coach, principal, and superintendent at the Pettisville Local School District in Fulton County.

Mr. Springer also served for 25 years on the board of the Fulton County Health Center in the 1960s, the 1970s, and the 1980s.  "He enjoyed people. He was a very well-educated man, a spiritual man, a very patriotic man. And he was a lifetime student," his nephew, Dave Springer, said.

The elder Mr. Springer was born in Van Wert, Ohio, and he was raised on a family farm located near Wren, Ohio, graduating about 1935 from Wren High School.

During World War II, Mr. Springer enlisted in the Army and served with the 83rd Infantry Division in Europe and received a battlefield commission. He took part in five campaigns, and he was the recipient of three medals, including the Silver Star.

In 1943, Mr. Springer married Helen Rychener. She died in 2003.  In retirement, Mr. Springer, who lived in Wauseon at the time, took to spending winters in Green Valley, to which he moved in 1992.

He enjoyed playing golf, traveling, and watching harness racing. He was an Arizona Wildcats fan.  Mr. Springer was a longtime member of St. John's Christian Church, Archbold, Ohio. He also was an associate member of the Valley Presbyterian Church, Green Valley.

There are no immediate survivors.  There will be no visitation. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Jan. 6 at St. John's Christian Church, Archbold.  Arrangements are by Edgar-Grisier Funeral Home, Wauseon.  It is suggested that tributes be made to St. John's Christian Church, the Pettisville Foundation, the Evergreen Local School District, or the Springer Scholarship at St. John's Christian Church.  SEAN BARRON, Toledo Blade - Toledo,OH,USA

October 7, 2006 - The taking of Native lands in the name of war

The Summer of 1942

During the World War II era, the federal government condemned and leased hundreds of thousands of Indian acres for military use, much of it never returned to Indian hands. In this series, Indian Country Today spoke with Native people affected by the takings, many who served their country in wartime, lost their land to the government, and still harbor strong feelings on the matter.

KYLE, S.D. - Pat Cuny went to Europe with the 83rd Infantry Division in 1944 feeling like he'd already been through a scrape. His family had just been run off their land on the Pine Ridge Reservation by the Department of War.

In 1942, a gunnery range the size of a whole county displaced 125 Lakota families from Oglala treaty land. They had 30 days - or less - to leave homes, farms, schools and cemeteries behind.

Cuny's parents got $1,200 for an allotted half-section of land, Pat recalled, house, barn and outbuildings thrown in. ''Everything that was left after 30 days, they just came and chain sawed and made little hutches, little A-houses, for machine gunners. We didn't have no money to move the house.''

That summer the family scattered. Some went to work at the Black Hills Ordnance Depot; his mother, recently widowed, moved to Denver. ''I was going to get drafted, so I just enlisted,'' Cuny said hoarsely, his voice rasping from a decade-long bout with throat cancer.

The war found him when the Germans torpedoed his troop transport in the English Channel. Half his company went down, and ''damn few'' were rescued, he said. Cuny ''fought through France, fought through Germany'' and saw Europe on Uncle Sam's nickel - lucky to come home in one piece. ''There was a lot of these Indian boys who gave their lives.''

After the war, Congress awarded $3,500 extra per family for the gunnery range takings. ''It never came to $5,000 for a half-section of ground,'' growled Cuny, doggedly bitter during several conversations. ''That's good ground. That's the choicest ground there is in the center of this table. That's that black soil about 6 foot deep - I know because we dug a lot of graves over there by hand.''

Stories like Cuny's are as common as prickly pear in Indian country - for the time being. About a thousand World War II veterans die every day, and the memory of the ''good war'' fades with them. But Native veterans still recall what the War Department took from their own backyard while they were off fighting Hideki Tojo and Adolf Hitler.

With blitzkrieg in the air, some powerful buyers came to Indian country. Some of the least productive land in the American West, much of it reserved for Native people in trust, suddenly had enormous military value. While landowners of all races were affected, Indian land, already in federal control, was the easiest to take.

Indian acreage was seized for training grounds, bombing ranges, base camps, air strips, and Japanese-American internment centers. A conservative estimate puts Indian land takings in the World War II era at 1 million acres, an area the size of Rhode Island - with millions more taken in ceded traditional lands adjacent to reservations.

Though never officially named, ''Operation Indian Country,'' to coin a phrase, qualifies as the largest Native land taking in America since allotment. Much of that land has never returned to Indian control.

Some areas were condemned by eminent domain and ''purchased'' for a deflated, court-determined fee. Others were leased from tribes for extended periods, often at dirt-cheap rates. Some land was returned to Indian owners only after absorbing environmental damage that has compromised development for the past half century.

Ask the Walker River Paiute, who have long complained about underground ordnance on their Nevada reservation. Paiute land straddles Bravo 19 Bombing Range near Fallon Naval Air Station, established in 1942. Tribal environment director Tad Williams said there are hundreds, if not thousands, of Native acres in need of cleanup, a job the military estimated at $1 million before a private consulting firm dismissed the sum as inadequate. The tribe filed a tort claim against the government, but the case has languished for lack of money.

Or take the Shoshone-Bannock of southern Idaho, another willing contributor to the war effort. About 1,000 acres of reservation land were condemned by the War Powers Act and taken for use as a landing strip in the 1940s. Though allotment owners were compensated, the tribe was given to understand the land would one day be returned.

Instead, the strip was sold as excess property to the Pocatello municipal government for a nominal fee. Today, the tribe must deal with a large patch of land in the middle of the reservation - the site of the city airport - that creates jurisdictional headaches and a lot of overhead noise. Sixty years later, said tribal officials, the matter still rankles.

Farther north, the Sitka Tribe of Alaska lost prime waterfront land in Sitka village that was never returned by the War Department and is now owned by a private fish processor. Said tribal attorney Jessica Perkins when asked about a paper trail: ''The War Department didn't take notes about those kinds of things.''

Al Duncan Sr., Sitka tribe, a member of the city assembly, can vouch for that. Duncan was an infant in 1942 when the Army asked his father to vacate land on Excursion Inlet, about 50 miles west of Juneau. Peter Duncan, a prospector, boat builder, and former Northwest mounted policeman, was hopping mad. After three warnings, he placed two American flags on his door - one for each of the sons he had in the military. ''You're going to have to kill me to take my land,'' Al Duncan recounted his father saying.

The Army resettled Peter Duncan but never issued a deed. When Haines Borough later claimed ownership of the relocated tract, he didn't have any paperwork. ''If it was up to us to give ourselves a deed, we'd own all southeast Alaska,'' Al Duncan said. He fought to have his father's 60 acres returned and was ready to go to trial when the state gave 19 of them back, a settlement arranged out of court. ''No one even knew what a deed was,'' Duncan said, ''but we sure as hell do now.''

Deeds didn't mean much in wartime, as the Cuny family found out. Those with no paper at all - like the Navajo of Fort Wingate - were in even bigger trouble.

(Continued in part two)

Philip Burnham is the recipient of a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism. Indian Country Today - Canastota,NY,USA

May 17, 2006 - Father's memory spawns reunion for 83rd

In 1942, the 83rd Infantry Division of the United States Army, dubbed the “Thunderbolts,” was reactivated at Camp Atterbury, part of which lies in Brown County. The soldiers soon flew overseas in the second wave of the Normandy Invasion.

While they were gone, the troops helped stop the German offensive in the Battle of the Budge, captured the city of Halle, established a bridgehead on the Elbe River and found Langenstein, a sub-camp of the Buchenwald concentration camp, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

When they returned home, many went back to work, like nothing had happened, and few talked about their experiences overseas.

At least that’s what Georgeanna “George” Slaybaugh experienced from her father, Paul Robert Lewis Sr., who lived here for about 30 years before his death in 1992. He was a member of the Thunderbolts, and a prisoner of war in Germany, but shared little with his daughter, despite their common interest in history. After his death, Mrs. Slaybaugh “always regretted things I didn’t find out.”

That sent her on an exploration of the Internet, where she found that the Thunderbolts Division was still active, holding reunions each year, since the year after returning to the states — 1946 — “so the 83rd could go on no matter what,” she said.

Mrs. Slaybaugh began attending the reunions, wishing her father could have experienced them with her, and when last year’s gathering in Paducah, Kentucky, threatened to be the last, due to the age of the veterans, she took matters into her own hands. She told organizers that her community was a small town with a big heart that would envelop the veterans and give them a festival to remember.

So, 60 years after returning from war, the Thunderbolts will come back to where it all began, with a reunion in Nashville. The five-day event will take place August 23 to 27 and include a parade and special events each night, as well as a memorial service at the division’s home, Camp Atterbury.

Mrs. Slaybaugh said she told the group, “I promise you, this town will turn out for you.”

Just as Mrs. Slaybaugh predicted, the community has opened its heart to the 83rd, with the Lions Club taking on arrangements for a parade, Brown County Inn organizing lodging accommodations, and the Town of Nashville offering support during its February meeting.

At that meeting, councilman Bob Kirlin, who meets regularly with Mrs. Slaybaugh and other organizers, said, “I think this is exciting to the town,” and added that he believes the town should “put its best foot forward.”

While the task is large, Mrs. Slaybaugh says she’s “thrilled to death” at how plans are coming to fruition. “I couldn’t do it without a community like Brown County and Nashville.”

Special guests that have confirmed attendance include Benjamin Patton, grandson of General George S. Patton, who will show a documentary he produced, and Belgium resident Eddy Monfort, who is writing a book on the subject.

Because Mr. Monfort speaks little English, Mrs. Slaybaugh has enlisted the help of Madame Elise Tiller, the high school French teacher, who will use the experience as a community service project for her students. She also hopes to have veterans speak on their experiences during high school history classes and be recognized with an assembly.

In addition to those already committed to helping, Mrs. Slaybaugh hopes others will step up and sponsor events, hold fundraisers or make donations to show the veterans the community appreciates all they did for their country.

Some of the donations needed include door prizes of items that are unique reflections of Brown County; someone to videotape highlights throughout the reunion; loan of Polaroid cameras and enough Polaroid film for 200-300 pictures; candles in red, white, blue, gold and black; glass containers for candles, all sizes and shapes; a helium tank and balloons; printed banners; poster frames; Welcome Bag products, coupons, etc.

She also needs volunteers for transportation, greeters and helpers at Brown County Inn to assist with shopping and sightseeing, and people to put up decorations and clean up after the reunion.

“I just know this town is going to host these wonderful men,” she said, adding that donors and volunteers may contact her at 988-9106 or georgeslaybaugh@hotmail.com.

While the task appeared overwhelming when she volunteered to host the reunion last year, she’s had support from more than just the community.

“I just felt Dad’s guiding spirit through the whole thing,” Mrs. Slaybaugh said. “The spirit of my dad has never been closer.”  Linda Margison, Brown County Democrat - Nashville,IN,USA

April 20, 2006 - Former Michigan congressman dies at age 88 in Florida - Bay City native Elford Cederberg served 1953-1978

Former U.S. Rep. Elford Albin Cederberg, a Republican from Michigan who served in Congress for 26 years after fighting in World War II, has died. He was 88.

Cederberg died Monday in The Villages, Fla., according to the office of Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland.

Cederberg served in Congress from 1953 to 1978, becoming the highest-ranking Republican on the Democrat-controlled House Appropriations Committee.

"He was very much a gentleman," said Bill Schuette, a Michigan Court of Appeals judge and former congressman from Midland who interned in Cederberg's office in 1973. "It's pretty rare you get a congressman or woman who serves for 26 years."

Born in 1918 in Bay City, Cederberg attended the city's public schools and junior college before entering the U.S. Army in April 1941. He was assigned to the 83rd Infantry Division.

He won five campaign battle stars and the Bronze Star and was discharged with the rank of captain in 1945. He became manager of Nelson Manufacturing Co. in Bay City and later served as mayor of Bay City from 1949 until 1953. In 1952, he won election to the 10th Congressional District, representing the Midland area and the surrounding region.

Cederberg's wife, Marguerite, died March 1. He is survived by his daughter, Marilyn A. Warner, of The Villages, Fla.; a son, Tom Cederberg, of Bay City; one grandchild and one great-grandchild.

The funeral will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at the Penzien-Steele Funeral Home, 608 N. Madison Ave., Bay City. Visitation will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.    Lansing State Journal - Lansing,MI,USA

Eighty-five-year-old Buford Franklin is the epitome of steadfastness - in his 57-year marriage to wife Valerie; in a railroad career that began in 1941 and continues long past his retirement from L&N; but most of all, in honoring a promise he made to a buddy 61 years ago as they crossed the English Channel on their way to help launch the Normandy Invasion.

One of two children born in Thach to Nettie and Atha Franklin, he attended school at Thach through sixth grade, then ended his formal education to help his father farm.

"I helped my daddy make a crop for the last time in 1941," he recalls. "Then I went to work for the L&N Railroad as a track repairmen, putting in cross ties and laying new rail from Nashville to Birmingham, including the branch lines to Mount Pleasant, Lawrenceburg and Florence."

He was living with his family in Brown's Corner when he came home from the job one day in 1941 and his mother handed him the draft notice that had just arrived by mail. After basic training with the Army's 83rd Infantry Division at Camp Atterbury in Indiana, he spent three months practicing maneuvers in Tennessee (close enough to come home on the train on a 12-day pass, spend a couple of hours with family, and catch a train back) ; then to Breckenridge, Ky., for more training. When he was shipped out by troop train to Miami, he knew the route would take him through Thach. He wrote a letter in a magazine to his mother, handing it out the window to a section foreman at Thach who delivered it to his family.

During amphibious training in Miami, Buford met Richard Boyd, who had grown up at Alabama Forks. The two Limestone County men become close friends. When their unit went to South Carolina, Richard was joined by his young wife - Valerie Scott, who had grown up around Salem-Minor Hill - and their months-old daughter, Sylvia.

Even before their amphibious training, the men knew they were being prepared to launch an invasion - they just didn't know when and where it would take place.

When the men were sent to New Jersey to get ready to sail, Valerie returned home to live with her parents. Buford's outfit arrived in Liverpool and took more training near Plymouth, England. It was on the evening of June 5, 1944, crossing the English Channel on the USS Barnett, headed toward Utah Beach, that Richard extracted a promise from Buford that if he did not come home alive, Buford would look after his wife and child.

After landing at Utah Beach, the 4th Infantry Division took Cherbourg. In a subsequent battle in hedgerow country, they took an area but were too heavily outmanned to hold it. They were obeying orders to retreat when Richard told Buford he was going to cover him with his machine gun (both were gunners in the same squad) while Buford moved out.

"I told him, 'Be careful,'" says Buford, growing pensive. "That's the last thing I ever said to him."

He watched as machine gun fire ripped his friend's body in two, but the horror was far from ended. Before the bloody confrontation ended, Buford had had to crawl over the body of his platoon sergeant to reach safe ground.

By the time the war ended, Buford had been wounded five times - three wounds to the head, once to the shoulder, and once to the knee. The most serious injury left him in a ditch, covered with powder-burned dirt, and with blood running out of his nose, mouth and ears.

Buford was in the hospital when the war ended and servicemen began being released on a point system, with points awarded in categories such as length of service and times wounded. After his records caught up with him, he learned he had 102 points - more than the requisite 85 to be in the first batch of releases.

Not long after returning to Athens, he visited Valerie and Sylvia, checking on their welfare. He returned to work for L&N, stationed in the small two-story structure between the double tracks on Washington Street in Athens, as the lookout who rang the bell to warn motorists of approaching trains. In town to run errands, Valerie sometimes would stop by to chat. Eventually, the friendship blossomed into romance. Three years after Buford pledged to look out for his buddy's wife and child, he and Valerie were married. Buford and Valerie reared Sylvia, and had a son of their own, Jerry Franklin. They have three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Buford retired from L&N in 1983, but went to work immediately for Shelton Railroad, repairing private tracks from the main railroad lines to the plants they deliver to. He now works 10-12 days per month inspecting and doing minor maintenance on 10 miles of railroad track belonging to BP Amoco Chemical. He and a great-grandson mow lawns for four clients, and he grows his own beans, tomatoes and okra in a backyard garden.

When Buford gets a good report from his physical exam, his physician always gives him the same advice: "Whatever you're doing, keep doing it. Don't overdo it, but don't quit."

Quitting is not in Buford's plans. It isn't in his vocabulary.

By Charlotte Fulton, News Courier - Athens,AL,USA

Private Kenneth Hatcher was killed in action in Normandy, France. He was one of 7,920 casualties of the 83rd infantry division during July of 1944. Private Hatcher was buried in Coleville Cemetery at Omaha Beach along with 10,000 of his brothers in arms.

That is all his six-month-old son, William, knew about his father until now, 61 years later.

I was Googling at work one Friday afternoon and noticed a link that contained my own father's name. So I opened it, a website for his division, the 83rd infantry.

I found myself mesmerized by the short personal paragraphs written by sons, daughters, uncles, cousins, brothers, and grandchildren seeking information about their loved ones, some gone 60 long years, others just recently deceased or now in failing health.

As I read, I felt a gathering lump in my throat. The longings, sadness, and flickering hopes of all these people seeking some shred of information were compelling. The more I read, the more the voices seemed childlike:

"Papa was killed in December..."

"Uncle Bill never came home, he was with the 330th..."

" My brother, Bob, was lost in August 1944, and does anybody remember...."

Who would think that cyberspace could become such a simple, yet eloquent, platform for the expression of love, hope, and remembrance?

I stopped reading at a message written by Bill Hatcher seeking information about his father, a member of Company A, 331st regiment. Private Hatcher had been killed in action on July 26, 1944. Company A was my father's company, and my dad had been seriously wounded on July 28. I knew there had to be a connection.

I am a fortunate son. My father survived the war and came home to sire me, and my five brothers and sisters. I grew up getting to do with him all the things a father and son should-- baseball, hunting, and fishing, which meant we had a lot of time to talk. And talk we did.

But I am perhaps more blessed by having a mother who insisted that my father sit down years ago and write down his recollections. Dad can now no longer remember, but I have his words, and in that collection I found Private Kenneth Hatcher. There wasn't a lot, but it was about the last two days of his life. This is most of what I sent to Private Hatcher's son:

***

Private Kenneth Hatcher arrived at the front on July 24. He was a replacement, as most soldiers were by then. The company was located at a place called Village des Saints, a small hamlet, still there today. They were the front line. Troops of the German 6th parachute regiment were 200 yards to the front.

My dad was a 2nd lieutenant in Company A and had your father's name in his diary as coming up that night with one other man. He moved Private Hatcher to the 2nd platoon commanded by Lt. Shannon. On the night of July 25, operation Cobra commenced, which was to be the beginning of the breakthrough at St. Lo. Company A was one of the first units to attack on the morning of the 26th attempting to push the Germans across the Taute River to the St. Lo-Perrier highway.

My father gave the command to fix bayonets, an order that always haunted him, and Company A went over the top in a frontal assault not much different from a Civil War battle almost 100 years earlier. Except this foe had machine guns and mortars.

The Germans had reinforced their line overnight, and the 331st encountered at least 10 machine guns as they charged across the open field. The attack faltered with many casualties, and yet they were ordered to do it again. My father always became emotionally overwhelmed when he recounted this day because every man went forward, not once but twice, and most were killed or wounded. The company made it within 40 yards of the German line but was essentially destroyed.

That evening, the Germans counterattacked with tanks and infantry, cutting off Company A. American artillery was called into Company A's area to deny the enemy the ground, killing and wounding a number of men. Capt. Reiger was seriously wounded, as was Lt. Westfall, making my father acting company commander. That night the company had run low on ammunition and water, so my father took some of the surviving men, now about 30, to go out into no man's land to retrieve canteens and ammunition from the dead.

He specifically remembers lying, for part of the night, next to a soldier. Upon retrieving and drinking from the man's canteen he noticed a stenciled name, Private Kenneth Hatcher. Dad wrote that Private Hatcher looked to be sleeping and had a serene and peaceful expression on his face.

This is all I have. My father was wounded two days later by a land mine that killed his good friend Lt. Shannon. He was released from the hospital in 1946 almost two years after being hit.

Just know that Kenneth Hatcher was a hero who died in a frontal assault that few men ever experienced and survived. My father always remembered the men and cared for them greatly. He told me that he had said a prayer for your father every night since that day. I talked with him tonight, and even with Alzheimer's, when asked directly, he remembers the war and he remembered lying next to your father that night.

***

Memorial day will soon be upon us, and every year we take a brief moment to reflect on the sacrifices of our soldiers. The monuments will be wreathed and flags placed upon each veteran's grave. There will be speeches and editorials­ as there should be. I found a place where the memorial is organic, a place where remembrance is in the voices and hearts of children who have never forgotten.

After all this, it became apparent to me that I would not have had this opportunity to offer some insight into another person's life if my father hadn't written down his memoirs. So, on this Memorial Day, I ask all veterans, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Beirut, Panama, Grenada, Bosnia, Somalia, the Gulf Wars, and Afghanistan, to help us remember. It is one last duty that may, 50 years from now, allow another child to come to know his or her father, brother, uncle, aunt, or grandparent. That last duty-- write it down.

(BIL MONAN, The Hook - Charlottesville,VA,USA)

April 13, 2005 - Artist plans to revive wounded 'man of steel'

A steel sculpture of a soldier mortally wounded in Iraq that took Sidney Rackoff hundreds of hours to complete was stolen from its perch on Broadway and East 55th Street.

But by mid-afternoon Tuesday, it was located - after it had been sold for scrap.  When the artist learned it had been sold as scrap metal for $12 and its leg broken off, he laughed it off with a pun.  "Someone stole my 'steel,' " the World War II veteran said.

Earlier, Dennis Althar didn't know how the 85-year-old artist, who lives in Cleveland Heights, would react to hearing the statue was missing from outside the old Carnegie Library building Althar owns.

If it was stolen from most people, it would have them "cussing and swearing," Althar said.

Not Rackoff. He assumed someone stole it because they thought it was meant as a symbol against the war.

"I said somebody probably stole it for money for crack," Althar said.

Althar called Cleveland police, who pegged the piece's value at $40,000, although Rackoff has given away his pieces rather than selling them.

Late in the day, Rackoff had the statue - broken-off leg and all - back at his shop.

His shop is in Willoughby, where Robert's Roofing lets him work for free.

He explained how close wounded soldiers are to his heart:

He went to the Europe in 1944 with the 83rd Infantry Division. On Jan. 10, 1945, "a bomb came in, got my leg and killed my buddy," he said.

Rackoff didn't think of turning the experience into art until after he was 60.

"My wife says to me, 'I see you like to putter around the house and fix things. Why don't you take a course in art?' " he said.

Rackoff took a drawing class. He learned to paint. He was making sculptures out of ceramics when a professor suggested he learn to weld.

Since then, he has made a few pieces depicting wounded soldiers. One - of a veteran missing a leg and an arm and leaning on a crutch - stands outside 5437 Broadway.

The stolen piece didn't start out as a mortally wounded soldier. "It started out as someone celebrating a great event, arms raised in triumph," Rackoff said.

But he thought the arms too short. When he took them off for repairs, he realized the piece should be a mortally wounded soldier. He removed the head, an arm, a leg. His work often evolves that way, he said.

The thief apparently removed the other leg.

"I'll have to weld that back on," Rackoff said.  (Gabriel Baird, Cleveland Plain Dealer - Cleveland,OH,USA)

The Freehold Regional High School District and the Navy Junior ROTC Academy at Colts Neck High School have kicked off a new series of lectures called “The Greatest Generation Meets the Future Generation” which will feature heroes from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War and other recent conflicts.  The series will be open to the public.

“We want to make a link between the World War II generation and our [ROTC] students,” said Lt. Col. Jim Sfayer, senior naval science instructor. “The quality of kids we have in our program today is just extraordinary.”  Sfayer said as time marches on there are fewer and fewer veterans and a loss of firsthand history.

“It’s so important for these youngsters to know many of them, [because the students] aren’t tuned into the scope of World War II except when we talk about the Pacific and we talk about the navy battles and the 6,000 to 7,000 miles of ocean that had to be traversed,” he said.

On a recent morning, Sfayer presented a short history of the Battle of the Bulge on the 60th anniversary of that action. He explained the movement of the American forces that followed the D-Day invasion of France on June 6, 1944.

“The Americans moved rather rapidly toward the German border,” he said, “but the U.S. forces outstretched their logistics. They were running ahead of their supplies.”

The Germans saw this and believed it might be an opportunity for them, Sfayer noted. Figuring that it would be easier to take the Americans on the west, rather than the Russians in the east, the Germans aimed to slice through the center of the American forces.

The Germans’ intent was to split the Americans’ 104-mile long defense by attacking on a 60-mile front, while outnumbering the American forces, he explained.  However, the airborne divisions saved the day, along with Gen. George S. Patton, who moved his tanks into the conflict.

“They jumped into Bastogne [Belgium, in the Ardennes] and they wound up staying there,” Sfayer said. “The Battle of Bastogne was the key in the entire Battle of the Bulge.”

The British took command of the operations in the north under Gen. Bernard Montgomery and the Americans, under Patton, took command in the south. About 80,000 troops moved forward and then made a complete left turn and seized Bastogne.

“On Jan. 23, 1945, about four months before the actual end of the war, the final crossroads [in the Battle of the Bulge] was recaptured by the 7th Armored Division,” Sfayer said.

He then turned to the day’s guest speaker, retired Army Capt. George Henry Waple III, of Eatontown, and said, “This is a warrior with a heart of gold. His career is very interesting. He was with Patton when Patton was with the horse soldiers, the U.S. Third Horse Cavalry. At that time, Patton was a colonel.”

Sfayer said Waple landed in Normandy on June 18, 1944, and participated in all five campaigns in the European Theater, including the Battle of the Bulge. There are usually between 30 and 40 battles in a single campaign. Waple later became the aide to Gen. Omar N. Bradley, the Chief of Staff of the Army and later chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the last of the five-star generals. He was one of the honor guard pall bearers for Gen. John J. “Black Jack” Pershing.

Waple is the author of “Country Boy Gone Soldiering,” which the JROTC students will soon be reading.

Waple, 83, provided the students with an overview of his military career, which included time spent in the U.S. Third Horse Cavalry, under Col. Jonathan Wainwright and Col. George S. Patton. In June 1942 he participated in the 331st Infantry, 83rd Infantry Division as a radio chief. As a first sergeant, he trained in Tennessee from 1942-43.

His division shipped out of New York and landed in Liverpool, England, where he received additional training.  Waple recalled when Bradley returned to England.

“They, [Dwight] Eisenhower, Gen. [George C.] Marshall, President [Franklin Delano] Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Montgomery and many other generals, finally formed and organized the invasion plan for Operation Overlord, the D-Day Invasion, June 6, 1944,” he explained.

On D-Day plus 12 (June 18), Waple’s unit crossed the English Channel and relieved the 101st Airborne near Carenton, France.

“We took their foxholes in the hedgerows and swamps,” said Waple. “On July 6, we reorganized and then took the Germans. [From there we were able to] finally move across France.”  Waple described in detail how his unit moved across Luxembourg and Germany and then arrived at the Elbe River, where it met up with the Russians on May 8, 1945.

After the war, from 1946-47, Waple served as head usher for affairs under President Harry S. Truman. He was also Truman’s wreath bearer at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington, Va.  In August 1948 Master Sgt. Waple became chauffeur and security for Gen. Omar N. Bradley, the Chief of Staff of the Army. Bradley later became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

On Jan. 12, 1952, Waple moved up to the rank of second lieutenant, receiving his lieutenant bars in Bradley’s Pentagon office. During that summer, Waple was assigned to the 31st Infantry Regiment of the Seventh Infantry Division.

“I went to Korea and fought at ‘Pork Chop’ and ‘Old Baldy’ and was selected to be the aide de camp by the commanding general of the Seventh Division,” said Waple, who then escorted Major Gen. Lionel McGarr to the Canal Zone where the general took command of the United States Army Caribbean.

In 1956, Waple was promoted to captain and attended advanced infantry school.  He was subsequently reassigned as aide to McGarr at Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  Waple retired from military duty in June 1962 after 24 years of service.

His numerous decorations include the Combat Infantry Badge with Star; the Bronze Star with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Commendation Medal with Four Clusters, the Good Conduct Medal with 12 years of unlisted service and numerous other service medals.

For those who are interested in attending the series, a schedule will be placed on the FRHSD Web site, www.FRHSD.com.  (BY DAVE BENJAMIN, Colts Neck, NJ, USA)

December 17, 2004 - Memories still haunt Battle of the Bulge vets