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The Octofoil, March/April 1968 The Octofoil, March/April 1968

Ninth Infantry Division Association

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THE ••. ~.,.• 81

- . ..

Volume XXIIINumber 4 THE NINTH INFANTRY DIVISION ASSOCIATION Association Dues $4.00 per year-$50

will be earmarked to pay for The Octofoll

Weehawken, N. J. 07087 -412 Gregory Ave.

• •MARCH - APRIL. 1968

for [veryone

Detroit Has Somet~in~

Detroit, this year's reunion site, is a city with somethingfor everyone. Like the automobiles for which it is famous,the Motor City has something to please everyone regardlessof taste or pocketbook. Detroit's many faceted character makesfor interesting contrasts.

***

Rei i a bI e 511

RememberThe Dates

•Remember the datesfor the

19G8 ReunionJuly 18,19,20.

Along that line, I had a talkthis winter with former ColonelWallace Wade, retired formerfootball coach at DUke and Ala­bama. He said he was com­manding an artillery unit duringthe confusion of the Battle ofthe Bulge when he was notifiedthat the 9th Division was mOVinginto his area and he told hismen, "stop worrying. Every­thing is gonna be all right now.They've sent us the first team."

Lindsey's letter adds anotherchapter to the legend of the 9thDivision and we are gratefulthat he took time out from hisbusy schedule to write to us.

Bee k 0 n s 110 I d

one. Colonel Barth thought itmight be a good idea if we adopt­ed this nickname, and we did.

I might add, however, that forthe most part we were neververy enthusiastic about the" OldReliables" as a nickname. Wewere pleased and flattered thata former commander of the 1stDivision, with whom the 9th hadbeen paired so often, saw fitto use the phrase. But it wassomething less thana rip-roar­ing appelation for a great Divi­sion of fighting men.

In an editorial, the BostonGlobe called the 9th Division"Hitler's Nemesis." We usedthat in the historical bookletpublished in Paris. I nevercared much for that as a nick­name, either.

As a matter of fact, I neverdid find a nickname that I thoughtwould do justice to the 9th Divi­sion and I grew to be pleasedwith the fact that we didn'treally have one. There was the"Big Red One", "The Hell onWheels," "The Rainbow,""Bucket of Blood," and a mil­110n others. We were just the9th Infantry Division, and any­body who ever heard the nameknew that it meant one heluvafighting outfit•

SkylineDetroit

Ninth Division - The First Team

This view shOws the skyline of modern Detroit. In the foreground, is Cobo Hall and ConventionArena, the city's $55,000,000 convention and exposition center. other prominent buildings arePick-Fort Shelby Hotel, Michigan Bell Telephone Company. Sheraton-Cadillac Hotel, Hotel Pontchar­train, and the Penobscot Building the city's tallest building.

During the baseball trainingseason, Lindsey Nelson is keptbusy covering the activities ofthe New York Mets. Despitehis busy schedule Lindsey stillfinds time to read the Octofoil.In a recent issue we requestedinformation pertaining to theorigin of the nickname "OldRe­liables." Lindsey quickly re-·sponded to our query and wroteas follows.

In reply to the query of theMilitary History Detachment ofthe U. S. Army regarding the9th Division's acquisition ofthe nickname "Old Reliables,"it was something like this.

There was a General Cla­rence Heubner, who had beenpromoted to the post of CorpsCommander. The 9th Divisionfought an action under his Corpscommand. Afterwards, he wrotea letter to the CommandingGen­eral of the 9th Division com­mending the Division and refer­ring to the soldiers of the 9thas "The Old Reliables." TheChief of Staff of the 9th at thetime was Colonel George B.Barth. I was a Captain at thetime and Public Relations Of­ficer of the 9th Division. Wehad never really had a nick­name, and we were looking for

THE ARTS FLOURISHIN DETROIT

The thirst for cultural ac­tivity permeating the nation isnowhere more evident than inthe Motor City. One of the firstprojects finished In the renewalof the city's riverfront areawas the Henry and Edsel FordAuditorium where the DetroitSymphony Orchestra under thebarons of Paul Paray and Six­ten Ehrling has established it­self as one of America's pre­miere orchestras. In the sum­mer months, music moves out­doors. Leading soloists appearwith the Detroit Symphony inthe recently inaugurated Mead­owbrook Music Festival, andthere are outdoor concerts atthe state Fairgrounds and onBelle Isle, a 1,000 acre islandpark in the Detroit River. TheTheatre has found new life inDetroit. Just a few minutesnorth of the city's heart, in theNew Center area, the FisherTheatre was recently opened.Located on the ground floor ofa towering, plush office build­ing, the Fisher has been widelyacclaimed as the most beautifullegitimate theatre in the land.

The attractions mentionedabove are only a small sampleof the treats that await the vis­itor to Detroit. A trip to the re­union is the perfect way to spendyour vacation. While you areshooting the breeze with yourold buddies. the wife and chil­dren can be taking in the sights.Make your reservations now,the boys ill Detroit are waitingto hear from you.

MAKE RESERVATIONS NOW

plants are a must. Eleven dif­f~rem.ma.j.,;."'$ of: WJ4.omvbilesare manufactured in the Detroitmetropolitan area. The visitorcan see the complete productioncycle from lake freighters un­loading iron ore to the start­ing of the car's engine at the.end of the final assembly line.

HENRY FORD MUSE UM

To the west of Detroit, inDearborn, home of Henry Fordand the empire he built. is theHenry Ford Museum and Green­field Village. Here, on 260 acresof carefully manicured grounds,

is a collection of Americanaunmatched elsewhere on theglobe.

The village and museum wereestablished in 1929 by Mr. Fordas his personal contribution tothe preservation of America'spast. More than 1,000,000 visi­tors tour the exhibits and his­toric buildings each year, andthe complex has been among thetop ten U. S. tourist attractionsalmost since its opening.

The museum itself covers 14acres and contains vast collec­tions of decorative arts, com­munications and power equip­ment, full scale replicas ofearly American shops and theworld's largest collection ofrestored automobiles.

Scattered throughout the restof the village are more than 100historic buildings tracing thedevelopment of the Americanhome and American industryfrom colonial days to the late19th century. Many, like theMenlo Park laboratory whereThomas Edison lit the firstelectric bulb and the bicycleshop where the Wright Broth­ers started man on his wayto the stars, were broughtfromtheir original sites and recon­structed in the village.

Greenfield Village and theHenry Ford Museum welcomevisitors year around. They are a"must" for every first-timetrip to the Motor City, andmany local residents visitseveral times each year.

D e t r 0 I t' s industrial- com­mercial magnificence is amighty magnet for visitors.Here they can see first-handmuch of what makes the.modernworld function. Tours of the auto

Founded in 1701, it is the oldest city in the Mid-West. Yet,its skyline is as modern as the 1969 models which will roll offthe assembly line in the fall. For more than two hundred yearsthe city has been the bastion of independent capitalists and mer­chants, but today it is also a major headquarters of organizedlabor. Located nearly a thousand miles from any ocean, Detroitis a major international cargo port and the Detroit River car­ries more commercial traffic than the Suez and Panama Canals.

VISITORS SEE INDUSTRY ATWORK

Page 2 THE OCTOFOIL

Members Remit Dues and Good Wishes

OUr members take a great personal interest in their Associ­ation. This is clearly evident every year when it comes time to'pay dues. The members are not content to place a check in anenvelope and send it off to the Secretary; they also include aletter with a personal message. The following letters are afew samples from the many, many letters that are receivedby Dan Quinn.

r~ '~::~~7:==;1II Fornw 3579 should be sent to 412 Gregory Avenue, Weehawken, N. J. 07087 IIX OCTQFOIL ASSOCIATE EDITORS Walter O'Keeffe & Daniel Quinn ~

~NATIONAL OFFICERS n

PAUL KELLER, President, 139 Pinewood Drive. Columbus, Ohio UFRANCIS MAHER, 1st Vice President. 14 Davenport St" Worcester, Ma:>s.FRANK QlART, 2nd Vice President. 2241 S. Marshall Blvd.. Chicago, 111

~WILLIAM MEADOWS, 3rd Vice President, 19367 Dale. Detroit, Michigan u~

HARRISON DAYSH, Judge Advocate, 4303 Carriage Court, IIRock Creek Highlands. Kensington, Md.

DANIEL QUINN, Secretary, 412 Gregory Ave., Weehawken, N. J. {201·866·81951THOMAS BOYLE, Treasurer, 39 Hall Ave., Somerville. Mass. 02144

BOARD OF GOVERNORS n1968- 1970-Charles Koskie, Schilter Park, Ill. Peter Cusack, 41 Oriole St., West Roxbury,Paul Keller, Columbus, Ohio Mass. UAnthony Varone, Kings Park, L.I., N. Y. Richard Peste!, 1422 Dyer Rd., Grove City,Robert Rumenapp, 28017 HughesSt., Ohio

St. Clair Shores, Mich. John Rizzo, 29 Louisiana St., Long Seach, ~Brig, Gen. Edwin Randle iRet.} 503 N, Y.

Althea Rd., Clearwater, Fla. Richard Wilson, 530 E. Elm St., Woodbury,1969- N. J.John Boden, Box 58, Chester, Pa. Board Member EmeritusHerbert Olsen, Randolph, Mass. Maj. Gen. Louis A. Craig (Retired) ~Ralph Witzkin, Hillside, N. J. Honorary Chaplain EmeritusCharles Tingley, Silver Springs, Md. Father Ed Connors, Worcester, Mass.Wm. Andrews, Comstock Park, Mich.

~The official publication of the Ninth Infantry Division Association. Single copy price ~

is 25 cents per issue Or by mail $1.50 per year payable in advance when dues are paid.Dues are $4.00 per year with $1.50 of the $4.00 earmarked for six issues of The Octofoil.Members should notify the National Secretary, Daniel Quinn, 412 Gregory Ave., Weehaw·ken, N. J., of any change in address.

Published six times yearly. July-August, September·October, November-December, Jan- ~

~uary-February, March-April, May-June by and for the members of the Ninth Infantry Oi- ~vision ASS'1ciation. News items, feature stories, photographs and art material from mem-bers will be appreciated. Every effort wilt be made to return photographs and art work ;ngood condition.

An extract from the certificate of incorporation of the 9th Infantry Division Associa-

~tion reads: "This Association is formed by the officers and men of the 9th Infantry Divi- ~sian in order to perpetuate the memory of our fallen comrades, to preserve the esprit decorps of the division, to assist in promoting an everlasting world peace exclusively ofmeans of educational activities and to serve as an information bureau to forme, membersof the 9th Infantry Division."

nCopy must be received on or before the 10th of each month to guarantee publication

on the 20th. Photographs must be received on or before the 5th day of publication ~month.

U VOL~~n:c~~lo;~.ge P'~~~~~ ~it~~;it;o~~;ofoct~~'~;~R 4~.. 'UC:==:X" -tc:::::)IlO -10 -tc:=x.c:!l

***

Serial No. _

Time passes swiftly and be­fore we know it July will beupon us. In order to have theJournal ready for the Reunionit must go to press severalweeks prior to July 18th. Thisdoesn't leave too much moretime for sending in ads orboosters.

Each reunion leaves us withpleasant memories but as timegoes by these memories tendto fade and grow dim. The jour­nal is a permanent souvenir ofthe Reunion that wUl help usrecall the pleasant times thatwere had at the 1968 DetroitReunion. The Journal will bean even more personal souvenirif your name appears in it.

The Journal rates are asfollows:

Full Page $25.00Half Page $15.00Quarter Page $10.00One-Eighth Page $5.00Booster(Name & Unit) $1.00

Copy should be sent to theMichigan Chapter c/o ElmerWagner, Route 4, Bay City,Michigan 48706.

Let's all get behind theJournal and make it the big­gest ever.

A tip of the hat to the fol­lowing members for sendingdonations to the ScholarshipFund: Douglas Deas, RobertFleckenstein, Kirby Henry, andJohn Holick.

THEY REMEMBER

_; Regiment 9th Diy.

J~URNAl

DfADllNfNfARS

Zone __State _

; Company __

I wa~ a member of:

Cit~,

'\ume

.:. .:. .:.

I wish to sign up for the following:

Regular Member, per year • 4.00 0Donation Memorial Scholanhip Fund ----------- 0Three,'rear Memb~r '11.00 0LIFE MEMBERSHIP .50.00 0Octofoil Automobile LiceoHl Due • .50 0Decalll 25c; (5) fiye for ---------- ------------- • 1.00 0"Eight Stan to Victory" --------------------------, 2.0{} 0

(Pictorial History of 9th Divillion in action.)

Ladies' AuxiliRry Member ----------------- • 1.50 0Com hat Route Map ------ ------------------. .50 060th Infantry History ----------- • .50 0Coat Lapel Octo foil Pin • 1.25 0

Please ghe credit to the following Chapter:

Phill~··DelawareVaUey 0 Greater New York 0lliinou 0 Waahington, D.C. 0

'\I'W England 0 Mlehlsan DOhio [J Fayetteville-Fort Brag, N.C. 0

Dun Quinn. lVati. Secrettrry, 9th Infantry Divillion Alllln.,·H2 Crf'gory A"f'.• Weehawken. N.J. 07087

I-:n(·It..('(1 plf'a~e find 1968 due!! fo'!':

NINTH INFANTRY DMSION ASS'N.NIEMBERSffiP APPUCATION

Hickory N. C.

All-American City

Ken M1llholland's home town,Hickory, North Carolina, hasbeen selected as an All Amer­ican City. Because of this,Kenhas been kept busy getting outa big edition of the "HickoryDaily Record." Ken's paper hasa circulation of over 26,000 andit covers five counties.

Ken writes that his son Johnis now at Ft. Braggtakingbasictraining. John will complete histraining in May and after aseven day leave at home he willgo on to Maryland for furtherschooling.

Ken served with Co. G of the47th and he still sees some ofhis old buddies from the 47th.Ken said that he meets Dr. W.T. MacLauchlin at the RotaryClub meetings. The Doctorserved with the 47th Medics.In closing, Ken expressed thehope that some day he will beable to attend a Ninth DivisionReunion.

Duncan A Busy Man

Earl Duncan dropped us aline and apologized for notwriting more often. Earl saidthat he had been a little busyduring the past year, and wenton to say that he still farms,built his family a new house,and has a job making ammuni­tion at the Milan Army Am­munition Plant. If Earl con­siders this full schedule asbeing only a little bUSy wewould like to know what heconsiders as being very busy.Earl is now a Grand-Dad andhe finds this role more enjoy­able with every passing day.

Earl served with the Medi­cal Detachment of the FirstBn. 39th and would like to hearfrom anyone who served withthis unit. His address is Route 1,Humboldt, Tenn.

BOARD MEETING IS SET FORMAY 18

A National Board of Gov­ernors meeting will be held onMay 18, at 4:00 P.M., in Pitts­burgh, Pa., at the PittsburghHilton Hotel.

Minutes of the meeting willbe printed In the next issue ofThe Octofoil.

Elmer Wagner's efforts topublicize the Reunion have gar­nered unexpected dividends. Hehas not only gotten the Reunionwide publicity, but he also hasgained new members for theAssociation.

Lynn Galey of Lansing, Mich.writes that he learned about theAssociation through ElmerWagner. Lynn joined Co. Lof the 39th in Africa. He servedwith the Ninth in Africa, Sicily,France, Belgium, and Germany.He has joined the Associationand hopes to attend the Reunion.

Mrs. Thresa Cuprys, Pres­ident of the Auxiliary, has re­quested that we remind the fairmembers of the Auxiliary thattheir dues for 1968 are due.

Checks should be made outto The 9th Inf. Div. Associa­tion Auxiliary, and should besent to Mrs. Tippie Plunkett,Sec ret a r y - Treasurer, 286Zimpfer St., Columbus, Ohio43206.

Membership cards will bemailed out immediately uponreceipt of the dues.

Edward Lewis of Cicero, Ill.just learned about the NinthDivision Association and heimmediately applied for mem­bership. Ed writes that aftertwenty years his old· buddy,Charles Harrison, tracked himdown and informed him aboutthe Association. Ed is now look­ing forward to receiving theOctofoil.

Ed and Charles both servedwith D Co. 39th.

Doc Walton's

Daughter Wed

Reunion Attracts

New Member

Doc Walton writes that forthe first time in years he andhis wife are by themselves.Their daughter, Susan, mar­ried Willard Graham on Feb­ruary lOth; the newly-wedslive in downtown Rome. Wil­lard served with the Army inGermany and recently com­pleted his three year obliga­tion.

Doc stopped in to see theWalter Victor's, and Walt wasout doing some Church picturesbut Doc did get to see Miss AnnMargret Victor, age fourmonths. Doc reports that sheis a charmer, and that the Vic­tor boys are very pleased withtheir new baby sister.

Doc reports that Steve Prima,the Lt. from the" Big Red One,"who corresponded with PaulPlunkett, is now ready to goback to Vietnam. Steve has com­pleted helicopter school and isbeing sent to Ft. Bragg to leavewith the rear echelon of the82nd Air- Borne.

Doc's letter brought us up todate on the news from the South­land, but he left out one impor­tant detail, he forgot to tell ushow he made out during the deerseason.

A Message

For The

Ladies

Hugh Hansen, Glendale, Calif­Letter from Mrs. Hansen.

I am sending the dues in forHugh. As we wouldn't want tomiss the "Octofoil." Hughhasn't been too well but hasmanaged to stay out of the hos­pital for a while.

We sure have beautiful weath­er 70 degrees - 80 degreesevery day, and when we readabout the cold back east wedon't believe that we could standit any more. We were terriblysorry about Mr. Plunkett'spassing.

Best wishes to all.

Charles Howey - Co. B 60thCincinnati, Ohio

Enclosed is a check for $11.00for my dues for the next threeyears, I want the Ohio Chapterto get credit for it.

We go up to Columbus everyonce in a while, although Ihaven't been able to see Tippy.My wife always calls her andthey have quite a nice con­versation. The last time wewere in Columbus I called DickPestel and had a nice chat, hepresented my youngest daugh­ter with a plaque and she hadher mother hang it up in herroom. Through the efforts ofthe late Paul Plunkett she alsoreceived a letter from GeneralWestmoreland. I have readmany things about PaulPlunkett, as you know we werein Co. B together, and it'sfriends like him that I willnever forget.

Fred L. Nichols - Co. D 47th,Fayetteville, N. C.

Enclosed is $4.00 for my1968 dues. If you ever come toFayetteville, or if any of the,boys do, would sure like to havethem stop by and say hello.

Robert Smith - Co. G 39th,Bellevue, Ohio

Sorry I haven't sent in myAssociation dues sooner, butour son, Ron, has just returnedfrom a year's tour of duty inVietnam most of which he spentin the Cu Chi area with the25th Division, so you can seewhere our thoughts have beenfor the past twelve months. Heis now stationed, of all places,at Ft. Bragg, N. C. and hasseventeen more months to serveof a three year hitch.

Would like to hear from anyold timers from Co. G, 39th.

Dominick GrecoFeltonsville, Ohio - 60th F .A.

I have received the "octo­foil" and it reminded me thatI haven't paid my dues for thisyear. Am enclosing money or­der for this year's dues.

I also just found out that theReunion is to be held on the 18th,19th, and 20th of July. I thoughtit was going to be held on the25th, 26th, and 27th, and appliedfor my vacation for that week. Idon't know if I can change it butI am hoping that I can, so that Ican attend the Reunion.

Frank Jacksha - Co. D 47thSt. Paul, Minn.

I am sending dues for '68,kind of slipped my mind thisYear.

Will try to make Detroit thisyear if nothing unforeseen hap­pens.

Ed. Machowski - 47th, Chicago,111.

Just sat down and will enclosemy dues herein. I only hopethat with this letter things willbe better for all of us this year.The last year sure was a hecticone all around as I see it.

My best regards to all Ninthmen and their friends.

(ontiued from

Jan-FebWhen S/Sgt. WILLIAM J.

REILLY, who had worked onthe planning of the amphibiousloading operations and who hadmy assistance, was cadreedout,MARTIN KRASOVETZ becamethe new staff sergeant. Thiscame about by some cleverscheming on our first ser­geant's part. HERBERT C.MANSON, FRANK D. LAMB,RAYMOND P. PISANI, LIND­SAY P. JILTON, JOSEPH B.KANE, ALTON J. LOYSEN,GEORGE E. SHEEHAN, ROB­ERT P. WALLEY and a fewothers had departed from theoutfit on cadrees, transfers orfor Officer's Candidate School.

We spent about two weeksaboard a transport in the Ches­apeake. In the meantime, westaged an attack on the island.The Intelligence Section leftthe transport in the early hoursafter midnight. We moved fromthe transport down the gangwaycarrying rations, rubber boatand other equipment which wehad to use. STANLEY CABANstumbled and dropped the tenoars he was carrying into thebay. We retrieved all but oneof the oars. We took a motorlaunCh over to a side of awaiting destroy!'r.

I was carrying a full box of"9" rations. We had to climba rope ladder which was de­scended down the side of thedestroyer in order that we couldboard it from the launch. Itseemed that the launch wentdownward when the destroyerwent upward caused by the mo­tion of the bay. I had only onehand free to grab the rope lad­der which I did on the down­ward motion of the destroyer.This left for me to climb theshortest distance to the deckof the destroyer. I couldn'tmove as I clung there holdingon with one hand and holdingthe box on my shoulder withthe other hand. Until someoneleaned over the side of thedestroyer and relieved me ofthe box, was I able to raisemyself to get aboard.

After the destroyer hadsailed a short distance and ithad stopped again, we loweredthe inflated rubber boat into thewater, then we paddled to shore.After we had reached shore andwe had camouflaged the boat andequipment, we walked along theslippery narrow beaches whichwere sealed off by the waterhugging cliffs.

Eventually, we climbed thehigh cliffs and it was a longtwelve hours of walking with­out being detected by our en­emy. We came to an area wherethe officer in charge of ourpatrol thought we had reachedour rendezvous. After I ex­amined and inspected the mo­saic which the lieutenant pos­sessed, I figured we had notreached our destined point. Asa result of my inquiry to theintelligence of my superior of­ficer, I was sent forward aloneto find out who was right.

When I came to a church witha cemetery yard which stoodonthe opposite side of the roadfrom whence I approached, Imade a dash across the road.Two enemy riflemen spotted

me and they were hot on myheels in pursuit. I jumped thefence, ran through the ceme­tery yard and the church, es­caped out the back and throughthe fields and the woods. I cir­cled around and I returned to ourgroup with the information thatthere was no one waiting for us.

Our officer then realized thatwe may not have been at the rightplace. The patrolling time wasjust about expired and it startedto rain. Our officer passedamong us armbands which theenemy was using to identifythemselves. After we fixed theillegal armbands around ourarms, we marched down theroad which was the qUickest andthe most direct route back toour ship. We were soon stoppedby a captain and a sergeant ina passing jeep. Our officer ex­plained when he was asked thatwe were from "K" Company.Unfortunately, so were they.We were captured and we weremade prisoners of war.

The enlisted prisoners wereheld inside a two and a halfton truck during the rainy nightas our rifles stood under a tree.We were not given any foodand our rifles became veryrusty by late the next morning.We were transferred to an openfield after the rain had sub­sided. We persuaded the guardto let one of us go and buyfresh eggs and bacon froma nearby farm house. After weall had eaten and we were aboutto overthrow the guard andmake our escape, we were freedby our own invading forces.

I returned to our commandpost only to find that some ofmy men were in a little diffi­culty. Two of the enemy halfton trucks had passed throughour road block without stoppingto the challenge. One of theboys, when the third truck wasnot going to stop, removed hisstell helmet and threw it throughthe windshield. The third ve­'hicle stopped on a dime.

After the problem was over,we returned to the ship and wepracticed operations of loadingand unloading men and equip­ment down the landing nets onthe side of the ship. A coupleof new machine guns were acci­dentally dropped to the bottomof the bay and it was a shameas this type of weapon was stilla scarcity.

Finally, the last of the cramp­ed up voyage came to an endand we returned by truck con­voy to the old homestead at the9th Infantry Division area. Onceagain it was the old routinewith some study in concealment,communications and camou­flage to break the monotony.

We had some fun too and Ihad arranged with one of mybuddies to go to Raleigh for theweek end. Upon our arrival atnight in Fayetteville, NorthCarolina where we had to trans­fer to another bus, we decidedto have our supper before get­ting the bus for the two hourtrip. We entered a respectableplace on the main-drag and wesat down at the counter to en­joy our meal. My companionsuggested we have a cocktail,two and three which were sup­posed to be "Manhattans." Af­ter consuming about four ofthese apiece and the meal hadbeen already served and partly,consumed, my partner suddenlygot.up from his chair. I thought

THE OCTOFOIL

perhaps he was headed for therestroom but he walked out thefront door. I immediately askedfor the check and paid for thefeed. I pursued after my buddyand I hunted high and low forhim for hours throughout thetown, but no sight of him. Ithought perhaps that the M. Po'shad picked him up and thrownhim in the "clink." The mili­tary police arrested any soldierthat staggered even if the sol­dier hadn't been drinking andjust accidently tripped over hisown feet. I eventually decidedto return to my barracks and'forget about continuing on aloneto Raleigh. When I arrived atthe barrack and it was past"lights out," I found my palin his bed snoring away.

On another occasion with myfriend, we got to Raleigh. Wewent into a dinner around noontime and we ordered big m~als

for both of us. When I had beenabout three quarters throub,:h.with the main course, I askedthe waitress if I had to washthe dishes if I didn't have anymoney to pay the check? Shedidn't way a word and walkedaway. Then I had pie ala modeand coffee. When we were allthrough, we walked towards thecash register where the sam,,;!waitress was taking the cash.When I approached she said,"That's all right." In otherwords the meal was on thehouse. I explained that I wasonly kidding her and I paid thecheck. This was a small ex­ample of the type of peoplethat worked and resided in thecity of Raleigh, North Carolina,the capitol of that state.

My pal who was drunk moretim,?s than he was sober, wentinto town by himself. When hereturned that night in the usualstate, he told me that he hadwired home by Western Unionfor some money and that he hadreceived it. The next night heagain returned from town and hecomplained that he had an awfultime at the Western Union officetrying to get again the samem')ney he had received the daybefore. When I told him thathe had received the ffi'')ney, hesaid that he had forgotten allabout it.

It was a short lapse of timewhen once again we packed bagsand baggage to go back to Solo­mon's Island. This tim~? wewould defend the island from theinvaders instead of spendingweeks aboard the troopships.Our boys were placed on out­posts which were scatteredalong the beaches. Each postwas equipped and wired with atelephone. The occupants wereto report their observationsback to our command post.KRASOVE TZ and I kept thisinformation on record in a logor a journal.

After the invasion had start­ed, the outposts were overrunbut still there were communi­cations from them. HARRYP AVLUCK who was about thelast outpost to exist continuallysent back m%sages. He wentfor thirty-six hours without foodand now he started to inquireabout it. I told him to giveup the outpost and if he couldget back through the enemylines, there might be a steakwaiting for him,

The problem was successfuland again we returned to ourgarrison, stopping off enrout~J

at Camp Picket, Virginia.There suddenly came a drasticchange in the Table of Organi­zation. Headquarter's Detach­ment no longer existed as itwas combined with many per­sonnel of Regimental Headquar­ter's Company to form the 1stBattalion Headquarter's Com­pany. The two Intelligencenon-corns no longer existed asthere remained only a bucksergeant's rating. S/Sgt.MARTY KRASOVETZ movedover and he became the Oper­ation's sergeant (S-3) and Iwas promoted to buck sergeantto fill the S- 2 position,

Almost immediately, a newofficer was assigned as S-2 tothe 1st Battalion by the nameof CONRAD ANDERSON. Hewas a young, very tall andmuscular college grad, and hehad participated in rowing andlong distance running beforecoming into the service. Headmitted, as he laid his cardson the table, that he knew noth­ing about the S-2 work. Thiswas something new because anofficer never revealed what hedidn't know. I assured him Iwould help him out with anyproblems if they arrived. CON­RAD wanted to keep himself intrim and he took the section onshort hikes which were morelike runs.

ANDERSON came to me oneday and he said that we werehaving a night problem on acertain hill called CollyconchMountain. He thought it wouldbe a good idea to jump the gunand go before the problem toget acquainted with the ter­rain. I assured the lieutenantthat I knew every blade of grasson that hill as we have had al­most a hundred field problemson that knoll already.

The division conducted anIntelligence School in Thea­tre Number 4 consisting ofabout seventy-five officers andnon - commissioned officersfrom the 9th. The school whichlasted for ten days under thedirection of Lt. Colonel WIL­LIAM R. MacLEOD, G-2, hadlectures, training films, con­ferences and practical prob­l~ms on map reading, es­plOnage, camouflage, com­munications, interrogation ofprisoners, identification of en­emy aircraft and vehicles andother aspects of intelligencework. At the end of the school­ing we were tested and my av­erage test score was very im­pressing.

Soldiers climbed up and downmock landing nets during thesummer. The outfit made beachpractice iandings by jumpingoff the sides of the personnelcarriers on to the dry sand atFort Bragg. We also traveledto Virginia and coastal areas ofNorth Carolina to get our feetwet on practice beach landings.

MANTON S. EDDY becamecommanding general of the 9thInfantry Division on July 24th,1942. The division was visitedby many known personalities:

Secretary of War - HENRYL. STINSON, General-GEORGEC. MARSHALL, Field Marshall.- Sir JOHN DILL, Admiral Lord- LOUIS MOUNTBATTEN, Ma-rine Colonel - A. J. DREXELBIDDLE, Lt. General- LESLEYJ. McNAIR, Lt. General- MARKW. CLARK.

Even WALTER WINCHELLwas talking about the 9th.

Then it came. We scrubbedthe barrack's walls for twoweeks until the white paint dis­solved and it began to drip andto show up on the dark woodenfloors. The 39th Combat Teammoved out on September 17th,1942 to Fort Dix, New Jersey.Later the 47th and the 60thCombat Teams shacked up intents on Chicken Road. On Oc­tober 15th, the 60th CombatTeam, commanded by ColonelFREDERICK J. DeROHAN, fol­lowed by the 47th Combat Team,commanded by Colonel EDWINH. RANDLE, awarded the SilverStar and Purple Heart medalsin World War I, left for em­barkation.

Page 3

After a short stay at FortDix, preparing for embarka­tion, we traveled secretly toStaten Island where we board­ed our troopship. On Septem­ber 25th, 1942 the U. S. S.SAMUEL CHASE, our ship up­anchored and many shipsformed our convoy. There wereabout 3,000 men aboard ourship. A few days later we ar­rived at Halifax, Nova Scotiaand we remained in the harborfor two days. No one was per­mitted to leave the ship. Afterleaving Halifax, we intercepteda Ger man message which statedthree of our vessels were sunkdue to "wolf-pack" submarinewarfare. It was not true.

The voyage across the AUan­tic was uneventful except forthe fact that JOHN LIHACHcontracted cat-fever and hewas in the sick-bay most of thetrip and BILL SOLLIDAY wasbent over the rail trying to dis­pose of the food that he didn'tget a chance to eat.

We landed at Belfast, NorthIreland and we traveled on astrange type of railroad withvery short cars to Carrick­fergus where Sunset Park waslocated. This was a formerBritish garrison and it con­tained sheet metal round top4'Quanson" huts. It rainedalmost continually while wewere in Ireland but the raindid not halt our hard surfacedroad forced marches.

I had the pleasure of gettingto Belfast. The people had, afew months prior to our arrival,experienced a German air raid.There were no defenses againstenemy aircraft, no barrage bal­loons, no anti-aircraft guns andno intercepting planes to com­bat the ingruders. There werefew shelters for the protectionof the civilians and they knewwhat it was like to witness abombing.

Belfast was the quickest mov­ing town under blackout con­ditions other than New York asthe crowds jumped from trol­ley to trolley under the darkestsituations. The trolleys neverstopped as the riders jumped onand off without a mishap.

Chapter B

Invasion OfNorth Africa

The Place - 1) 1)AY,AINTAYA,NORTH AFRICA

Time - NOVEMBER 7, 1942Unit - COLONEL ROSENFELD,

commander of the 1st Bat­talion, 39th INFANTRYREGIMENT, 9th INFAN­TRY DIVISION & attachedunits.

The Cast - Members of theINTELLIGENCE SECTION(S-2)

Member RankCONRAD V. ANDERSONPhila., Pa. 1st Lt.WILLIAM M. KRE YEBrooklyn, N.Y. Sgt.STANLEY CABANBuffalo, N. Y. P.F.C.WILLIAM H. SOLLIDAYNorristown, Pa. P.F .C.JOHN LIHACHNew York, N. Y. P.F.C.RAY BALDWINWest Virginia P.F .C.JOHN FISHERVernon, N. Y. P.F.C.HARRY G. PAVLUCKNew York, N. Y. Pvt.HYMAN CEPPOSWashington, D. C. Pvt.

After our short stay in NorthIreland, the U. S. S. SAMUELCHASE LEFT Belfast harbor,with plenty of supplies andequipment for a long voyage.We, the 1st Battalion, 39th In­fantry (Fighting Falcons) of theNinth Infantry Division and at­tached units on board, were acomplete combat team.

Page 4THEOCTOFOIL

**************************THE MEMORIAL FUND OF

THE 9TH INFANTRY DIVISION ASSOCIATIONScholarship Information

The Memorial Fund of the Ninth Infantry Division Association wasestablished by the members of the association to commemorate the memoryof their comra.:les who paid the supreme sacrifie in battle. As a part of th,Sfund the association established a scholarship program. Scholarships areawarded each year to relatives of men who served in The Ninth InfantryDivision. Each scholarship is for one year.

ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONA person who wishes to apply for a scholarship must be related to a

man who served with The Ninth Infantry Division. Children of formermembers of the division will be given first consideration. but children ofmen killed in combat given first preference. Applicants who are not childrenof former members of the division will not be considered unless no childof a former member qualifies.

APPLICATION PROCEDUREThe following procedures must be followed by those wishing to apply

for the scholarships;1. Send a letter of application, written in expository form. to the

chairman of the scholarship committee stating the following:name, address, age, and sex of the applicant; name, address,and occupation of the applicant's parents or guardians; thename and address of the secondary school the applicant is at­tending or has attended and graduated; the name and addressof the college the applicant expects to attend; the vocationalgoal of the applicant; and the name of and degree of relation­ship to a former member of the division. The unit and dates ofservice in the division of the former member must be included.

2. A transcript of the applicant's high school record must be in­cluded with the letter of application. The transcript must in­clude at least the first seven semesters of the applicant's record.

3. The applicant must have a counselor or principal of the highschool he or she is attending write a letter of recommendationto the chairman of the scholarship conunittee.

4. The applicant must take the PSAT which is given every Octo­ber. The applicant mu.."i see that the results of the PSAT aresent to the chairman of the scholarship committee. These re­!NIts may be included with the high school transcript or sentto the chairman from the College Entrance Examination Board.The SAT of the CEEB may be submitted in lieu of the PSAT.

5. THE APPLICATION MUST BE SENT TO THE CHAIRMANOF THE SCHOLARSHIP COMMlTI'EE BY MARCH 15. Appli­cations received after March 15 will qat be considered.

S. All applicants must accept the decision of the Scholarship Com­mittee as final.

7. Information to de!ennine financial need will be requested bythe Scholarship Committee after the applications have been con­sidered.

8. Recipients of the scholarship. may apply for renewal of theschoiar.lhip each year. A copy of the student's college grades,a financial statement, and a letter requesting renewal of thescholarship should be sent to the chairnuw by March 15. .

9. All applicationa mu.rt be sent to: Johu J. Clouser, ScholarshipChairman. Ninth Infantry Division Association, 'lO1 GracelandSt.. De. Plain_. Dlinols 800111.

**************************

Am9rican troops of the Ninth Infantry Division march alongside of French Troops in North Africa, 1942, during Franco­American parade, Oran, Algeria.

hides. They couldn't returnto sea as they would have con­flicted with other vessels sothey had to unload on this beach.All four of us helped the Britishto manhandle these vehicles upthe cliff via the same washedout section CABAN and I used onour initial approach to the road.As enemy planes were droppingbombs out there where the shipswere unloading, we succeededto get four or five vehicles upthe cliff before we were com­pletely exhausted. After a littlerespite (as the British say) weset forward to try and contactour command post.Bart between Ain Taya and Al­giers was giving, as well as theships, a hard go for it for our3rd Battalion. Colonel ROSEN­FELD sent our 37mm Anti-TankSection over to aid the 3rd. Iheard they managed to blow ina door enabling the 3rd Bat­talion to get in and then quietthe fort.

Our main objective was thecapture of Maison Blanche Air­port which had to be takenwithin six hours to allow air­planes enroute from Gibraltato land there. These planeshad just enough fule to reachthis airfield. A small Frenchforce and some tanks put upresistance. Colonel ROSEN­FELD. under a flag of truce,induced most defenders to sur­render, others were wiped out.The defenders' cause was hope­less, outnumbered and useless.

American troops liberatedtowns with small Americanflags pinned on their arms. Thisidentification was for theFrench to recognize Americantroops. We arrived at the air­port at early dawn. I capturedan Italian civilian air-pilot whohad transported German mili­tary personnel from the Algiersarea to the European continentand other points before our ar­rival.

Our first night at the airportof Maison Blanche was quiet.However, someone blew a siren.We were just about to sleep onthe grounds of the airport run­way when HARRY inquired whatthe siren was for. One of theboys told him that it was a gasattack. So, HARRY put on his gasmask and he slept all night withit on.

Near morning but still in thedarkness of the night. I went toinvestigate a light which hadawakened me as it was shin­ing brightly as my face wasfacing the light. I traced thelight to a hut which was occu­pied by four French soldiers.We were at a disadvantage asthey couldn't speak English andI couldn't understand French.However, I was presented witha large slice of black bread cov­ered with sweet jam. I was alsoinvited by the motions of handsand lips to use a bed but after Ifinished the bread and jam, Ireturned to my group on therunway.

We guarded the airport formany days. We started out withabout twenty men for this guardduty but as the men were drafted

for the second time. Then allof a SUdden, I snapped out of thisnightmare and I peeked over theside of the ship. I saw we wereheading for a huge dark objectprotruding out of the waterabout two hundred yards fromthe beach. It was a huge rockand I brought this to the at­tention of the pilot. He im­mediately altered his direc­tion.

There were three Higgin'sboats that reached the beachfirst and precisely at the sametime. The one I was in withSTANLEY CABAN, the othertwo containing Lt. ANDERSON,BILL SOLLIDAY, RAY BALD­WIN and JOHN LIHACH. For­tunately, there was no immedi­ate opposition.

As I set foot on the beach, Idropped the six bandoleers, themap case and the board safelyon the sand. CABAN and I lostno time in getting away to engagein our task. We had to climb thecliff which was approximatelyforty feet high to reach the roadwhich ran parallel to the edgeof the cliff and the beach. On theside of the road towards thEbeach were power lines restingon thin wooden poles. On the op­posite side of the road was ourobjective. Here ran the tele­phone lines ready to be cut.

STANLEY and I reached thetop of the cliff via a slightlywashed out section in the edgeof the cliff which we masteredwithout aid of a rope. When weapproached the road, to our sur­prise there were more than fiftytelephone wires attached to slimwooden poles. CABAN, he wasthe lighter of the two and he wasa few inches shorter, startedclimbing one of the poles as Istood guard at the base of thesame pole. When he reached thewires, he began to cut them withhis wire-cutters. He had cutmany wires on one side of thepole when suddenly the weightand the pull of the wires fromthe other side brought CABAN,the pole and the wires crashingdown across the road. He wasnot hurt. Communications werecompletely disrupted.

All other assignments wereaccomplished or being fulfilled.CONRAD ANDERSON contacteda friendly mayor but the mayorwas unable to contact anyoneelse by telephone. The wireswere coiling all over the roadwhich went through Ain Taya.The first elements of our linecompanies had reached the roadby the time CABAN and I startedour return to the beach. Some ofthe troops tripped over thewires or tiley were pullingweapons carts which tangled inthe coiling wires.

We joined SOLLIDAY and LI­HACH down on the beach. Wewatched the exchange of cannon

'fire between our naval escortand the battery to our west fromFort Jean Bart. Then somethingwent wrong which usually hap­pens in war. Landing bargeswith armoured vehicles andlight tanks came into the beach.This was not tile lleach for ve-

rect by flashing colored lightsfrom the beach the followinglanding boats. BILL SOLLI­DAY and JOHN LIHACH wouldtake care of captured prison­ers and form a stockadefor them on the beach. If therewere prisoners, they would beor could be French, Arabic,Italian and German. It was be­coming a confused war.

The men of our section werescattered throughout the shipand we kept in condition by as­sembling on deck for specialcalisthenics. We had regularcalisthenics when everyoneaboard participated which wasat least once a day. I got extraexercise each time there was ameeting or a class of some sortby searching throughout the shipfor the men.

At night, before I hit the sack,I usually stood on deck a whileand admired the MediterraneanSea. The water was especiallyblue in the daylight but at nightthe light reflection from thestars and the moon' reflectedoff of the phosphorus water likemillions of diamonds sparklingon a black carpet.

It was on a night like thiswhile I was admiring the waterthat a sewplane flew over. Itseemed to be a friendly planeas it exposed a red and a greenlight from each side. It flewaway and then it changed itscourse back toward our ship.This time it approached justover the water. I saw some­thing splash in the sea justbelow the plane. This objectmade a phosphorus path throughthe water toward our ship. Itwas then I realized that a tor­pedo was coming my way, Ididn't know what to dol ShouldI jump overboard or should Irun to the opposit side of theship? Instead I stayed thereand I watched the torpedo missthe rear of our ship.

The torpedo struck anothership in our convoy, the U. S. S.STONE, carrying our 2nd Bat­talion Combat Team command­ed by Lt. Colonel WALTER M.OAKES.

On the evening of November7th, 1942, Colonel A. H. ROS­enfeld made a short speechwhich briefly stated that thesuccess of this operation de­pended on each individual mandoing his assigned job. We allhad a final supper on ship whichconsisted of sandwiches of thecheese and baloney variety ac­companied with hot coffee. Al­though I didn't know it then, itwould be the last time that Iwould see the U. S. S. SAM­UEL CHASE. It would be latersunk off the coast of Norwayenroute with supplies to Rus­sia.

At 2200 hours, I, as well asmany others, went down thelanding nets into American Hig­gin's landing boats. Each in­dividual was armed to the teeth.I went down the landing net withthe usual equipment plus sixextra bandoleers of thirty cal­iber ammunition, a map boardapproximately three by fourfeet in size and a command postpencil-map case. It was aheavy, clumsy load for an in­dividual to carry but the land­ing boat stood the shock and itdid not sink when my two feetmade contact with it. Myapol­ogies to the Navy for calling aship a lloat but this is an Armystorv.

Men from the United StatesCoast Guard piloted these Hig­gin's boats. It was very darkalthougil it was a clear night.I could just make out the sky­line and other outlines of ob­jects by the various shades ofdarkness. As we went in, Ithought of many things. Mostof all, what I expected to hap­pen when we hit tile beacil, suchas the possibility of the cross­fire from machine guns at eachend of tilis beach. Was it atrap?

There was a stairway at thewest end of the beacil anda trailat the east end. Perhaps we hadto climb the cliff under enemyfire. Now, fear presented itself

danger was nearing or ap­proaching the vessel. The navalpersonnel ran to their battlestations and positions while theArmy personnel ran to theirquarters to get out of the way ofthe ship's crew. However, aftermany, too many dry-runs, theArmy personnel moved veryslowly or paid little heed tothese warnings.

The first day on the Mediter­ranean, the general alarm wasagain sounded. This time twoenemy planes flew over our con­voy and they were very high inthe sky. They were too high tofire at and they inflicted no ac­tion upon us. There was no doubtthat they must have seen thislarge convoy. It was here thatI realized, I guess as well asmany others, that this was thereal thing or the beginning ofthe real war.

No one knew except for a fewof the top brass where we weregoing. Finally, the day camewhen my immediate officer,Lieutenant CONRAD V. AN­DERSON, invited me up to theship's Captain's quarters. Herestood before me an exact min­iature model ofthe landing area.ANDERSON told me that wewould land at the beach nearAin Taya, a few miles east ofAlgiers. We would be part ofthe Eastern Task Force. CON­RAD pointed out that our Intel­ligence Section had many func­tions to perform. He would tryto contact the Mayor of AinTaya to see if the mayor wascooperative with the Americancause. If this was true, then hewould ensue the mayor to con­tact other mayors of surround­ing towns to aid in the libera­tion.

The other jobs were to bedisposed amongst my men theway I thought would be best.The most dangerous. I figured,

was the disrupting of communi­cations on top of the cliff, I se­lected one of the ablest men,STANLEY CABAN, and myselffor this task. JOHN FISHERand RAY BALDWIN were as­signed as observers and mes­sengers with the attacking linecompanies. HARRY PAVLUCKand HYMAN CEPPOS would di-

We sailed to a destination inthe vicinity of Inverary, Scot­land. Here we simulated anamphibious attack against thefamous Black Watch Regimentof Scotland. We disembarkeddown landing nets which hungfrom all sides of the U. S. S.SAMUEL CHASE, formerlyknown as the S. S. AFRICANMETEOR. We were packed inan LST (LST - LARGE SLOWTARGET) British type landingcraft, very snug and tight justas if cattle were being trans­ported. The soldiers mooedlike cows. This type of landingcraft seemed to be too clumsyfor each landings. The troopshad to wade through two or morefeet of ocean water to get theirfeet on the dry portion of thebeach. After the beach landingwas made, the troops were as­sembled in a column of twosand they were forced-marchedfor twenty miles. Then we sim­ulated an attack on the BlackWatch positions as they defend­ed the hills. The attack in gen­eral was friendly but bitter ata few locations as a few groupsintroduced unorthodox methodssuch as firing blanks into thefaces of their opponents andtossing steel helmets into thedefender s' positions. However,the defending positions wereoverrun and the attack was suc­cessful, we were told.

This simulated battle hadlasted throughout the night un­til dawn the next morning. Therewere a few minor casualties.The American troops were re­assembled and marched backto the landing craft. The craftreturned to the nets along thesides of the"SAMUELCHASE"and the troops climbed aboard-­dirty, wet and exhausted.

From Scotland we sailed fromtime to time in many directionsuntil we floated past the Rock ofGibralta and we entered theMediterranean Sea. The Frenchcalled it the Mer Sea.

Ever since the ship left theUnited States, there were manycrap games, seasick soldiersand coast guardsmen, just toomany general alerts or alarms.An alert was a warning by thesound of a horn or buzzer that

THE OCTOFOIL Page 5

French Colonial Army Band during religious celebrationwhich was attended by mem'Jers of French and U. S. Army,Rabat, French Morocco, 12/19/42.

RememberThe Dates•Remember the dates

for the1968 ReunionJuly 18,19,20.

Question - I am a World WarII veteran with a $10,000 NSLInsurance policy. My policynumber is prefixed with the let­ter "H." All my friends havepolicies with a "V" prefix, andthey get a dividend every year.I've never received a dividend,and I'd like to know why.

Answer - Policies with "H"numbers are nonparticipatingpolicies and no dividends arepayable on such insurance. "H"insurance is a special typewhich was issued betweenAugust 1, 1946, and Decem­ber 31, 1949. The requirementof good health was waived be­cause of a service-incurreddisability; thus no dividend isaccumulated or paid because ofthe higher insurance risk.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

SOCIAL SECURITYFOR WIDOWS

39th FIRING SQUAD - Sedjenane, Tunisia Cemetery

Congressman Paul A. Fino,Dean of the New York Re­publican Congressional Dele­gation, recently re-introducedhis bill to provide that disabledwidows may receive full SocialSecurity benefits at the age offifty rather than have to wait un­til age sixty-two (reduced bene­fits are payable at the age ofsixty).

In re-introducing the legis­lation, Congressman Fino said:"Under the present law, a dis­abled widow must wait until sheis sixty-two in order to collectfull Social Security benefits,unless she is the mother of adisabled child or one undereighteen.

"This is totally unfair. Adisabled widow is beyond doubta very hard person to place ina job. The interim between thetime she either becomes awidow or her child becomeseighteen, and the time shereaches sixty-two, has aptlybeen described as the "Valleyof Despair." She may have nomeans of support. The age re­quirement of sixty-two in thiscircumstance is unrealistic andcruel. I strongly urge humani­zation of this law so that dis­abled widows can receive So­cial Security benefits at agefiftv."

PAY1968

DUESNOW

* * *

Philadelphians Will Feel At Home

(continued next issue)

Pity the poor housewife. Whenshe feels a mite weary, she hasno place to stay home from.

earth, others had time ele­ments, and others explodedwhen they were disturbed.

When we had reached thisarea where the "butterflybomb" had been dropped, anArab boy about thirteen yearsof age was working a farm. Hetouched one of these tin canswith his plow. The explosionkilled him instantly. We re­turned to our command postwith this information and withthe empty shell casing of the"butterfly bomb." We returnedto the scene of the tin cans withCONRAD ANDERSON. He triedto explode one of the cans byshooting at it with his carbinerifle. He was at a safe dis­tance but his aim was to noavail.

On many of these daylightmotor patrols, we gatheredloaves of black bread, mildgarlic and sometimes, but rare­ly, Italian style oval tomatoes.We ate garlic and tomato sand­wiches instead of the Army"B"rations our kitchen was serving.Regimental command post putout orders not to bring in"booby - traps" to commandposts. The British engineerstook care of the demolition ofbombs as well as the "butterflybombs" as they were in chargeof all the disposal of bombdemolitions.

NO!! We didn't goof and print a picture left over from the Philadelphia Reunion. The above pictureshows the colonial entrance to the Henry Ford Museum; it is an exact copy of Independence Hall 1nPhiladelphia. Landmarks of American history are collected at Detroit's Greenfield Village, foundedhy Henry Ford, and now the world's greatest collection of Americana.

edge. He swam out and into thebeach, each time he brought ina near drowned soul. On oneoccasion a piece of the wreck­age ripped off all his clothes.Some of the women were watch­ing from the nearby beaches, ashe entirely nUde, brought in thelast few men. The fact that hehad saved more than twelve mendid not phase him but only theembarrassment of being nudebothered him. Lt. CONRAD V.ANDERSON received the Sol­dier's Medal for this deed.

The 2nd Battalion CombatTeam of the 39th Infantry Reg­iment victimized by that tor­pedo which hit the U. S. S.THOMAS STONE, traveledabout one hundred and sixtymiles in their landing craftvessels to take up reserve po­·sitions in the landings. It was

After all these delays andconfusion we finally started tomake time and in the meantime,regiment who was stationed atthe town of Maison Caree, alert­ed CONRAD, who remained at1st Battalion command post,that German paratroops haddropped on this town at 0300hours. CONRAD realized thatthe patrol was three hours over­due and he figured that the en­emy paratroops and the motorpatrol might have something incommon. Another factor was themotor patrol had no means ofcommunicating with the com­mand post. ANDERSON askedfor and he gathered a numberof volunteers to form anothermotor patrol to investigate thereport. One of these volunteerswas Operations Staff/SergeantMARTIN KRASOVETZ, fromGibbsboro, New Jersey.

We, the overdue motor patrol,passed through Maison Careeat exactly 0305 hours which wasfive minutes after the reportedenemy paratroops landing andeverything was peaceful andquiet. We reached the commandpost at about 0400 hours. In themeantime, ANDERSON's patrolhad left and they told us at thecommand post what had trans­pired. I left word to see thatCONRAD received the word thatwe had returned. I knew that histrip would be a dry-run. Whenhe returned we summed up theevents of a quiet evening.

We also did some daylightmotor patrolling. We discov­ered for the first time a newenemy gadget, a "butterflybomb." A bomb of this type wasa shell, which looked like anordinary bomb. Its exterior wasjust a shell which was about sixto seven feet in length. Insidethe shell were from fifty to ahundred booby-trap tin cans.This shell was dropped from anenemy bomber. On the waydown the shell opened up andsprings attached to the tin l:ansscattered them in the air. Thesesmall cans hit the ground dis­hursed over an area of a fewhundred yards. Some of the tin

cans exploded as they hit the

Pawns Of Warfor other details, eventuallythere remained only two of uson guard. BILLSOLLJDAY,whohad been standing one continualshift of guard for sixteen hours,called about his relief. Whentold that there was no relief, hecontinued on for eight morehours until he was dismissed ofthe guard and this type of guardduty was abandoned.

"THE MARINES HAVELANDED IN NORTH AFRICA,"were the headlines the peoplein the United States were read­ing in their newspapers the fol­lowing morning. The nearestgroup of men that resembledmarines were the AmericanRangers and the British Com­mandos.

The 60th Regiment (Go­Devils) attacked Port Lyauteyand the Kasba as the main as­sault of the Western Task Forcewith aid from the 2nd ArmouredDivision. Their grimy strugglefor their objectives was bitterlycontested but determinatJonafter a few days made them suc­ceed to take their objectives.They were bitterly opposed bythe French. air-arm and theFrench-Moroccan infantry.

The 47th Infantry (The Raid­ers) combat team also attachedto the Western Task Force land­ed at Safi and opposed theFrench Foreign Legioneers.They too were successfUl. TheWestern Task Force inclUdedin their prizes the importantcity of Casablanca. Anothergroup called the Central TaskForce composed of the 1st In­fantry Division, the 1st Ar­moured Division and AmericanRangers landed in the Oran­Arzewarea.

German junkers tried to bombthe airport near Maison Careeevery day. Their losses wereheavy from the pursuit of twospitfires who left the airportupon the first warning of theapproaching enemy bombers.The spitfires zigzagged theirway up to the height of thebombers and they met themjust as they came over theairport. The German aircraftswitched their attacks to thedarkness of the nights when theydropped many candlelight flareswhich illuminated the country­side as if it were day. With allthese attempts and tries, theenemy never hit the airportonce, at least, not while wewere there.

If you will recollect, we leftANDERSON with the mayor ofAin Taya. Well, CONRAD hap­pened to return to the beachand to witness a tragedy as the"Leedstown," a troop trans­port, was sunk and many of itspersonnel were helplesslyfloating in the sea. ANDER­SON rushed down to the beach's

Street

Zip -

Eating is an adventure in~­troit. A booming major citylocated on an international bor­der holds forth the promise offine places to wine and dineand exciting spots for night~

time relaxation.Detroit makes good on that

promise. Gourmands and gour~

mets will find much to pleasetheir palates.

For those who like to relaxamid opulence, a host of plushrestaurants offer a chance todivide a Chateubriand or savorrare prime rib in surroundingsthat vary from the polished ma­hogany and red velvet of theTudor era to glittering exam­ples of the 20th century at itssophisticated best..

The "more adventuresomeeater will not want. Detroithas much to intrigue him. Hecan enjoy sauerbraten at aGerman reataurant that hasbeen serving Detroiters at thesame location since the middleof the Civil War (War Betweenthe States).

He can nibble on shrimptem-'pura atop the city's most mod­ern skyscraper in a settingimported all the way fromThailand while ships from allports of the globe pass belowand the lights of Canada glim­mer away into the distance.

In Chinatown there are res­taurants that serve food justthe way the Chinese eat it,and others that serve it theway American think the Chi­nese ought to eat.

For variety, the interna­tional minded diner in Detroitwill find Polish restaurants,Greek restaurants, French res­taurants, Middle Eastern res­taurants, Italian restaurants,Mexican restaurants, Conti­nental restaurants, and even arestaurant that serves such del­icacies as fried ants and lion­burgers. Three race trackswill feed you in grand stylewhile you watch the ponies run.

Dining out in Detroit can beas much of an adventure asyou want to make it.

Chowhound's

Paradise

Woman with six kids taggingalong to sales clerk at perfumecounter: "Actually, what I needis a repellent."

State -

JOHN J. CLOUSER901 GRACELAND STREETDES PLAINES, ILLINOIS60016

412 Gregory Ave. Weehawken, N. J. 07087

Address -

City -

Single Room ( ) $10 Double Room ( ) $15 Twin Room ( ) $17

Travel Tips

Name -

Rates prevail three days preceding the reunion and for threedays after the reunion.

Please reserve for the undersigned, room reservations,as checked, for dates noted:

July 18, 19, 20, 1968

FREE PARKING

statler-Hilton HotelDetroit, Michigan

The Detroit Chapter wantsto be sure that nobody getslost on their way to the Re­union. So they have sent usthe following travel tips formembers who are planning ongoing to the 1968 Reunion.

As usual, most of our mem­bers will travel to the reunionby car. Detroit is easily ac­cessible via our interstate high­way sYstem or the excellentOntario roads. .Those comingvia 1-94 will enter the cityfrom either the southwest ornortheast. Within the city, 1-94is known as the Edsel FordFreeway. Proceed on the FordFreeway to the Ford-Lodge in­terchange and follow the signsto downtown Detroit and enterthe Lodge Freeway-I-696. Exitat Bagley st. and stay on Bag-ley to Grand Circus Park. TheStatler - Hilton is located onWashington Blvd. at Grand Cir­cus Park.

If you enter Detroit from thesouth on 1-75, exit at SchaeferHighway and proceed left onSchafer until you reach 1-94.Then followfhe above direc­tions to the hotel.

If you enter Detroit fromWindsor over the AmbassadorBridge, drive to MichiganAve.,U. S. 12, and turn right todowntown. Turn left at Wash­ington Blvd. and proceed toGrand Circus Park.

If you enter Detroit via theDetroit - Windsor Tunnel turnleft one block on Jefferson Ave.to Woodward Ave. turn righton Woodward and drive to GrandCircus Park.

Those who travel to the Re­union by plane will land at De­troit Metropolitan Airport,twenty miles southwest of down­town Detroit. The airport is lo­cated next to 1-94 Freeway.

Date of arrivalApproximate time of arrival__ A.M. __. P.M.Date of departure _

.._----_ _----_._ _._- -._ _._-

RANDLE GETS RESPONSEIn the last issue of the Octo­

foil, General Randle asked thereaders for assistance in locat­ing a former 15th Engineermember. Alex T. Forrest sup­plied that information to theGeneral. Holt Rast is operat­ing out of Birmingham, Ala­bama. We are sure that theGeneral has lost no time con­tacting Holt.

P.S. While you are at it,ueneral, perhaps you can per­suade Holt to rejoin the ranks­in the association.

------_ -._--_.-._-_ -_._._----_._.-.III

REQUEST FOR ROOM RESERVATIONS :I

FOB' 9TH INFANTRY nMSION ASSN. BEVNION:

Sincerely,Ann Lepore and Sons

GRATEFULLYACKNOWLEDGED

II Please express our sincerethanks to the many friends andmembers of the Ninth Infan­try Division for their kind ex­pressions of sympathy, MassCards, gifts and beautifulfloraltributes received in the recentbereavement of husband andfather."

MRS. PERRY BURNETTAPPRECIATIVE

Responding to a letter ofsympathy sent to her by theSecretary, Mrs. Burnett writes:"Dear Dan: Thank you for yourletter. I would very much ap­preciate receiving the OCtofoil.It helps so mUCh, during thislonely time, knowing I l13.vefriends like you."

Sincerely,Mrs. Perry Burnett

COMPLETE MEDICAL SERV­ICES FOR TOTALLYDISABLED VETERANS

Congressman John P. Saylor(R- Pa.), a member of the HouseCommittee on Veterans' Af­fairs, has introduced a bill (HR3627) in the 90th Congress, toamend title 38, United StatesCode, to provide that the Vet­erans Administration shall pro­vide complete medical servicesfor any veteran totally disabledfrom a service connected dis­ability.

In practical effect, Represen­tative Saylor's bill, which is inconformity with Resolution #431adopted by the 1967 NationalConvention, would extend outpa­tient medical and dental serv­ices to the non - service ­connected disabilities of serv­ice connected totally disabledveterans.

Three more "Old Rel1ables"have passed on to their eternalreward since the last issue ofthe OctofoU.

Perry J. Burnett, G Co. 60thInf. formerly living in Cincin­nati, Ohio and more recently at5243 South 14th Avenue,Phoenix, Ariz.

Vincent N. Lepore, A Co. 47thInf., of 443 Theriot Avenue,Bronx, N. Y.

Paul "Doc" Walton, Medic47th Inf., of Rt. 7 Old DaltonRoad, Rome. Geor(;ia.

The Octofoil joins with thethousands of other Ninth Divi­sion friends and extends heart­felt sympathy to the Widows andfamilies of these departed bud­dies.

Paula: "We're out of ice CUbes,Dear."Tom: "What's the matter, didyou lose the recipe?"

~ap~

~ounbeb

THE OCTOFOll

(Editor's Note) - Being ac­quainted with these men throughthe Association leaves me with­out words but Vince and "OldDoc" were two 47th men whomI knew since back in Bragg - of1941. Just as we were going topress, Walter Victor phonedfrom Georgia and gave us thesad news of the demise of "OldDoc." In another section ofthepaper is the last"story" sentin to us by "Doc."

It was a sad home coming forthe son of Vince Lepore whenhis Dad passed away three daysafter he returned from VietNam.

A new program to reducecosts and improve service inoutpatient care is being inaug­urated by the Veterans Admin­istration following a success­ful test program in three states.

Since World War II, the Vet­erans Administration has au­thorized outpatient care by pri­vate doctors, at government ex­pense, for certain qualified vet­erans. Most of these patientshave service-connected dis­abilities. Hometown medicalcare is authorized in such caseswhen treatment at a VA medi­cal facility would involve a longtrip or other hardship. Underthe old rules, "A.'e~t1i'i'filtWahOWmuch care each such veteranwould need during the comingyear and issued an authorizationto a specific doctor to givetreatment at government ex­pense.

Under the new program, VAwill issue an identification cardto veterans who require thistype of treatment and each pa­tient will be permitted to se­lect a doctor of his choice fortreatment of the medical condi­tion stated on his card.

VETERANS IN VA OUT­PATIENT PLAN MAY CHOOSE

THEm OWN DOCTORS

Detroit Swings

City State .

While attached to the 9th Infantry Division my _(state relationship, whether the Ninth Division man was ahusband, father, brother, son, etc.)was with . . _give company, regiment, battery, attached unit, etc.)

M.~,:: checks ~r ~oney o:ders payable to Ninth InfantryDIVISIOn AsSOCIation. Mail to Secretary-Treasurer TippiePlunkett, 286 Zunpfer St., Columbus, Ohio 43206. A 1968countersigned membership card will be sent immediately.

By order of the President:MRS. THERESA CUPRYS, President.

Mrs. Tippie Plunkett, Secretary-TrealurerNinth Infantry Division Association Ladies' Auxiliary286 Zimpfer St., Columbus, Ohio 43206

I would like to become a member of the Ladies' Auxiliaryto the Ninth Infantry Division A88ociation. Enclosed ischeck or money order for $1.50 for 1968 dues. Pleasemail my membership card to--

Ninth Division Press Box

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIPin the

LADIES' AUXILIARYof the

NINTH INFANTRY DIVISION ASSOCIATION

Page 6

Name

At night, Detroit area swingsfrom the plush suburbs whereauto magnates listen to sophis­ticated combos to downtownspots where authentic MiddleEastern belly dancers showwhat the Crusaders didn't writehome about.

Detroit's night spots offerthe same diversity that char­acterizes other facets of thecity. There are large, poshentertainment places on bothsides of the river regularlyfeaturing the biggest names inshow business. There aresmall, intimate lounges wherejazz devotees congregate fromwall to wall to hear high priestsof the cult.

Sophisticated supper cluborchestras play for dancing inniteries all over town, while"Go Go" girls stir up stormsin a host of recently openeddiscotheques. Strip tease danc­ing is legal in Detroit, and anumber of clubs offer exoticdancers with all shapes, stylesand gimmicks.

The folk music craze has afirm hold in the area. Beardedpeatnicks mix with nattily at­tired young executives in adozen places where the guitaris king.

Taken somewhere in France during August 1944, the above pic­ture shows Capt. Lindsey Nelson and Sgt. Don Peal in the presstent of the Ninth Division. Today Lindsey occupies much moreluxurious quarters in the Press Box at Shea Stadium, home ofthe New York Mets.