Hellcat News, (Godfrey, Ill.), Vol. 38, No. 3, Ed. 1, November 1984 Page: 4 of 24
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Page 4
HELLCAT NEWS
November 1984
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Denver Reunion - 17th. Ray Hammond, Hq. & Sv., Bob Gesin, Hq.,
Idus Cleveland, Sv., 1st timer Hammon joins other old timers after 39
years. [By Bob Gesin].
the same area. I wrote several of
Ronnies ole buddies. Ray, take it
easy, we want you with us awhile.
Clarence Wawzynick, Sv., sent
us a note, hoping we had a
successful reunion at Denver. He
writes that they had a great deal
of out of town company this year.
Clarence still works, is active in
church, and his local V.F.W. He
wants his friends to know that
Loretta is still ill, but doing better.
We hope to see these people at the
Mid-West, come spring.
Idus Cleveland, Sv., writes of
the great time we had at the 17th
C.P., in Denver. This I am glad to
hear, as I was kept busy with
business meetings, and never got
to visit as I would have liked to.
Idus also t alked with Robert Mills,
A., who retired from the National
Guard, after thirty years, as a
Major. Not being able to stay idle,
is now a guard at the Southern
Illinois Penal Institution. He claims
it gets hectic every now and then,
whenever some prisoner gets a
mean streak. He asks that I pass
along a HELLO, to all his ole
friends. He asked of Ruma, Bixby,
O'Brien, Walker, and of others
when he learned of them being to
the reunion. His days off are
Wednesday and Thursday, and
anytime that anyone is driving
through Perryville, ILL., give
him a call. Here is another man I
haven't seen since January, 1945,
and hope he can make some
arrangement to be with us at the
Mid-West Chapter, come spring.
Idus says they came back on the
same plane from Denver with the
Knacks, and Bruemmers, of the
43rd. He, Hammond, Ronnie, and
Felix, missed seeing their ole
buddy, Irv Fuhrer, also of the
17th. I believe you radio operators
ought to tell one another your
coming to the reunion, and what
better way than the Hellcat News.
Robert Gesin, Hq., sent me
some pictures from the Reunion,
and I'll get them in as allotted. We
unit reps are waiting to learn how
many pages, and pictures, we are
allowed per issue. Thanks Bob, I'll
get everyone's pictures in, but it is
going to take time, as I still have
pictures from Warner, C., that I
have had for six months to print.
Bob, if I am allowed two, I'll send
one of each.
Salvadore Jaramillo, Hq., was
sorry he was unable to make
Denver, But he is still under the
V.A. Hospital care, which leaves
him some good days, and some not
so good, from the hell of Korea,
and Vietnam. Sure would have
loved to see a few of my ole
buddies, and can't understand why
any of my ole friends are not
keeping their dues up in the
Hellcat News. He liked the article,
dated March 16, 1944, Infantry
Half Track, which I had copied for
the 17th column. The article on
Clarence Smith, now deceased,
brought back memories, as he was
an accomplished musician. I agree
with Sal on this as he and his wife
had a small band, prior to his
death. Then he tells of another
incident, from yesterday's Half-
track paper, of the "Polecat",
when he, and Sgt. Thurman Hood,
were joined in the crater by said
polecat. They had only their
shovels to fight with, and at that
range, the polecat didn't miss
either, and we smelled pretty
strong. Later, another article was
written titled, "Fight between
Polecat with Sgt. Hood and Pfc.
Jaramillo". Hood, can you remem-
ber this night in 1944? What
memories these articles have
brought back to me, and I know to
Sgt. Hood. To you two all I can
say, you and Hood ought to have
had a close relation, as I am
positive no one else could stand
you near to them, or even know
you at a distance. What some
people did to get out of details.
Ralph and Mary Smock, A., left
Denver, and went on to sights of
California, where they took in
Queen Mary, Spruce Goose, Uni-
versal Studios, Knotts Berry
Farm, and many other sights.
Ralph had worked here at Doug-
lass Aircraft, at Long Beach, back
in 1951, but this was Mary's first
trip to California. Traffic was
heavy on all the freeways. Ralph
located Milton Kroeger, A., this
time. Milt wasn't home, but he
talked to his wife, and Milt is
retired with a back injury, and on
a Carpenter's Pension. His wife
says she was with Milton at Camp
Campbell. Ralph sent me Milton's
address, and I have since written
him. I am waiting on Milton's
answer, as well as a lot more of his
buddies.
Nick Constabile, A., says anot-
her Reunion passed, and I know I
am sorry not to have been there.
My sister has come down with
Luekemia, and requires I be near
all the time. I'll read in the Hellcat
News of the good time all of you
had at Denver. I used to hear from
some men from the outfit, here on
Broadway, as they passed by.
Maybe in time, just maybe, I'll
make it to one of the Reunions.
What better time, and I'm count-
ing on you to be in Orlando, in
1985, Nick.
Robert Stanton, A., wrote about
not seeing a letter he had written,
appear in the Hellcat News. This
happens occasionally, I even lost
the 17th column twice, when
George Moss was Executive Sec-
retary. The address was correct,
and one laid in Kansas City for
thirty days. The longest delayed
letter was fourteen months from
Seattle, WA, but Bob's letter
hasn't reached me in almost two
years now. Bob still works, and
claims to be suffering from, (malt-
ution). which comes from three
kids still in college. Maybe he can
scrape enough together for the
Eastern, next year. There sure is
enough A-Company in the East for
a great time.
Russel Rasmussen, A., has
moved to Grinnell, Iowa, and
found he has a lot of repair work
on his new home, that he didn't see
when he purchased it. Russ tells us
that soon after coming out of
service, he had a vision problem,
which bothers him some in long
periods of reading or writing, and
after many examinations, has
found that there is no way to
correct it. It's just one of life s
pranks, that one has to learn to
live with. It was a terrible disap-
pointment, learning that he was so
close to Rex Higdon, and no time
left to visit him, as he had only two
weeks to pack, and move, and his
work was too demanding for that
one visit. In our writings, he says
it hurts to remember those young,
ASTP men getting killed in com-
bat, so early in life, and he hopes
that God makes some of that life
up to them. The deaths of these
young men reminded him of his old
college physics professor, who in
WWI, had been a one-star general.
He carried his army manner into
class, and stood at the door with a
railroad watch, your lab report
was due at four P.M., and if you
were one second late, he threw it
out. If you were late for class, the
door was locked. One day he called
on me to recite and define Pascal's
principle, and when I stood up, and
hesitated a moment, to switch
from the illustration, to the prin-
ciple to the definition, and being
barely on my feet, he said, "Time
marches on, Mr. Rasmussen, you
may sit down". That statement has
stayed with me ever since, and
best describes our buddies deaths,
"Time marches on to our final
sitting down. Then it was combat,
now it is cancer, along with several
other sicknesses. As to our hellcat
news, its incredible that 1000
Hellcats can come to a reunion,
and then I read of all those familar
names from A - Company. I had to
shorten Russels letter, as we are
limited to space. Edna and I wish
that Russ and Mary make Orlando,
next year as planned, as he wishes
to meet his ole buddies."
Tommy Bellamy, B., writes, and
I wish we could have known the
circumstances before. He could
have received the Hellcat News, as
here is a case where a Booster
would have been freely given.
Tommy is back with us now, but
he, his wife, and son, have had a lot
of trouble these past few year. His
son, at nineteen, developed Mal-
lignant Lymphomia, and they gave
them no hope, but with faith, the
son has now been in re-mission the
last two and a half years. Then this
past March, Tommy had to have a
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Twelfth Armored Division Association (U.S.). Hellcat News, (Godfrey, Ill.), Vol. 38, No. 3, Ed. 1, November 1984, newspaper, November 1984; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth410048/m1/4/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum.