Hellcat News, (Kingman, Ariz.), Vol. 49, No. 8, Ed. 1, April 1996 Page: 4 of 28
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4
HELLCAT NEWS
April 1996
714TH TANK BATTALION continued from page 1
Following maneuvers and reorganization of our division
most of the 12th was sent to Camp Barkeley, TX, while the
714th, newly designated because of the reorganization, became
what was called a "bastard battalion" (non-attached) and was
sent to Fort Jackson, SC. We spent a few months at Jackson
until, as fate would have it, changes were made at Barkeley
and the 12th was in need of a Tank Battalion, to replace the
44th that had been sent to the Pacific. General Carlos Brewer,
then commanding the 12th, requested the 714th and we re-
turned to our "parent" Hellcat Division.
After additional training in the wide open spaces of the Lone
Star State we were considered "ready" and left for Europe and
the "Great Adventure." A month or so was spent in England,
places like Tidworth Barracks come to mind, and in due time
we crossed the English Channel on, in the case of the 714th,
LST's (landing ship tank) and landed in France.
We were ready for battle! We were about to fulfill the pur-
pose for which we had been organized, trained, and brought
these many miles across the Atlantic. The future was question-
able, it was challenging, it was not like anything we had ever
done before! But, we were ready!
The following six months were times of conflict, some of the
men with whom we had trained, with whom we had lived for
the past couple of years and had come to know so well and love
as family, were not going to see this adventure through to the
end, some would fall by the wayside suffering wounds and be
evacuated. Some would return to duty after medical treat-
ment, others, not so fortunate, would go home to recuperate,
some to carry the marks of battle throughout their lives.
Others would pay the supreme cost of battle and give their
lives in the act of fulfilling their duty to country, their fellow
soldiers, their homes and families. The cost was great, one life
is too much to have to pay, and it often seemed that the one
who paid this price was of the highest caliber, the gentlest
character and just as often the one who was always ready to do
a little more than was expected.
So, that is what it was like to be a Hellcat some fifty years
ago. We trained, we played, we learned the many trades of the
thep modern soldier, we met new people and made lasting,
deep attachments, one for another. We fought, we loved, we
lived and suffered wounds of various degree, and, YES, some
of those young Hellcats died on the field of battle, that our
country would be victorious.
We picked up the name HELLCAT somewhere along the
way, we accepted it and have come to respect it! We live, I am
sure most of us do, with many memories of those Hellcats who
were not as fortunate as we. We look forward from year to year
to the opportunity of meeting and greeting our fellow Hellcats
at our Annual and Regional Reunions and reading about them
or communicating with them in our Hellcat News. Yes, we are
Hellcats.
Back then, 1942, some of us had not yet learned to shave. We
were just kids, others were in their 30's and one I know of was
called "Pappy" because he was 35 or so. We were, I like to
think, a cross section of American manhood, on a mission and
determined to see it through!
Today! There are still a few thousand or so of us left,
Hellcats, a family of Hellcats and the men of the 714th Tank
Battalion are proud, indeed, to be part of that family! Today,
we're not kids any more, we're husbands, fathers, grand-
fathers, and great-grandfathers, But we're still Hellcats!
It seems to me that God, in His infinite wisdom must have
had special plans for us Hellcats. While every one of us did not
live to see the end of that conflict in which we were engaged so
long ago, each of those we lost, every Hellcat who paid the
supreme price, I am sure, is remembered by one or more of us
as the years of our lives stretch out over this last half a
century. We remember them fondly and they are in our
thoughts and prayers from time to time, they are never
forgotten!
So too, God has been good to us in the preservation of our
Hellcat Association. He has given us the desire and the means
of maintaining our alliance, one with another, of keeping the
family together! We give thanks to Him for these blessings.
Today, as we remember Edward Kapalka and Charles
McLaughlin, we also remember the many Hellcats who pre-
ceded them in death down through the years. May God be with
them always!
John Critzas of A Co. writes: "To my friend, former Com-
pany Commander, constant correspondent and competitive
tennis buddy . . . Captain Mac as we affectionately called him.
I entered the military at age 18 and spent my 19th and 20th
birthdays in active combat under the command of Captain
McLaughlin, A Co, 714th Tank Battalion, 12th Armored
Division. Because of our age differential I only knew Mac as
Captain during my tenure in the military.
"Mac and I became friends the first time we played tennis,
partly because he would beat me and partly because it was
never 6-0, 6-0. The games were very competitive and we
enjoyed each others company despite the 12 year age dif-
ferential.
"I recall vacationing in Fort Myers one year and Mac and
Jules came to visit, to play tennis of course, to swim a little,
plus a relaxing cook-out at our temporary vacation site. We
enjoyed the day and Mac and Jules returned home satisfied.
"Ruby and I will certainly miss the "Mac-O-Grams" that
were sent to us regularly updating us on his family and
particularly the grandchildren of whom he was very proud.
"It's always difficult to say Goodbye so we'll just say so
long for a while until we meet once again, as Mac would put it,
'in that great Tennis Court in the sky.' So, Mac, we'll see you
there by and by."
More from George Moss next month.
As I have probably reported in the past, my Hellkitten and I
have made our reservations for the Eastern and Northeastern
affairs in May, and for the National in McLean, VA, in August.
(After all, where better to spend our 48th Wedding anniver-
sary?) We hope to see many of you there!
I will use the little space I have left to remind each of you
that the time is here to make your reservations for the regional
reunions and the National at McLean in August. If you're in
doubt, make arrangements now, with the realization that you
can cancel within certain deadline.
Till next month.
Div. Hdq.
Units
George F. Grimshaw, Jr., 73 Manning Street, Providence, Rl 02906
Phone (401) 331-3694
As we prepare for the Holy Season of Lent and Passover,
and the anticipation of another Spring: "One of God's arrange-
ments is that following winter, there should come beautiful
EVANSVILLE, IN, 1995 — A mini-reunion of Div Arty per-
sonnel. Left to right: Fran and Pete Higbie; Carine and Ed
Strianese; Paul Johnson; Virginia and Herb Luzader; Pat and
John Lies. Photo by Herb Luzader
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Twelfth Armored Division Association (U.S.). Hellcat News, (Kingman, Ariz.), Vol. 49, No. 8, Ed. 1, April 1996, newspaper, April 1996; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth410348/m1/4/: accessed July 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum.