Hellcat News, (Seward, Neb.), Vol. 45, No. 9, Ed. 1, May 1992 Page: 7 of 28
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Norb went on to say he and Fern had talked of driving down
to McHarley's to visit and get together, but it's one of those
things they never got around to. Very unfortunate. Norb's letter
covered much ground, and he encourages attending the 50th
Anniversary Reunion, as a great opportunity to meet buddies
you may not have seen since the end of WW2.—CLINTON
KEPHART JR. (S)—Wrote a real nice letter and touched on
first the watch. He is sure he will be satisfied for himself, and is
hoping it may be suitable as a woman's watch, which does seem
to be a trend today. Bigger face and dial—easier to read.
Clinton congratulates Norb for now being the Assn. Treas-
urer, and the step up that came my way. Clinton also mentions
Assn. Pres. Ernie Akaiwa. Ernie has probably put more time in
the trenches than most, and he certainly has earned that TOP
SPOT.
RETURN ADDRESS LABELS—Clinton has made this good
suggestion. How would you folks like return address labels like
the VFW, and the American Legion send out? Only hi-lighting
the 12th Armd Div Assn. I'd like to hear from anyone with
thoughts on this. Yes-No~Good-Bad—Let me know.
Watches, we had many more orders, but no messages came
in with them. With this exception. JOE ABELOVSKY (D) —
Guess you don't remember me, too many years ago—Co. D.
43rd Tk. Bn. maybe see you one of these days. Put me down for
four watches, one for each hand and ankle. Take Care, Joe
Abelovsky (ask Stoney about Rocky and paint, color white).
Note/That takes care of all the news with watch orders, we're
going to have to get a bit more business out before we can tell
that tale.
FORMER 12TH A.D.A. MEMBERS. Once again we will list
the names of former 12th Assn members with the hope that we
can rejuvenate some of them. I have no idea as to the status of
any of them. We ask you to help us in this effort.
JAMES E. BOYLE (A)-527 N. 21st Street-Allentown, PA
18104; ARTHUR W. SILL (A)-495 E. Main-Box 31-Dalton
City, IL 61925; ADAM CANTU (B)-Box 1567-San Juan, TX
78587; JOHN DeSANTE (B) —1334 Midland Road—Consho-
hocken, PA 19428; CHARLES E. FURNISH (C)-1063 Grand
Ave.-Newport, KY 41071; BRUCE GUNTER (C)-1080
Mitchell Way—El Sobrante, CA 94803; JOHN D. WALSH (D)
-Colonial Hill Drive #1-Masury, OH 44438; DONALD
WEEKS (D) — Fish Lake Road—Holly, MI 48442; WILLIAM F.
WILSON (Hq)—Route 1-Box 318A—Rehoboth Beach, DE
19971; WILLIAM F. BERRYMAN (Hq)—205 S. Franklin Street
—Glasgow, KY 42141; JOHN HASKO (?)—563 Saratoga
Street-Cohoes, NY 12407; Joseph Kovalick (?) —130 E.
93rd Street-New York, NY 10028; DONALD C. SIMONS
(A)—Box 45—Maple Park, IL 60151; EMANUEL ROCHKIND
(B) —1727 W. Pratt Street—Baltimore, MD 21223; RAYMOND
J. SULLIVAN (C)—520 Cherry-Anaconda, MT 59711 ;WAYNE
M. SHUFORD (D)—Route 1, Box 474-Bessemer City, NC
28016; LAWRENCE W. FARMER (Hq) —11 Aqua Vista—Fort
Thomas, KY 41075; STANLEY LISNER (?)-6275 Mayflower-
Cincinnati, OH 45237; BRUNO S. RUCHALSKI (?) —122 Main
May 1992
HELLCAT NEWS
v
Street-Garfield, NJ 07026; DWIGHT TAYLOR (?)-995
Pomoma Road #84—Corona, CA 91720; WILLIAM R. YOUNG
(?)—20 North Sycamore St.—Clifton Heights, PA 19018;
RODERICK McKEAN (?) —1416 "C" Street-Hoquiam, WA
98550
CAMP BARKELEY MEMORIAL MONUMENT DEDICA-
TION—I hope many of our men from the 43rd Tank Battalion
will be on hand for this dedication service. A full program has
been planned. I am sure each and every one will be proud to
take part in this ceremony. There are only a small amount of
rooms available, so I hope you signed up right away. After the
service an evening Banquet will be held, and especially for the
folks from the southwest, there will be a meeting with the
thought of forming A SOUTHWEST CHAPTER-BE THERE.
Don't forget. MOTHERS DAY, and Memorial Day.
The Tale of ROCKY, and paint—color white—from my
memory bank.—Some stories are best to be left and forgotten.
But when memories come forward and there's no bush or cover
around, you might as well let them take their best shot, right?
Hoping the statute of limitations will apply here we tell an
abbreviated version of that story. Among other things I was
assigned to be was the job of company sign-painter. This did
not relieve me from my other duties. Putting all those numbers
on vehicles wasn't all that big a deal, but then came England,
and new equipment. On orders I painted them on—on some-
body's second thought I painted them off. On orders I painted
them on, and off again. We were in a rut. We now set the scene
in France after we had experienced some action but not a great
deal. I was told to report to the C.P., and once again the
dreaded word was heard—paint them on! "Sir," I pleaded,
"what about my guns? They must be cleaned, and I cannot do
both." Enter Special Assistant Joe "Rocky" Abelovsky. With
paint brush in hand, and paint the color white!, we went to the
far end of the company area. Our good buddies with great
understanding, and compassion in their hearts, set up a
number of drinks for the traveling ARTISTS. We painted with
gusto-verve-abandonment, and fire. You taste some of that rot
gut you know what fire is all about. Our brush strokes were
strong as we painted each tank—but if the truth be known our
artistry stank. But wait, what's that Olive Drab Jeep doing in
front of the C.P.? We did our job, we did it quick, we gave the
Generals' Star an extra lick. We did a job the best we could, we
painted all, seats - steering wheel - the dash - the hood. We
matched the floor board as best we could. Now I'm not sure our
work was appreciated—the way they yelled—we both gyrated. I
had a bit of fun recalling this and hope you grinned a time or
*wo* God Bless You All
44th Tank
Battalion
Donald A. Mercier
1204 Bolles Street
Eau Claire, Wl 54703
Phone (715) 832-7898
Mid Continent Picnic, Emporia, Kansas, 1991. Hellcats check-
ing over some Desert Storm type tanks at the local Armory.
Don Hering, 134 Unit Rep, in foreground. Unidentified tanker
on turret. Pic from Stoney
The deaths of John Cavey, Sv, Chester MacLeod, Sv, John
Pitman, Mitchell Przybycien, D, and Leland Vunk, B, are being
reported this month. Unfortunately there is not much informa-
tion available. May they rest in Peace. See Obits.
Bob and Jane Fredrickson sent me maps of Leyte and Luzon.
They were copied from 1941 road maps. I will add them to my
copy of the Battalion History I bring to the reunions. Jane was
an internee in the infamous Santo Tomas prison in Manila. She
wrote about her upcoming reunion: "Those of us who were
liberated will think back on that Saturday night 47 years ago
when the tanks of the 44th Tank Battalion broke into the com-
pound of our prison camp." We thank you for the maps, Jane.
Commodire Griffith, B/92, writes: "Thanks to Bob Payne I
now know more about Manion, Denike, and Bob." Happy I was
able to help, Commodore.
HEADQUARTERS COMPANY: Mary Ann Novotne writes
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Twelfth Armored Division Association (U.S.). Hellcat News, (Seward, Neb.), Vol. 45, No. 9, Ed. 1, May 1992, newspaper, May 1992; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth410426/m1/7/: 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.