83Rd Infantry Division Thunderbolt. Vol 1 No 6. June 2, 1945
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WThunderboltNORMANDY. BRITTANY. LOIRE VALLEY. LUXEMBOURG. HURTGEN FOREST. ARDENNES. FI RST TO RH INE. ELBE BRIDGEHEAD.! VOL 1, No. 6 BAD HARZBURG, GERMANY JUNE 2, 1945 Farewell Party . Memorial Day Marked By Impressive Ceremonies As 83rd Honors Division Dead Gen. Montague Addresses ArtiJIery, Col. Crabill At329th, Col. Deshotels At Hqrs. At impressive Memorial Day ceremonies throughout the province of Braunschweig, men of the 83rd Division joined their fellow Americans on uuam and Okinawa, in London and Paris, at the tomb of the Unhnow Soldier and the garden grave of their fallen Commander-in-Chief to pay solemn tribute to those who could not live to see the freedom, tor which they had given their lives, triumph. In the silent shadows of the green Harz mountains on the spacious lawn of the Kurhaus in Bad Harzburg, Lt. Col. Jules H. Deshotels, Division G 2, led the services at Division Hqrs., speaking in the absence of General Macon. "With pride we stand in the glory of their achievement and sacrifice," said Col. Deshotels in tribute to the French Wacs fallen of the 85rd, "and with sorrow and grief we mourn the loss of their Two Doughs presence here with us. With faith and Now Serving confidence, we are cheered by the Get Special freedom as not been removed from the face of the earth... Our com• all Home She's an English girl serving as a rades, from falling hands, have French officer attached to the Ameri• handed the flag to us. It is our duly T/Sgts. Joseph J. Dunlap of Co. G, 329th Infantry and Francis E. Powell of can army. to hold it high!" Co. B, 33lst Infantry were selected That's the story of Lt. Eileen The setting for the Colonel's re• last Saturday by General Macon Colley, Hertfordshire, England, who marks was impressive. Directly in to return immediately to the United is the only British girl in the MMLA front of the speaker's stand was a States on an undisclosed special (Mission Militaire de Liaison Admini• large memorial wreath. In the center assignment. The men were chosen on strative), an organization of theFrench of the court facing the stand and the basis of points (Dunlap has 95, Government set up to facilitte the surrounded by the assembled troops Powell 94), awards, special commen• dations and soldierly appearance. the return of hundreds of thousands was a tall flagpole with the Colors For Sgt. Dunlap the unexpected trip at half-mast. of French citizens who were forced home will mean a meeting with his to leave their homes during the Nazi Following a prelude of religious year-old daughter whom he has never occupation of their country. music by the 83rd Band, under the seen. Powell, upon being informed The attractive 24-year-old Lieute• direction of CWO Z. P. King, the of his selection, wrote a message to nant is in charge of the unit of five National Anthem was sung by the his father which said, "This came as French girls who have just been entire assemblage. The invocation a big surprise to me and I hardly was given by Capt. William Harris, know how to feel about going home. assigned to the Military Government Hope to arrive soon." Office of the 83rd Division. The Assn't Division Chaplain, followed group, ranging in age from 17 to 24 by a reading from the Psalms by Both Dunlap and Powell, who are Chaplain Harold Pinckney of the Rifle Platoon Sergeants, have seen years, has alredy been instrumental combat duty in each of the five in the return of some 12,000 French• 508th Medics. campaigns credited to the 83rd Division. men to their homeland. Col. Dreshotels' speech was follo• Both wear the Silver Star, the Bronze Their activities are not, however, wed by a prayer by Chaplain Jacob Star and a Purple Heart with two confined to the displaced- French Ott, Division Hebrew Chaplain. Then clusters. alone as they work with all natio• the large wreath was carried before Pfc. Levin Willey of 3rd Bn Hqrs nalities in the tremendous task of the hushed troops to the base of the Co., 331st infantry was selected as an repatriation. flagpole, where earth from the 48 alternate in case either Dunlap or Powell could not make the trip. States, sent to General Macon by the "If we can secure the necessary Willey is also a veteran of each of transportation facilities," asserted Lt. mother of an 83rd man who had the 83rd's campaigns and wears the Colley, "I feel the job of getting died in battle, was softly sprinkled. Siiver Star, the Bronze Star, and the i Continued on Page 3) (Continued on Page 3) Purple Heart. SS MAN GETS DEATH SENTENCE Swift justice was meted out to were told of Benz' presence in the his carbine into the tent," recounted Siegfried Benz, fanatical 17 year old Harz mountains near Braunlage by Bowen. After that there were two storm trooper, who was captured on two German civilians who had been pistol shots from inside the tent and May 23rd after he had fired on and fired on by him and another SS man. another grenade which failed to go thrown grenades at three men from Together with four or five other civi• j off. Shortly after the second grenade the 280th Field Artillery Bn. He was lians, Bowen and his men entered a was thrown Benz came out. tried by General Court Martial on strip of thick woods to investigate. A search of the tent revealed that May 29th and given the death sen• One of the civilians pointed out the Hunter's shots had mortally wounded tence for armed attack on the Allied spot where he thought the SS men the other occupant. Inside were three forces in defiance of terms imposed were hiding. Bowen stepped to it, pistols, an automatic pistol, automate on Germany by the Allies after its pulled aside branches that were being rifle, one grenade and approximately surrender. It was the first case of its used for camouflage and uncovered a 300 rounds of ammunition in addition type to be tried in the Thunderbolt 6'x6' x 3' tent. to C rations and American cigarettes. Division area. "I called upon the occupants to Benz' defense was based on the During the four-hour trial the come out several times. So did one claim that he didn't know the war It was quite an occasion last week when the officers and men stripling Hitler Youth sat expression• of the Germans who was with me, was over. He said he had been hiding of the 329th Infantry bid farewell to Col. Edwin B. Crabill, their less while Lt. Royden B. Bowen, cub but we received no response," testi• in the tent for three weeks and that commander since re-activation at Atterbury, as he left the regiment plane observer from Houston, Texas, fied Bowen. Following the failure of he had not spoken with civilians nor to take over his new duties as assistant to General Macon. At a and T/5 William B. Hunter of Fresno, the men to answer, he fired two seen American Military Government party in the Kaffee Haus in Wolfenbuettel, Col. Crabill cuts the big Cal., two of the three men who cap• shots into the ground. A grenade was proclamations, some of which were cake baked in his honor by Pvt. Ladislay Popek, Regt Hqrs baker, tured him, gave the testimony which tossed from the tent and the three posted not 500 yards from his hide• (top), chats with his successor, Col. Alexander Reid, (center), and condemned him. artillerymen took cover. Fortunately out. He maintained that the first gre• reminisces with Lt. Sam Magill of the 20,000 - at - Becugency fame Bowen, Hunter and T/5 Robert it failed to explode. nade was thrown by his companion (bottom). (Signal Corps Photos) Engebretson from Bear Lake, Minn. "Hunter then emptied a clip from (Continu d on Page 3) PAGE 2 83rd THUNDERBOLT JUNE 2, 1945 . Tuning Up i& 83rd Thunderbolt 11 Japs Burn Official Weekly Newspaper of the 83 rd Infantry Division As Super The Thunderbolt, formerly the Spearhead, is written by and for the men of the 83rd under the supervision of Capt John C. Neff, Information-Education Forts Raid Officer, and Capt Thomas C. Roberts, Public Relations Officer. All material is censored by AC of S, G-2. Member Camp Newspaper Service, 205 East 42nd St., NYC. Late news reports from the Pacific tell of continued Superfort incendiary STAFF: Managing Editor, Sgt Al Gladding; News Editor, Sgt John Benham; bombings of Tokyo and Yo&'jiiitind Feature Editor, PfcBillNos; Special Events, Sgt Allan Nemrow; Sports Editor, These c ties are still reeling from the Pfc Carl Weber; Art Editor, Sgt Nick Firfires; Photographer, M Sgt Harry ten if c blows which set then aflame Brouhard; Unit Correspondents, Sgt Ray Goguen, 329th Inf, Sgt Grover eariier in the week. The Japs admit Crawford, 330th Inf, Sgt Jack Straus, 331st Inf, and Sgt Bill Schumann, 83rd Arty. 51 square miles of Tokyo is in ruins. These ra us are following the example VOL. 1, No. 6. June 2, 1945. set by the Air Force in the ETO. Fighter planes proceed th the target first and hold the enemy platies down by attacks on the major air• ports. Then while the enemy planes are being made ineffective the Super- forts come to bomb the industrial Welcome Home centers. The capitol city of Naha in Oki- Being a strictly low-point man on Uncle Sam's international j nawa fell Thursday to US Marines polo team may have its compensations.