83Rd Infantry Division Spearhead. Vol 1 No 14. November 29, 1944
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Vol. 1 i No 14 Somewhere in Luxemburg November, 29, 1944 O's Pound Beat While GIs Eat 83rd OPENS NEW REST CENTER Holiday Meat COMPLETE WITH SHOWERS, GIs of the 783rd Ornance Com• pany sat down to Thanksgiving dinner last week throroughly unper• COTS, BEER, BAND, AND WOMEN turbed about the fact that not a single one of them was at his pro• per place of duty, not even walking GILBERT bY CPL.N.S.FIRFIRES Movies, Dances, post or standing by their 50 calibre machine guns on air alert. The Red Cross Gills sergeant pulling CQ that day bliss• fully gnawed away at a turkey leg Also Featured with nary a thought in his head except, perhaps, another turkey leg. The reason for all this lack of Last week's opening of the concern wa:s due to just one thing, 83rd Division's own rest center, the officers of the 783rd had taken complete with plenty of beer, women over the company lock, stock and and song, offered heartening news barrel. The officers had decided, as to the combat GIs of this Division. a mark of appreciation and tribute Ticket of admission is the Com• to their men, that every man in bat Infantry Badge and 83rd patch the company should sit down with and other features of the Rest his buddies and enjoy the best Center are rooms with cots, 50 hot turkey dinner possible. This could showers, a day room and excellent be done only if the officers them• food prepared by civilian chefs. selves relieved the GIs walking post Located in a little town in Lu• and manning the AA guns. And this xemburg, the Rest Center handles they did much to the surprise and 200 men for a 48 hour stay and pleasure of all the men in the already men from all three Infan• company. try Regiments have spent their two day pass at the Rest Center, some resting, some having the time of Disclose 774th their Luxemburg lives. Chow is served in the "Balinese Tankers Fighting Room" or dining room, and plates, Along With 83rd silverware and twenty pretty wai• tresses help make eating enjoyable. Disclosure that the 774th Tank Beer is always available at the bar, Battalion is now fighting along known as "Charley'& Pump Room", with the 83rd Infantry Division- and for ordinary writing, reading "somewhere in Luxemburg" was and listening to the radio, the made this week. "Flame Room", or day-room, is The tankers of the 774th have available. The mail censors report, assisted the 83rd in the capture* of incidentally, a terrific volume of Grevenmacher, Echternach, Wormel- THE WAR IN BRIEF letters. dange and other towns in Luxem• Three attractive Red Cross girls, burg, especially along the Moselle Hazel "Pete" Goff and Mildred Cox River sector. This same tank batta• Hitler's legions were shaking in Further north, the men of General of Vicksburg, Miss., and Gertrude Patton's Third Army had liberated lion, commanded by Lt Col N. K. their ersatz pants this week as the Bunce of Berlin, Conn., are in con- the almost impregnable fortress of tinouous presence during the eve• Markle, Jr., has assisted the 83rd's inevitable doom of Germany came Metz and had pushed on even nings and give out coffee, doughnuts Field Artillery by furnishing indirect closer with the spectacular drive of fire on targets of opportunity, pill• farther to the upper reaches of the and "stardust" to the men. A four the French First Army and elements boxes, enemy observation posts, Saar River in Germany. Patton's piece band, consisting of Pfc Ro• railroads and other similar targets. of the American Seventh Army men were now battling on the Sieg• bert Holmes of Detroit, Mich., pianist, Pfc Cianne Kastur of The outfit was attached to fhe which.joined with the French. fried Line and the approaches to Houston, Texas, on the clarinet, 83rd in August and joined the This drive, despite very bad the industrially important Saar Pvt Anthony Lardino, of Chicago, infantry in patrolling the Loire weather, steam-rollered through the Basin. 111., who handles an accordion, and Riven During this operation, tire Belfort Gap, reached the banks of On the extreme Northern sector S Sgt Charles Stutz, of New York tankers assisted the 83rd in the the Rhine River in Southern Ger• of the Western Front, the British City, a guitarist, provide continuous capture of Brigadier General Botho- many and the Yanks and French Second Army and the American music during meal hours and for Hemming Elster and 20,000 Nazis liberated many important towns and First and Ninth Armies continued afternoon and evening dances. Two at Beaugency, France. communication centers, including to grind out slow gains in Holland (Cont. on page 3) (Cont. on page 2) Belfort, Mulhouse and Strasbourg. (Cont. on page 2) Wednesday. Nov. 29, 1944 83rd SPEARHEAD Page 2 A New Partner... 774th Fights Along With 83rd KNOW YOUR There he goes — the most im• LEADERS portant guy in the Army. Who is he? Eisenhower? Bradley? A silver The commanding officer of the chicken? A second looey? a ser• 324th Field Artillery Battalion is geant maybe? Lt Col George W. Irvine who has No. He's a replacement. He's a been with the 83rd since its acti• guy maybe just off the boat. A.GI vation at Camp Atterbury, Ind. they trained for the quartermas• Born in 1912 in Washington, D. ters and overnight turned into a C, Col Irvine received his early dough. An orphan who's never had education in San Francisco and later a home in the Army — who's ta• Bremerton, Washington. In 1933 he ken more chicken spit from more graduated from Stanford University brass and stripes than any Joe we with an A. B. degree and a reserve know. officer's commission in the field He's swallowed it. He's stuck it artillery. out day after day — never kno• wing the score for tomorrow. He's Leads 324th . done what he's been told to do — without friends, without favors — with nothing but his own pride and sense of duty to stop him. And finally, like every doggie, he's having his day. He's on his way to join his out• fit. He's marching toward Ger• many. There isn't much you say to guys like him, We'll leave that to the ad writers. Instead, we'd like to throw out a word or two to the veterans whose ranks they've come to fill. Take care of these new boys, Joe. Tell them your name and of• fer them a buft and give them 'jsiMmmmmmmmm mi • • everything you know. Remember (Cont. from page 1) since its activation. After intensive what some sergeant said about a The 774th Tank Battalion was training in the States, including Signal Corps Photo replacement: Lt Col Irvine organized from personnel of the participation in maneuvers in Loui• ,,He's an extra round in your 7th Armored Division in September, siana, the California Desert and Col Irvine served as a first lieute• clip. He's plasma in your blood 1943, at Fort Benning, Ga, and has Tennessee, the outfit came overseas nant with the New York National stream. He's an earlier dating on been commanded by Lt. Col. Markle in July, 1944. Guard in 1940 and in 1941 entered your ticket home." active duty with the 186th Field (Reprinted From Germany's oil ..reserves continued Artillery. He served as firing bat• Stars And Stripes.) The war in biiei with night and day bomber attacks tery executive, firing battery com• by both the RAF and the AAF. mander and battalion S-2 before being transferred to the 83rd Divi• (Cont. from page 1) And SHAEF announced that over 40,000 prisoners had been taken sion as a cadre member. Prior to 83rd Spearhead and Germany. In fighting reminis• The SPEARHEAD is published by and since the beginning of the November being appointed commander of the cent of the Normandy hedgerows, for the personnel of the 83rd infantry offensive. 324th, Col Irvine was Divarty S-3. Division under supervision of the Public these Armies made steady gains The Russians continued their dri• In 1941, he completed a Battery Relations Office. Ail news reviewed by through the forests toward Cologne G-2, 83rd Division. The SPEARHEAD is ves on Budapest and also broke Officer's Course at Ft. Sill, Okla• supported without cost to U.S. govern• and the banks of the Rhine. As on through the German defenses in homa. ment. Member of CNS. Republication of all sectors of the front, the weather credited matter prohibited without per• eastern Czechoslovakia. The Reds His father is a Captain in the mission of CNS, 205 East 42nd St., was miserable and the drives were announced that all of Estonia was U. S. Navy, his mother, wife and NYC-17, USA. Address inquiries to PRO, often bogged down by mud and 83rd Inf. Div., APO 83, 'U.S. Army now liberated and that the cam• child reside in San Francisco. The (cjo Postmaster. New-York, N.Y.) swollen streams and rivers. paigns in Yugoslavia and Albania Colonel was recently awarded the The great aerial offensive against were meeting with great success. Bronze Star. Hale Call by Milton Caniff, Creator of "Terry and the Pirates" How Vargan One Go With These Things? Wednesday. Nov. 29. 1944 83rd SPEARHEAD Page 3 83 rd Opens New Rest Center The Sump Hole' FOXHOLE POETS BY Pvt. MAURICE RENEK. (Cont. from page 1) make appearances at the Center.