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Unlike the race for President, the Totah Chapter was
able to establish clear winners for the two vacant Board of Directors
positions. The membership unanimously elected Larry Brewer, 1st Lt, USMC
and Edward Marquez, CDR, USN to fill the required positions. They will
officially assume their duties on the Board on January 1, 2001. They will,
of course, attend their first Board of Directors meeting on January 7,
2001.
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By 1st Lt
Harold A. Hanhardt
Having
been notified by Mr. Hershey, that my neighbors and friends had chosen me
to serve in the armed forces to defend our country, I reported to Camp
Chaffee at Fort Smith, Arkansas in late November 1942. Arriving at the
camp, I was assigned to 62nd Armored Infantry Regiment, 14th Armored
Division (later to become the 68th AIB due to changes in organization). I
was assigned to “C” Company, of the 68th.
The duties of soldiering were described to me by a man
identified as Colonel Hudelson. We soon learned that this officer was all
battle oriented, as he had served at Dunkirk with the Commandos. As a very
intense trainer, he taught us the ability to attack and survive, to defeat
the enemy and make them our supporters of freedom, never forgetting that
we were the victors.
After Basic Training, we were taught how to employ the
power of an armored division. The armored division was a formidable force.
We learned how to use the various sections of recon, infantry, tanks,
artillery, engineers together as a combat team.
After approximately 1½ years of this practice, we
became a striking force of immense power. One thing was always stressed:
that men were the nucleus of that striking force. The force would only be
as effective as the men manning it. After meeting the standard required,
we were battle ready as prescribed by the generals of the Army. We were
dispatched to Europe and arrived at Marseilles, France. We debarked and
began getting our vehicles ready. Some of us were sent to the Riviera of
Cannes and Nice to protect that area against aggression from the Alpine
region of Italy. In this area, we received our baptism under enemy fire
and realized this was for real. Death and wounds were prevalent and
permanent.
Returning
to our full unit, we hit the Sigfreid Line and the intense fighting took
its toll. We suffered numerous casualties. During the replacement of the
new men and equipment, the commanders decided that it was necessary to
appoint new leadership to replace those leaders who were unable to
continue to serve due to injuries of battle. They decided that it had
become necessary to change my status to that of an officer. Receiving a
battlefield commission of second lieutenant. Although it was normal to
assign a newly commissioned officer to a different unit, they decided to
keep me with my original unit and allow me to continue to command the same
men. I was grateful in that the men were acquaintances and their
compatibilities were known to me.
After
returning to the unit, we were to enter a campaign now known as the Hatten
and Rittershoffen Tank Battle. There were more vehicles lost by both the
Germans and Americans than in any single battle of WWII. Congress passed a
memorial resolution in 1993 naming this battle the most expensive in terms
of vehicle and personnel losses during WWII.
This incident is the most vivid to me, as we were daily
exposed to severe enemy fire. There were many men, women, children and
animals killed. Their bodies remained in the mud for more than 10 days
through rain, snow and freezing weather. Immense shelling and air attacks
were a daily occurrence.
I was wounded Feb 5, 1945. My stay in the hospital was
for one month and then returned to duty. After returning to duty, we
started the march through, Germany. Our mission was to break through enemy
lines and continue to disrupt transportation, communication and effect
propaganda. The fighting was ugly battle causing many casualties,
destroying tanks, etc. and ruining aircraft.
In our quest, we liberated POWs by destroying down
compounds fences and releasing the prisoners. Our division acquired the
slogan to our unit designation of “The Liberators” because of the more
than 200.000 prisoners released.
There were instances of humor and of sorrow.
Remembering an incident that was rewarding. Officers received a liquor
ration which was placed in storage in my vehicle until such time as we
would be in a rest position. At that time, I would bring it out and allow
the men to enjoy a drink. (I was not a user, but not a teetotaler) but
refraining so as to have all my faculties in full use to continue to serve
during the severe conditions that was our circumstance. Since the
prisoners were American, my men decided to ask me if we could bring some
pleasure to their situation. I the men and the ex-prisoners them have the
liquor ration. These men formed a circle in a field just a little way from
the vehicle and passed the four bottles of different liquors among them,
each taking a swallow of it into their mouths and relishing their good
luck and in remembrance I’m sure. It was a satisfying experience to
bring some joy to those suffering souls.
We continuing our mission and many battles later,
Germany fell to the Allied Powers.
After
the cessation of hostilities, I was transferred to division headquarters
because I could speak the German language. My duties went from combat to
administration. I was given the task of resuming the operation of the
utilities of Wissenburg and the surrounding communities’ electrical,
water, and sewer plants and village governments. It was imperative that
these operated.
Next I was assigned to a unit that would be entering
the Japanese theater. We were station at Bad Retchenald. After just 2
weeks of training aimed at converting us to Pacific war combat conditions,
it became obvious that we were battle ready and waiting for the invasion
began. We formed groups of people that were to keep morale higher while
waiting for redeployment.
This unit consisted of all the officer cadre selected
from throughout the 14th Armed Division A Major Lanagin was selected to be
the commanding officer and he in turn was given the his choice of junior
officers from the Division. The 14th was comprised of approximately 12,500
men, 2500 officers and many vehicles, consisting of tanks, personnel
carriers, artillery, anti-tank units, machineguns, anti-aircraft,
observation planes, etc. He would select a contingent of 20 officers. He
selected them based on their 201 files using their experience and number
of citations (which he judged as the readiness for combat). He chose one
of the most decorated officers by the name of Jack DeWitt.
This unit bound Japanese Theater was a battalion with
tank destroyers, PT boats, machineguns, and all personal fighting gear.
Thank you, President Truman for your decision to drop
the Atomic bombs to end this loss of life to our service men and women.
In 1950 the United States became embroiled on the
Korean Peninsula. We were to become involved in a “police action”
without purpose and confined to useless killing without worthwhile
objectives and no mission. Here my involvement was of a combat training
assignment. Writing training exercises which at last count were still
being used and looked very familiar in the Desert Storm war.
I’m
able to keep abreast of the many of my 14th Division comrades in arms
through our annual reunion of the 14th Armored Division. The reunions are
a mixture of pleasantries and sorrowful experiences and of course war
stories to produce each. Having been honored to serve as President of our
14th Division Reunion Association. The 14th Reunion of the 14th Armored
Division was held in Albuquerque. Our reunion is attended by approximately
550 members annually.
We enjoy the TROA organization. The activities and the
variety of service personnel makes for a satisfying experience to hear of
the different service units and their operations.
The briefness of my experiences are necessarily short
because of space and the willingness to expound.
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By Jack
Lee
In addition to the “TRICARE for Life” discussed in
the last newsletter the FY2001 Defense Authorization Act also addresses:
Retiree Catastrophic Cap. Reduces the catastrophic
cap on out-of-pocket expenses for retired TRICARE Standard users from
$7,500 to $3,000 per year.
Special Compensation for Severely Disabled Retirees.
As of October 1, 2001, otherwise-qualifying Chapter 61 (military
disability retirees) will be eligible for the $100-300 per month special
compensation enacted last year. To qualify, members must have served at
least 20 years of full-time active duty (or achieved the equivalent 7200
Reserve points) AND have received a disability rating of 70% or higher
(from either their parent service or the VA) within 4 years of leaving
active duty. 100% disabled members will receive $300/mo; 90% disabled,
$200; and 70% or 80% disabled, $100, beginning October 1, 2001. TROA will
be back to press for full concurrent receipt of retired pay and VA
disability compensation again next year.
Survivor Benefit Plan Age-62 Annuity. The final law
authorized no age-62 SBP annuity increase, but contained a provision
expressing the "sense of Congress that, subject to the requirements
and limitations of congressional budget procedures relating to the
enactment of new (or increased) entitlement authority, there should be
enacted legislation that increases the annuities provided under [SBP] for
surviving spouses who are age 62 and older in order to reduce (and
eventually eliminate) the different levels of annuities...for surviving
spouses...under age 62 and those...age 62 and older."
Many improvements were also made for Active Duty and
Reserve members and their families.
The New Mexico legislature will be meeting in the near
future to deliberate on two issues of concern to TROA. These issues are:
(1) Increasing the property tax exemption for military veterans from
$2,000 to $12,000. (20 the elimination of the gross receipts tax (sales
tax) on TRCARE medical coverage for all military, active and retired. Our
membership should ensure that our state legislators have input from the
military community during the deliberations. The NM Council is asking each
TROA member to call, write, or email their legislators in an effort to
inform them of our views. For maximum impact we need to voice our views
prior to December 15th while the budgetary committees are in session.
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By Al
Garcia
Fellow Chapter Members and Spouses:
Most of you know that the President of the United
States on Oct. 30, 2000 signed into law the 2001 national Defense
Authorization Act. This law contains a provision that TROA calls TRICARE-for-life
(for Medicare-eligible military retirees and dependents.) In the months
ahead information will be provided on how it effects us, we have been
waiting for pharmacy coverage. According to TROAGRAM dated December 2000,
chapter members played a big role in bringing this to fruition. Chapter
member communication efforts with national representatives through
letters, e-mail, and face-to-face, etc. made lobbying efforts pay off. You
are to be commended for your help in this matter.
The Thanksgiving Holiday has come and gone. We now
await with joyful anticipation the Christmas Holidays. There is a special
meaning for this season for each of us. It is a time to be generous with
family and friends, a time to rejoice, a time for new beginnings. We
celebrate in our own ways, observing family traditions and creating new
ones as we go alone. What a great life this is.
The majority of our members are fortunate to have
families, loved ones, and in one way or another are connected with folks
that bring about the JOY of the Holidays into our life. We rejoice for
those who have this status. However, there are a few members that are
alone and some are suffering physical ailments. I urge us all to be
cognizant of who these members are and for us to do our best to bring
about some Holiday "Cheer" by sharing of our joyful spirit.
Heidi joins me in wishing each of you and your families
the happiest of Holidays. Life is precious and we should have joy and
happiness throughout the year. Belonging to the Chapter can bring about
self satisfying feelings as we lookout for each other. God bless each of
you as we gather to honor the Lord's Birthday. Merry Christmas and a Happy
New Year!
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The
following hearty souls participated in the annual Veterans Day parade in
Aztec on the 11th of November. Quincy Cornelius, Alfonso and Heidi Garcia,
Larry Johnson, Jack Lee, Edward and Trish Marquez, David and Gail Stock,
and Steven White.
trailer
for use in parade. The backfiring and strange noises emanating from the
antique tractor ensured that everyone noticed our coming and going. The
children seemed particularly intrigued by the machine. During most of the
parade, one inch snow flakes fell on participants and spectators. All were
somewhat surprised at the numbers of people along the parade route despite
the poor parade weather.
