Hellcat News, (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 59, No. 11, Ed. 1, July 2007 Page: 4 of 24
24 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Page 4
HELLCAT NEWS
July 2007
member who is qualified and we have a lot of them.
Div/Arty and Div/Hq members take a moment right now and get
that name in to Bob or Vince. If you have never done this before
and would like some help, I would be glad to do the paperwork.
Just get the name to me and we will do the rest together. It's not that
much trouble. Just think about all the work some of the members
have done over the last many years, never asking or wanting any
recognition. Receiving the award puts a final touch on the effort
they put forth and relates the magic words, "Well done, Mr. or
Mrs. Hellcat. We appreciate all you have done."
I have requested that any member of the association might have
regarding the immediate plans for "standing down" the 12th ADA.
Several members have written and called bringing out the fact that
there are no plans of any nature at this time and date, however they
feel strongly that there should be a plan in place if we ever need
it due to the declining number of veterans. One of the main issues
my mail is showing is the fact that every member in the association
should be fully aware that the membership at large is not aware of
this important issue. One of the important concerns and questions
is why not have a plan to stand down the association? If we have
a plan and it is never used we will be in good shape, it will be
available. As a country boy and business man it just sounds like a
reasonable thing to do. Considering the ages of the veterans in
the 12th it would be my guess that a majority of them have a plan
or personal will if something happens to them. It appears to be a
very practical course to follow, however if you have a reason that
it would not be a good plan, I would certainly like to hear of it.
Please write, email or phone me. I have a flat rate telephone plan
whereby I can accept collect calls without any additional charge,
give me a call and we will talk.
An email was forwarded to me and three other reps from
Michael J. Woldenberg [A/56] which included quite a bit of
information and a request that we put the information in the
Hellcat News with the hope that someone will read about it and
help us locate this person. Mike, that is what this is all about,
helping each other and attempting to locate a fellow veteran of
our division. Mike belongs to an OSS listserv organization where
a Carl Youmans put in a query about Cassie Romain who was in
the OSS and claimed to be a member of the 12th AD, however
after Carl checked the mainline roster he could not locate Romain
as a member. After much thought Carl contacted the head of the
OSS organization and he came up with the original message and
with that information he was able to contact Carl who was able to
send Mike several email attachments, two of which were V-mail
letters with the return address Cpl. Cassie Jake, APO 262, etc.
12th Armored Division.
The letters were signed "Romain" and that enabled Carl to
locate Cassie Jake as a member of the 12th AD. Carl was sent a
page from the OSS file describing activities in one report about
"Romain" involving his helping downed flyers, etc. Also in a
newspaper article that stated that Cassie had parachuted into
somewhere in France with nine other men. The nine were killed
and he impersonated a Catholic priest. As Carl says, this story gets
better all of the time! The 17,000-name division roster, according to
Carl, lists Cassie Jake as a member of Div/Hdq, Forward Echelon,
and Carl says that makes sense. I cannot find the name, Cassie
Jake, in our rosters, however this does not actually determine that
he was not a member. We must make allowance for the many
names and the passing of time.
In one letter, April 25, 1945, Cassie writes as though he is seeing
the death camps. Mike said that Carl had related that Cassie had
an album with lots of death camp pictures in it. The album may
still be in the hands of the attorney who settled his estate. Carl or
Mike was sent a picture of Cassie in uniform, however there were
no insignia on his jacket.
Apparently it was reported that Cassie was a prominent
headwaiter in Washington. Mike relates that Carl is away on an
extended trip. Perhaps when he returns Mike will continue the
saga of Cassie R. Jake. Notice Division Headquarters members,
crank up the memory machine and if you have any knowledge of
this matter, please let us know about it.
17TH ARMORED INFANTRY BATTALION
William "Bill" Funke, 1312 Alford Street, Ft. Collins, CO 80524
970-482-0255 fwilliam46@msn.com
Check to make sure you have carried out the order from
headquarters for the month of May. What do you mean, "I
forgot?" All the excuses have been used before, so don't give us
any malarkey. You are forgiven this time, but get to that calendar
and mark the date of the reunion. Sept. 5-8. There will be more
about it later in this article.
The response to Wendell Pericone after his request for
information about Joe Tauriello was overwhelming and led to his
writing an article which he submitted to several newspapers in the
east to be used for Memorial Day. These amazing Hellcats came
to the fore once again. HHO. We are hoping that Wendell might be
able to come to the reunion in September. How is that for a sneaky
way to advertise the event?
Since we are on the subject of the great 12th recon system, here
is another one for your consideration. Ruth and Norm Brouse
[92] informed us that two Hellcats who knew nothing about
the association showed up at the Eastern Chapter meeting. One
especially is your assignment this month: Contact Merle and Peg
Phillips [B] at 522 Pischeauua, Leeper, PA 16233. Invite them,
encourage them, nay, compel them to attend the big dance in
Covington come Sept. 5-8. If you do you will certainly earn your
HHO. If you have friends from Hq/Div Artillery you should have
them contact Ben and Fran Locke, 11803 Saddlerock Rd, Silver
Springs, MD 20902.
The news of the passing of Henry Sadlo came by way of Bob
Bassett [C] who saw it in the obit section. Bob recalls that Henry
was in C but the obit listed him in B. Henry was in charge of
the mess truck during combat, but Bob doesn't know how that
came to be. Henry was a lawyer in Louisville, KY, and had the
distinction of serving the family of Muhammad Ali. Maybe more
information about this Hellcat will come later, but until then we
extend our condolences to the family.
Interesting fact from Ralph Langley [Cj. A study found that
the average American walks about 900 miles a year. Another
study found that Americans drink an average of 22 gallons of beer
a year, so that means, on average, Americans get about 41 miles
per gallon. Not bad. Ralph's name is on this one so your wrath
should be directed to California, and not Colorado. Incidentally,
Jack Priestly |C] says, "If that is true, then I am getting over
n
Storekeeper Bob Stanton [A/17] at a 1915 general store in
Pinewood Park, FL.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Twelfth Armored Division Association (U.S.). Hellcat News, (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 59, No. 11, Ed. 1, July 2007, newspaper, July 2007; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth410211/m1/4/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum.