We All Made History

CONTENTS

John Jack Harland Alef

Thunderbolt

Ralph G. Neppel

Private Jack

Rolland Fay ‘John’ Ball

Css Alabama

Uss Alabama Bb-8

Uss Alabama Bb-60

Robert Biehl

John Dasko

David Denholm

Eugene Gene Dixon

Bernard Feldhauser

Feldhauser Family

Robert E. Lee

80⁴Th Tank Destroyers

Floyd Carlton Liskum

Jack Miller

Camp Hirohata

Madaline Ullom

Military Time

Ranks From 1941-1948

Ranks During World War I

Ranks From 1960-Present

This book is dedicated to those who

gave me their stories.

John Jack Harland Alef

ARMY

RIFLEMAN

My dad graduated from Saint Paul High School, in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, in 1941. After his graduation he went on to the University of Notre Dame, in South Bend, Indiana. When Pearl Harbor was bombed, dad enlisted in the Army in 1942. He was seventeen years of age. Dad was assigned to the 83rd Infantry Division, called the Thunderbolts. On 16 June 1944, the division left England for Normandy, France. The division moved at night on 26-28 June, towards the front line at Carentan. They relieved the 101st Airborne Div. Towards the end of September, they left France for Luxembourg. The first engagement was in the Hurtgen Forest on 3 December. Their mission was to relieve the 4th Infantry Division and move on to seize the west bank of the Roer River.

He was wounded by grenade fragments and was helped by a buddy. The unit was in Germany, on 6 December 1944, and completed their mission, by Christmas Day. He was a Staff Sergeant by then. The division pushed on overnight, in trucks, to Belgium and another seventy-five miles to Rockefort, to the Bulge, at its tip. They fought through the Ardennes Forest, from December-February.

That’s when he received a field promotion to Second Lieutenant. The 83rd went two hundred and eighty miles in thirteen days, from Rhineland to the Elba Rivers. Dad saved fellow soldiers in several battles, while risking his own life.

When he returned to the States he was discharged as a Staff Sergeant. Then dad enlisted in the Army Reserve, in field artillery for three and a half years.

Awards received were the Bronze Star, 2 Purple Hearts, a Combat Medal, a Selective Medal, a Service Medal, and later the Army and Air National Guard Meritorious Service Medal.

He returned to Notre Dame, in the fall of 1945, and graduated in 1948, with a Bachelors Degree in Business Management. That’s when my dad moved to Grayling, in 1949, and became the youngest bank president in the state at that time. He married Gloria Moore and had five children.

My father became a life member of the VFW. He was also a member of the Grayling Kiwanis, the Rotary Club plus the Chamber of Commerce Board for twenty-five years and held the position of president for a while. Dad was instrumental in founding the Camp Grayling, Minutemen Foundation. He enjoyed promoting the Auto Shows and being the Grand Marshall during a Grayling Miltown Parade. It was a great honor for him. He was a supporter of all local churches, and was an organizer of the Ministerial Association. He also was the founder and promoter of our ‘Thank You Grayling Day.’ This is a day to thank all residents for their support of local businesses all year long.

After thirty-five years as the bank president, dad retired. He rarely, if ever, spoke of his service experiences, around the family. Memories of those years bothered him. Dad respected veterans and was a proud-patriotic American. He fought for our freedom and was a kindhearted soul.

The United States is free because of men and women who put their lives on the line. The actions of many citizens have put a stain on our history by the way some veterans were treated upon their return from unpopular wars.

My father died, on 24 March 2001. General Andrews, of the Michigan National Guard, presented a flag to my son (his grandson) at the funeral. My son Anthony treasures it and the memories.

When you see a veteran, tip your hat, shake their hand, thank them for their service to this country of ours, and be thankful for your freedom.

A very proud daughter of Jack Alef

Mary (Alef) Neal

THUNDERBOLT

83RD INFANTRY DIVISION

The New York 9th State Militia was organized in New York City, as a regiment. It was mustered into service for three years, under a special order, by the War Department on 8 June 1861. Company K was recruited from Rakway, New Jersey, as an artillery unit. Company I and L were recruited from New York City.

Parts of the regiment were farmed out as detachments to other units. Over the three years, during the war, the companies of the regiment were in different commands. By 23 June 1864, the regiment was mustered out, after the ‘War of the Rebellion,’ or as we more recently call it the ‘Civil War.’

The Division was mustered in again for World War I, and fought in France and the surrounding areas. After World War I, the Division was mustered out again.

The 83rd Infantry Division was reactivated, on 15 August 1942, at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. Training started, in November, with the Divisions three Infantry Companies: the 329th, the 330th, and the 331st. Maneuvers continued in Tennessee, in July of 1943. The troops then moved on to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky. A Division of infantry was also comprised of mortars, tanks and anti-tanks, engineers, Field artillery, machine gunners, communication, observation posts, runners, transportation, supply, cooks, medical, and other offices.

On 6 April, the Division left New York for England. Training continued in England and Wales. The Division was transferred from the 3rd to the 1st Army and sailed from Southampton. The transports were caught in a violent storm in the English Channel for six days. Most of the men were sick and the food ran low for those who could eat. Officers in charge told headquarters of their problem and small boats were sent to take the troops ashore. Only ten men at a time could go in each boat so it took a long time to transport all the troops. The men sank to their knees or higher in the water as they waded ashore, from the boats, on to Omaha Beach on 19 June.

The 83rd assembled near Bricqueville, Normandy, and moved west to Carentan, to relieve the 101st Airborne, on 26 June. They fought crack Nazi SS Panzer Divisions, and paratroops through hedgerow after hedgerow. Many were caught in enemy cross-fire, for the Germans were well entrenched in camouflage positions. The Germans were using air bursts that would rip everyone open with shrapnel. Snipers, mines, booby traps, artillery, and mortar poured in. German Tunnels dug into hedgerows were well concealed. For centuries the farmers had piled rocks, roots, trash, and etc on the property lines. There was corn, fruit trees, brush and bushes, vines and thickets on these lines ten to thirty feet wide mounds. The mounds were so high they couldn’t see over them or know if someone was on the other side waiting to shoot them. There were sounds of movement but a person didn’t have any idea who or what it was. There were dead animals in some areas, that may have wondered into mine fields or were shelled. Between each hedgerow were open fields, which were treacherous slaughtering grounds. The heavy equipment could only move single file on most roads so they were also easy targets. Thousands of men were killed and wounded in the nightmare firings of the area. Those who fought there will never forget.

Many companies and battalions were assigned to the 83rd Division. Men from the Canadian, British, and French units besides other American troops were used as replace-ments. In the first few battles, over half the Division was wounded or killed. Without the extra fillers the Division would not have had the strength to fight the enemy any farther.

The Division broke through the 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division, on 25 July, and cut off the enemy escape on the St Lo-Periers Highway. Their next move was the Loire Valley to cover the right flank with the 3rd Army in to back them up on their rush through France. The troops moved on along to Loire through Nantes, Angers, Tours, and Orleans to Auxerre for over 200 miles. The big draw back with the rapid advance was the supply lines keeping up with needed supplies. One Reconnaissance patrol moved south and some moved north from the Mediterranean. Around 20,000 Germans were captured in a month. A formal surrender was at the Beaugency Bridge on 17 September. It was the largest troop surrender of the war to date.

By 24 September, the Division moved across France to relieve the 5th Armored and the 28th Infantry Divisions. A heavily fortified LeStomberg Hill stopped the forces for a few days. There were caves with natural camouflage on the lower sections of the hill. The hill rose up from a flat landscape allowing the enemy a good view of open fields, from the cliffs above. There was no element of surprise, any air reconnaissance, or air cover for the allied troops. The hill was surrounded by minefields. All the attacks, except the last one, were on clear days with a clear, sunny sky. The slaughter started the first