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Guestbook 2009

4/08/09

My Name is Fred C. Pearson,

I am President( and Chief Bottle Washer) of the 453AAA(AW) Bn Assoc. Landed at Utah on June 12th 1944 with 4th. Inf. Div. then in June our Battalion was transferred to the 83rd Div. for the balance of the war, meeting the Russian on the East Side of the Elbe River. Receiving all five Battle Commendations.

I have been trying to help English men, Germans, Belgiums, and a French man who are doing their bit trying to reconnect with the War years.

At present I am working with an Englishman who has in his possesion a Nazi Flag that he aquired somewhere in England.This flag has the names of Several members of th 808 TD. Battalion.Namely, PFC. Ralph Forzano 121 Wyck0ff Ave. Brooklyn NY.--PFC. Frankie M. Rowell Earlsboro OK.---Andrew Chilkewitz Inkster MI. --Passed Away July 07.---PFC. Brice Dunedin FL.-- Cpl. Roy Justice Ironton Oh.--- PFC. R.W. Clarke Eldorador Ill. Also passed away in 2002.

There are a total of 18 names on the Flag. The flag seems to have been signed in the town of Mittich, which is on the Austrian German border. (Developer Note: This is the flag mention in a previous entry from Pete)

I will see if I can get the names of the other soldiers

He is still trying to contact anyone who may be still living that he could corespond with.

I wonder in your capacity whether you have contact with any of these individuals or their families?

The Frenchman is interested in any organization that took part of the Liberation of Saint Malo in Brittany.

The Belgian has written a book about the BULGE, and is now trying to get information together on the activities of the 453rd.AAA and it's work with the 83rd. Div. in the liberation of Belgium.

The German has been busy in finding Allied and German Downed aircraft, even digging in the swamps of the Elbe River area, and bringing closure to pilots families of the downed Aircrasft. The Swamp area even had the Pilot in the aircraft.

So far I have been able to help three out of the four. The Belgium , I'm having trouble with, as our Battalion was so split up covering the 83rd Div. with gun sections scattered so much, that each section seemed to be fighting a different War.

Now it seems that Families of our members are hitting me with requests about Fathers and Grandfathers who never enlitened their families about their tour of Duty.

This is just to enlighten you with my personal efforts.

If you could possibly find any information about the afor mentioned Soldiers., it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks loads,
Fred.

3/22/09

While looking through the roll call I saw under Haley G. Carters name a hyperlink to his picture, sadly it is not him. I will be sending a new picture as soon as I get home.

Thank you Karl Carter

3/22/09

Attention of Diane Peterson

Hope all is well with. I apologise for not sending the photos but I am so busy with work I just have not had time to myself of late. As soon as I get an opportunity I will get the pictures and forward onto you.

Question: Are there any books on the 808th? Where can I find the history of the 808th during the war?

I have exhausted my search in the UK, just cannot find anything.

Thanks
Pete Booker

Developer Note: Pete has been collecting WWII memorabilia for some time.
He has a German flag with the signatures of many 808ers.
He has agreed to send my photos of the flag when he has time.

3/01/09

Hello,

My Dad, Donald Elder, had a stroke in June 2008, on his 90th birthday, that affected his ability to get his thoughts into words. Physically he is strong and mentally he is alert. He does know where he is and recognizes everyone. He is receiving speech therapy and can speak plainly. He just can't hold a thought and form it into words very well. And yes, he is at home with Mom.
I will give everyone an update periodically.

Best Regards to all,
Charles (Chuck) Elder

2/26/2009

This is to report that my Dad ,Hershel Hypes passed away Feb.16,2009 . 6 days later at the same nursing home his buddy Wilber Allender died Feb.25,2009. They along with their wives had coffee at Tim Horton several times per week the past 10 plus years . Dad was 86 years old and Wib was 89 years old . They were both from Springfield ,Ohio and went to war together and remained friend all these years .

Keith Hypes

2/17/09

Hi Diana,

Always nice to hear from you. You never have to apologize to me. I’d been searching for years trying to get information about the 808th. I don’t know if I’ve related in prior emails the story of my special connection to the 808th. My father, Lt Ed Smith, and one of his gun commanders, Sgt Henry “Chick” Hoffman, were good friends. My uncle was KIA and after the war my father visited his family in Cincinnati. He fell in love with Henry’s sister, Mary (my mother) and they were married. I was born in 1949. My middle name is Henry. Finding your site seems like a miracle. And actually getting in touch with a good friend of my uncle’s is hard to put into words. I appreciate what you’ve done and always will.

I know that Bill Ferone lives in Cincinnati. I made contact with him after I sent an email to John Fondale from a four-year-old entry on your site and his son responded saying that his father had since died but telling me that his dad, my uncle, and Bill Ferone were best friends in the service. He also said that Bill Ferone still lives in Cincinnati. I searched the internet and found an address that looked right and sent him a Christmas card explaining who I was. He sent a warm, hand written reply with some nice words about my uncle. As far as reunions, I couldn’t tell you.

To recap, this is what I know about the men of the 808th:

My father, Ed Smith, was a lieutenant and platoon leader of 1st Platoon, B Company. Sgt John Fondale and Sgt Henry “Chick” Hoffman were gun commanders in 1st Platoon, B Company. John Fondale’s son told me that my uncle died when he had pulled off the road during a German artillery barrage. He was in the vehicle trying to fix the radio when it took a direct hit. Bill Ferone was also in B Company (probably also 1st Platoon).

I know that my uncle’s gunner was named Derist and that there was definitely a Private Jackson in their platoon. Other names (identified from photographs) are Evilesiger, Hobbs, and Sherril. Sorry I don’t have first names for these men.

I will try tonight to send the photo of my father and a few others I have.

I might consider attending a reunion. Send me the details. Or is it all on the website?

Thanks.
Bob

2/08/09

Got to looking at some of the reunion info for the 2007 reunion in TN. Could you please correct a few things?

In Album # 1, my dad's name is misspelled. It's Staton. Also, Al Schluder, Richard Sander, Ivan Pullen are all still living. In the group picture, Schluder is the first one on the left with the beard, Sander is fifth from the left and Pullen is seventh from the left.

Thanks for fixing these.
Donna

Developer Note: Correction made 2/15/09

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1/22/2009

I hope all is well with you.

I just thought I’d let you know that I’ve recently corresponded with Bill Ferone who lives in Cincinnati. He was good friends with my uncle, Henry “Chick” Hoffman, and John Fondale. There is a photo of the three of them linked to Bill Ferone’s name on the Roll Call. I believe all three were in First Platoon, B Company. At his request, I sent Bill some photos. In the process I noticed that my uncle had identified some of the men in the photos and I noticed that many of these names do not appear on the Roll Call. I only have last names, but there was a Derist (my uncle was a gun commander and identified Derist as his gunner), Private Jackson, an Evilesiger, Hobbs, and Sherril. In addition, the Roll Call still does not list my father, Lt. Ed Smith, who was platoon leader, First Platoon, B Company. I sent a photo of him a while ago. Don’t know if I did it right or sent it to the right e-mail address. That’s why I’m trying this e-mail address I got from our prior correspondence. If you haven’t received the photo, I can resend it.

Thanks.
Sincerely,
Bob Smith

Developer Note: Roll Call Updated 2/15/09

1/10/2009

Hi Diana.

One of the most comprehensive resources for vehicles based on the M4 hull is “Sherman – A History of the American Medium Tank” by R.P. Hunnicutt; ISBN 0-89141-080-5. He lists the development of the M10 and M36 in a separate chapter on tank destroyers.

The differences are also explained, with photographs, in “M10 and M36 Tank Destroyers 1942-53” by Stephen J Zaloga, ISBN 978-1-84176-469-6 and “Armor Walk Around Number 3 – US Tank Destroyers” by Jim Mesko; ISBN 0-89747-456-2.

Regards
Adrian.

1/10/2009

Hi.

I’ve just found your site whilst researching tank destroyer vehicles and can hopefully clarify a couple of the photos in the vehicle slide show.

Slide 18, which is labelled as an M36, is actually an M36B1, which was the M36 turret mounted on a standard M4A3 Sherman tank hull. These were a stop-gap measure when they ran out of M10A1 hulls from which to build the M36. Only 187 of these were built, compared to 1300 of the M36 and 287 of the M36B2.

Slide 22 is of an M36 or M36B2. These two models are almost indistinguishable unless you can see the engine deck, as the M36 had a gasoline engine and the M36B2 had a diesel engine and pretty much the only way to tell them apart is the size and shape of the engine grill and exhausts.

Regards
Adrian Harris

Dear Sir

I am the Secretary of the Casey Regional Veterans Welfare Centre in Cranbourne, Victoria, Australia.

In addition to our role of attending to the welfare needs of local veterans and their dependants, we are also engaged in conducting educational presentations to local schools and community groups regarding the military history of Australia and her allies.

To this end I am writing to you seeking your permission to include your images of the original documents (as found on your website) in our presentations.

It is proposed that the images would be used in a PowerPoint slideshow and that, on request, printed copies would be distributed as handouts to students attending our program at schools.

Please be assured that our use of these precious images is in no way a commercial enterprise, nor would they ever be used to show any form of disrespect to the 808 TD or the enormous sacrifices the documents represent.

Developer Note: Permission was granted

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