The Story of the Century ... Continued (Association History)

chartered by the Board of Directors in 2002. The meetings were originally
held on Memorial Day, but since many of the veterans participated
in parades and celebrations, this was later changed to the last weekend in
April.
Special military displays of World War II weapons and memorabilia
have been set up at various meetings, not only for veterans and their
families, but the general public to view. These were usually displayed
indoors, but on one occasion a large tent was erected to provide space for
seven Illinois re-enactors to show their collections.
One project of the chapter has been to help veterans receive the various
medals to which they were entitled. This was done through the office of
US Representative Ray LaHood, of Peoria, Illinois. Nine Bronze Star
Medals were presented in 2002, thirty in 2003, and two in 2006. Ten veterans
received their Army of Occupation medals in 2006. The “Thank
You America” Certificate, from the French Consul of Chicago—which
was intended to show the appreciation of the French citizens for our
efforts to liberate France during the war—was presented to thirty-nine
veterans in 2003.
There have been a variety of programs, since the purpose of the meetings
was to meet, greet, and eat. One outstanding program was presented
by Keith “Kit” Bonn in 2003 when he talked about the “Vosges
Campaign.” As one veteran exclaimed, “This was the first time that I had
any idea of what it was all about. I just tried to keep alive day by day.”
Another time, Victor Gutt talked about his experiences at the Nuremberg
Trials.
In 2003, the 100th Infantry Division Association’s Board of Directors
decided to have the “Morning Reports” of the Division’s combat period
copied and filed in binders. These morning reports were to be part of our
collection at the George C. Marshall Library, adjacent to the Virginia
Military Institute. These reports are permanently housed at the National
Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, MO, so veterans of the Midwest
Chapter volunteered to complete the assignment. The project involved
getting permission to make the copies and then go do the work in fourman
teams. Three men would make the copies and one would arrange
them in proper order. There were over 16,000 to be copied, so it required
the services of six veterans and a total of forty days to obtain the records.
A second set of copies was then made to give to the George C. Marshall
Library to make it possible for them to provide sets of copies of individual
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