70th Infantry Division Association January, 1986

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Protesters fail to mar ''Return''Honorable warriors can extend the handof friendship to old foes and heal thewounds of war. Members of the 70th Divisiondemonstrated that by a dignified demeanorthat ignored rude and crude attemptsto cancel the Trailblazers' 1985" Return to Europe ."Only one change of plans was made andone schedule changed. German veteransdid not take part in a ceremony of homageto the dead at St. A void military cemetery.And American participation was movedfrom afternoon to midmorning and thusavoided a group of demonstrators whoapparentl y had been bussed in from Paristo disrupt the solemn rites.Why the 70th has been si ngled out forcriticism because it has exchanged friendshipwith members of their wartime enemies,the 6th SS M o untain Divis io nNord-why a series of harrassments thatdate back al most two decades-why allthe vituperation, is not clear.Some unnamed group learned that the 70thparty was planning the customary ceremoniesat St. Avo id, some 20 miles south west ofForbach, where a group of the Di vision's wardead li es buried. Complaints made to theAmerican embassy in Pari s were channeled tothe Army's public relations department. (Therewas li tt le official fra nkness so there is muchsurmis ing.)" The New York Times" contacted De LyleOmholt , Association president, and EdmundArnold, ·'Trai lblazer" editor, and in a Sundayedition devoted a whole column in Section A tothe proposed visit. The next day, and on severalsucceeding days, the Associated Press andUnited Press International put stories on thewire and newspapers throughout the countryran them in various lengths.Television joined the coverage both in theStates and in Europe.Simon Wiesenthal, the relentless " Nazihunter," cabled Omholt , demandi ng that ameeting be cancelled at Bad Windsheim,where the 6th Nord was to hold their reun ion.He called it " A provocation. "Omholt told AP, ' 'This is the only year that afuss has been raised (in Europe. At the PhiladelphiaReunion, letters to the editor of the" Inquirer" complained because a small groupof Germans attended the affair as they had since1976.) Maybe it's because this is the 40thanniversary (of the end of the war.) ."The war is 40 years old; it's time to put itinto history. We're here to check out old battlefields and meet friends. We do respect criticismand that's why we' re now going to the cemeteryalone. "The national commander of the Jewish WarVeterans of America said this was the first timehe had heard of reunions between American12and veterans of the Waffen SS . But such reunionsare not rare. In fact, within two weeks ofthe 70th trip, at least two American divisionassociations had met with SS veterans; theyphoned to support the 70th .Arnold told the " Times: " " The idea thatthese people are political criminals is rediculous.Most of them were mere boys whenHitler carne into power. They are no moreresponsible fo r Nazi actions than I or my GIbuddies are fo r the decisions at Yalta thatturned all of Eastern Europe over to the Russians." We believe in letting bygones be bygones .If soldiers who fo ught in the war want to kissand make up, why should people who are twosteps removed have the right to criticize?' 'Floyd Freeman, who arranged the tripthrough his Californ ia travel agency, recalledthat when contact was first made with the 6thMountain , the U.S. govern me nt was askedabout that unit's credentials. " Our governmentThe "SS"There are two groups identified as"SS."The original was the Schutzstaffel,protective echelon, of the Nazi party.They were Hitler's personal bodyguard and a special police force. Theybegan as the original Brown Shirt bullyboys, and illegal "private army," beforeHitler was voted to legitimatepower.The Waffen SS was the fightinggroup, given the SS designation becausetheirs were elite divisions. The6th Mountain (also called Alpine) Divisionspent much of the war in Finland,Norway and Denmark before beingrecalled home to fight the last-standbattles against the Trail blazers.Hal Deutch of the U.S. Army WarCollege said: "There was somescorched earth as the 6th retreatedacross northern Norway but therewere no basic atrocities against thepopulation.The cadre of the 6th, formed in1941, two years before the Trailblazers,was from the hated Totenkopf (Death'sHead) Division. That unit, which hadbeen created in 1939, took its namefrom the skull-shaped badges worn byguards at concentration camps. SomeAlpine troops were accused of theslaying of 12 U.S. prisoners-of-war inthe village of Baldensberg (not in the70th sector) on Easter, 1945. Severalsenior officers were jailed after the warfor war crimes.made a check and came back saying they werecleared (of any war atrocities)."This was the Waffen SS- the fighting SS,regular soldiers and not involved in any warcrimes."A spokesman for the Union of Nazi PersecutionVictims (VVN) agreed that " The 6thSS Division Nord was never accused of warcrimes." VVN was blamed by Wi lli Gottenstroeter,spokesman fo r the German veteransand a regular visitor to 70th Reunions here, forstarting the campaign. The charge was notdenied.Although pressed by reporters and cameramenat several places en route, the Trailblazercontingent stayed cool. " ! was proud of thegroup," said Omholt. " Their dignity kept thesituation cool and they were a cred it to all. "The only contact they had with protesterswas with a group of about 20 at Bad Windheim.As it was continually emphasized , meetingsbetween Americans and Germans were on anindividual basis.There was no evidence of hostility on thepart of French municipal officials. As hadhappened reg ul arly in the past, the city ofForbach-which the 70th liberated and whichwas named a street for the 276th Regime ntextendeda warm official welcome at a city ha llreception.One benefit of the flap was the exposure thatthe Association received. Many phone callsresulted as former Trailblazers who had neverheard of the Association asked fo r more information.Omholt estimates that at least 30 newmembers were enro lled as a result.*Most membersreject critics ...Reaction of Trailblazers throughoutthe country were mostly favorable tothe 70th " Return to Europe" and tostatements of people interviewed byprint and broadcast journalists."The poison pen publicity has not affectedour visit in any way," wroteFrank Moran, HQ Co. 275th andformer "Trail blazer'' editor. On a cardposted at Bad Windhein, scene of the6th Mountain reunion, he said: "Youmay quote me as saying 'Proud to behere!' despite all the cheap-shot newsreleases."Edward Hawes, Co. B, 275th,sent clippings from the Portland "Oregonian"and comments: "I can't understandwhy some keep pouring oil ontothe fire of hate which, if left to run itscourse, will consume all of us. I haveread and re-read your well-composed70th Division Assn. TRAILBLAZER
eply to acid tongues that seek to destroyfriendships cultivated during themany years since the war."" I love your comment, Ed, to the'New York Times,"' says Gene Inzer,Co. B, 27 4th and former vice-president/West.''We've tried over the yearsto get publicity for the Association. Itseems a little odd to me that it all didn'tmake bigger news before now. Ofcourse the Philly Reunion did make aripple."" Some of the people never quit.Your reply to the Philly blast was excellentand to the point." So says CarlMcAihany, Co. F, 275th." I resent implications made againstmy 70th Division comrades,'' says EdKraus, Co. F, 274th. "To bind oldwounds is honorable. I don't have aPurple Heart but I certainly do havetwo bad feet and legs from frostbite. Ifeel that a combat veteran should nothave to be subjected to accusations bypeople who were never in combat. Weneed to work for a better understandingamong all people. Our Associationis attempting that; but weneed cooperation not criticism."Andy Martinez, Co. C, 27 4th,observes: " I see our Association is onceagain in hot water. This time we haveriled up people here on the WestCoast. Last time it was because ofGerman visitors to Philadelphia with us.Before that it was columnist Jack Andersonwho made us seem like ghoulsbecause of these visits." Here we have made our peacewith many of our former enemies andset an example of what can be donethrough contact and association. Thiscan also work in this world of ours inthese troubled times.". . . but some fileminority reportThere's always another point of viewin a democratic organization such asthe 70th Association. And that's true inthe case of the "Return to Europe"protests.''While I sympathize with the memberswho were perhaps well treatedby the SS Mountain Division people, Ican also recall that they were not inclinedto take prisoners of war orwounded Americans, instead they wereshot.(Editor's note: It must be noted that70th prisoners were taken at Wingenand reported no abuse.)" I recall the killing of NathanRoberts, a 27 6th Medic who wasshot down while attempting to aid awounded Nazi,'' Sherman continues.January, 1986ADAIR ARTILLERY-The crew of a 57 mm gun workssmoothly in training in Oregon in '43.Oldtimers challengeJune 25, 1901.That's the birth date that George Godfrey,Div. HQ , submits in the search fo r the oldestTrailblazer. That gives him a comfo rtable leadover the current claimant , John T. Clark, HQCo., 274th, who was born Dec. 3 1, 1904.George was called to acti ve service in June,1942 as an intell igence officer. (He had been anewspaperman with a stint as editor of the Hilo" Herald" in Hawa ii .) "After a couple ofmonths at Ft. Douglas, I was sent to CampAdair as assistant intelligence officer. Most ofmy time was put in publ ic relations and editingthe camp newspaper." Then, in '43, Gen. Dahlquist came toAdair to set up the 70th. He talked me into theInfantry so I could join the Trailblazers asassistant G-2 and public affa irs officer. "" Since the 70th Association is an organizationdedicated to a reunion ofex-Gis, I can't see officially gatheringw ith our former enemies. If some memberswant to meet with them individually,that's their business."Hy Schor, Co. H, 27 4th makes aconciliatory statement: " I've receivedclippings from newspapers a coast tocoast. Ed Cloonan sent me one from"Stars & Stripes" in Europe. All weremore or less similar. The criticismstemmed from French and German resistancegroups during WW2 plus Jewishorganizations, who can't really befaulted for their thinking. The 6thMountain has been absolved of warcrimes. The Waffen SS has been foundguilty of war crimes in the Nurembergtrials.''The decision to go to the 6th's re-No information is available on the peopleor their unit. But such informationwould be welcomed by the editor.George was also a photographer and did a lotof the shooting including the one of Gen.Rodes as he fe ll into a camouflaged foxhole("Trailblazer", July, 1985)." Incidentally, Portland is my home town; Iwas called to active duty from there. So I' ll domy best to get back there for the '86 Reunion.The Trailblazer had a reputation as beingamong the best service paper during the war.You are keeping up that reputation by turningout what I am sure is the best of all veteranspapers." He li ves in Munich, Germany.While the smoke is * clearing in the contestfor the oldest Trailblazer, Greg Hosford,our veep/West, lines us up for another:Who's the youngest 'Blazer?Nominations may be sent to the editor andthe first claimant will be introduced in thenext issue .union was 'an individual decision,' asPresident Omholt said. So be it."A clipping from the ''Wichita Eagle"comes from Raymond Cox, Sv Co.275th. He writes: "Since this clippingagrees so well with my sentimentsabout fraternization with our formerenemies, I am glad to see that othershave the same reaction against 'hugsand handshakes.'" I have attended all of the recentReunions and have been repelled anddisgusted at the 'fawning' attitude ofour officers toward members of theGerman SS who opposed us so bitterlyin World War II." Let's re-assess what it means todayto put an apparent stamp of approvalon former enemies. We may forgive;but let's not forget that it could so easilyhappen again.13
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70th Infantry Division Association January, 1986

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