Winter - 70th Infantry Division Association

My mostunforgettable charaderBy ANDY MARTINEZC/274Sgt. Malcolm Ruthven, joined Co. C,274th shortly before the Division leftCamp Adair, Oregon for Ft. LeonardWood in Missouri .He had been stationed at Dutch Harbor,in the Aleutians, when the Japs bombedthat installation. He was no newcomer tobeing on the receiving end of enemyunpleasantness.Sgt. Ruthven , a tall and stalwart manfrom Arkansas, had one shoulder thatlisted to starboard. He claimed that whenhe was a small boy, his father had madehim jump from a high barn roof to provethat he was not afraid, and as a result hadone shoulder lower than the other to showfor it. We never did find out whether hewas spoofing us.Being tall (6'2") he walked with anambling motion , somewhat resemblingthat of a moose. We promptly nicknamedhim "Moose.., A good natured personwho talked with a soft drawl , Moose had akeen sense of humor that kept us howlingwith laughter.Once we entered combat, Sgt. Ruthvenproved himself a good man to havearound. Raised in the backwoods countryof Arkansas, the rifle was like a part ofhim . Hunting game or Germans was all thesame to him. He would say, tongue in hi scheek: " Them deer back home never didshoot back." He was always calm andnever did get excited. He seemed unafraid,or at least always gave that impression,even when the going was rough!A good leader, he took on the dangerousmissions himself. He never asked any manto do anything he wouldn't do himself. Hepreferred to sleep on top of the groundinstead of in his foxhole which he claimedgave him claustrophobia. We secretl ythink that no foxhole was long enough forhim to stretch out in.At Phillipsbourg, Moose used to play agame of cat-and-mouse with a Germanmortar crew. Every morning just beforesunrise, he would brew himself a canteencup of coffee over a small primitive stove,alongside his foxhole. Even though theflame from the stove was very small, theGerman observer could see it in the predawndarkness and would lay in a fewrounds, to keep in practice and to let usknow that they were there. It was always asource of amusement to the rest of ourplatoon, to see the Moose hopping in andout of his foxhole in between mortar8Mooserounds, tending to his coffee and all thewhile directing a steady barrage of choicewords, concerning the ancestry of the enemy,in all directions.During the mopping up at Stiring­Wendel , while directing some of the platoonmembers in the flushing out of theenemy, from cellars and houses, Moosewas wounded in the face by a shot comingfrom one of the cellars. He retained presenceof mind to lob a grenade down thecellar where the shot had come from.Erase those German soldiers from the records!Even under these trying circumstanceshe never lost his sense ofhumor. With a big bandage covering oneeye and half of hi s face, he turned to abuddy of his and said: ''Even with one eyeyou still look uglier than me."Sgt. Ruthven recovered in time to makethe push with us into the fortifications ofthe Siegfried Line, outside Saarbrucken,Eastern Blazers had m1n1-reunion" Our mini-reunion in Worcester, Massachusetts,July 24 and 25 was a success,as it was two years ago. It turned out to bethe hottest weekend we have had all summer.Most everyone arrived on Fridayafternoon and the hospitality room was infull swing from then on,'' reports EdwardCloonan, D/275 and Association Vice­President East." We had a prime-rib dinner on Saturdayevening and then adjourned to thehospitality room for a little more socializing." It was a very congenial group and allare looking forward to Nashville.'' The 55members and wives who attended are:Hugh and Carolyn Andrews, HQ/70;Frank and Adeline Balzano, B/275;George and Ortha Barton, HQ , 2ndBn./275; Francis Bergin, F/274; and Cliffand Louise Brown; F/274; RichardBrown, D/275; Paul and Doris Buehler,L/275; Nathan and Alice Calk, 1stBn ./275 ; Fred and Audrey Cassidy,G/274; Ed and Pat Cloonan, D/275; JoeDutra, L/276; Tom Dickinson, E/274; Iraand Winona Hatch, HQ, 2nd Bn ./274; Tedand Madeline Herman, K/276; Jack andDorothy Horan, D/275 ; Cal and Pat John,G/276; Bill and Fran Kiefriter, Sv.Bn./883 F.A.; Karl and Leora Landstrom,Play Taps for the Moose.Malcolm Ruthven succumbed to meningitisSeptember 11. It was the secondattack of the dread disease. He hadovercome it in 1984 but this time wassick only two days before death.An active and Life Member, he andhis wife Gennie attended every Reunionand made a Return to Europe pilgrimage.A retired driver, he was a nationallyrecognized rifle shooter since1937. He was a certified rifle, pistol andblack-powder instructor.He leaves his wife, Geneva, fivedaughters, 10 grandchildren and agreat-grandchild. He was 66 and livedin North Little Rock, Arkansas.and was one of the first men from the 27 4thinto that bastion of the enemy, leading apatrol on to high ground overlooking thatcity on the 20th of March, 1945.Of such men as Moose Ruthven , werecomposed the forces that brought the enemyto their knees, in Europe and the restof the world, and will continue to do so inthe future. Bless them all.HQ, 3rd Bn./274; Reino and Dorothy Luukko, B/274; Hugh and Blanche Mac­Barron, HQ/70; Robert A. Magay, HQ,I st Bn./275; Harold and Myrtle Pike,L/275; Lee and Dot Miller, D/275; Bernieand Evelyn Morgan , C/276; Ed and JeanSands, F/274; Stan and Shirley Smith,F/274; Hy and Vivian Schorr, H/274; Ottoand Barbara Weigand, L/276; AI andThelma Veronelli, G/275; Will and SylviaWight, L/276, and Ed Zimpfer, F/276.Making bookAnyway you look at itit's still a gambleHy Schorr, H/274, tells us that thepublication of the book " OperationNorthwind" has been snarled in financialtroubles. The original publisher declaredbankruptcy. Reorganization is in theworks. If it succeeds, Stein & Day will putout the book. If not, Crown Publishingmay do so. Meanwhile the paperback editionin England is scheduled forNovember.*And speaking of books: As the author of70th Division Assn TRAILBLAZER