Issue Number 30 September 2003
All information in this Newsletter is developed by Fred Clinton, Webmaster, 63rd Infantry Division and does not necessarily reflect the
views of other individuals and is in no way an Official Publication of the 63rd Infantry Division or 63rd Infantry Division Association.
views of other individuals and is in no way an Official Publication of the 63rd Infantry Division or 63rd Infantry Division Association.
Summer is just about over- the 63rd Infantry
Division Association annual reunion in
Columbus, Ohio in August 2003 has come to
an end- I am still cranking away on the
scanning and preparation of CD's to include
the remainder of the divisional unit's Morning
Reports- and we are still losing our soldiers
and Marines in someplace call Iraq in the name
of liberation and weapons of mass
destruction. Somehow in all of this I am
finding time to finally complete my "monthly"
newsletter, which in this case is a quarterly
newsletter. I will try to do better in the
coming months.
Photos added to Web Site
Almost 200 photos have been added to the
web site since my last newsletter in June
2003. Several 63d Infantry Division veterans
and their families have entrusted their
complete photo collection to me for
processing. Fortunately I can say that as of
this date we have yet to lose a single photo.
So don't be bashful- preserve those WWII
photos by sending them to me to be included
in the historical files of the 63rd Infantry
Division where we have well over 1000
photos of the 63rd Infantry Division and its
soldiers taken during WWII.
Combat Business Cards:
If you recall, a number of months ago I
offered Combat Business Cards to members
of the 63rd Infantry Division Association. All
funds received were donated to the 63rd
Infantry Division Association Treasury. Well
I am making that offer again, based on several
request I had at the last reunion. So go to this
page,(Combat Business Cards) take a look at
the type of cards that are available, submit
your order and you will then be a bonified,
certified, designated Combat Veteran. The
samples shown are just that. If you have
another style you prefer, just let me know and
I will see what I can do to meet your needs.
You want the cards to be a surprise for your
favorite veteran and you don't know if your
favorite veteran won any medals? Well
contact me and I will check our files for you
before we complete the card and include a
medal image along with the other images.
VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT-
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS:
I have recently applied for and received
permission to act as a Veterans History Project
Partner for the Library of Congress' Veterans
History Project.
The Veterans History Project is designed to
collect veterans' histories and record them for
historical purposes in the Library of
Congress. These personal histories can be
collect by audio or video tape or in writing.
I am seeking individuals who would want to
record their WWII experiences either on audio
or video or would write out their experiences
in the formats I would provide. I will supply
the questions all you have to do is supply the
answers.
Also I am seeking individuals who would like
to conduct interviews of veterans in
accordance with the program procedures and
send those interviews to the Library of
Congress through me.
If you are interested in providing your story
for file in the Library of Congress or would
like to conduct interviews of your own please
let me know.
In this connection, the 63rd Infantry Division
Association has already sent a complete set of
Historical files CD's to the Library of
Congress Veterans History Project.
Division Association annual reunion in
Columbus, Ohio in August 2003 has come to
an end- I am still cranking away on the
scanning and preparation of CD's to include
the remainder of the divisional unit's Morning
Reports- and we are still losing our soldiers
and Marines in someplace call Iraq in the name
of liberation and weapons of mass
destruction. Somehow in all of this I am
finding time to finally complete my "monthly"
newsletter, which in this case is a quarterly
newsletter. I will try to do better in the
coming months.
Photos added to Web Site
Almost 200 photos have been added to the
web site since my last newsletter in June
2003. Several 63d Infantry Division veterans
and their families have entrusted their
complete photo collection to me for
processing. Fortunately I can say that as of
this date we have yet to lose a single photo.
So don't be bashful- preserve those WWII
photos by sending them to me to be included
in the historical files of the 63rd Infantry
Division where we have well over 1000
photos of the 63rd Infantry Division and its
soldiers taken during WWII.
Combat Business Cards:
If you recall, a number of months ago I
offered Combat Business Cards to members
of the 63rd Infantry Division Association. All
funds received were donated to the 63rd
Infantry Division Association Treasury. Well
I am making that offer again, based on several
request I had at the last reunion. So go to this
page,(Combat Business Cards) take a look at
the type of cards that are available, submit
your order and you will then be a bonified,
certified, designated Combat Veteran. The
samples shown are just that. If you have
another style you prefer, just let me know and
I will see what I can do to meet your needs.
You want the cards to be a surprise for your
favorite veteran and you don't know if your
favorite veteran won any medals? Well
contact me and I will check our files for you
before we complete the card and include a
medal image along with the other images.
VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT-
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS:
I have recently applied for and received
permission to act as a Veterans History Project
Partner for the Library of Congress' Veterans
History Project.
The Veterans History Project is designed to
collect veterans' histories and record them for
historical purposes in the Library of
Congress. These personal histories can be
collect by audio or video tape or in writing.
I am seeking individuals who would want to
record their WWII experiences either on audio
or video or would write out their experiences
in the formats I would provide. I will supply
the questions all you have to do is supply the
answers.
Also I am seeking individuals who would like
to conduct interviews of veterans in
accordance with the program procedures and
send those interviews to the Library of
Congress through me.
If you are interested in providing your story
for file in the Library of Congress or would
like to conduct interviews of your own please
let me know.
In this connection, the 63rd Infantry Division
Association has already sent a complete set of
Historical files CD's to the Library of
Congress Veterans History Project.
REUNION NEWS-OLD AND NEW
Old: The Columbus Ohio Reunion went well
and although not attended by as many people
as in the past the group was reasonably large.
The exact figures escape me at the present
time.
Several important decisions were
made during the Executive Council Meeting at
the reunion. They were:
1. Authorizing other than a veteran
member of the Association to be the
Secretary/Treasurer. (Note: This is nothing
new, but merely an approval of past practice)
2. Establishment of specific policies for
the conduct of Association business to include
procedures for dissolving the Association at
such time as it becomes necessary. Hopefully
not for quite a few years.
3. The most far reaching decision was
to raise dues and to establish a surcharge in
order to receive the Association newsletter,
The Blood and Fire. Dues for annual members
were raised from $5 a year to $15( $5 to be
used for Blood and Fire publication expenses).
A surcharge of $5 will be applied to all current
Life Members and no new Life Memberships
will be made available after 30 November 2003.
Increased dues and surcharges were enacted
to provide sufficient funds to pay for the
publication and distribution of the Blood and
Fire three times a year (costs are
approximately $10,000 annually), to provide a
reasonable balance in the treasury in case we
default on any contracts relating to reunions
and the decreasing number of members in the
Association due to non-payment of dues and
deaths.
4. The membership elected to hold their
annual reunion in Kansas City, MO in the year
2005.
New- The reunion for the year 2004 will be
sponsored by the Philadelphia Chapter and will
be held in Falls Church, VA (a suburb of
Washington D C.) I do not have the complete
schedule of events for this reunion, but it
promises to be one you should attend, if for no
other reason, than to see the new WWII
Memorial that will be dedicated by the time the
reunion is held in August. I will publish the
details as soon as they become available.
MORNING REPORT PROJECT
The processing of all combat months of unit
morning reports is moving along quite well. I
have finished all three regiments (253d, 254th
and 255th) and am now working on Special
Troops. Next on the schedule will be the
Division Artillery and then the Support
Battalions. At the rate I am processing the
files at this time I expect all morning reports
for the combat months to be completed by the
first of next year.
Again, I must let you know that due to the
condition of many of the report copies , the
images produced are not the clearest in the
world, but I have been using the Regimental
Morning Report CDs to good advantage in
looking up information about KIA, MIA and
wounded personnel.
Morning Report CDs are available for sale by
the Association Historian. Please go to the
Memorabilia Pages for details.
NEW ASSOCIATION OFFICERS
You can check out the new Association
Officers by going to the Association Officers
page of the web site.
Old: The Columbus Ohio Reunion went well
and although not attended by as many people
as in the past the group was reasonably large.
The exact figures escape me at the present
time.
Several important decisions were
made during the Executive Council Meeting at
the reunion. They were:
1. Authorizing other than a veteran
member of the Association to be the
Secretary/Treasurer. (Note: This is nothing
new, but merely an approval of past practice)
2. Establishment of specific policies for
the conduct of Association business to include
procedures for dissolving the Association at
such time as it becomes necessary. Hopefully
not for quite a few years.
3. The most far reaching decision was
to raise dues and to establish a surcharge in
order to receive the Association newsletter,
The Blood and Fire. Dues for annual members
were raised from $5 a year to $15( $5 to be
used for Blood and Fire publication expenses).
A surcharge of $5 will be applied to all current
Life Members and no new Life Memberships
will be made available after 30 November 2003.
Increased dues and surcharges were enacted
to provide sufficient funds to pay for the
publication and distribution of the Blood and
Fire three times a year (costs are
approximately $10,000 annually), to provide a
reasonable balance in the treasury in case we
default on any contracts relating to reunions
and the decreasing number of members in the
Association due to non-payment of dues and
deaths.
4. The membership elected to hold their
annual reunion in Kansas City, MO in the year
2005.
New- The reunion for the year 2004 will be
sponsored by the Philadelphia Chapter and will
be held in Falls Church, VA (a suburb of
Washington D C.) I do not have the complete
schedule of events for this reunion, but it
promises to be one you should attend, if for no
other reason, than to see the new WWII
Memorial that will be dedicated by the time the
reunion is held in August. I will publish the
details as soon as they become available.
MORNING REPORT PROJECT
The processing of all combat months of unit
morning reports is moving along quite well. I
have finished all three regiments (253d, 254th
and 255th) and am now working on Special
Troops. Next on the schedule will be the
Division Artillery and then the Support
Battalions. At the rate I am processing the
files at this time I expect all morning reports
for the combat months to be completed by the
first of next year.
Again, I must let you know that due to the
condition of many of the report copies , the
images produced are not the clearest in the
world, but I have been using the Regimental
Morning Report CDs to good advantage in
looking up information about KIA, MIA and
wounded personnel.
Morning Report CDs are available for sale by
the Association Historian. Please go to the
Memorabilia Pages for details.
NEW ASSOCIATION OFFICERS
You can check out the new Association
Officers by going to the Association Officers
page of the web site.
