126th Regimental Association

April 2023 Newsletter

Fall Meeting and Dinner

SAVE THE DATE! Our annual meeting and dinner will return again to the Grand Valley Armory, 1200 44th Street SW in Wyoming, on Saturday evening, October 7, 2023. We’d love to see you attend and participate so mark your calendar.

Watch for more details and reservation information in the August newsletter.

Secretary’s & Treasurer’s Report

Active members: 372

Missing members: 293

New member since last mailing:

None

Reported deceased since our annual meeting:

Larry D. Sawyer

Chris Abernathy

Michael A. Haan

Paul N. Fosburg

Missing members since the last mailing:

David A. Tuttle

Evan Meckhoff

Charles Webb

Roy R. Caudill

Shephen O. Chan

Glen R. Chapin

Nikolas Discher

Treasurer’s “Snapshot” Report as of 28 February 2023:

Checking $ 4,461.18

Savings 4,338.68

CD 2,401.10

CD 2,251.51

Total $ 13,453.52

Legacy Fund Balance $ 8,276.70

General Fund Balance $ 5,176.82

Legacy Fund Donors

Our Legacy Fund exists to receive donations from our members that are used specifically to support the work in our archive room, collecting, identifying, preserving, and presenting on the many historical items and information we have accumulated. It also goes towards efforts to maintain a high level of awareness as to the history of our regiment and its units. We need the support of our membership to continue this journey. Our archive room is typically open on Wednesday mornings and during other special events. If you want to stop in but are not sure if we are open, give Bill Sobotka a call at the number, below.

Thank you to the 37 donors who contributed $3,875 to the Legacy Fund last year. Special thanks to the ten donors who made more than one contribution:

Darle VanderSchuur(3)

William Streelman(2)

COL(ret) Gary Wainwright

BG(ret) Gary J. Tellier(2)

BG Warren Lawrence

Ben J. Landheer(2)

Vernia McCullough(2)

Walter Draeger

Glenn Dubbink

Tom Wallace

COL(ret) Chuck Holwerda

COL(ret) Howard Becker(2)

MAJ James Crump

MAJ(ret) Gerald & Delores Sadowski

Jim Anderson

MSG(ret) Cliff Mulder(2)

COL(ret) Gary Krueger

Wellington(Bill) & Laurel Miller

James Luce(2)

COL(ret) Bruce Whitman

SGM(ret) Jerry H Kline

Paul Essenburg(2)

Clayton Jackson

Ruth Wierenga

Steve & Mary Jacobs(2)

COL(ret) David Ratajik

Eugene Schmidt

Wellington (Bill) & Laurel Miller

SFC(ret) Calvin Wierda

SFC(ret) Calvin Wierda(postage)

William Stellin

Joyce Klynstra

Diane Byl

COL(ret) Ken & Theresa McCreary

Herman Weststrate

Robert Denslow

MAJ(ret) Will Nieboer

Donations in memory of:

CWO Ralph Schmidt

Capt Gerard A. Streelman

CW4 Marine(Sonny) Damvelt

Robert F Strong

LTC William Byl

COL Harry Sobotka

Harold E. Krueger

COL Mel Wierenga

BG Charles Lamoreaux

1SG Eugene Schmidt Sr

COL Robert Wills

COL James Klynstra

LTC Glenn Stine

Gordon Reynolds

Twylla Nieboer

2022-23 Association Officers

President 1SG (Ret) John Johnson

1st Vice President SFC Mark DeYoung

2nd Vice President SSG (Ret) Cal Wierda

Secretary 1SG (Ret) James Norton

Treasurer LTC (Ret) Bill Sobotka

Historian LTC (Ret) David Britten

Historian Emeritus. CW4 (Ret) Darle VanderSchuur

Sgt-At-Arms SFC (Ret) Dean Crowell

Chaplain SFC (Ret) Bill Witte

Immed. Past Pres. SSG (Ret) Cal Wierda

The 126th Regimental Association newsletter is published twice yearly and mailed or emailed to all active association members. Inquiries regarding the association and this newsletter should be made to:

LTC (Ret) Bill Sobotka

99 Skyline Circle NW

Grand Rapids, MI 49504

(616) 531-3295

BillSobotka@prodigy.net

Minutes of Annual Meeting

This is a condensed version of the minutes from our annual meeting last October. The full minutes will be available at our next meeting on October 7.

Unfinished Business:

1. Archives. Progress on the archives has been slow. None of the members have knowledge and experience in artifact preservation so it takes time to research and determine how to best preserve the various items in the collection. We work in the archive room on Wednesdays (9-11) and all are welcome to stop by.

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2. Historical Marker. The refurbishment has been completed and the marker has been reinstalled.

3. 126th Awards Program. The battalion leadership is working to revise the 2014 version of the program.

4. Items for Sale. Currently the battalion only has coffee cups available, but they are working to get additional items.

New Business:

1. Adopt a Flag Program. We have already adopted the World War I and Spanish American War colors and now are working to adopt the Civil War colors.

2. Annual Meeting and Fall Social 2023. We’ll assess how the program went this year and make a determination at our meeting in Feb 2023.

3. 126 Dining Out. The event will be conducted 3-Dec-22 at Devos Place and the cost is $50 a plate. We are donating $2,000 to help reduce the cost for enlisted members of the battalion.

4. Red Arrow Club. The last living member of the club recently passed away and the flags have been donated to our archives.

Elections:

1. 2nd Vice President. Cal Wierda was nominated and he accepted. With no further nominations offered Frank M. made a motion to close nominations, second by Bill W. and the motion carried. Cal Wierda was elected by voice vote.

2. Sergeant-At-Arms. Dean Crowell was nominated and he accepted. With no further nominations offered Jim N. made a motion to close nominations, second by Bill W. and the motion carried. Dean Crowell was elected by voice vote.

Marching to a Different Drummer

Sergeant Floyd Johns spent thirty months in the South Pacific during World War II and his prized possession when he returned home was his bass drum. Pictured on the next page as it now rests in our Grand Valley Armory lobby display case, you can see that it depicts all the engagements of the 126th Infantry, as well as the band’s “additional duty” serving as members of the “Bully Beef Bombardiers,” resupplying soldiers in New Guinea. It even lists the various ships used to transport the regiment to Australia. But what you might not notice are the four autographed notes penned by some of the biggest stars of the times.

Johnson was a drummer for the South High School band in Grand Rapids when he graduated in 1940. He was also a member of the 126th Regiment and took his set of drums with him when he was sent with the unit to Louisiana that fall. They accompanied him wherever he went, and on the side of this drum is printed the names of all the camps and bases where the outfit was stationed, places the dance band visited, and as mentioned, the names of the ships on which they sailed.

In the fall of 1943, actor Gary Cooper and a troupe of other stars came to New Guinea to perform for the troops. Most likely, given the autographs on the drum, Sgt. Johnson was present and probably playing in the band accompanying the performers.

Accompanying Cooper were Andy Arcari, Una Markel, and Phyllis Brooks. They began their tour in Brisbane, Australia but soon found themselves in the battle zones entertaining the troops.

Reportedly, by November 17, the troupe had had enough “thrills” during the previous 24 hours to last them a lifetime. In the early hours of the morning the party was awakened by the largest Japanese night attack levelled against that area in many weeks. Enemy bombs rained down less than half a mile from where thy huddled in slit trenches. Both Merkel and Brooks were muddied by the wet trench and Merkel lost her wristwatch in the commotion.

What did the stars have to say on Sgt. Johnson’s drum? Una wrote, “We love you all!” Andy said, “To the Grandest Band in The South Pacific 126 I.N.F.” Gary claimed, “You put us over with a boom!” And part of Phyllis’ message is unclear, but the rest said, “ wonderful dear fellows – All my best wishes ”

Missing Items

Some of us who have been around the 126th for many decades are aware that several of our historical artifacts have come up missing in the past 10 to 20 years. This has happened before but usually as the regiment moved from one armory to the next and someone saw it in their own personal interest to filch an item or two, never to be seen again.

One of our treasured items discovered in the 1990s was this one-of-a-kind marksmanship medal from the first decade of the 1900s. Shown here is the only known photo of it and was last seen on display in the old “ticket booth” window back around 2013 but has since disappeared. We’d certainly love to have it returned, if possible. No questions asked.

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80 Years Ago

On Sunday, March 28, 1943, at 9:00 am Australia time, what remained of the 126th Infantry Regiment following five months of brutal warfare in New Guinea convened “Somewhere in South-West Pacific Area” to remember those who gave their lives or were missing in action.

Colonel Joseph Sladen Bradley, who had assumed command of the regiment following the death of Colonel Lawrence A. Quinn while attempting to resupply his men in the Owen-Stanley mountains, gave the memorial address, part of which is reprinted here:

“We pause today to do honor to the members of this gallant regiment who have paid the supreme sacrifice, in laying down their lives in the performance of their duty on the field of battle in New Guinea.

“Their names are indelibly inscribed upon the Roll of Honor of your country. They have willingly laid down their lives for freedom, for their families, and for their homes. Their contribution to our effort, their deeds, and acts of gallantry have played a vital part in the victory achieved in our baptism of fire, and during our mortal engagement with a fierce and determined enemy. We shall cherish their memory, and in this, our current training period, the inspiration they have given us will help us to steel our nerves and to skill ourselves so that we may avenge their sacrifices.

“We stand bareheaded to salute them, to reaffirm our allegiance, our devotion, our faith, and to express our determined will to destroy this enemy, and to demonstrate to our departed comrades and their loved ones that we shall endeavor to our utmost to keep unsullied and untarnished the enviable record of heroism they have established.”

The following pages are reprinted from the original memorial program.

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3-126 Infantry Update

The 3-126 IN BN conducted a change of command ceremony on Saturday, March 25, 2023, at the Grand Valley Armory. The departing commander, Lieutenant Colonel John Keelean began his military career in 1985 when he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as an Infantryman, completing his service with the Marines in 1991. He joined the Michigan Army National Guard and was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in 2003. In 2008 he deployed to Iraq as commander of Charlie Company 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry and again in 2012 to Afghanistan as Commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry.

LTC Keelen has held several staff officer positions at the Battalion and Brigade level, as well as at National Guard Bureau and Headquarters Department of the Army. LTC Keelean commanded 3-126 IN, 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team from June 2021 to March 2023. In 2013, he was selected for duty in the Active Guard Reserve (AGR) where he has held positions as Training Officer, S-3, S-4, J33 CUOPS Division Chief, and Deputy J3. Currently, he serves as the MING J-7, Joint Force Headquarters, Lansing, Michigan.

The incoming battalion commander is Major A.J. Pryzbyla (pronounced Cha-boola in Polish). He began his military career as a cadet with Central Michigan University’s ROTC program. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 2007 and the following year, he deployed to Iraq as a Rifle Platoon leader in Bravo Company 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry In 2011, serving as the Assistant S3, HQ, 1 Battalion, 125th Infantry, he again deployed, this time to Afghanistan. He has held several staff officer positions at the battalion and with Range Control at Camp Grayling. Currently, Major Pryzbyla is the Training Division Branch Chief for the Michigan Army National Guard Joint Force Headquarters in Lansing Michigan.

Major Pryzbyla has been the recipient of several campaign and service awards including the Bronze Star, two Meritorious Service Medals, four Army Commendation Medals and the National Defense Service Medal. He has been awarded the Pathfinder badge and was the 2016 State of Michigan Officer of the Year. Major Pryzbyla is a graduate of the Command and General Staff College Intermediate Level Education. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Northwood University.

Major Pryzbyla and his wife Megan have two children, Anna age 8 and Luke age 5.