August 2015 Newsletter
Annual Reunion
Secretary-‐Treasurer’s Report
The 37th annual reunion of the 126th Regimental Association will take place on Saturday, October 3, at the Grand Valley Armory NCO Club, 1200 44th Street SW in Wyoming. All members should plan on attending this annual association business meeting and participate in the social events and catered dinner. The reunion agenda: 1300-‐1600 hrs Armory open house and welcoming of Bravo Troop 1-‐126th Cavalry to the armory 1600 hrs Ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the Grand Valley Armory 1700 hrs Annual Business Meeting (everyone is invited to attend, including spouses) 1800 hrs Social Time 1830 hrs Dinner The business meeting will convene in the Third Michigan NCO Club behind the armory. An important part of the business meeting each year is the annual election of officers. Please step up and volunteer to serve when nominations are requested. Dinner this year will be $20 per person for a delicious Brann’s catered meal of swiss steak, baked chicken, BBQ meatballs, parsley buttered redskins, green beans with bacon and mushrooms, Italian pasta salad, fruit salad, assorted rolls, cookies and coffee. Your association is picking up the bar tab so please be extra generous in purchasing your 50-‐50 raffle tickets. Please complete the enclosed registration form and return it by September 18, along with a check or money order made out to “126th Regimental Association.” If you have questions, please call Bill Sobotka at (616) 531-‐3295 or email to billsobotka@prodigy.com
Active members-‐ 430 Missing members-‐ 245 Welcome to our new member since last newsletter: RANDALL, JIMMY D Members reported as deceased since our last annual meeting: MCVEIGH, WALTER LURZ, PAUL R PETRAS, MICHAEL J MILLER, MORTON R Missing members since our last mailing: ORTOWSKI, FERDINAND J HOLWERDA, DAN ROGERS, QUIN M WILBERDING, JOHN H GOLTZ, RICHARD E Bank statement as of 31 July 2015: Checking $2,778.33 Savings 5,498.67 CD 2,357.49 CD 2,163.43 Total $12,797.92 Legacy Fund: $7,130.40 General Fund: $5,667.52 Thank you to the 21 donors who contributed $1,310 to the Legacy Fund this year. Harold Plaisier LTC(Ret) John Stengel MAJ(Ret) Will Nieboer Jerry H Kline COL(Ret) Robert O'Donnell Wellington(Bill) & Laurel Miller COL(Ret) Gary L. Krueger Ester VanHammen COL(Ret) Bruce Whitman
COL Chuck Holwerda Nate Chang Ruperto Rodriguez BG(Ret) Warren Lawrence LTC(Ret) Leon Dyer Glenn Dubbink Clare Ehlert Calvin Witherspoon VFW Post 702 Walt Draeger Erling Smestad COL Kenneth & Theresa McCreary Please consider making a tax-‐deductible donation to the Legacy Fund by including it with your annual reunion registration, or call Bill Sobotka for more details. Perhaps you might even consider making a planned gift to your association by including it in your will.
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING The meeting held at NCO Club, Grand Valley Armory, Wyoming MI called to order by the 1st Vice President, Frank Miller at 1710 hours, September 27, 2014. Board Members Present: Jim Lewis(L), Gerald Groters, Bill Sobotka, Frank Miller, Calvin Caverly, Darle VanderSchuur John Kneibel, Mike Petrie(L). Absent: Bill Witte Colors posted, “Pledge of Allegiance” recited, Invocation given by Frank Miller, Roll Call of deceased members called, and Moment of Silence held. Secretary’s report of 28 September 2013 annual meeting, 29 July 2014, 24 June 2014, and 25 February 2014 board meetings presented by secretary in a handout. Correction to July meeting concerning bulletin boards. Delete-‐ “Liaison should be.” Motion to approve as corrected: Miller, second: Groters. Approved Treasurer’s report of 30 April 2014 and 31 August 2014 presented by treasurer in a handout. Motion to approve as presented: Groters, second: Miller. Approved Unfinished Business: 1. Preservation Fund: Motion made by Sobotka: to donate from the Preservation Fund $3000 to
the Grand Rapids Guard Inc., to be used for the stage loan repayment. Motion passed. 2. Monument: Touch up painting completed. 3. 126th Artifacts: Items being moved to new room and Shipley working on shelving. 4. Slides: Making CD from WWII slides in archives. Plan on adding other items to cd’s to have a history of the 126. 5. Drill floor logo: Caverly reported that after drill floor is resurfaced the logo will be installed. 6. Bulletin boards: Caverly reported that a bulletin board has been installed near the archives room. Lewis and Caverly to work on content. 7. 126 Association Awards: Caverly stated that the Shirley and Howe awards have been revived in the 126 CAV. 126 Association committee to work on criteria for Association award. Caverly working on design, with startup costs being a factor. SFC Duong to receive a prestigious award to be presented at dinner. Densham described award and how SFC Duong earned it. 8. Loaning of items to Ft Custer museum: Miller stated he has been working with COL Spackman and Petrie on items that are not 126 specific items. COL Spackman discussed the museum at Ft Custer and stated the museum would accept on loan any items the Association deemed to give. 9. Swapping of items with Dayton Air Museum: La Vean discussed the swapping of items, no decision made, will stay in contact with them. Philippine service medal available for WWII 126 members who did not get it awarded during the war. La Vean contact person. (Technical problems with audio-‐ did not pick up all La Vean spoke about). 10. Huggins roadblock letter: La Vean state that road program started back up, letter not needed. 11. Gaming nights: Deuker not present. No discussion 12. Role of 1-‐126CAV with 126 Regimental Association: Lewis stated that transition of leadership of Association from old members to the 1-‐126CAV needs to begin. LTC Verbonic stated that leadership of Cav must develop plan, “hail and farewell” is an event to promote Association. Military Ball could also be a useful event. Liaison officers of the Association must become actively involved with units. 2
New Business: 1. GVA (Wyoming) 1-‐126CAV: Caverly discussed what was happening at the armory and the 1-‐ 126CAV. 2. Board meetings: Sobotka stated that dates for meetings were set at last annual meeting and that did not work out. Miller and Sobotka to work with CAV in setting dates for maximum participation. 3. Miller stated he has a difficult time supporting Dowagiac as the liaison officer and asked if anyone would take that position. No response. 4. Petrie brought up loan of items to Camp Grayling. Board to discuss at next meeting. Election of Officers: a. Kyle Herring nominated for Sgt of Arms. Nominations closed. Approved with unanimous vote. b. Mark DeYoung nominated for 2nd Vice President. Nominations closed. Approved with unanimous vote. For the good of the order: None Motion made by Miller, second VanderSchuur to adjourn. Approved Meeting adjourned by the president at 1810 hours. Respectfully submitted, Bill Sobotka Secretary-‐Treasurer
LTC (Ret) Bill Sobotka Secretary/Treasurer 2820 Longstreet SW Wyoming, MI 49509 (616) 531-‐3295 BillSobotka@prodigy.net LTC (Ret) David Britten Newsletter Editor LTCDavid@comcast.net
New Historical Publication!
2014-‐15 Association Officers President CW4 (Ret) Frank Miller 1st Vice President MAJ Calvin Caverly 2nd Vice President SSG Mark DeYoung Secretary/Treasurer LTC (Ret) Bill Sobotka Historian CW4 (Ret) Darle VanderSchuur Asst. Historian SFC (Ret) Earl Jenkins Sgt-‐At-‐Arms SSG Kyle Herring Chaplain SFC (Ret) Bill Witte Immed. Past Pres MAJ (Ret) Jim Lewis 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:
You might have noticed on our 126th Association Facebook page that a new book has been published which includes a substantial history of the 126th Regiment in World War II. Authored by Joe H. Camp Jr., the book is titled “32 Answered: A South Carolina Veteran’s Story” and is available on Amazon.com in both paper-‐back and Kindle formats. Camp’s work follows the 32nd from call-‐up through Australia and the eventual New Guinea campaign, with considerable attention paid to the 126th Infantry. 3
Crediting hundreds of first-‐person and research sources, his accounts are very detailed and include a handful of photographs. You can access Joe’s book on Amazon.com easily at http://tinyurl.com/qaok99f.
Lt. Col. Alfred Medendorp Born in 1907 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, young Alfred had moved to Grand Rapids with his parents several years later where his brother and two sisters were born. Like many in the area at the time, his father had been born in the Netherlands marrying his mother upon arrival in the United States. Alfred attended South High School and then at just nineteen years of age, married Dorothy Schutt from Dayton, Ohio during the summer of 1927. He set up a chiropractor business while they lived on Division Avenue near Burton Heights and shortly after, they moved to Griggs Street. Alfred and Dorothy parented three children. He was a graduate of the National College of Chiropractic in Chicago.
Posing with his sister-‐in-‐law
Sometime toward the end of the 1930s, Alfred joined the local 126th Infantry National Guard unit at the old Michigan Street Armory near Ionia and Division. When the Guard nationwide was activated in the fall of 1940 for a year of training, then Lieutenant Medendorp left with the 126th for Camp Beauregard, Louisiana where they trained for "modern" warfare on potentially a European battlefield. But December 7, 1941 changed all of that.
Federalized after just completing a year away from home, the 126th, which included National Guard companies from Grand Rapids, Holland, Muskegon, Grand Haven, Big Rapids, Ionia, Adrian and Kalamazoo, was first entrained and sent to Fort Devins, Massachusetts for deployment to Northern Ireland as part of the planned invasion of Europe in the war against Nazi Germany. But General MacArthur was screaming for more troops in the Southwest Pacific to stave off the Japanese Imperial Army's juggernaut and eventually regain the Philippines. He specifically asked for the 32nd "Red Arrow" Division, a combined Michigan-‐Wisconsin National Guard unit that earned fame during World War I and included the 126th Infantry from West Michigan. His public rants and tendency to pressure President Roosevelt worked and the 126th along with the rest of the division turned around and headed cross-‐country to San Francisco. Now a captain, Medendorp was in charge of a section of the vehicle convoy that made the 2,200-‐mile trek sans any decent transcontinental road network. The balance of the 126th travelled by train. Medendorp and the regiment were shipped that summer to Australia where they continued to train and for what they thought would be the defense of that continent. But MacArthur had different plans and instead threw the unprepared Red Arrows -‐-‐ with the 126th in the lead -‐-‐ into jungle warfare in an grueling effort to defeat the Japanese on New Guinea. Medendorp was put in command of two companies that would attempt to traverse the Owen-‐Stanley Mountain range that split the island in two. The purpose was to beat back the Japanese forces and eventually drive them into the sea. In his unpublished memoirs, written aboard a troop ship returning home following three years in the South Pacific, Medendorp reminisced that, "Words cannot describe the hardships of that march over the mountains. Besides the steep climbs and descents, there was the daily rain, rivers to ford, wet cold nights, and lack of proper and sufficient rations (the 126th's commander himself had been killed in a plane crash trying to resupply Medendorp's men and the rest of the 2nd battalion during this trek). The men straggled and lay exhausted all along the trail, but most of them managed to get through, although it sometimes took them until late at night.... With the rest of the men, I went through the pass over the dreaded GHOST MOUNTAIN. One man died on that part of the march." 4
The Red Arrow Division went on to route the stubborn Japanese at Buna at the cost of hundreds of dead or missing soldiers and thousands of wounded. After rebuilding with new replacements during a rest-‐and-‐ recovery period in Australia, the 126th continued the fight through Leyte, Luzon and eventually the Philippines. The regiment's last duty of World War II was the occupation of Japan. Along with the rest of the 32nd Division, it had seen a record 654 days of combat. Medendorp returned home, resumed life with his family, and continued as an officer in the local National Guard. In 1954, he volunteered to serve as an advisor to the Nationalist Chinese on the tiny but strategically important island of Quemoy who were staving off an invasion by the mainland Communist Chinese. On September 3, artillery shelling of the island had been underway for nearly five hours when now-‐Lieutenant Colonel Medendorp and Lieutenant Colonel Frank Lynn of Illinois were both hit by the shelling and killed during what was supposed to be a routine visit to the island for training and inspections. Back in Grand Rapids, his father said he had written the previous June that "Chinese Reds" were then firing on the island. Colonel Medendorp told him the Reds had offered a $10,000 reward for the capture of any American officer and that the situation was such that he and other U.S. Army men did not dare step outside their quarters unarmed.
Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Medendorp was laid to rest in Rest Lawn Memorial Cemetery on Eastern Avenue near 32nd Street. On May 30, 1966, President Lyndon Johnson mentioned Medendorp by name along with eight others in a special honor roll during traditional Memorial Day ceremonies. The President remarked that: "These men represent all those Americans who have risked their lives -‐-‐ and lost them -‐-‐ in the peace-‐ building efforts that America has made since 1945. They were sent on their missions because this Nation believes that peace is not something that just happens. Peace does not come just because we wish for it. Peace must be fought for. It must be built stone by stone." Nearly forty years after his death, a memorial was erected on the spot where Medendorp had been killed by the shelling. In Commemoration ALFRED MEDENDORP (1907-‐54) Lieutenant Colonel, Army of the United States U. S. Army Military Assistance Group first U. S. soldier killed in action at this location during hostile artillery bombardment 3 September 1954 Colonel Medendorp, a National Guard officer from the State of Michigan, volunteered to help defend freedom after distinguished combat service in WWII. Awarded the Republic of China Order of the Cloud and Banner November 1954 Dedicated 1992 Republic of China in coordination with National Guard Association of the United States
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126th Regimental Association Annual Reunion Reservation October 3, 2015 Grand Valley Armory & Third Michigan NCO Club Name: ______________________________________________________ Telephone: _______________________ Street Address: ________________________________________________________________________________ City, State and Zip: _____________________________________________________________________________ E-‐mail Address: ________________________________________________________________________________ I will be attending the annual reunion on Saturday, October 3. I plan on attending the following activities (check all that apply) _____ GVA Open House, Welcoming Ceremony and 50th Anniversary Commemoration ______ Annual business meeting, 1700 hrs (all are invited including spouses) ______ Social hour, 1800 hrs ______ Dinner, 1830 hrs ______ Indicate the number of dinners you are purchasing. Each dinner is $20 payable in advance, please. Check or money order (see page one of the newsletter for the menu) Please consider making a generous, tax-‐deductible donation to the 126th Regimental Association Legacy Fund at this time (any amount helps): ______ Yes, I am contributing $______________________ (enclose check or money order) My donation is in honor of ____________________________________________________________________________ ______ I would like a receipt for my contribution sent to the address above. Please return this reservation, dinner payment, and any historical contributions you wish to make by September 18. Mail to: 126th Regimental Association c/o LTC Bill Sobotka 2820 Longstreet SW Wyoming, MI 49509 If you have questions, please call Bill Sobotka at (616) 531-‐3295 or email to billsobotka@prodigy.net 6