126th Regimental Association August 2019 Newsletter
Fall Business Meeting and Social
Our annual business meeting is scheduled for Saturday, October 5, 2019 at 1700 hours (5:00 pm) at Tommy Brann’s Restaurant, 4157 South Division in Wyoming. The social will follow at 1800 hours (6:00 pm) and dinner at 1830 hours (6:30 pm) in the same location. We hope to have the same great turnouts we’ve enjoyed the past two years. The cost for dinner will be $20 per person. A cash bar will be available. Dress is casual. Tommy Brann’s is one of West Michigan’s longest running dining traditions owned and operated since its opening in 1972 by Tommy Brann, who always goes out of his way to support our military and veterans. See the enclosed flyer for more details including the delicious menu and PLEASE be sure to return your reservation by September 27. Hope to see you at Tommy’s!
It’s YOUR Association!
To keep our association going, we must elect a slate of officers each annual meeting. Last year, we failed to get a nomination for 2nd Vice President. This year, that means we will need to have nominations for and elect BOTH vice-president positions. The minimum duty involves attending the two or sometimes three board meetings each year while in office. These are held at the Grand Valley Armory. The incumbent in each position then moves up to the next higher position the ensuing year. That way, we have a core of institutional knowledge that keeps our association moving forward. Please consider volunteering to nominate yourself for one of the following: 1st Vice President 2nd Vice President
126th Archives
A small band of (retired) warriors and historians have been working this spring and summer on our archive room at the Grand Valley Armory. The condition of our archive had been degraded over the past couple decades due to the many changes in staffing and organizations at the armory, along with numerous deployments in support of the War on Terror. We have been meeting on most Wednesday mornings from 9 am to noon working on restoration, digitization, cataloguing, preserving and securing historical artifacts, photos, and print items, some dating back to the late 1800s.
We have a long way to go and some preservation plans will be a little costly so it may take some time before our mission is completed. You are welcome to stop by, see what we’re up to, get a tour of what is in the collection, and perhaps even see if you want to lend a hand. Fair warning, however – there are some weeks we do not meet due to other commitments. If you want to find out if we’re planning on being there, get in touch with Bill Sobotka (see his email and phone number in this newsletter).
Taps for Colonel Harry Sobotka
On July 17, 2019, family, friends and comrades gathered to bid Colonel Harry J. Sobotka adieu one last time. Colonel Sobotka passed away on July 11 at the age of 101, the longest surviving member of the 126th Regimental Association in memory.
Colonel Sobotka was born on April 17, 1918 to Vincent and Alexandria (Alice) (Wojcik) Sobotka, both Polish immigrants. Vincent, however, died just four months after Harry was born and his mother was left to raise six children, Harry being the youngest. She married Stanislaw (Stanley) Golembiewski in January 1920, also a Polish immigrant, and bore five more children. Alice died in 1956 and Stanley in 1965. Colonel Sobotka graduated from Union High School on the west side of Grand Rapids where he spent his years Company C of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. After graduation, he worked at W.B. Jarvis Company and enlisted in the 126th Infantry at the old Michigan Street armory on March 3, 1936. On March 3, 1940, Sobotka entered the officer candidate school at Fort Benning, Georgia and was commissioned second lieutenant in June, but continued to carry the rank of sergeant until mobilization. Mobilized with the 126th on October 15, 1940, he was eventually sent to the 95th Infantry Division fought its way through the Netherlands into Germany prior to VE Day. On June 2, 1942, Sobotka was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and to Captain on January 15, 1946. He spent five years serving in the European Theater. Harry had married Katheryn M. Gerke in 1942 and returned to the 126th following World War II where he was appointed Captain in 1946. They had four children (Marilyn, William, Jean