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It was mid-August
1945 and the Division was in the midst of its last campaign of World War
II. They were on Mindanao, Philippine Islands. Although the Japanese
surrender had been announced on August 15th, fighting
continued on Mindanao into mid-September and the Division was still
taking up defensive positions.
The Division Commanding General, Major General
Roscoe B. Woodruff called a meeting somewhere around August 19th
or 20th to discuss the organization of a division
association. They met in a grove of palm trees along the beach. The
gathering of about 15 officers and men sat on fallen logs and developed
a plan for giving birth to Our Association.
Best recollection has the following present:
Commanding General Woodruff; Asst. Div. Commander, Brigadier General
Kenneth F. Cramer; Chief of Staff, Colonel Bill Verbeck; Colonel Kenwood
Ross, Ordnance; G-3, Lt. Col. Bill Crump; Asst. G-3, Lt. Col. George
Dickerson; Asst. G-2, Lt. Col. Bev Reed, G-1, Lt. Col. Tom Compere;
Asst. G-1, Lt. Col. Robert Daniel; AG, Lt. Col. Bill Craig, Asst. AG,
Major Walter Cunningham; IG, Major George Gaynor; JAG, Major John Mason;
Lt. Col. Jim Purcell, Signal; and Asst. J.A., Warrant Officer Edmund F.
Henry. There were also representatives from the infantry and artillery,
and support units.
The objectives of the Association were to
preserve the memory of the fame and glory of the Division, maintain and
strengthen the bonds of comradeship, and provide for gathering and
dissemination of information concerning those men. This is what they
wrote on that far away beach in 1945:
PURPOSE
"Electrify and unify the invisible current
of fellowship molded in the throes of war and preserve the comradeship
common to the veterans of the Division;
Honor and perpetuate the memory of the men who
distinguished themselves by their services and sacrifices while with the
Division;
Memorialize the valiant acts and patriotic
deeds of the Division;
Encourage and aid historical research in
relation to the activities of and acquire and preserve records of the
Division and its personnel;
Celebrate with appropriate ceremonies the
anniversaries of events in the history of the Division."
The
purposes have been the Association’s guidelines ever since.
The first Association reunion was held in
Baltimore, Maryland in 1948.
***This
page is Dedicated to the Memory of Kenwood Ross***
Information
compiled and written by Norman E. Tredway |
