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September 21, 2002WWII tank destroyer battalion gathers in TCBy TOM CARRRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - In their 20s, they saw northern Africa and Europe from the open turrets of tank destroyers and jeeps as part of one of the most successful tank destroyer battalions in World War II. Now mostly in their 80s, 18 members of the 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion are meeting here this weekend to share the special bond that exists between its members. "We depended on each other and you knew these guys would take care of you," said Bill Harper of Richardson, Texas, a sergeant during the war and the "glue" that holds the group together. He was one of the soldiers who helped the battalion amass a record of 546 days in actual combat and the destruction of 155 enemy tanks and armored vehicles, both more than any other battalion in the European Theater, according to Bob Maynard. Maynard is a Suttons Bay resident and battalion veteran who hosted this year's reunion. Eighteen years ago, as the war was already 40 years in their past and many members had raised families and were seeing their careers winding down, some of the veterans decided to arrange a get-together. Joe Slater of Valley Forge, Pa. will always remember how that first invitation choked him up. "It's a camaraderie that's unbelievable," he said. "These guys are a different kind of brothers. You love them in a different way." It also brought back memories he had blocked for years. "I consider myself fortunate," he said. "I blocked out the war when I came back. Some guys were like that and some guys couldn't forget it." The group met in a Holiday Inn suite amid blown-up photos of the battalion and a table of newspapers with headlines from the war. They shared war stories, talking about the time they went through Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, faced by 75 German tanks and took out half of them. Still, most of their vehicles were also knocked out of commission and they had to hike back out of the pass and wait a few days for repairs and replacements. That was one of the worst times, and one of only two occasions when the battalion was on the defensive, said Walter Tardy, who commanded the battalion for the later part of the war. The other was in Anzio, Italy. "You couldn't even stick your head out of a foxhole without getting shot," said Charles Phallen of Oswego, N.Y. The members of the group feel lucky to be there, since they were not among the 109 of the battalion's soldiers killed in action. The 601st had a total of about 1,700 soldiers that passed through the battalion from Dec. 15, 1941, to May 1945. Many had close calls, too. Charles Schara of Austin, Minn., was riding a jeep when it went over a land mine. "It blew the whole front end of the jeep off and threw me 25 feet," he said. "I woke up and another detonator was right in front of my face." Maynard also drove over two land mines and stepped on another that was a dud. "All I heard was a click," he said. In addition to the shared stories, the veterans will also honor the 38 who have died in the past two years. The group has never been able to locate all of its veterans and it doesn't know exactly how many are still alive. They do know it's getting more difficult to meet, and this year's reunion almost didn't happen. "In January, Bill Harper said we've had our last reunion because we don't have enough people left," Maynard said. "I didn't like that, so I agreed to host it." Still, the group doesn't know if this will be its last meeting. "We'll decide that this weekend," Maynard said. |
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