By Spc. Robert Vicens Rolon
14th Public Affairs Detachment
FORT CARSON, Colo. —Veterans and Families of the 12th Armored “Hellcat” Division receive instruction on modern weapons during the 12th AD’s 73rd annual reunion to Fort Carson July 25, 2019. (Photo by Spc. Robert Vicens Rolon)
FORT CARSON, Colo. — World War II veterans and their Families from the 12th Armored “Hellcat” Division toured Fort Carson July 25, 2019, as part of their 73rd consecutive annual reunion.
“Everybody has a different story when they get to combat,” said William Georgov, a veteran who served as rifleman and a machine gunner with the 12th AD during the war. “The day I got banged up, I had volunteered to lead the squad. It was a new town. I’m guessing I was out 100 yards in the open. Our squad leader was very nice; every time we would come to a different town, he would select a different point man. I was the point man going into Speyer in Germany. I got halfway across the field. Next thing I remember I was waking up on the ground, and I heard someone shouting ‘medic, medic!’ … Then I realized we got hit. I spent a couple of weeks in the hospital and then I got back in my unit.”
But Georgov said the most impactful thing he took with him from the war was the bond he forged with his fellow Soldiers.
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Wes Ferguson, a World War II veteran who served with the 12th Armored “Hellcat” Division, visits the 4th Infantry Division Museum July 25, 2019, at Fort Carson during 12AD’s 73rd annual reunion. (Photo by Spc. Robert Vicens Rolon)
“When things got rough, (the) guys would stay together,” he said. “We were all different, but we were almost like brothers. I always felt thankful for what happened. It could have been way worse.”
Georgov is one of the 97 remaining survivors of the Hellcat division, many of whom have been meeting every year for nearly three quarters of a century.
Seventeen 12th AD veterans were present for the tour, as well as five generations of Family members. The tour encompassed visits to the 4th Infantry Division Museum and the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team motor pool, where Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 1st SBCT, 4th Inf. Div., gave instruction on modern weapons and equipment, additionally allowing the veterans and their Families to look inside a Stryker combat vehicle.
The 4th Inf. Div. and Fort Carson Mounted Color Guard joined the 12th AD during the weeklong reunion, where they presented the 12th AD colors at a memorial service held for the fallen. The Soldiers also honored missing and fallen troops during dinner ceremonies.
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Bopp, with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, shows Wes Ferguson a squad automatic rifle July 25, 2019, during his visit to Fort Carson. Ferguson is a World War II veteran who served with the 12th Armored “Hellcat” Division, a division that helped liberate prisoners from Nazi concentration camps and other sites of incarceration. (Photo by Spc. Robert Vicens Rolon)
The division, originally based out of Abilene, Texas, was active from 1942 to 1945 and campaigned in Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe for a total of 102 days of combat during the height of World War II.
The Hellcat Division earned two more nicknames during the war. They were known by the Germans as the “Suicide” division for their fierce performance during Operation Nordwind in France, where, although being outnumbered and facing superior tanks, they held their ground and drove the Germans back. They were additionally known as the “Mystery” division, when Gen. George S. Patton recruited the division, ordering all tanks to be painted, as well as the removal of all identifying unit insignia, disguising the fact that Patton had an additional tank division under his command.
The 12th AD colors fly proudly at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C., where it is among the divisions honored and recognized for taking part in the liberation of prisoners from Nazi concentration camps and other sites of incarceration.
The 12th AD is a Family, and that’s what has been driving everyone to meet every year, said Corban Heinis, reunion chairman for the 73rd reunion, whose grandfather served in the 12th AD.
“Everyone loved it,” Heinis said. “They loved seeing the new equipment. They loved meeting the Soldiers and their overall experience was exceptional. I’m thankful for all the Soldiers involved and for their hospitality.”
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Capt. James Frederick, with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, demonstrates modern weapons to World War II veterans who served with the 12th Armored “Hellcat” Division and their families July 25, 2019. (Photo by Spc. Robert Vicens Rolon)
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Guido Borella, a World War II veteran who served with the 12th Armored “Hellcat” Division, visits the 4th Infantry Division Museum July 25, 2019, at Fort Carson during the 12th AD’s 73rd annual reunion. (Photo by Spc. Robert Vicens Rolon)
FORT CARSON, Colo. —James Feezel, a World War II veteran who served with the 12th Armored “Hellcat” Division, visits the 4th Infantry Division Museum July 25, 2019, at Fort Carson during the 12th AD’s 73rd annual reunion. (Photo by Spc. Robert Vicens Rolon)