Belgium
1. Foy Notre Dame, Belgium: A memorial is now in the process of being developed for the loss of of a member of "A" Company , 82nd Reconnaissance Bn. Killed in Action in this village on 25 December 1944. 4 others were wounded. The citizens of this small village did not know the name of the unit that freed their village from the enemy, nor the name of the member of "A" Company that lost his life in this action. One of the problems here is that the village of Foy Notre Dame is now a part of a nearby town of Dinant, which is further west, which was on the very edge of the German advance and occupation, Foy Notre Dame was held by the Germans on 25 December unitil "A" Co. 82nd Reconnaisaance Bn, forced them out of the village, there were no other units there. So none can rewite the history of what happened here as is often the case. There is a long way to go here, we are having difficuly in establishing contact with the mayor of Dinant at this time. We will keep you informed.
France
St. Georges de Rouelley ( France ): A memorial will be built and dedicated to three members of Co. "A" 82nd Reconnaissance Battalion who were Killed in Acton on the morning of 8 August 1944, one half mile west of St. Georges de Rouelley. which is just west of Domfront. France. ( south of St. Lo, France ) The citizens of this town did not know that three Americans were killed here on 8 August 1944, or the unit that was involved. We hope to place this memorial along the road to make sure they will not be forgotten by all that pass this way.
The funds to build this memorial will be contributed by citizens of St. Georges de Rouelley ( Rouelles,) and surrounding areas, other funds will come from those that were former members Co. "A", 82nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Armored Division. We will keep current progress posted below, for more information email: [email protected]
Update as of 4 December 1999---Land will be deeded to the the village , and will be maintained by the citizens of the village. Memorial placement stone and base are now being designed. ----18 November 1999, our fund raising is completed here in the States, and we are now moving forward. 4 December 1999 now the people of the village, will in the next few weeks start the actual construction of the base upon which the memorial will stand. We were able to retrieve (on August 30, 1999) from around the site about 19 pieces of the M-8 that was pushed into the side area of the road where it was hit, ( the M-8 was hit by a enemy 88mm 55 years ago on 8 August 1944. ) all of those pieces will go into the base, except the two pieces I brought home with me.
Holland
Here it is, 54 years since the historic liberation of the Dutch Limburg province by members of the 2nd Armored Division -and still there is no monument in that most southern province of Holland commemorating those men who served in the 2nd Armored Division in this momentous struggle. In addition to those who made the supreme sacrifice, many who survived have died. Thus it is up to us who still remain to make certain a lasting monument is to be erected to all men of the 2nd Armored Division who so bravely served their country and has helping us here in Holland to be free again. A memorial that?s long overdue!
We now are erecting on 18 November 1999 a civilian foundation that wanted to resolve that such a future monument will be erected in the southern part of Limburg Province, The Netherlands for the men of the 2nd Armored Division. The official name off this new official Dutch foundation will be: Stichting Zuid - Limburgs "Hell On Wheels" Monument ( South -Limburg "Hell On Wheels" Monument Foundation )
To realize a future 2nd Armored Division monument in South Limburg for about 45 enlisted men killed in action between 15 - 19 September 1944 we as the Stichting Zuid - Limburg "Hell On Wheels" Monument wanted to ask your personal support in this matter and are hoping that each of you would consider to help us to get some more detail information about the period the 2nd Armored Division was involved in the Liberation of our region.
For our future South - Limburg "Hell On Wheels" Monument we are searching for an original M8 Armored Car which was build by the Ford Motor Company between 1942 - 1945. The vehicle itself would be use for static display in one of the Dutch towns which actually where liberated by members of the 2nd Armored Division. We have received a note from one of our Americans friends which told us that there is an original M8 Armored Car sitting in front of the TMP Motor pool at Hohenfels Training area of the 7th Army Training Command in the southern part of Germany, and I guess you all would understand that we really would enjoy any effort from each of you to obtain maybe that old armored vehicle for the future South - Limburg "Hell On Wheels" monument from the 7th Army stationed in Germany.
We need your help! Whether you?re young or old, we all owe a deep debt of gratitude to those who have served their country so gallantly during the Liberation of Europe.
Just think where we would be today were it not for the thousands of Americans who gave up their homes, their families, their careers-and often their lives- so we all once again could continue to live in free.
Those of you which wanted to help us with or project can send their personal information to the following postal address in the Netherlands:
Stichting South - Limburg "Hell On Wheels" Monument
September 1944 straat 5
6418 AV Heerlen
The Netherlands
You also can contact the secretary of the Stichting South - Limburg "Hell On Wheels" Monument (Mr. Arno Lasoe ) by email: [email protected] for further detail information about the entire project. Dated 5 November 1999.
Proposed Memorial to be built and placed in the center of the section of Holland where the 2nd Armored Division was very active. Dedicated to the members of the 2nd Armored Division that lost their lives in this action, to the ones that have since passed on, and to the ones that are living. This project is in the early stages, we would appreciate any assistance that you may be able to give us. We welcome your comments as well. Email-Arnoe Lasoe at [email protected] for further details.