LABOR DAY WEEKEND (2013): From August 28th to September 2nd, at the Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown (2600 Louisiana Blvd NE) several generations of family, friends, and supporters of the 104th Infantry Division (the “Timberwolves”) will gather to honor the WWII veterans, renew friendships, share history and honor their fallen comrades. The National Timberwolf Pups Association (http://www.timberwolf104inf.org/), whose mission, “to ensure that future generations have an organization that is dedicated to keeping this important history alive and to honor it’s fallen” will be sponsoring the Reunion.
Over two hundred attendees are expected, including Ret. Major General T. K. Moffett, and Brigadier General Kurt A. Hardin, of the 104th ARLT Division. Chester Nez, an original Navajo Code Talker, will be a featured speaker at the event, as well as 104th veterans (now 86+ years old) and international guests from the Netherlands and Belgium. Weekend activities include a memorial service and banquet at the hotel, and early arrivals will enjoy multiple tours and attractions around Albuquerque.
The 104 Infantry Division was activated in 1942 at Camp Adair in Oregon as an infantry unit with a focus on nighttime combat operations. Deployed during World War II, the division landed in France and fought through Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, which included several fierce German counterattacks as it advanced through the European Theater in late 1944, meeting the Russians at the Elbe River on April 26, 1945. A highly decorated division, the Timberwolves served 195 consecutive days—in contact with the enemy—on the front line, one of the longest of any infantry division in the European Theater. They received 1 Distinguished Service Medal (by their fearless general, Terry DeLeMesa Allen), 2 Medals of Honor, 6 Legion of Merits, 7 Presidential Unit Citations, 24 Distinguished Service Crosses, 24 Soldier Medals, 54 Air Medals, 786 Silver Stars, 3623 Bronze Stars, and 7011 Purple Hearts. They also discovered and liberated a concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, called Mittelbau-Dora (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mittelbau-Dora), which housed political prisoners who were used to build V1 and V2 bombs, the forerunners to today’s intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Veterans and association officers are available for interviews at your request. Please send any queries to Mary Jamieson (mejamieson@aol.com / 503-780-5176).