70th Infantry Division Association
Diane Kessler, Secretary
Box 301
Atkinson, NH 03811

Write check to 70th Infantry Division Association.

The book is available from Trafford Publishing, Amazon, Borders, and soon through Barnes & Noble.

Once in France, the Regiment was almost immediately hurled into the crucible that was Operation NORDWIND, the last German offensive on the Western front. After its harrowing baptism of fire in the frozen hell of the Vosges Mountains, the Regiment participated in the campaign in the Saar, including the Oeting raids and the assault and seizure of Forbach.

Much more than its oft-interrupted stateside training, it was this combat experience that hardened the men who coalesced into the regiment that ultimately adopted the motto that reflected the way they fought--With Fire and Zeal. Special features: Close-ups of the four German divisions faced by the Regiment The Battle for Spicheren Heights; Full set of organizational charts of every unit in the regiment, down to squad level, as well as the 884th Field Battalion and Company C, 270th Engineers; Rosters of soldiers of the Regiment decorated with the DSC, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Soldier's Medal, and Purple Heart; Glossary with photos of selected German and American weapons; Compelling, evocative sketches by Peter "Tex" Bennet, I&R/276th; Seven original situation maps.

This book is now available. For information contact: Aegis Consulting Group, P. O. Box 629, Bedford, PA 15522. Phone: 814-623-8308, Fax: 814-623-8668, e-mail: Aegis

After an intensive interrogation by German Intelligence they were moved across the Rhine to Stalag 12A (Limbourg) and then by a 5 day boxcar journey to Stalag 11B (Fallingbostel) in northern Germany. Frank describes in vivid details the horrible living conditions of the life of a noncommissioned American soldier as a prisoner-of-war. It was a “holocaust” of sorts involving little food (lost 65 pounds in 3 months), no heat or hot water, no showers, or laundry, tough work details, lice, diarrhea and despondency.

After liberation on April 16, 1945, by the British Desert Rats, Frank spent 6 weeks in Winston Churchill Hospital, Oxford, England, prior to being shipped to the USA. Homecoming was great for him and his immediate family, but please remember that a liberated POW in WW2 was not considered to be a hero by the general public. “Take no prisoners” was the nature of the mentality of the time without consideration of how one was captured.

The reader will find this unusual story to be a page-turner and a worthwhile book. This book is recommended for every library and WW2 history buff.

This book’s 2nd Edition is available at Xlibris Publishers, 436 Walnut Street, 11th Floor, Philadelphia PA, 19106. Telephone 1 888 795 4274. ($14.44+S&H). Or go here. Books may also be ordered through any bookstore using ISBN #1-4010-2930-2. A request that it be back-ordered will expedite delivery!

A copy may be purchased for $30.00 plus $5.00 postage directly from Jack. Please send checks payable to Jack Rokahr at 10580 Cushdon Avenue, Los Angeles, California, 90064. For information you can email Jack at jackrokahr@att.net

"Riviera to the Rhine", by Jeff Clarke and Robert Ross Smith, was originally introduced by the US Army Center of Military History in 1993, as part of its official history of the Second World War. Until now, it has only been available either through the US Government Printing Office or in very limited quantities through a magazine company which has already declared its limited run out of print.

Some Seventh Army veterans have nevertheless acquired copies of this excellent book, and all of them have strongly recommended that Aegis try to make it available to all veterans of the Association and their families.

To enhance the book's affordability and to allow veterans and their family members to purchase only those parts of the originally 600+ page book which are of interest to them, Aegis has produced the book as a series of lower-priced separate volumes. For ease of reading, the text, all of the many photos, and excellent maps are also 21% larger than in the original government printing.

Volume I, The Invasion and Campaign in Southern France covers the planning for and execution of Operation DRAGOON and the destruction and pursuit of German forces up the Rhone Valley to the Vosges foothills. It addresses the period from August through September 1944. This 229-page volume sets the stage for the Seventh Army's offensive against German defenses in the High Vosges Mountains and the drive to the Rhine. Volume II, The Campaign in the High Vosges addresses the fighting of the VI and XV Corps as they ground their way into some of the most eminently defensible terrain in all of Western Europe, and, for the first time in history, ultimately pierced the extensive German defenses there. This 220-page volume covers the stunning defeat of the German's Army Group G in November 1944.

Volume III, Operations in Alsace and Eastern Lorraine, and the Drive to Stuttgart covers the advance to the German frontier, the suspension of offensive operations in the wake of the German Ardennes Offensive, the repulse of Operation NORDWIND, as well as operations in the Colmar Pocket, and the attack in the Saar which followed. Using material from the US Army's The Last Offensive, the volume also covers the final drive across the Rhine and the Seventh Army's drive into southern Germany. The roles played by elements of the 70th Infantry Division in these operations are explained thoroughly in this 263-page volume.

Each perfect-bound, soft-cover volume may be purchased for $14.95 individually; and all three can be ordered for $39.95. Shipping for one book is $4.00, and each additional book is $1.00. Pennsylvania residents must add 6% sales tax.

Order from Aegis Consulting Group, PO Box 629, Bedford, PA 15522; toll-free phone: 866-265-9063; email: Aegis. Personal checks, money orders, and VISA/MasterCard, American Express, and Discover are all welcome.

Between 1942 and 1944, Camp Adair served its purpose. An estimated 100,000 troops were trained there, including most of four army divisions.

Many of those men returned to Oregon after the war, to build families, farms, and businesses here. Sleepy valley communities were transformed. Those former soldiers had a major impact upon Oregon's postwar population and economic growth.

My wife remembers, as a child, waving to passing troop convoys from a family farm along Highway 99W. But as one who didn't move to Oregon until the 1950s, I've been only vaguely aware of the Camp Adair story. However, I've talked to many Oregonians these past five decades who trace their local roots to Camp Adair training. So I knew it had been a big deal, but few of the details.

John Baker grew up in the shadow of Camp Adair, and has researched those details, and tells an important story in this book. It's one that probably means most to those who spent part of their youth training there. But it's also an important story for anyone who wants to understand how our country prepared to fight and win World War II, and for anyone who cares about 20th Century development of Oregon."

Of note: the late Gus Comuntzis gives his recollections of Camp Adair in the book.

To order this book send 16.95 plus 3.95 shipping and handling to Oregon Coast History Center, 545 SW 9th St., Newport, Oregon 97365. You can send a check or charge it to your Visa, Mastercard, or Discovery. Orders can be faxed in at 541-265-3992. If you have any questions you can call 541-265-7509. All profits from the sale of the book will go to the Polk, Benton, and Lincoln County History Societies.