A History of the 714th Tank Battalion Essay -- United States History H

A History of the 714th army tank Battalion, 1942-45 The men of the 714th Tank Battalion served their country in its greatest time of need. A tell element of the twelfth armour part, the 714th fought in harsh conditions against a dreaded German enemy for five consecutive months, driving the Nazi Armies from France and acantha into the German heartland. The 12th Armored Division was activated on 15 September 1942 at a freshly built Camp Campbell, Kentucky, and soldiers from across the nation began arriving to fill the divisions ranks on 24 October 1942. The governors of both Kentucky and Tennessee participated in the activating ceremonies, in which Major General Carlos Brewer was named commander of the forming division. Young Roy Zerby was drafted away from his job of washing cars in Bellafonte, Pennsylvania, to eventually become Sergeant Zerby, communication theory Chief for Company D, 714th Tank Battalion. Sergeant Zerby postponed his dream of a break dance job and liv elihood to serve his country. Others like Alvin L. Cooper of Northampton, Massachusetts, volunteered two locomote ahead of the draft board in order to avoid the national Conscription Act. Cooper quit his position as a Glazing shape Operator at the International Silver Company and left his national Accounting classes to become a Surgical Technician in the 714th Battalions Medical Detachment. A month after graduating from high school in June of 1940, young Othal T. Parsons coupled the army to serve my country, beat the draft, and become a bigshot. He was lured by the Army recruiting posters clarioning I WANT YOU. Parsons worked his way up through quartet different armored divisions as an enlisted man until he became Second deputy sheriff Othal T. Parsons, Mortar Pla... ...r Brownwood. tube-nosed fruit bat News, 20 July 1944. Hellcat Nickname Now Deserved, Division Thanks. The Stars and Stripes, 10 March 1945. Hellcats Take Field for Intensive Training. Hellcat News, 30 March 1 944. Malis, Steve. Armor of the 12th Played Role in Hastening V-E. beachhead News, 14 July 1945. Parsons, Othal T. Interview by author, 17 April 1995. Mail questionnaire. 12th Armored Division Historical Project, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, Texas. Tank Gunnery Program Gets Official Praise. Hellcat News, 9 March 1944. Zerby, Roy M. Interview by author, 10 April 1995. Mail questionnaire. 12th Armored Division Historical Project, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, Texas. Zerby, Roy M. Interview by author, 28 March 1996. Mail questionnaire. 12th Armored Division Historical Project, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, Texas.