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| Velma Swaddle Theil & Stephen A. Theil, Jr. 1945 |
by Linda Theil
When we were married, Steve's mother gave us an ornament from his first Christmas tree in 1944 to adorn our first Christmas tree in 1969. Steve was almost a year old on his first Christmas, but he had never met his father because his dad was in Europe fighting in the Second World War. His father was over thirty-years-old when he had been drafted into service; and he would not meet his son until another year had gone by.
His first Christmas tree ornament was a tiny drum made from a tuna can, adorned with decorative paper decals proclaiming "Goodfellows Drum Corp". Two small wooden drumsticks were attached, but only one remains.
Since our granddaughter, Emerson, is a percussionist in her middle-school band, I gifted her the drum this Christmas in remembrance of the grandfather and great-grandfather she has never known.
Although my husband's father never spoke of his time in the service, recently Alisa found information on the Lone Sentry website that brought his wartime experience into focus. According to the website, the following information was published in "Railsplitters", a small booklet covering the history of the 84th Infantry Division -- one of a series of booklets of "G.I. Stories" published by the Stars & Stripes in Paris in 1944-45.
From the booklet:
Meanwhile another Railsplitter force handed the Wehrmacht a resoundingn blow when Germans attempted to break throgh at another point further north, between Marenne and Hampteau.
Eight tanks, ten half-tracks, several motorcycles, jeeps and 80 infantrymen struck the positions held by Co. I and a machine gun section of Co. M 333rd. Hitting a string of mines planted across the road, the lead tank exloded, careening into a ditch. Bazooka teams went to work on the other tanks.
Pfc. Clarence E. Love, Cherry Valley, Ark., and Pfc Alex V. Tiler, Paris, Tenn., set a second tank afire while Pfc Carl R. Tisdale, Parteskela, Ohio, and Pfc Robert C. Holloway, Englewood, Calif., blew tracks off a third. Sgt James M. Scanlan, Danville, Ky., a one-man team, scored a hit on the fourth, then saw it strike a mine and explode.
The second wave of tanks ran through Co, I's positions, One hit another mine, Sgt. Jesse Tenpenny, Morrissonm Tenn., and Pvt. Stephen Theil, Beaver, PA., bagged a sixth with their bazooka. Two German half-tracks tried to bull their way through, but Sgt. Scanlan sent one into a mine field and set the other afire with his sizzling bazooka. hand grenades killed two motorcyclists who had opened fire on him.
In half an hour, the fight was over. Germans fled to a nearby hill Artillery was called and the big guns splattered them and their equipment all over the hillside, Seventeen wrecked vehicles later were counted.
What was left of the pocket at Verdenne produced still another battle. Railsplitter artillery blunted still another attack, When the shooting ceased, a patrol shoved forward, scooped up 15 prisoners and returned with the report that the pocket no longer existed. End quote
Steve's dad was a devout Methodist, a very hardworking, and very kind man of German parentage. He suffered and he endured, and we hold him in our memory and our respect.
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