Suburban men among the last survivors from the 104th infantry
"I loved the infantry because they were the underdogs. They were the mud, rain, frost and wind boys... and in the end they were the guys without whom the Battle could not have been won."
- Ernie Pyle, World War II correspondent
Every single year since World War II ended, veterans of the 104th Infantry Division have met somewhere in the United States for a reunion.
This year's gathering, which starts Sept. 1 at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center, will be their 65th reunion.
And their last.
Their numbers are dwindling, and many of those who are left can no longer travel.
"The guys are getting too old," said Bob Spitler, 85, of Downers Grove.
Spitler was just 18 when he was drafted, making him one of the youngest surviving members of what one general called "one of the finest assault divisions we have ever had."
Spitler, a retired engineer, has a military historian's knowledge of the 104th, also known as the Timberwolf division.
The "tough, disciplined, aggressive outfit" specialized in night fighting, according to a 1945 Associated Press story. The soldiers of the 104th landed in Cherbourg, France, in September 1944. The division advanced through Belgium, liberated villages in Holland and saw heavy action in Germany, finally capturing Cologne in March 1945.
"Nothing in hell can stop the Timberwolves" was Major General Terry Allen's battle slogan.
But the cost was high. The toll included 1,294 dead, 5,305 wounded and 385 missing in action. At full strength, the division numbered 34,000 men.
Spitler still fits in his Eisenhower jacket - the same one he wore as a 5-foot-11, 130-pound draftee - with the gray timber wolf on the sleeve. His medals include the Bronze Star and the Combat Infantryman Badge, the rifleman's decoration that is worn above all other medals.
"People are amazed I still have the uniform and it still fits," he said.
He'll be one of about 600 people attending the reunion in Lombard. Past gatherings have drawn as many as 1,500, and fewer than half of those who signed up this year are veterans.
Many of the others are "Timberwolf pups" - the children and grandchildren of those who served with such distinction during World War II.
John Shufeldt, 85, of Arlington Heights, isn't going this year because his wife is no longer able to get around. But he has been to 15 or so of the reunions in the past.
"It's a lot of fun to get together with some of the guys that you knew," Shufeldt said.
Both Spitler and Shufeldt were injured in Europe.
An expert shot, Spitler was a scout for his rifle company. He was holed up in a foxhole near the German town of Aachen when a mortar or shell hit nearby, knocking him unconscious.
He came to in a hospital in France, then was transferred to England to recuperate.
Shufeldt was wounded twice. "The first time was kind of a flesh wound," he recalled. "I only lost a couple of days out of the front lines. The second time was more serious. I was in England for three months."
After capturing Cologne, some units of the 104th Infantry Division pushed farther into Germany. The Timberwolves liberated the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp in April 1945, freeing more than 1,000 prisoners - mostly Russian, Polish and French captives who were forced to work in a rocket factory - who had been left behind when the Germans fled the advancing Allies. Many had been close to death.
The 104th is recognized as a liberating unit by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Before their 21st birthdays, Spitler and Shufeldt were back on U.S. soil; the war had ended.
Over the years, many veterans have returned to Europe on organized tours that retrace the movements of the 104th Infantry Division.
"When you go to these little towns they liberated and see what people in these towns think of these boys, it's indescribable," said Millie Didlake of Cincinnati, who traveled with a veterans group. "They worshipped the ground they walked on."
Spitler and his late wife Janet went on one of the European tours. At a military cemetery in Holland, he found a plaque bearing the name of one of his buddies.
There was no grave, because there was no body.
"Just as we were leaving Holland, a good friend of mine was in a foxhole (that) got a direct hit," Spitler said. "He was blown to bits."
Decades later, Spitler still remembers his friend's name: William Mayfield, from Louisiana.
The 65th and final reunion of the National Timberwolf Association coincides with the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II. The schedule for the five-day reunion in Lombard is jam-packed with activities, including a Lake Michigan cruise and a visit to the Museum of Science and Industry to see the U-505 submarine. There's a banquet dinner and a beer bust, but also a daily Mass and a memorial service for those Timberwolves who have died, including those who never even made it home.
Spitler and Shufeldt and their fellow Timberwolves haven't forgotten.
In the words of historian Stephen Ambrose:
"Within the ranks of the military, a rifle company is unique. Its prolonged exposure to the horrors of face-to-face combat forges bonds that are virtually unbreakable."
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