• "My Memories" – John's personal account of his
war experiences.
• Official Map of the 12th Armored Division Activities
in the European Theater.
• "Speed Is The Password" – A booklet describing
the events of the 12th AD.
• "Field Reports" – Activities of Company C during the war,
typewritten by John.
John's own memories of the
war events from his writings
and from interviews taken
in May, 2005.
– Click to read –
Official Theater of War Map of the 12th A.D.
– Click for full size –
The entire story of the "Mystery Division," detailed in the Army booklet called "Speed Is The Password,"
which John obtained at the conclusion of the war. It is presented here in its entirety.
– Click to read –
Here, you'll find some interesting Field Reports. These are John's original typewritten pages – some terse and others humorous –chronicling the day-to-day events and progress of his Company C.
– Click to read –
At 19, John Crews was one of the youngest members of his Company,
The Nazis came to fear the 4th and 12th Armored Divisions more than others because they moved with such speed and audacity as they made their daring push through the German lines and into the heartland of the Reich.
Loaned to General Patton, the 12th A.D. became the "Mystery Division" and served as a spearhead for the dash to the Rhine.
Extremely bitter winter conditions harshened the miseries of the combat push.
Photo credits: Unless otherwise indicated, all photos on this site
are from the private collection of John C. Crews.
Certain photos are reproduced courtesy of the Franklin Roosevelt Library.
Official Army photos by the U.S. Army Signal Corps. are reproduced
from the original booklets and materials.
The photo of the "Marine Devil" ship is courtesy of Bruce T. Doll, www.imagesofvision.com.
All graphics, photographs, and text on this site are ©2020, David P. Crews, unless otherwise noted.
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