Jul 16, 2019
Marion "Shorty" Kubeczko and Ed "Smoky" Stuever were buddies in the 11th (horse) Cavalry. They remained close when the 11th was mechanized as part of the 10th Armored Division and when the 712th Tank Battalion was broken out of the division as an independent unit. Stuever was a sergeant in the battalion's Service Company, and Kubeczko was the driver of his tank recovery unit. Shorty was killed during the battle for Hill 122 in Normandy. In this episode of "War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It," Stuever describes some of those first moments of combat, and the pain of losing a friend.