Dale Iliff

Dale Iliff trained at Camp Adair, Oregon, with the 70th Recon Troop of the 70th Div. This Troop, called the Trailblazers, was then transferred to Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, before going overseas. On January 8, 1945, Iliff boarded a troop carrier, the converted luxury liner, Mariposa, bound for Marseilles, France. From his service autobiography, which is attached, "Each Platoon has 3 Sections. The lead Jeep was armed with a 30 caliber machine gun. The second was an 8 ton armored car with a 50 caliber machine gun and a 37 millimeter cannon mounted on RUBBER wheels, instead of tread like a tank. Very fast and maneuverable. The 3rd was a Jeep armed with 60 mm mortar. The Section had 10 armed men. We could move fast, hit hard and retreat fast. Our mission always to locate the enemy, estimate their fire power, and hold them 'til the foot soldier infantry could eliminate the problem. As I stated in the letter, which I wrote while I was still in Germany. After 30 days and nights on a Liberty Ship, I arrived home on my wife's birthday. I do not have the Luger that I captured." Courtesy of the Talmage (KS) Historical Museum & Library.