Overview: As those of you who were able to attend can confirm, this was one of best reunions in many years. The theme this year was Combat Service Support, a group we have not focused on recently, but was vital to the success of the Spearhead Division in peace and war. In support of this year’s reunion, Nancy Peters brought out many members of the 45th Medical Battalion (later 45th Support Battalion) to join us. Her group were as proud (and boisterous) as any, and her large display of memorabilia and photos was very impressive. We had two other additions to the program: a performance by the University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) On-Corps Band1 that was awesome (see below) and a presentation on “The Army and San Antonio” by Prof Tim Daves of Incarnate Word University. Our off-site venue was at the Museum of the Pacific War, in Fredericksburg, Texas. It was a great reunion.

Attendance: This year’s attendance was right at 100, an improved headcount from some of our recent reunions. This is great news as we lost many Spearhead Veterans in 2024-25 who await us at Fiddler’s Green. We urge you to reach out to your former comrades and encourage them to “re-up” with the Association of 3rd Armored Division Veterans.

Day One: Arrival and registration went smoothly, with amenities bags distributed to each participant, a cocktail icebreaker, and a welcome to new members. That evening, during the Tex-Mex buffet dinner, Kevin Seidl spoke about the recently published autobiography of CSM (Ret) Joe T Hill, Talk’n Ain’t Fight’n.’ CSM Hill showed a video of the Division and spoke about Desert Storm in particular. This year marks the beginning of the alert and deployment of 3rd Armored Division to Southwest Asia for Desert Shield -Desert Storm.

Day Two: The original plan was to visit Ft. Sam Houston for a tour, briefings and demonstrations at the Medical Center of Excellence. Because of the Government shut-down however, these events and all support from Ft Sam Houston were cancelled by them just days prior to reunion. Your Association staff did a “flex change of mission” and arranged with the staff of the National Museum of the Pacific War to visit them instead. The Museum is located in Fredericksburg, Texas, the birthplace of Admiral of the Navy Chester Nimitz. This probably had better appeal to some folks, and the museum staff went out of their way to support us.

For those unfamiliar with Fredericksburg, it is home to a thriving German-American community. For those of us with warm memories of our service in Germany, the local ambiance and restaurants bought back a nostalgic period of our service.

Returning to San Antonio, we had a performance by the UTSA On Corp” band. They are an all-volunteer musical group for US veterans, with several veterans of the 3rd Armored Division band including retired CW4 Chuck Booker who wrote the arrangement for the 3rd Armored Division March during his time with the band! The performance was just outstanding, finishing with all veterans standing for the Army Song. WOW!

During the dinner, Professor Tim Draves gave a slide show presentation about the long connection of the military (Spanish, Mexican, Texan, Confederate, and US Armies) with San Antonio. This gave us a feel for the importance of the military in our collective history and the association of soldiers with the city from colonial times to the present.

Walter Stitt also spoke about parts of his autobiography, Surviving Three Shermans. As always, Walter was fun to be with and an inspiration to ALL veterans. Walter was then presented with the new 3rd Armored Division acrylic memento.

Day Three: Saturday morning saw the Association conduct its annual business, Membership meeting, Missing Man, and Remembrance of our Fallen Comrades’ events. These were well done and particularly emotional when reading the  names of our many members lost in the last year. Larry Klauser is the responsible party who maintains and sets up the Missing Man Table for us each year.

During this time, the Association spouses held their own program. Deborah Fulcher taught Bunko to the ladies with prizes provide by Ann Spencer.

The members reelected those Board members whose terms had expired. They each volunteered to serve additional terms.

Left to Right: Don McFetridge, Tony Olson (President), Robert Fulcher, Don Davis, Bryan Smeathers, Larry Klauser, Bill Fortin, Everett Spencer, Ronnie Bauer, Jay Stevenson

The afternoon was open time for small unit get-togethers and visits to downtown San Antonio. The Alamo was very close, which allowed many to visit this hallowed ground and see the ongoing renovation and reconstruction of the site.

Saturday evening began with the presentation of recognition awards. Former Association Presidents Bryan Smeathers and Paul Smith were presented with commemorative acrylic plaques to honor their service the 3rd Armored Division Veterans organization. Bryan and Paul are two of the former presidents of the current Association of 3rd Armored Division Veterans. CSM Joe T. Hill was also presented with the acrylic plaque for his distinguished service to the Army and to the Division. Other members were inducted into the Infantry Association honorees (St. Maurice) and Armor Association (St. George Noble Patrol of Armor).

Bryan Smeathers Former President                          Col (Ret) McFetridge knights Everet Spencer

              Col (Ret) Robert Fulcher knights Tom Jones           

The Merritt Award. The Merritt Award, named after the late Colonel Dan Merritt, is presented by the Association President to the person(s) who made the greatest contribution to the Association of 3rd Armored Division Veterans for  that year. For 2025, the award went to the fabulous SPEARHEAD Team of Ann and Everett Spencer. For those who are unfamiliar with the inner workings of the Association, Everett is the Secretary and Ann is the glue that holds us together. All the newsletters, email blasts, membership lists contact data, management and maintenance, and a hundred other things that happen behind the scenes are the result of their hard work. No one would dispute that the Spencers are fully deserving of this recognition, earned over many years but recognized in particular for 2025.

The traditional Grand Banquet followed the Awards presentations. Our guest speaker was Col (Ret) Robert Fulcher who gave a short slide show presentation about the alert and deployment of the Division to Desert Storm. He described how the families managed the increased stress, delt with the changing circumstances, and their coping strategies during the period. This was an exceptional presentation about an often-overlooked, but critical part of the successful military campaign.

With the close of the banquet, we held the Reunion auction. Don Davis was the auctioneer and did an outstanding job. The auction is one way the Association covers the costs of the Reunion and helped us balance the books.

Day Four: Sunday was checkout and departure day. The Association Board held an informal After-Action Hot Wash to capture the successes and areas that need improvement as we go forward to our next reunion.

Reunion 2026

Next year the Reunion will be held in Nashville, Tennessee 28 October thru 1 November. We will have further details as the year progresses but have committed to stay at The Inn at Opryland, 2401 Music Valley Drive, Nashville, TN 37214. We have also made initial contact with the representatives of Fort Campbell to request they host us for a visit.

See you in Nashville 28 Oct-1 Nov 2026

Respectfully submitted by Jay Stevenson and Don McFetridge