Killer Kubista: The Terrible Moth

By Mark Kubista

This is a story written primarily for the grandchildren of Robert T. (Arizona Bob) Kubista. It covers the period during which their grandfather served before, during and after the World War II. I doubt any of them have any real idea of what he did or where he was. And WWII is something the younger generations just don’t know about. The sources for all this come from the stories my father shared with me, my brother sister and mother. Other sources include the hundreds of letters my father wrote to his fiancé, my mother Leona, as well as to his own parents. Since they were written at the time the events occurred or within a day or two, these letters are invaluable in verifying dates, times, places and events.

Bob probably did no more nor any less than anyone of the 6 million who served in uniform during WWII. But his story deserves to be told, as well as all the other stories written or as yet unrecorded. I hope this book encourages others to capture the events of their own families if for no other reason than to provide their children and grandchildren with a legacy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 7, 2019
• ISBN: 9781796050912

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 by Mark Kubista.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 08/07/2019

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CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Beginning

Chapter 2 Federalized

Chapter 3 Camp Life

Chapter 4 The Shootings

Chapter 5 Brainstorm Number Two

Chapter 6 Training Continues

Chapter 7 New Guns

Chapter 8 The Travels Begin

Chapter 9 Camp Carson, Colorado

Chapter 10 The Mighty Hunter

Chapter 11 Commissioned

Chapter 12 England

Chapter 13 Paris

Chapter 14 Joining the Eighty-Seventh AFA

Chapter 15 Across Northern France

Chapter 16 The Bulge: The Roof Caves In

Chapter 17 The Godarts

Chapter 18 Operation Grenade: Crossing the Roer River

Chapter 19 The Quedlinburg Treasures

Chapter 20 The Harz

Chapter 21 Post-Hostilities

Chapter 22 DPs

Chapter 23 Preparing to Leave

Chapter 24 Home

Appendix I Record of Service

Appendix II Officer Training and Assignment

Appendix III A short story by M. R. Kubista

Appendix IV Quedlinburg Treasures

Notes

For Dad

Introduction

This is a story written primarily for the grandchildren of Robert Arizona Bob T. Kubista. It covers the period during which their grandfather served before, during, and after World War II. I doubt any of them have any real idea of what he did or where he was. And WWII is something the younger generations just don’t know about. Therefore, to provide the necessary background and context for understanding the events, it contains far more detail than just another story about a WWII veteran.

The sources for all this come from the stories my father shared with me, my brother, my sister, and my mother. Sometimes they aren’t very accurate, sometimes they are embellished, and sometimes the events happened to others and were borrowed as his own. I don’t think any of them are an outright lie. There is nothing unusual or criminal about this. Most of us have done the same at one time or another, and my dad isn’t alone in doing so. When I have been able to, I have explained the contradictions where they exist, and I have provided an accurate account.

Bob believed it was wrong to let the truth get in the way of a good story, and he didn’t mind being the butt of a good joke, even if he did it to himself. While the narration seems terribly self-centered, it isn’t. It is, after all, the story of his experiences and not a history. But this is not to disregard the others he trained and fought with, or those whose stories don’t appear here. Those stories will, hopefully, be related elsewhere.

He once told me he claimed to be the only soldier in the ETO who had NOT landed on D-Day. I can appreciate the sentiment.

Other sources include the hundreds of letters my father wrote to his fiancée, my mother Leona, as well as to his own parents. Since they were written at the time the events occurred or within a day or two, these letters are invaluable in verifying dates, times, places, and events. This is especially true regarding a foray into Paris before it was liberated by the Allies. You can’t make that stuff up later.

Newspaper articles were also a good source, particularly the reporting of the local 124th Field Artillery and its participation in the great Louisiana Maneuvers.

Books and studies about the war also provided clarifying background material and context. However, as with many, many units in the ETO and the Pacific, histories are usually written to tell the story of divisions, regiments, or battalions, and those formations assigned to them. Hundreds of units and thousands of soldiers never had their story told, simply because they were not assigned to one of these units. This is particularly true of corps and army assets.

As a corps asset, the Eighty-Seventh AFA never truly figured in the history of any of the units it provided fire support to. Despite being married to the Fourteenth Cavalry Group, that unit would’ve been concerned with the actions and activities of its squadrons and assigned support units, and not the Eighty-Seventh. The Eighty-Seventh likewise would have and did focus its reporting on its activities and men.

After-action reports would be the same and would be limited to the unit doing the report. Thus, histories, after-action reports, unit summaries, and other published and unpublished works often inadvertently overlooked the contributions made by others. This is even more pronounced as one studies the Battle of the Bulge. Record keeping was sketchy, papers were lost, and events were forgotten during the fight. Memories fade, and facts were lost. Most people’s memories of such things are strictly limited to the fifty or so feet around them. Sometimes the event was never recorded. As the army says: if it isn’t written down, then it didn’t happen. Unfortunately, this is the case.

But having said that, I used these sources to verify and clarify as much as possible the true facts of Bob’s story.

For continuity after Bob’s entry in France, the best possible source was the Jeopard history, published after the war in Germany. Although it doesn’t quite cover the actions at the very end of the war in detail, it does a very good job of telling the Eighty-Seventh’s story. The history itself is based on the daily after-action reports, as written by the battalion headquarters staff. It is timely, accurate, and thorough.

The history itself was put together and printed in Germany for the benefit of the battalion members. It was done in a hurry so as many men as possible could receive a copy before they all rotated to the States and were lost forever. Being hurried, this may account for the lack of detail toward the end.

Sources

Oral Interviews

These consisted of the many stories told by Bob to his wife, children, and friends. These were also collected in notes and other writings by the same. Where ambiguity and confusion are present, efforts were made to find amplifying information. Some details as told were likely inaccurate, due to either embellishment or poor memory. Where this is apparent, much research has usually been able to provide the truth and has been reported as such.

Letters

These are letters from R. T. Kubista to Leona Novak. Luckily, Bob was a prolific letter writer and wrote almost daily. These letters provide a fairly complete picture of his whereabouts and activities both prior to and during the war. Letters from the period of December 16, 1944, to February 1945, the time of the Bulge, are scarce. This may be a result of continuous combat and lack of free time to write. All letters are part of the Kubista family collection.

Diaries

Kubista kept well-detailed diaries of his time in the National Guard and the early part of his federalized service. Diaries from 1941 to 1942 were used, and letters then made up the bulk of information after Bob got tired of writing diary entries in mid-1942, which did say anything. Diaries are in the Kubista Family Papers.

Short stories

Wrecking the Rockets by R. T. Kubista, unpublished. Kubista Family Papers.

Hotel Crillon by R. T. Kubista, unpublished. Kubista Family Papers.

LSR/Magdeburg by R. T. Kubista, unpublished. Kubista Family Papers.

‘Only 8’ from Disaster by R. T. Kubista, unpublished. Kubista Family Papers.

Incident in Harkerode by R. T. Kubista, unpublished. Kubista Family Papers.

Liberation of Nordhausen by R. T. Kubista, unpublished. Kubista Family Papers.

Newspapers

Berwyn Suburban Life

Chicago Herald American

Chicago Daily News

Chicago Daily Times

Illinois Guardsman

New York Times

Stars and Stripes

Maps

Various US Army tactical maps used by R. T. Kubista during the war, with handwritten annotations. Kubista Family Papers.

German map and overlays of Second SS Recon Battalion near Odeigne, Belgium, captured by R. T. Kubista. The David Kubista Collection.

After-Action Reports

87th Armored Field Artillery After-Action Report. June 1, 1944–April 1, 1945. Ike Skelton Combined Arms Research Library.

82nd Airborne Division. December 16, 1944–January 16, 1945. Kubista Family Papers.

Photographs

Bob took many, many pictures documenting places and activities he experienced. Annotations did much to clarify the chronology of postings. Photos are in the Kubista Family Papers.

Books

The following works provided background for this story. When specifically cited, they are noted in the endnotes.

History of the 124th Field Artillery, author unknown. Multipage handout to all new members of the 124th. Published circa 1940.

Jeopard, History of the 87th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 1945, Jeopard, Union Drucherei, Stuttgart, Baden-Wuertemburg, Germany. Catalogue number LBY 72813.

The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge by Hugh Cole, 1965, Konecky and Konecky. ISBN: 1-56852-370-X.

Battle of the Bulge by Danny S. Parker, 1991, Combined Books Inc. ISBN: 0-938289-04-7.

The Battle East of Elsenborn and the Twin Villages by William C. C. Cavanagh, 2004, Pen and Sword Books Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-84884-892-4.

Hell on Wheels by Donald E. Houston, 1977, Presidio Press. ISBN: 0-89141-273-5.

Combat Commander by MG E. N. Harmon, 1970, Prentice-Hall Inc. ISBN: 0-13-152421-6.

The Bedford Boys by Alex Kershaw, 2003, Da Capo Press. ISBN: 0-306-81167-7.

Robert T. Kubista

Chronology

7/11/40 Private Illinois National Guard.

3/5/41 At Camp Forrest, Tennessee, with 124th FA Battalion, 33rd Infantry Division.

4/3/41 PFC (Private First Class).

5/19/41 Corporal.

9/19/41 At Camp Robinson, Arkansas, with the 124th.

5/12/42 Transferred to Missouri. Eightieth FA Battalion, Fifty-Third FA Battalion, First FA Battalion.

5/28/42 Sergeant.

6/15/42 Transferred to Camp Carson, Colorado. 914th FA Battalion.

8/15/42 Staff sergeant.

12/29/42 Field Artillery OCS, Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

3/25/43 Commissioned 2nd lieutenant.

4/7/43 Transferred to FARTC (Field Artillery Replacement and Training Center), Camp Bragg, North Carolina, Sixth Battalion, Second Regiment.

5/27/43 Transferred to Camp Blanding, Florida. 872nd FA Battalion, 66th Infantry Division.

6/3/43 Completed Sixty-Sixth Infantry Division Ranger Training.

8/16/43 Transferred to Camp Robinson, Arkansas.

9/3/43 Transferred to Camp Shelby, Mississippi. 881st FA Battalion until December 13, 1943.

5/21/44 Transferred to Camp Meade, Maryland.

5/25/44 Transferred to Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts. Sailed aboard SS Mariposa for England.

6/11/44 Arrived in England.

6/13–8/20/44 Braunton/Barnstaple, England.

8/22/44 Arrived in Paris.

9/16/44 Arrived in Belgium.

9/24/44 Joined Eighty-Seventh FA Battalion, Wirtzfeld, Germany.

10/1/44 Eupen, Belgium.

10/2/44 Entered Germany again.

2/1/45 Promoted as 1st lieutenant.

4/27/45 Minnegerode, Harz Mountains, Germany.

5/12/45 Quedlinburg, Germany.

5/22/45 Rossla, Germany.

6/7/45 Sangerhausen, Germany.

7/3/45 Arrived in Ludwigsburg, Germany.

9/8/45 Awarded Bronze Star.

9/15/45 Tamm, Germany.

9/18/45 Left Germany for France.

10/1/45 Reims, France.

10/16/45 Brussels with HQ, 207th Field Artillery Battalion.

10/29/45 Camp Saint Louis, France.

11/3/45 Left France for US aboard SS Western