Organization and Training
The 612th Tank Destroyer Battalion was activated as a light battalion at Camp Swift, Texas, on 25 June 1942, under the command of Lt. Col. W. A. Hedden. The cadre of two officers and seventy-three enlisted men were from the 631st Tank Destroyer Battalion. All of the tank destroyer battalions used the same logo, that of a panther eating a caterpillar tread. The logo was widely used at Camp Hood where Tank Destroyer forces were trained, on uniforms, equipment, and official U.S. Army publications.
The Battalion received its men and moved to Camp Bowie, Texas, on 4 December 1942, where they received basic training. Major Joseph M. Deeley assumed command of the battalion on the 27 February 1943.
For advanced training as a self-propelled unit, the battalion first moved to Camp Hood, Texas, on 3 March 1943. The battalion moved back to Camp Swift on 14 June 1943 and participated in the Third Army Maneuvers in Louisiana from September to November 1943, then returned to Camp Swift. On 20 December 1943, the battalion was reorganized as a towed battalion utilizing 3 inch guns and on 26 March 1944 traveled to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, arriving on 29 March 1944. The battalion embarked on the Ile de France, on 5 April 1944, at the New York Port of Embarkation, and sailed on 7 April 1944.
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