Ashley's Letters
Lois Hess on November 13, 2015: "Ashley was in Europe and was at the Battle of the Bulge earlier working on equipment....keeping vehicles running. He was in the Maintenance Battalion of the 9th Armored Division which he joined as a major and became a Lt. Colonel. He enlisted in the army in 1942 and was discharged Dec. 1945. He received the Bronze Star, Oak Leaf Cluster, Legion of Merit and the French Medal The Croix de Guerre for outstanding service."
We have few letters from Ashley. Daughter Robin Ballard said that Bert kept a folder of letters he sent her during the war. Ashley told Robin that after Bert died, he destroyed them.