Dick Spencer designed these Christmas Cards. This one was reproduced by regiment on a V-Mail letter sheet. I’m not sure how V-mail worked. We were encouraged to use it, because it took less shipping space to send and went faster than regular mail. The recipient did not receive the actual paper that was mailed, but got a reproduction in the mail. The Christmas card was available for anyone in the outfit to use. We must have sent them out early, because we we were busy that Christmas with things other than opening presents, or mail. Dick made a special one for me. He pictured me in a jump suit with a Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass in my hand. My card had a big S-2 on it as I was the 3rd Bn. S-2 supposedly looking for evidence of the enemy with my magnifying glass.

Dick’s daughter, BJ, who was born a few days after our S. France jump, and her mother, Jo, are still on Mail Call. Dick was a talented writer and cartoonist who later edited the "Western Horseman". He designed the 517th, 460th, and 596th emblems that the riggers duplicated in parachute silk and hung from the ship in which we sailed into NY harbor. We sometimes call these patches, but they were never recognized officially. Dick wrote the booklet describing the Italian campaign where he introduced the moniker "Battling Buzzards" that sticks with us to this day. He was a good friend of Russ Miller, ERV Pinkston and me as we all had attended Iowa U and were in advanced ROTC. As you can see Dick left his imprints on the 517th.

All the way, Howard Hensleigh

PS to Lory Curtis:  I am quite sure these were sent from Europe -- Christmas, 1944.  HH