Dear Ben, thanks for your response! Dad passed away back in
Dec of '97 at his home in Petersburg Va. I spent many hours as a youngster
looking through his books about the 517th and the 18th ABC. I live in Central
Point Or. just above the Ca. line. I'm 275 mi. from your hotel and being an
independent trucker, getting there is no problem. I would like to be with you
folks at least for awhile, during one of your informal gatherings. I served
aboard the USS Turner Joy (DD951) for two deployments to the South China sea
during the Vietnam war between '65 and '69. Dad retired in '77 after 25 yrs then
was a civil servant for DOA until '92. Having been an Army "brat" of the first
order, I have a strong allegiance to all of you who served with and under Dad's
command later. I will call you soon to determine when it might be a good time to
be @ the Red Lion. I can park my rig across the street. Is Tom
Cross going to be in attendance? I have some pictures of Dad and him along with
some other officers that was taken somewhere , maybe @ Bragg?? Thanks again Ben,
Best regards, TOD
****************
Lt. William C. Hale is listed on our 1944 Christmas
roster. He was a member of Service Company. -Ben
Lory Curtis
A 'touchy-feely' CNN reporter, while interviewing a Marine
sniper
asked, "What do you feel when you shoot a terrorist?"
The
Marine shrugged and replied, " Recoil ."
Wayne Cross
Dragoon--After Action Report
Record of Events
Company "G"
"D"
DAY
"G" Co. took off from Orbetello Airfield,
Italy at 0220 hours D Day with the mission of dropping in the vicinity of La
Motte, France and moving to a location near Chateau St. Rosseline in Regimental
Reserve.
At 0440, the Co. dropped about 25 miles from
their objective near Callian, France. Assembly was difficult since the
element of the Co. were spread over a large area and the DZ was on unfamiliar
terrain. The first units assembled, set up on high ground and established
an all around defense, while the organization was carried on. An aid
station for jump casualties was set up in a French house and patrols were sent
out to contact other members of the Co. and carry in the injured.
When the Co. was assembled, Lt. Ridler
assumed command, being senior officer present in the assembly area. A
study of the maps, aided by some French people, showed that some elements of our
Co. were dropped 25 miles from the original DZ.
The Co. moved into the town of Callian where
Lt. Steele and a group of 13 men joined the unit. As the Co. left Callian
and crossed the railroad tracks running through the valley, several men dropped
out for demolition work. Collins and Thomas blew up sections of the
railroad tract and tore down communication lines.
The unit was halted during the afternoon to
give injured men medical aid and rest for the others. After dark, the
column moved onto a bivouac area and set up defenses. Capt. McGeever,
Commanding Officer of Hqs. Co. 3rd Bn. and another group of troopers joined
here. Among them were 15 G Co. men.
The Co. went into a forward assembly area
between La Motte and Les Arcs and got a two hour rest before getting word to
attack at 1930. The attack came about 1930 hours and ran through a
vineyard and around a railroad bend. The running skirmish lasted most of
the night, with our troops digging in the vineyard and sending out
patrols. The G Co. patrols brought in 19 prisoners during the night and
six early the next morning.
In the morning, we moved into these positions
with MG’s attached from Hqs. Co. and some attached Anti-Tank Units. Capt.
Hooper rejoined the Co. here, also Sgt. Long, who had badly injured his ankle on
the jump.
Capt. G. A. Hooper, Commander of Co. G had
come in with the lead plane in the Co. flight and had not received the
pre-planned warning the crew chief was supposed to signal to prepare the men for
the jump. When the signal came, Capt. Hooper was still working with a
damaged harness on his own chute, but helped get door load out and get his stick
of men on the way. It was several seconds before the Capt. was ready to
jump, but he bailed out as soon as he had his harness adjusted. He landed
NW of Grasse, approximately 40 miles from the EZ, but contacted members of the
French Maquis, who led him through the enemy lines to rejoin his outfit four
days later.
Two G. Co. men had jumped with the Pathfinder
Unit at 0326 hours, landing six miles from the DZ. Pfc. Henry Fitipnek was
injured on the jump, but assembled with four other Pathfinders and fought with
the British paratroopers in the taking of Le Muy the following day.
Pvt. J. Kitchin assembled with 20 of the
Pathfinders near a German barracks at
Le Muy. They were drawn into a
firefight which cost the enemy 17 dead and four wounded. They also joined
the British and fought at Le Muy. They reached their objective, set up and
guided in the 551st Prcht. Inf., the Glider units and some aerial re-supply
drops.
Cpl. Allen Douglas landed near Fayence and
assembled with several other parachutists on the ground. Realizing they
were off the DZ, they set up a small defense and waited for dawn. They
eventually formed a mixed group of 13 men, Americans, British and Scotch.
They contracted the Maquis who brought them a 2300 radio they had recovered from
an equipment bundle. They worked into the frequency, took the call name
and contacted other American forces.
For their positions, they radioed information
back to the American troops and
P-47’s were sent over to dive bomb and
strafe.
When "King Six" said they were going to bomb
the town of Fayence,
Cpl. Douglas had them hold off until he sent a Maquis
down into town to have the civilians evacuate it, which they promptly
did.
Lt. L. McElroy had jumped at Callian and went
patrolling to assemble other paratroopers. The column moved out while he
was still patrolling through the hills. As he moved in towards Callian to
rejoin the troops, he engaged the Germans in a fire fight. He killed five
and was lightly wounded himself when he shot one who had pulled the pin on a
grenade. He reported into the 36th Div. And was given the location of his
outfit, rejoining them in Montauroux.
As Cp. Louie Hopke moved along the Ragnols
Road with another trooper, they got word of some Germans in a large house.
They took up positions and called for them to surrender. They came running
out of the house, so the men opened fire on them with a tommy gun and a
carbine. They took 40 prisoners, after killing close to the same
number. They turned those prisoners over to the 143 Inf.
Sgt. Hackard and Col. Deshayes worked with an
083 Officer in negotiating surrender terms with a German officer in command of
the fortress at La Roeb, taking 174 prisoners. Later in the afternoon,
Sgt. Hackard, along with three others, assisted in the killing of three Germans
and the capture of it.
GRANT A. HOOPER