Mail Call 517th Mail Call
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Howard Hensleigh
Dear Ben, I was able to give Jean-Loup my version of
the 15 Aug. jump and the attacks from les Arcs to Sospel by phone this
morning. It occurred to me that you might find people
interested and knowledgeable through Mail Call and at the reunion. He is a
busy medical student dedicating his vacation to this oral history project which
will record personal accounts of the operation indelibly in history.
Athey and others who do not get Mail Call may be interested. He set up the
telephone call by calling a day ahead of time, so all he needs are the phone
numbers of those willing and capable of adding their account. He has
special interest in the St. Cezaire attack.
My best, Howard H.
Claire Giblin
Hi, Ben -
Jean-Loup Gassend makes a good point, and is obviously correct. Collectors with a respect for WWII memorabilia are not monsters. However, I would rather see these items passing to collectors directly at the trooper's choice, rather than winding up on ebay and in garage sales (because relatives don't know what they have inherited). While collectors may pray to find these items at garage sales (and they certainly will continue to do so, regardless of my feelings on the subject), it is my hope that troopers will entrust these items to interested and caring individuals. These might be collectors, museums, or they might be family members.
Your history should be honored, and if you have items, you should see to it that they are given to people who appreciate and respect that history. That person may be a family member, a museum founder, or a collector. I certainly do not mean to offend the many loving caretakers of the unit's history. We have met many re-enactors in France who feel it is their duty to educate the next generations, as well as to absorb the history while they can, from those who made it.
My father (Allan Johnson, 596) makes a good point: the individual collector may or may not provide a service and education to everyone. Museums will. Sadly, there does not seem to be a museum stateside that is especially interested (or if there is, we've been unable to locate it as yet).
M. Gassend offers to help record your unit history, and seems interested in your contributions. Perhaps more troopers will take him up on his offer to speak with him; I hope he'll join us in Le Muy this summer. We look forward to meeting him.
Claire Giblin
daughter Allan Johnson, 596
Chris Lindner
