From: Ben517@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2006 7:41 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: MAIL CALL NO 1187 517TH PRCT- SEPTEMBER 19, 2006
70  Pleasant St. Cohasset, MA.02025  *781 383 0215 * Mail Call : Ben Barrett  Ben517@aol.com
 
 Hello,
 
I want to express my deepest sympathy to the family of Elbert "Bert" Duran, A Co on the passing of Elbert.
 
I last met Elbert  with his son Rubin at the 2004 Palm Springs West Coast Reunion. They both were thrilled that because of MailCall,  Elbert was able to get in touch of the family of a buddy who was killed in the last days of the war and they had a pact  that if either survived, they would get in touch with the family of the deceased. Elbert was seriously wounded and lost information but search for the family for sixty years and then found out that they lived not far from him.
 
I have more mail which I will try  get out tomorrow.
 
Ben
 

Website                                   www.517prct.org                                                        
Mail Call                                  
517th Mail Call
Mail Call Archives                 
www.517prct.org/archives
Roster                                     www.517prct.org/roster.pdf

Reunions              Kissimmee , FL      Mini               January 21 - 25
 2007                      Palm Springs, CA  Mini                April
                                Washington, DC    National        June 27 - July 2

Recent website additions:
 
    Click on http://517prct.org/auxiliary/ to find the mission of the Auxiliary and an enrollment form

Ray Estrella
 
Hello Ben, Ray Estrella here. It is my sad duty to report to you that my Father-In-Law, Elbert "Bert" Duran, A Co., passed away yesterday, September , 18, 2006. He had been diagnosed with double pneumonia 48 hours earlier, but the root cause of his medical problems was prostrate cancer. He was having a very difficult time breathing due to the fluid in his lungs, so his children decided to call in the Hospice Team. They connected some oxygen equipment to him, gave him some morphine and anti-anxiety medicine, and he went to sleep. He lasted about 18 hours this way, until he died peacefully in his sleep. Our family cared for him 24/7 for the last 15 months of his life, never leaving his bedside. He will be greatly missed. He was "Airborne All The Way", intensely proud of his Airborne heritage, his time in combat with "A" company in the Bulge, and his beloved 517 P.I.R. Association. He was a true patriot, he loved his country and his flag. There is never a shortage of  our great flag in our family, it is always on display. Even though Bert is gone, we will remain a part of the 517 family. There are 4 ex-troopers in our immediate family, and I also come from a long line of ex-troopers. We are "Airborne" in every sense of the word. -- Ray Estrella

Dan Hoskins
 
Pardon me, Bob Ben, but I had one more question. My uncle said that he was wounded in the same minefield blast as R. C. Brown of Hastings, NE. Might you know were I could reach Mr. Brown or his family?

 Again, thank you for any help that you can provide.

Dan

Hello, Bob Ben. Thank you for managing the guestbook and the website. It is a TERRIFIC resource for family members of 517th veterans.

Per my earlier note, my uncle (Tommy McCoin) passed away recently. I truly regret that I did not proactively transport and accompany him to any of the 517th reunions. I am seeking some additional information on behalf of my aunt (his wife) and our extended family.

I was hoping that you could point me to the right place for a few things …

I always understood my uncle to say that he served as an infantry man in Company A of the 517th, yet the December 1944 roster shows him in Battery A of the 460th. My aunt and his brothers also understood that he was in the infantry (not artillery). I believe that the 1944 roster is incorrect because 1) I think that he would remember correctly and 2) he trained at Toccoa for many months in 1943 before transferring to Georgia and NC <I understand from your website that members of the 460th did not train at Toccoa>. Are you aware of other errors on the 1944 roster?

On a related note, my uncle has two Purple Hearts for wounds received in Italy and in Belgium, yet I can’t find any record of those on the Casualty Reports for Company A. His last wounds were suffered in February 1945. The February 1945 Company A casualty report says “Page 1 of 2” on your website yet it contains data only through February 10 or so. Where might I get the casualty report for Company A for the rest of February 1945?

 Finally, can you point me to any living members of Company A? I would be grateful for the opportunity to contact them to learn any more about my uncle’s experiences in WWII.

 Thank you for any help that you can provide, and thank you for your work on the website. Best regards,

 Dan Hoskins