70 Pleasant St. Cohasset, MA.02025 *781 383 0215 * Mail Call : Ben Barrett Ben517@aol.com

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Hello,

Please let me know if you want to receive Mail Calls or if you have a problem receiving them. You can always read Mail Calls by clicking on www.517prct.org/archives

Washington Reunion. Arrival Wednesday June 27. Banquet Sunday July 1. Depart Monday July 2

I try to avoid political and religious issues in Mail Call and for the most part stick to matters pertaining to our war and let historians deal with what is right and wrong with present conflicts.

Ben

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

Reunions Florida Snowbird Mini-Reunion January 21 - 25

2007 Palm Springs, CA. Mini April

Washington, DC National June 27 - July 2

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

Ted L. Crawford

Ben and all the great men of the 517^th.

I just finished my Veterans’ Day phone calls to my uncle, Duane Lamb of F Co. and to my brother, Larry Crawford Marine Corpsman, Vietnam.

I continue to be humbled by such incredible men that did so much to preserve the freedom that we enjoy today. I will make this short but I did not want this day to get away without tipping my hat to all you as well. Thanks gentlemen, you are our heroes!

Ted L. Crawford Son of: Robert L. Crawford PFC A Co.

FYI: I could never understand why I could not find my father Robert Crawford in the Co. A photos or my Uncle Duane Lamb in the Co. F photos. I recently found a C Co. photo and they were both in Company C until they shipped overseas.

Shelia Weyth

I have among my deceased father in-law's effects the identification bracelet for a man named J.W. Blackwell the numbers below the name are C A 517 P. I. R.

Does anyone remember this man? I can only assume that he was someone my father in-law came in contact with possibly during the battle of the bulge. Clarence I. Wyeth, my father in-law was in the Army on the ground during this battle. I guess I wonder if J.W. Blackwell was someone he saved, rescued, or someone who died in his arms? Do you know what J. W. stands for?

Thanks for any information you may have.

Sheila Wyeth

**********

Hello Sheila Wyeth ,

Joseph W. Blackwell Co. A was listed on our 1995 roster. His address at that time was Parkview Drive Hubbard, OH 44425-2228. Has not been on a recent roster.

I cannot find him on our 1944 Christmas roster. I will place your request in "Mail Call" and perhaps someone will recall information about him

Thanks for your interest.

Ben Barrett

***********

Ben,

Thank you for your information. I am glad to hear that J.W. Blackwell survived the war. That doesn't explain why I have his I.D. bracelet but maybe we will hear something. Thank you for your information. I know more than I did before.

Sheila

**************

Hello Shelia Weyth,

My son found in an old Mail Call this information about Joseph Blackwell.

Wayne is the son of Tom Cross who is a retired Colonel and active with the 517 PRCT.

Ben

Dad,

I would think that “C A 517 P. I. R.” means Company A. I also do not see anything on the 1944 roster or Casualty reports for Blackwell.

But I did a search in the MailCalls and found this in MailCall #517:

Bob

Subj: Re: MAIL CALL NO. 516 517TH PRCT July 26, 2003
Date: 7/26/2003 8:33:20 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Crosswc

Ben, I was looking around a used book store today and found a history of Operation Dragoon entitled, "The Second D-Day", written by Jacques Robichon. The book was translated from French by Barbara Shuey for the Army Times Publishing Company in 1962. It was first published in France under the title "Le Debarquement de Provence" (15 Aout 1944). It was first published in the United States by Walker and Company, Inc.

There is a terrific section that outlines the aborted mission of Sgt. Joesph Blackwell and his men to capture Gen. Neuling and his staff at Villa Gladys and describes in some detail the action of 1st Battalion at Draguignan. Good mentions of Gen. Seitz, Col. Boyle and Gen Zais. There are also interesting accounts of the airlift.

I am passing along to my Dad so that he can read and put in a little context for me, I am sure he will share with the unit historian. It was a great find, written so close after the action that the recollections are fresh. There are also some pretty interesting recollections from the German side.

Best wishes, -wayne

Howard Hensleigh

Dear Ben,

This is the season for serious college football, when it gets down to the crunch. I love to watch it, but have only today become interested enough to watch a game since Jan's death. Big Ten is my kind of ball--I have been in the stands to watch them all. That has been a few years ago, but the fire in the belly is still there and the uniforms haven't changed much. Today the game for me was Iowa vs. those Wisconsin boys who are the darlings of my good friend Tom Reber, who wore one of those red jersies as his Dad, Bob (our stalwart mortar plt. leader), watched.

Well Tom I have to hand it to you, Wisconsin won fair and square. I was not happy about the first few minutes which gave the Badgers 10 points. The rest of the way It was a good game and Iowa came within three of catching up giving your coach the hebe gebies. My prejudiced eye says that when better games are played the Bid Ten will play them. We can look forward to the Michigan--Ohio State game which should be a doozie.

My apologies to all the supporters of those other conferences. Howard Hensleigh

Nila Gott

Rick, if you don't send in any money for us, then let me know. If they don't get $30. it sounds like they are deleting from the list (Reber). Read this email.

Mom

Larry Zickefosse

Ben,

According to the History Channel's web page 'Shootout' will play again on 24 & 25 Nov. See :

http://www.history.com/shows.do?episodeId=193916&action=detail

Larry Z

June Huffman

> In light of the recent appeals court ruling in California , with respect
> to the Pledge of Allegiance, the following recollection from Senator John
> McCain is very appropriate:
> "The Pledge of Allegiance" - by Senator John McCain
>
> As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war
> during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in
> solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us
> from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40
> men to a room.
>
> This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct result of
> the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000
> miles from home.
> One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike Christian.
> Mike came from a small town near Selma, Alabama . He didn't wear a pair of
> shoes until he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later
> earned a commission by going to Officer Training School Then he became a
> Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and
> deep appreciation of the opportunities this country and our military provide
> for people who want to work and want to succeed.
> As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners
> to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs,
> scarves and other items of clothing.
> Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of months, he
> created an American flag and sewed on the inside of his shirt.
> Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike's shirt
> on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance.
>
> I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important part of our
> day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell it was indeed the most
> important and meaningful event.
> One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did periodically, and
> discovered Mike's shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it.
>
> That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for the
> benefit of all of us, beat Mike Christian severely for thenext couple of hours.
> Then, they opened the door of the cell and threw him in. We cleaned him up as
> well as we could.
>
> The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on which we
> slept. Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room.
>
> As I said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could.   After the
> excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath
> that dim light bulb with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo
> needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes
> almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag. He
> was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was
> making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to
> Pledge our allegiance to our flag and country.
>
> So \the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget
> the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our
> nation and promote freedom around the world.
> You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country
>
> "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
> republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with
> liberty and justice for all."