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

MAIL CALL

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Hello,

This might be the last Mail Call til next year. I am leaving for the West Coast this evening and won't be back until Jan. 2007.Send Mail. I will be able to receive mail but not sure if I can send Mail Call from another computer because of large address book. I will try to do so.

. You can always read back Mail Calls by clicking on www.517prct.org/archives

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

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Ben

Website www.517prct.org
Mail Call Ben 517@AOL.COM
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-Reunion April 15 - 20

Washington, DC National June 27 - July 2

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

Boom Boom Alicki

A great story and well deserved recognition for yours and Bob's dedication in keeping us ole 517th Prct connected.

            " Our yesterdays follow us; they constitute our life,
               and they give character and force and meaning to
               our present deeds.

Larry Davis

Kenneth Howell {Hal} Higginbotham passed away on December 4 2006 at Lakeland Fla Regional Hospital. He was a member of the 517th Parachute Inf. He was in E Company. He received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He was a friend of mind and would like for you to pass this information on in case someone knew him and had served with him. After service he went in law enforcement for 36 years in Polk County Fla. [Lakeland Fla]

Larry Davis

Lakeland Fla 33809

863 858-2717

lmardavv@aol.com

I was in the 82nd Abn in 54-56. I have been to Camp Toccoa Ga several times. They have a nice area for the 506th , 511th and the 517th.

Best of luck to you and the other old timers who served.

Airborne ! All the way!

http://badaboo.free.fr/merryxmas.swf

1944 V-Card from France (unused)

Christmas 1944

Notes from Howard Hensleigh (June 2005):

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