Michael and Eric
Dear Ben,
As i read on the last Mail call, George Ross son didn't have
the email with his father picture, I sent it another time, with our sinceres
condolences .
We have other photos with george in the museum archives, if he
is interested to have them transmit my email : J. Michael : jimi-lizy@infonie.fr
warmest regards to you all. hope to see you on
DC.
Ray Hess
Good Morning Ben. In reply to the "e-mail" from George Ross.
George, I phoned your Parent's home after reading of your Father's
death and receive a message from an answering machine. I also talked to Warren
Caulfield who also received a message from an answering machine .
However, to you and your Mother, my wife Polly and I want to extend our deepest
and most sincere sympathy to you, your Mother, and the remainder of the Ross
Family.
Teri Marrone
Ben,
Thank you for your response. I have a few more questions if you don't
mind. This is about the 517th Jump Oval:
Did the 596th and the 460th wear the 517th jump oval? Was it common for
517th troopers to wear the jump ovals on their dress uniforms? Finally,
was it ever common to see the 517th regimental patch, 596th unit patch,
460th battalion patch on any uniform items during the war?
Thanks.
Teri Marrone
Thank you for your response. I have a few more questions if you don't
mind. This is about the 517th Jump Oval:
Did the 596th and the 460th wear the 517th jump oval? Was it common for
517th troopers to wear the jump ovals on their dress uniforms? Finally,
was it ever common to see the 517th regimental patch, 596th unit patch,
460th battalion patch on any uniform items during the war?
Thanks.
Teri Marrone
Howard Hensleigh
Dear Ben: Sorry to be late; my first answer disappeared and
went I know not where. Here is a second try.
First, I assume the "patches" are the 517th buzzard, the 460th kicking mule and the 596th trooper with the mine detector. The short answer is that none of them were ever officially recognized by the Army and even though available long before the unit disbanded, officially we did not wear them on our uniforms. The rest of the story fits into the history of the outfit as one of the many unique contributions made by combat team members.
The "patches" were a products of the talents of Dick Spencer, a G Co platoon leader and later 3rd Bn. S-1. As we all know now, the combat team was composed of many talented troopers. Each did his part to make it a unique outfit. A few like McQuade did his part in combat and faded away into oblivion after the War. Dick did his part in combat and was wounded several times for his efforts there. He also contributed to the morale of troopers and their units whenever he could.
Dick was a high profile journalism student and cartoonist at Iowa U. He took his portable typewriter with him when he swapped his cowboy boots for jump boots. Jo Spencer still has Dick's beat up portable used to record our history and send news releases to papers at home. Before we left Italy Dick had written a booklet describing the campaign calling the outfit the battling buzzards. He said this name fit because we were a small unit attached to larger ones that gave us dirty combat jobs to clean up. He came to this conclusion earlier than most, a fact we all realized by the time we left the Bulge and Bergstein. The book "Battling Buzzards" erroneously concludes that Dick manufactured the three "patches" after the War. The emblems of the three elements of the combat team appeared much earlier, possibly when the booklet on the Italian campaign was published. Dick came up with Christmas cards and other items when he thought the outfit needed them. He thought the three elements of the outfit needed their own distinct symbol for morale purposes. He supplied them long before the War ended. Possibly Astor thought that no combat team would have the guts to produce its own "patches" without official blessing of Army. The talents of our troopers frequently exceeded the expectations of the regimented minds of our superiors as they did in our "requisitioning" the transportation we required for prolonged periods combat. When our victory ship pulled into New York harbor the battling buzzard in color from the deck to the top of the mast was there in color. The riggers had pieced it together from colored equipment bundle chutes. It was clearly visible a mile away. It was the outfit's way of demanding a little recognition.
I think the patches we did wear were the patches of the 17th Airborne Division, the 5th Army, the 18th Airborne Corps and, reluctantly, the 13th Airborne Division. If anyone else has recollections, lets have them.
Highest regards, Howard Hensleigh
First, I assume the "patches" are the 517th buzzard, the 460th kicking mule and the 596th trooper with the mine detector. The short answer is that none of them were ever officially recognized by the Army and even though available long before the unit disbanded, officially we did not wear them on our uniforms. The rest of the story fits into the history of the outfit as one of the many unique contributions made by combat team members.
The "patches" were a products of the talents of Dick Spencer, a G Co platoon leader and later 3rd Bn. S-1. As we all know now, the combat team was composed of many talented troopers. Each did his part to make it a unique outfit. A few like McQuade did his part in combat and faded away into oblivion after the War. Dick did his part in combat and was wounded several times for his efforts there. He also contributed to the morale of troopers and their units whenever he could.
Dick was a high profile journalism student and cartoonist at Iowa U. He took his portable typewriter with him when he swapped his cowboy boots for jump boots. Jo Spencer still has Dick's beat up portable used to record our history and send news releases to papers at home. Before we left Italy Dick had written a booklet describing the campaign calling the outfit the battling buzzards. He said this name fit because we were a small unit attached to larger ones that gave us dirty combat jobs to clean up. He came to this conclusion earlier than most, a fact we all realized by the time we left the Bulge and Bergstein. The book "Battling Buzzards" erroneously concludes that Dick manufactured the three "patches" after the War. The emblems of the three elements of the combat team appeared much earlier, possibly when the booklet on the Italian campaign was published. Dick came up with Christmas cards and other items when he thought the outfit needed them. He thought the three elements of the outfit needed their own distinct symbol for morale purposes. He supplied them long before the War ended. Possibly Astor thought that no combat team would have the guts to produce its own "patches" without official blessing of Army. The talents of our troopers frequently exceeded the expectations of the regimented minds of our superiors as they did in our "requisitioning" the transportation we required for prolonged periods combat. When our victory ship pulled into New York harbor the battling buzzard in color from the deck to the top of the mast was there in color. The riggers had pieced it together from colored equipment bundle chutes. It was clearly visible a mile away. It was the outfit's way of demanding a little recognition.
I think the patches we did wear were the patches of the 17th Airborne Division, the 5th Army, the 18th Airborne Corps and, reluctantly, the 13th Airborne Division. If anyone else has recollections, lets have them.
Highest regards, Howard Hensleigh
Wayne Cross
Ben I saw the attached item on ebay today. It appears to be a
517th Christmas Card from around 1943 and contains a picture on the insert of
Gen. Walsh and Col. Walton. Here is the link
Marian Brannan (Bill Brannan's wife )
“Life is a daring adventure
or it is nothing.”
Helen
Keller - deaf-mute and author. 1803-1882
Excerpt
from Twenty Remarkable Women Seen Through Their
Handwriting
Greetings to everyone,
HANDWRITING
CONSULTANT &
Author
1-800-715-4080
|
Marian is now offering a basic correspondence course in handwriting
analysis.
Go to
WWW.HANDWRITINGXPERT.COM connect to
Eight Basic Steps! |