70 Pleasant St. Cohasset, MA.02025 *781 383 0215 * Mail Call :
Ben Barrett
Ben517@aol.com
Hello,
I have just received information from Eleanor
Archer that Ed "Dog" Jordan has suddenly passed away this past week.
At times you may have a problem viewing photos. However, we
place most photos on the website under
Training and WWII
Photos .
Please try to send in donations by August 15 to Keep the 517
PRCT Association viable. Suggested amount $30.00 to include
Thunderbolt. Auxiliary members $20.00 Plus $10.00 if you want to
receive the for the Thunderbolt. Send donations to Leo
Dean, 14 Stonehenge Lane, Albany, NY 12203.
This Mail Call may be confusing to you. Me too
Ben
Snowbird
mini-reunion
Kissimmee, FL Jan 20-22, 2008 in later Mail Calls.
Ben and Claire,
Do I have news for you. As V.Pres. Dick Chaney left the stage he
passed by our table where we were all standing and I extended my hand to him. He
took a couple steps toward me and shook my hand as he passed. I was sure the
secret service man would step between us but the V P smiled and went on his
way.
Don Saunders, 596th PEC
Col. S. M. Wallace
I would like to thank the Barrett family
for their kind hospitality and friendship they extended to me, a perfect
stranger, at the recent 517th Dinner in Virginia. I had the opportunity to speak
with so many of the original troopers, what a great evening! My father was an
enlisted man in G Company, I only wish he could have been there too. I remember
trying to put his jump boots on as a six year old kid, they were brown then...
And LTG Seitz- still going strong!! There is a logistics base named after him in
Baghdad "Log Base Seitz" , I think it was named when the 82nd was rotating
through the Baghdad A/O.
Stay safe all!
COL S.M.
Wallace
Alexandria, VA
Elaine Berger
It
looks like Ancestry's licensing prevents me from downloading the whole list and
having it redistributed by another site. The citation shows they
copied from fiche at
NARA. I'll look
around on Monday for a copy that can be distributed or linked.
I "paged" through on Ancestry's scans and saw at least HQ & HQ Co, Service
Company, H and I Companies. For my uncle's page the citation
is
|
Microfilm
Serial: |
T715 |
|
Microfilm
Roll: |
T715_6993 |
|
Page
Number: |
229
|
The listings look like they were submitted by each
company as they are by company, rank and alpha by name. The pages are
different than the typical DOJ manifests of the day.
Right now I have to go pay some attention to 2
hungry cats and Joe, my husband.
Elaine
Bob Barrett
Kenton,
I don’t know how long you’ve been following MailCall,
or searched through the web site for info on Floyd Stott. (There is a search feature for
both.) Just in case, I thought I
would pass on this item that appeared in a MailCall in
2001.
Bob Barrett
Date: 10/19/2001
From: Bill Gearon
Subj: Manhay
I related the story
of Mike Spano and Fred Beyer to my uncle, Lt. Ray Gearon. He remembers the incident with the P38
and the losses from the friendly fire. He was the platoon leader of the 3rd
platoon, Co. I, 517th, and Lt. Stott
("Stozie" he called him) was the platoon leader of the
1st platoon. He relates that when it came time to move into town, the shells
were coming in very heavy and falling short. My uncle wanted to wait, Lt. Stott
did not. Stott left and my uncle followed him about a minute later. When the
third platoon caught up to the first platoon, he found "Stozie" dead. He recalled the P38 dropping the bomb and
strafing the encampment.
He related a story about Lt. Stott. They
were in Nice and a number of children with no money were watching others on a
merry-go-round, unable to participate. "Stozie" bought
a roll of tickets and he told the operator that all of the children could
ride.God bless you
all!
Bill Gearon, nephew of Lt. Raymond D. Gearon
Kenton,
I believe that Raymond
Gearon passed away in 2004. But I think his nephew, Bill Gearon is still on the
MailCall mailing roster.
Just to finish out the
story of Mike Spano and Fred Meyers, here is the full
version. (This story has been
repeated in MailCall a couple of times before.)
Bob
Barrett
Subj: Mail
Call No. 164
Date: 10/12/2001
4:49:00
PM Eastern Daylight time
From:
Mike Spano
To:
Ben517
Ben, You
asked for personal stories. Here's one I will never forget. I know that
thousands of eerie events happened to lots of guys that made them believe in a
guardian angel. Here's mine.
It was in Manhay. I was with I Company, Third platoon. We led the
attack and were right in the middle of our own massive artillery barrage. That
night we all jumped into already dug foxholes. The next morning, one of the guys
in the foxhole only a few yards away asked me if I would switch foxholes with
him. Can't remember his name, but he was a B.A.R. man. Without hesitation I said
"sure", and made the switch. It was late morning, I believe, when a P38
lightning flew overhead. Because of its twin fuselage, it was one of the few
planes I could recognize, so I jumped out of the foxhole to take care of a
personal matter. Suddenly, the P38 dives and drops a 500 pounder. I dove back in the foxhole. That's when I heard
that awful scream. I popped my head up just in time to see the guy with whom I
had switched foxholes running with no right arm. Just shreds hung down from what
remained of his shoulder. I slumped down in disbelief. If I didn't switch
foxholes with him, that would be me. Neither he nor his buddy survived just that
one bomb. Friendly fire did it to us again. For quite some time I suffered what
is called survivor's guilt. Manhay wasn't the only
time my guardian angel was looking after me. I'll tell you about another
incident in which I was shot when leading an attack as pointman at a later time. It boggles my mind. Incidentally,
if the trooper who was with me in the foxhole is among our members, please write
me.
Mike
517
Date: 10/13/2001
10:00:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Fred
Beyer
I was in Manhay, and will never forget the artillery barrage the
night before I lost my arm from that P38. It could be the one you are talking
about. I was in a foxhole with Cleo Browning and
believe he was killed. I do remember that Lt.
Stott was killed that
night.
I don't remember any one named
Mike off hand. Refresh my memory, will you?
Sunday
October 14, 2001
Fred Beyer
Date: 10/13/2001
10:51:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From Mike Spano
Hi, FT
Beyer...
I was astounded to hear that you
survived the P38 attack. When I saw you running, I thought you would never make
it with all the blood loss. God bless you. It was either you or your buddy who
switched foxholes with me prior to the attack. Do you remember? Believe me, the
switch happened. Was it you or your buddy who was the B.A.R. man? Please let me
hear from you. However, we are driving to
Florida
tomorrow to our winter home and need a week to get my PC turned on there. I
can't believe it. All these years I thought you were dead. I don't think we knew
each other very well, so I didn't expect you to remember me when I couldn't
recall your name either. But I'll never forget the incident. I was in the
foxhole next to you.
Mike Spano
Mike. Did you
ever get to Florida? I haven't heard from you
since.-Ben
Date: 10/19/2001
From: Bill Gearon
Subj: Manhay
I related the story of
Mike Spano and
Fred Beyer to my
uncle, Lt. Ray Gearon. He remembers the
incident with the P38 and the losses from the friendly fire. He was the platoon
leader of the 3rd platoon, Co. I,
517th, and Lt. Stott ("Stozie" he called him) was the platoon leader of the 1st
platoon. He relates that when it came time to move into town, the shells were
coming in very heavy and falling short. My uncle wanted to wait, Lt. Stott did
not. Stott left and my uncle followed him about a minute later. When the third
platoon caught up to the first platoon, he found "Stozie" dead. He recalled the P38 dropping the bomb and
strafing the encampment.
He related a story about
Lt. Stott. They
were in Nice and a number of children with no money were watching others on a
merry-go-round, unable to participate. "Stozie" bought
a roll of tickets and he told the operator that all of the children could
ride.
My uncle also related another
story. He had a man in his platoon (he could not remember his name) that always
complained that "he was the last man in the last squad, in the last platoon in
the regiment, and the first to go out as a scout."
God bless you
all!
Bill Gearon, nephew of Lt. Raymond D. Gearon
...Kenton
Immerfall
I still have tears in
my eyes. I had no idea you would do such a wonderful job with the photos I
sent. You are Ben are THE BEST! I need to send this link to Floyd's
first cousins as well as my cousins. They will be so
surprised.
Your
uncle was the first trooper into Manhay where he was KIA. I know.-
Ben.