From: Ben517@aol.com
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2007 8:53 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: MAIL CALL NO. 1370 517TH PRCT - JULY 20, 2007
 
70  Pleasant St. Cohasset, MA.02025  *781 383 0215 * Mail Call : Ben Barrett  Ben517@aol.com
 
Hello,
 
We would like to know if you were able listen to the  Vice Presidents speech in last Mail Call.
 
 
I try to limit the size of Mail Call to four printed pages for various reasons.
 
 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.  Make checks payable to 517prct.         Donations for the Auxiliary should be sent to  Karen Frice Wallace   66295 Highway 20  Bend, OR 97701
 
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
 
Ben

Website                                   www.517prct.org                                                        
Mail Call                                  
Ben517@aol.com
Mail Call Archives                 www.517prct.org/archives
Roster                                     www.517prct.org/roster.pdf

Snowbird mini-reunion
Kissimmee, FL Jan 20-22, 2008 Details in later Mail Calls.

Recent website additions:

Chester A. Wells, H Company
1st Lt. Floyd A. Stott, I Company (KIA)
Robert Magnuson and friends, H Company
1983 517th Reunion Booklet - San Mateo, CA

1993 517th Reunion Booklet - Niagara Falls, NY

1991 517th Reunion Booklet - Sparks, NV


517 PRCT Association  Officers


517th PRCT Auxiliary Mission Statement
517th PRCT Auxiliary Member Application 2007-2008
517th PRCT Auxiliary Officers and Committee Members 2007-2009

Darrell Egner
 
 
I conducted a survey of the Men's Board of Directors regarding what city we should hold the 2008 National Reunion in.  The general consensus at the Washington Reunion was to select a city in the middle of the USA to save travel expense, etc.  The cities under consideration were Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis, Kansas City and San Antonio.
 
I received 8 replies.  The votes are in.        St. Louis 5 votes
                                                              Nashville 1 vote
                                                              San Antonio 1 vote
                                                               Chicago 1 vote
Well, guess where we will be going - St. Louis.  Needless to say AFR will again handle the details.  My biggest fear was finding a host and the Egner luck came through again.  Chris Lindner agreed to be the host. As if Ben didn't have enough to do I called Ben Barrett this morning and he offered to co-Host the event as he did in Washington.  He will work with AFR so Chris can plan the many other details.
 
Chris has been a big supporter of the Auxiliary ever since the Oklahoma Reunion.  She was born and raised in St. Louis and now lives in San Antonio.  She has family living in St .Louis and goes back several times a year.  Her sister Bev has already offered to help with the details and the hospitably room, etc.
 
Again we will plan to hold the Reunion in June so the kids are out of School and able to attend.  Details will be fore coming.  Hope to see you in Kissimmee for the Florida Mini that will be held January 20-22, 2008.  Donna Hilliard and Leigh Webb will co-host this one and are already working on it.
 
My best to all of you,
 
Darrell Egner
President    

Frank Ramos
 
Clair: On Wednesday I delivered the signed Paratrooper's Odyssey and your letter to my former colleague at the Department at Defense, Brian McCormack, for helping us get the Vice President for the event.  I had delivered outside the Old Executive Office Building and have his associate "smuggle" it in as you cannot take courier items into the White House.   Brian thank everyone for the book and looked forward to reading it.
 
For your information an outstanding result occurred from my meeting Patrick O'Donnell, our keynote speaker at the 517th Reunion.  I was so impressed with his military history that we met the next Monday after the 517th farewell dinner. We had a long and interesting discussion whereby I offered to help him meet some "interesting" individuals that might help him as references in a book he writing about the OSS and Special Forces. In  our conversations we discussed the lack of a historical account of the Hispanics serving the military since the revolutionary times to the present. He said that over 30% of the Marines he was with in Fallujah were Hispanics and were included in his book, We Were One
 
Yesterday, what transpired is that Patrick has been retained to write a book about the Hispanics in the military starting with the first book from WW II.  I introduced him to a friend who was in the Special Forces in Viet Nam and who served under Gene Frice as a young lieutenant in Viet Nam.  Major General Albert Zapanta  (Airborne/Special Forces/Ranger), former DoD Chairman of the Military Reserves and National Guard Policy Board and to others in Washington, DC. Bottom line was we  gave him the go ahead to write the first book starting with WW II.   
 
Patrick laid out his outline about how to get this untold story in a possible series of military history anthologies. Focusing in part on some of  40 Medal of Honor Recipients who are Hispanic from all of the wars.  Very little has been written about some of those and other heroes, like an enlisted man who was able to talk 1,000 Japanese at Saipan to surrender to him because he had learned to speak Japanese when he grew up in California. A movie was made about his story except he was depicted by Tab Hunter, a blond. He was not recommended for the Medal of Honor because he disobeyed his officer in what he was supposed to do on his patrol in seeking the enemy. He saved the lives of his troops and the Japanese in getting them to surrender without engaging in fire fights.
 
Patrick said to me as I was driving him back to his car yesterday that the chance meeting between he and I was like serendipity. He is really excited about this book that  we will underwrite for him with sponsorships.  We plan to make a  public announcement in September.
 
So some more  good "stuff" has come from the 517th PCRT reunion.
 
PS:  Ben can you please  forward this note to Ray Estrella, Airborne/Special Forces( son in law of Mr. Duran. 517th member,  who recently passed away). Ray is a friend of Zapanta's and would be interested in what we are doing with Patrick.
Jean Loup Gassend
 
Dear Ben

I sent a message a couple of days ago asking about a
picture showing a KIA german beside his motorbike, but
you forgot to post the picture with my message.
Could you please post this picture in mail call. This
bad quality version was found in a post war booklet
about the 517th. I would like to know if anybody has a
good quality version of this picture (maybe in a book
about the 517th?). Surely a better copy of the picture
must exist somewhere? Can anybody help me to find a
nice version of this picture?

Thanks a lot

Jean-Loup Gassend
jean-loup@gassend.com
                                                           *********
Picture has been posted in Mail Call No 1368 - Ben

Michael and Eric
 
Hi you all
ABOUT THE MOTORCYCLE STORY
 
there is not too many story about a german killed by a rifle grenade on a motorcycle, the only one we have happen on the way to Le Muy on the first hours of the invasion, near the german headquarter, and one of the paratrooper involved in this action is "F" co  Gary DAVIS, that's probably the reason Howard heard about Harry "Riddle" he was Gary platoon leader, if you need more info contact me Jean Loup, but difficult when you are writing a book to associate a story to a picture of that quality. possible to have 2 different story...  
 
regards to you all
Mikael & Eric
Airborne Museum Le MUY

William Corrnet
 
Ben
what happened  to you. we have missed you for a while now.
                                                     *********
Mail to you must have been returned three times. All set now.-Ben
Julie ????????
 
just want to set the record straight.  I don't know who originally wrote this email, but they are so WRONG!
 
In God We Trust IS ON THE NEW DOLLAR COIN!  It can be found inscribed encircling the outside rim of the coin, which looks really cool!
 
I wish that irresponsible people like this would not go flying off the handle on the internet without checking their facts first!
 
Please forward this to the original person who sent this to you and everyone you forwarded this to, so that the record can be SET STRAIGHT!
 
Thank you!
                                                            *********
I did received that message but never posted it in Mail Call because I checked my many dollar  coins. The words above are Julie's  not mine. - Ben

Kent Immerfall
 
And my Highest Regards back at you Howard Hensleigh.  I knew one of the Band of Brothers would recall who was who in the pictures I sent.  Now I can add names to the faces and continue my genealogy research for Uncle Floyd.  You brave men have the best memories of such a terrible time.  I appreciate the candid comments and the fact that you played touch football and what "terms" were employed before you could eat.  Each of you was a person, whether you were from Iowa or not.  And each of you had dreams and aspirations.  Some, such as 1st Lt. Stott, did not see those Great Expectations realized.  But the fact he was there, with all of you, made a difference.  The battles and war were not won by a single person but a team of dedicated men and women, both overseas and in America.  An educated person would think the World could learn from these past men-killing-men battles.  But, we don't.  Thank you, Howard, for memories many choose not to talk about.
 
Kenton Floyd Immerfall