Howard Hensleigh

Response to Rick Sweet

First I must say how grateful we are for your message of appreciation. When that picture was taken of Spence, Paxton, McMahon, Hooper and me by Joe Calder, there were many things we could not be sure of. We had confidence in the cause for which we fought, and like most Americans believed the good guys would win at the end. We did not know when or how long we would be fighting for what we firmly believed was right. We also did not know whether anyone would care about what we were doing. We would have been shocked and delighted to know people would still be interested sixty years later. We thank you and the other members of our enlarged family for that.

We were sure that we were with a group of men who would risk their lives for each other and do all they could to take the objectives with as few casualties as possible. This permeated the whole outfit from the squad, platoon, company, batallion, regiment and combat team. Col. Graves expressed and Ben had his quote in an email a few days ago. It gave us a feeling of family. When we were away from the outfit you could say we were homesick. That is why we went awol from the hospitals to get back to our band of brothers. We are delighted that you younger people feel that sense of family. When we felt the ground swell of interest in the younger generation we initiated the auxiliary to give you a framework for keeping the memory of the outfit, its sacrifices and accomplishments alive.

Now for some specifics. On the 14th of December 1944 we knew we were in for some shaping up and hard training before the planned winter offensive. As compared to southern France, northern France in December was cold and miserable. We were anticipating Christmas, but that only meant a short break in the training schedules and a good dinner. Home was where our thoughts were and that was a long way away. At that point we thought the war was going our way and none of us expected the Germans to attack. On the 16th or shortly after, we learned of the attack and that the 106th Division had been devastated. We knew the airborne troops would be used to plug the holes and turn things around. But, we weren't in it as individuals. Our whole team was going with us. We didn't know then that we would be split off and fought as battalions, but even then we would be with the men we knew best. The confidence we had in the men around us and our leadership at the top kept us from being rattled at the German break through. These were my feelings and am sure they ran through the combat team.

I wish I could tell you some specific things about your father. I recognized most of the men of H company as I visited their positions frequently and am sure I could have picked him out of the company formation years ago. I know your father and I went on patrols together. There were several patrols I remember in detail such as the one on D plus 2 when I took an H company squad to secure the regimental objective we should have taken the night before, and came back with 14 Americans who had been German prisoners and a platoon of Germans we ambushed. I can say with confidence that all the men of the company I observed in combat performed exceptionally well and were inspired by the leadership of Capt. Jackson, his platoon leaders and the fine cadre of noncoms.

Again we thank you for your interest and support. My Christmas greetings to you and your brothers. Howard Hensleigh

Lila Webb

Dear Ben,

The date of the Kissimmee mini reunion is January 20-23 and departure on the 24th.

The banquet is the evening of the 23rd.

Leila