Hello,

 

I will be leaving in a few hours for California but I want to get out this Mail Call. Sgt. David Hines was in E Co. Perhaps someone who was in E Co. could help to clarify the date of Sgt. David Hines KIA.

 

Ben

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Thank you, Morris McDowell, for the photos from Henri-Chappelle.  And to
all of you who have responded to my brief note.  The strength of your
dedication and thoughtfulness to your respect is palpable.

As a high school student, I went on the AFS exchange program to live
with a family near Liege.  That family had spent most of the war years
fleeing and hiding because, I was told, the father had blown up the
mines he managed rather than have them fall into German hands.  The
impact of those war years on everyone in southeastern Belgium nearly
overwhelmed me:  everyone always wanted to take me to visit the
cemeteries; everyone had stories about their encounters with Americans. 
It was all fairly "historical" to me:  my own father had been too young
to see combat (although he did serve in Japan during the
reconstruction).  It wasn't until I, years later, visited David Hines'
grave at Henri-Chappelle that the immediacy of those terrible days
really hit home.

I have two requests:

    * one, very general--to ask, if anyone has photos or recollections
      of David Hines, to share them. My husband and I will be seeing his
      surviving sister over these holidays.  I am putting together a
      scrapbook for her of some of the materials from the 517 website
      and would very much like to be able to include as much directly
      pertaining to her brother as I can.  Thanks to your thorough
      website, I've found the E Company photo from Toccoa (although I
      have not identified David Hines in it yet, but I'm sure his sister
      will be able to) and, especially, the poignant photo of the
      exuberant young officers in Nice from Don Sliker.  I plan to print
      good copies of both for family members and would be grateful for
      any others.
    * the other, more specific--to ask if anyone can clarify the
      circumstances of David Hines' death.  The family has always linked
      David Hines' color-blindness to his death.  The story, as it was
      told to me, went something like this:  color-blind people were
      supposed to be less fooled by camouflage, so he was sent out in
      advance troops.  I've tried to figure out what parts of the
      history would pertain most closely to David Hines and am puzzled:
      from what I've found, his date of death is listed as Jan 21, 1945,
      in St Vith, but from the histories, it seems to me that the 517
      wasn't in St Vith until, at the earliest, Jan 22.  Can anyone with
      a better grasp of the details of those days help me clarify them?

Thank you all, Kath March

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This link from the website The Strategic Capture of Hunnage (Task Force Seitz) may help solve the problem concerning the place and date of David Hines KIA. - Ben

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 Dick Seitz

 

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