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Snowbird mini-reunion
Kissimmee, FL
Jan 20-24, 2008
Banquet Jan. 23
April 13-18, 2008
Recent website additions:
The 551st
Attack on Trois Ponts, 2-7 Jan 1945
River
Crossing and Attack at La Roquette, 27-28 August
1944
Howard B. Goodman,
Service Company
Paras en Provence: Le 517th PRCT Dans Les Alpes
Maritime
from Armes Militaria
Magazine (cover,
article)
Howard Hensleigh
Dear Ben: My thanks to Merle McMorrow for including the letter and speech of Mr. Dalleur regarding the liberation of the Stavelot area. This was my first view of our 3rd Bn. attack south of Stavelot as seen by Belgian eyes. We did not know that anyone was watching, but we can imagine that seeing those troopers cross several hundred yards of open space and overcome the enemy resistance at the crest of the ridge that rose from the river, must have been a pleasant sight after years of occupation, liberation and then a re-entry of the German forces into their Stavelot.
It is difficult to overemphasize the importance of Stavelot to the 517th and to the Battle of the Bulge generally. It was here that Col. Peiper, the SS tank commander and butcher of the Malmedy Massacre whose objective was to spearhead the drive to Antwerp, was stopped. If he had been able to reach the ammo and gasoline dump near Stavelot he might have made it. Some resourceful Americans blew up the dump and blew some bridges that brought him to the end of his thrust into Belgium.
Higher headquarters then ordered a large scale attack across a broad front to push the Germans back. The third Bn. was to be at the center of that attack to cross the Ambleve River at Stavelot. I have written about this attack in many contexts -- here was where the 596th waded that icy river and built a bridge so we could cross and attack, where Bob Reber, our 81mm mortar platoon leader was critically wounded, where Paxton put a cow that was a mortar casualty out of her misery and the troops had beef steak for a change, where we attacked and took our 13 phase line objectives on time as ordered and the 75th and 30th Divisions didn't take theirs, where Sgt. Kichin's G Co. squad and I went out on the 13th phase line to make contact with the 30th and the 75th and made contact with German units instead. This attack and the taking of Manhay were two of the 3rd Battalion's major achievements in turning the Bulge around. We took a lot of casualties, but we did what higher headquarters expected of us and with our assistance first the 30th and then the 75th belatedly came up on line.
The entire combat team later enjoyed a brief rest in Stavelot before pushing on to other objectives. We had hot chow for a few days and a Stavelot baker loaned the 3rd Bn. his ovens for apple cobbler, hot biscuits, and well done roasts twice a day. I drew rations for a battalion. Our battalions were smaller than line outfits and at that time we were at about half strength, so a full ration for a battalion gave us fresh meat twice a day.
If any of the inhabitants of Stavelot are listening, I still love the place. Howard Hensleigh
Richard and Katherine Wheeler
Below is the email address of my dad: He would like to added to the mail call list.
