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Hello,
We are starting a fund with volunteer contributions to assist
our friends from Belgium and France to attend the St. Louis reunion. You can
send a contribution to Leo Dean at 14 Stonehenge Lane, Albany New York
12203
Please let me know if your email is not to be included in Mail Call by inserting FYEO.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/archivesPlease try to send in donations 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 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 97701We up dating theThunderbolt roster. Please send mailing address to Helen Beddow HBeddow@cs.com please include the name "517th" in the subject box.Ben
Website www.517prct.org
Mail Call Ben517@aol.com
April 13-18, 2008
517TH ST. LOUIS REUNION BEGINS:THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2008 THRU MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2008THE BANQUET WILL BE ON SUNDAY JUNE 29, 2008.Information and Registration Forms:
Recent website additions:
517th Victory in Europe Prop Blast - May 19 1945
Blue
Book Magazine articles - 1947-1948 
George W. Cavnar, Reg. HQ
When Weather Changed History: The Battle of the Bulge
Paras en Provence: Le 517th PRCT Dans Les Alpes
Maritime
from Armes Militaria
Magazine (cover, article)
Darrell Egner
Hi Folks
You can't imagine how proud I am to be
associated with such a wonderful group of 517 Troopers, family and
friends. What a great group of hard workers! Through out the 517
Association people are coming forward asking what can I do to help. All
you have to do is attend a Reunion and see all the family step forward to
help. If you read the Static Line you know that every issue contains a
"Goodbye" from a Airborne unit that is folding their doors. Yet the 517
has never been as vibrant as it is today. That makes me feel so very good
to think that our history will always be there for the Sons, Daughters, Widows
and friends when we, the troopers are gone.
The Auxiliary will see to this. The
people that came up with the Auxiliary concept are Howard Hensleigh and his dear
departed wife Jan. Boy what a pair! Howard we can't thank you enough
to see in the future and push this great idea. To the best of my knowledge
no other Paratroop group has a Auxiliary and that's why they are folding.
A BIG THANK YOU.
I can't wait to see the first issue of the new
revamped Thunderbolt that is coming out shortly. Helen Beddow and
Claire Giblin took on this task at the Florida Mini and about one month later
they are ready to go to press with a bran new Thunderbolt. After reading
the first issue please convey your comments good or bad to the Girls.
Their goal is to put out a paper that is informative and they are agreeable to
change. THANKS HELEN AND CLAIRE.
Now lets skip to the St. Louis Reunion that
will take place the last week in June 2008. What can I say about the
Co-Chairs, Chris Lindner and her sister Bev Strothkamp. They have been
working night and day putting the Reunion together and what a job they are
doing. I would also like to thank the Armed Forces Reunions for all
their help and attention to detail. The gifts for your welcome packet have
been purchased. A great Keynote speaker has been engaged. He is a
former Trooper and served with the 101st Airborne. The food and the drinks
for the Hospitably Room are planned and the Tours have been planned. We
will engage a person to Video tape the reunion and the Jump Team that jumped in
Washington is also engaged. If the Jump Team will allow it we are planning
to have the Video person in the C-47 to tape the men leaving the plane.
Wade Gilbert has offered to make copies of the DVD tapes and sent them to all of
you that request one. There may be a small charge which will go to the 517
Treasury. THANK YOU CHRIS AND BEV FOR ALL YOUR HARD
WORK.
I am predicting well over 300 people to attend
this reunion. This week we found that the banquet Room would not hold over
300 people at the selected Hotel, the Plaza. We had two choices, (1)
Have the Banquet in another hotel a short distance from the Plaza. (2) We
could move the entire group to a new hotel so all of us would be under the same
roof. We decided to book another hotel and with the great help of AFR's
this was accomplished. The new hotel, Westport Chalet is in the same area
as the Plaza and nothing will change except we could seat 400 people at a sit
down dinner at the Banquet. I can dream, can't I. For those of you
that have already booked rooms you will not have to do anything as it will be
handled automatically. I am told that there are 17 first class restaurants
within walking distance of your hotel. OK so I goofed but the Egner luck
worked again as I really think the change of hotels is a
improvement.
This is getting to be a book so I better stop
so Helen and Claire have enough space for this letter. I just want to
thank all of you for electing me President, a job I didn't ask for, but one I am
very proud to have. All of you contribute to make me proud to be a small
part of such a great origination the 517PRCT.
Darrell Egner
Mary Jane Hanron
We are compiling a list of names of members who have
recently passed on for a memorial service at the St. Louis reunion. We started a
fund for a Don Fraser memorial, but Don's family requested that the memorial service include all other
members. We can add any members who have passed on.
Below is a partial list compiled from past Mail Calls.
We will continued to search and would like to have anyone to add names to
this list. -- Ben