From: Ben517@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2008 8:38 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: MAIL CALL NO. 1553- 517TH PRCT- MAY 27, 2008

  70 Pleasant St. Cohasset, MA. 02025 ,781 383 0215 * Mail Call : Ben Barrett  Ben517@aol.com 

 
Hello,
 Only 30 days left before we will be in St. Louis. Hope that you will be there.
 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 www.517prct.org/archives 
 
Please 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 97701
Website                                   www.517prct.org                                                        
Mail Call                                  Ben517@aol.com
Mail Call Archives                 www.517prct.org/archives
Roster                                     www.517prct.org/roster.pdf

 
 517TH ST. LOUIS REUNION BEGINS:
 
THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2008 THRU MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2008
THE BANQUET WILL BE ON SUNDAY JUNE 29
Steve Markle
 
Bob/Ben,
 
    It is with great honor that I can announce that I have just completed scanning pictures from Hal Roberts collection from his time with the 596 in WWII.
 
    There was a particular scan (attached) that stood out in my mind during this process. It was a letter that was sent home to the families just prior to the units being shipped out overseas by (at the time) Capt. Dalrymple, the C/O of the 596. It strikes me as saying a lot of about the men of the unit and the good Colonel himself.  For me, It reinforces what we already know.
 
    These pictures are now blended on my site here;
            http://markleweb.com/gallery/v/wwii/
 
    .... and are available as a single file download here;
            http://www.markleweb.com/Roberts.zip
 
Quite a memorable Memorial Day....
 
-Steve-

 

 

Dan Curtis

Ben,
I saw an interview with a proud World War II veteran yesterday on our local news, although this was a national feed story. It was Paratrooper Robert Cooper at the National World War II Memorial. My heart jumped to see the 517th hat he was wearing. Although we have not met I was proud to see a 517th Co. D Trooper in the limelight. He did you all proud!
Sincerely,
Dan Curtis, Nephew of Danny Og 

Bob Barrett

There was a note on the news today about a Frenchman trying to break a 50-year old record for longest free-fall parachute jump.  Unfortunately, his $200,000 balloon took off without him, and he may not be able to do it again.

        http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080527/ap_on_re_ca/canada_high_skydiver_3

Out of curiosity, I looked up some info on various parachuting records (below).  It looks like these might be beyond the reach of even Leo Dean.  Except maybe #6.  

Parachuting records

  1. Don Kellner holds the record for the most parachute jumps, with a total of over 36,000 jumps. [3]
  2. Cheryl Stearns (USA) holds the record for the most parachute descents by a woman, with a total of 15,560 in August 2003.
  3. Capt. Joe W. Kittinger achieved the highest and longest (14 min) parachute jump in history on August 16, 1960 as part of a United States Air Force program testing high-altitude escape systems. Wearing a pressure suit, Capt. Kittinger ascended for an hour and a half in an open gondola attached to a balloon to an altitude of 102,800 feet (31,330 m), where he then jumped. The fall lasted 4 minutes and 36 seconds, during which Capt. Kittinger reached speeds of 714 miles per hour (1,150 km/h)[6]. The air in the upper atmosphere is less dense and thus leads to lower air-resistance and a much higher terminal velocity.
  4. Adrian Nicholas holds the record for the longest freefall. A 4 minutes and 55 seconds wingsuit jump made on March 12 1999.[4]
  5. Jay Stokes holds the record for most parachute descents in a single day at 640. [5]
  6. Frank Moody, aged 101, made a tandem jump on June 6, 2004 at Skydive Cairns. The Tandem Master was Karl Eitrich and the event was filmed by Wayne Donovan & Jason Cryan
 Steve Markle
 
THANKS A LOT!
 
That is the kind of feedback that I love to see when I get these posted out on the Internet. See if you can spot him in any of the group pictures as well. It looks like both Alan Johnson (pictures identified as (AJ)) and Hal Roberts (pictures identified as (HR)) were in the same platoon as your dad.
 
I will get my site update as well as forwarding the info to the 517 site so that they can update the info there.
 
-Steve-
 
REF for 517 site pictures
 
http://517prct.org/photos/596th_portraits2/Unknown17_AJ_.JPG
 
http://517prct.org/photos/596th_portraits2/Unknown30_AJ_.JPG
----- Original Message -----
From: Charlie O'Neil
To: Steve Markle
Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2008 10:59 AM
Subject: Re: Pictures from Hal Roberts

Steve,

Thanks for the new pictures.  I was looking through the Unknown folder and found 2 pictures of my father.  Photos # 17(AJ) and  #30(AJ) are both of Donald O'Neil.  It was a great surprise as I have never seen this before.  I thought I would let you know so you can update the content.  Thanks again for all the work putting the site together.
Charlie O'Neil
603-488-1529
oneil72@yahoo.com
Link to the Past
 
 

1941: Bismarck sinks

[Unable to display image]

British aerial torpedoes and naval shellfire sank the German battleship Bismarck in the Atlantic Ocean today before it could reach the safety of the French coast. One well-aimed torpedo hit the Bismarck's steering gear, leaving the ship helpless in the water and easy prey for a flotilla of British battleships.

"The Royal Navy thus exacted vengeance for Bismarck's sinking 72 hours ago of Britain's pride, the world's largest warship, the 42,100-ton Hood," reported the Syracuse Herald-Journal on May 27, 1941. "His eyes gleaming with excitement, Prime Minister Winston Churchill personally announced the end of the Bismarck."

NOTE: The sinking of the massive British cruiser H.M.S. Hood by the German Navy, only a few days before the Bismarck’s demise, was considered Britain's worst naval disaster since the battleship Royal Oak was torpedoed on October 14, 1939.