From: Ben517@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2008 5:05 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: MAIL CALL NO. 2630 1630- 517TH PRCT- OCTOBER 1, 2008
   70 Pleasant St. Cohasset, MA. 02025 ,781 383 0215 * Mail Call : Ben Barrett  Ben517@aol.com 
 
Hello;
Problems with this Mail Call, but out it goes as is.
 
The 2009 reunion will be in July. Will have dates soon.
 
Please let me know if you want to receive Mail Calls or if you have a problem receiving them. You can always read back Mail Calls  by clicking on 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

Merle McMorrow
 
Ben:
 
More than likely I would come to Salt Lake City but it would probably be the last one.  The excitement builds before the reunion but after arriving a form of depression and disappointment sets in.  I want it to be like it use to be but realistically we know that can never be.  The memories of an earlier time will always remain.  We were a great bunch and the period of 1943-1945 was a period that provided and resulted in some life long friendships and memories that made the hardships acceptable.
 
                                                                        Merle
Claire Giblin
 
Hi, Ben -
 
Lory Curtis and Darrell Egner will be announcing the Salt Lake City dates in the next few days!
 
Salt Lake City is a Delta Airlines hub city!!!  Direct flights should be possible from many locations!
 
Hugs to all my favorite vets -
 
Claire Giblin
Jim Mortenson
 
Hi Ben

Can't think about being in Salt Lake but we will be at Florida regional.

Maybe the time has come for a change.

Best

Jim Mortensen
 
Myrle and Betty Traver
 
Ben, Myrle and I plan to go to the Salt Lake City reunion.  Yes, we are all getting older and have health issues but as long as we are able to travel we will attend the reunions where ever they may be held.
We extend our best wishes to General Seitz.
Betty Traver
Bill Hudson
 
Gloria and I plan to attend the reunion in Salt Lake City. We previously planned to go to one in Denver when we heard it might be there, but S. L. C. is great.
 
I have difficulty in printing Mail Calls.
                                                          Bill Hudson, 596th
Garry Poole
 
Ben:
 I will not be attending the Salt Lake City reunion.
 I admire, and am grateful for, the dedication and energy so many of you have put forth making it possible for there to be reunions and publications such as The Static Line and Thunderbolt.
 Gary Poole
Wallowa, OR


Hi Ben:
 
I would love to attend the Salt Lake City Reunion.  A big factor for me is when will it be.  We are buiding another home in Jackson Hole, WY and it is scheduled to be done July 1st or around August 1st which would mean we would be closing on the house and getting ready to move furniture in.  Although Jackson Hole is very close to Salt Lake City.
 
After hosting the St. Louis reunion I would like to say my sister Bev and I had a great time and really enjoyed it.  I did notice that there were many people that delayed making reservations for the reunion because of the same reasons your mentioned, traveling, health, location, etc.  We also had several people that were supposed to attend that at the last minute where unable to attend. 
 
I do not have an answer for future reunions but I do know that when I am able to attend the annual or mini reunion I really enjoy myself.
 
Chris Lindner
Guy and Dixie Welborn
 
Ben:
 
You bet we plan on attending the 2009 reunion in beautiful Salt Lake City.  SLC is a favorite city of ours and we are looking forward to visiting it again and seeing some of our favorite friends. --Guy (Brian) and Dixie Welborn
Marty Donahoo
Hi, Ben~~
Lud and I will be at the reunion next year...no matter where it is!  (God willing and the creeks don't rise!!) 
Happy days to you and yours, Marty
Jesse Davis and Kathy McIntosh
hi ben,
we will attend if dad's health is ok.  when is it?

kathy and jesse
Bob Barrett
 

Joseph,

Yes, we can confirm that James J. Kage served with the 517th.  He is listed with the Service Company on the 517th Roster of December 1944, just before the Battle of the Bulge. 

See:  http://517prct.org/documents/xmas1944/xmas1944.htm

Also, he is listed in the NARA enlistment records. 

See:  http://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=24&cat=WR26&tf=F&q=Kage&bc=sl,sd&rpp=10&pg=3&rid=1389997&rlst=8326624,8570341,6986611,1389997

I have not found any specific references to James Kage in the online materials and books.  But you can certainly read the history of the 517th in the Paratrooper's Odyssey - A History of the 517th Parachute Combat Team or in the Battling Buzzards book by Gerald Astor, available on Amazon.

Bob Barrett

webmaster@517prct.org

Mary Jane Hanron

Hi Ben,

A couple things I want to share with you….

About the reunion; I know Boston is not in the center of the country, but it is a fascinating place with lots to do and of course with so much to see related to the beginnings of our nation. There are many places outside the city but close that would probably be convenient for your needs. (Quincy Marriott, Braintree, even the Clarion in Hull.) In Quincy, Peacefield, the home of the Adams’ and of course two Presidents is right down the street and they have the special trolleys to take people on the tour. The curator there is a friend of mine and I’m sure they would be thrilled to have such esteemed guests! I’m sure there would be officials (even in government locally) who would be more than happy to help out with special arrangements. Just some food for thought….(Of course, I am intrigued by the idea anyway because I would hope to be able to attend and would LOVE to meet so many of the great heroes and friends about whom I have read in Mail Call and of course, heard from you!

I also wanted to tell you that the “Stars and Striped” that was in today’s Mail Call had a section that gave my Mom a great laugh!! It was a complaint from the nurses about a quote that had been taken out of context (If this goes in Mail Call, for anyone wondering, my Mom was a Navy Nurse in WWII and went to the same school as Ben’s sweet wife, Fran) Anyway, my Mother got a big kick out of it…Though she worked in nursing, especially Nursing Higher Ed all of her life, she has always had a sense of humor about much of what the nurses find worthy of complaints. She said “Nothing has changed….they were complaining about their image then and they are still doing it today. Some things don’t change!!” The jokes in the paper were funny, too! Thanks for the glimpse of 1940’s wartime journalism!

All the best,

Mary Jane