70 Pleasant St. Cohasset, MA. 02025 ,781 383 0215 *
Mail Call : Ben Barrett Ben517@aol.com
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Ben
517th Annual Florida
Mini-Reunion January 17,18,19, 20, 2009
Banquet on the 20th (Tuesday) and
Departing on the 21st (Wednesday)
Hosted by: Leila Webb, Location:
Ramada Hotel & Inn Gateway
Tele:
1(800)327-9170 FAX
1(407)396-4320
Contact: Leila Webb, Helen Beddow and
Lou Darden
Tele:(407)892-3595
Room Rate
- $65.00
Registration Fee - $40.00
National Reunion
Palm
Springs, CA Salt Lake City
West
Coast Party July
2009
April 20-24,
2009
Lory Curtis
Lory, I commend you for chairing the the Salt Lake
reunion. With your keen talents and hig qualities of leadership I know
that the reunion will be one of best reunions. As concerns my being the guest
speaker, I am honored that you have asked me to fill this important role.
However, I must decline. I think you have in the Utah National Guard Commander
an ideal guest speaker. No doubt he has deployed troops to harms way and
give our 517th people some interesting comments. Again, Cory the
Association is fortunate to have you chairing the reunion. Dick
Seitz
-----Original Message-----
From: Lory Curtis
Sent:
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 3:23 PM
To: seitz2@webtv.net
Subject: Salt
Lake Reunion
Dear General Seitz:
I am emailing you in hopes that
you are planning on attending the annual reunion in Salt Lake City, July 9-13,
2009. You may know I have been asked to host the reunion, and I am making
plans for various activities. My request to you sir is, will you be our
guest speaker at the banquet on Sunday evening, July 12th? I know I would
be trilled as would all others if you would speak to us about the 517th. I
unfortunately didn't attend the Savannah reunion and missed your excellent
remarks. It would be a great honor for all of us to here from you
again.
Also, the jump demonstration team will not be able to travel out west
for the reunion, so I have contacted 19th Special Forces Group to do a jump for
us. I have also requested their 23rd Army Band perform a concert, and
finally I have invited the Commanding General of the Utah National Guard to
attend our banquet, and give some opening remarks.
Thank you so very much for
your consideration of this request. I hope to see you and your family
again in Salt Lake City in July.
Yours very truly,
Lory V.
Curtis
John Bucynski--John Alicki's nephew
GOOD MORNING:
WHILE WE STILL HAVE POWER TO USE MY WEBTV I WANT TO
WISH YOU ALL A MERRY
CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR. LET'S HOPE 2009
PROVES TO BE BETTER
THAN 2008.
THERE IS A LARGE BLANKET OF SNOW HEADED
THIS WAY (NEW HAMPSHIRE) AND
ANOTHER ROUND OF FREEZING ICE. I'M NOT
LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS AS I AM
A WARM WHETHER TYPE OF GUY. IF I WAS
SMART, I WOULD BE RESIDING IN
HAWAII. AGAIN, MERRY
CHRISTMAS.
SEMPER FI,
JOHN.......................
"FAIR WINDS
AND FOLLOWING SEAS TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU"
Gina Votti
Lori Curtis
Ben,
My Dad also, saw the American soldiers murdered at
Malmedy. This
is what he told me, that I put in the book Letters Home
a Paratroopers
Story.
"The Battle of the Bulge ends with the
capture of St. Vith, Belgium on
January 27, 1945. All battalions are
now ordered to rejoin the 517th
Regiment located in Stavelot. Bud and
others learn of the Malmedy
massacre where German SS troopers gunned down
approximately 90 U.S.
Soldiers. Bud hears of the
massacre and
wants to see what happened. Without telling anyone he
leaves Stavelot
and walks through the snow approximately five miles to
Malmendy. There
the dead American soldiers were placed in a barn. Bud
walks into the
barn and no one notices him. He walks through the barn
looking at the
dead American soldiers. Bud described, “All of them
were still frozen
with the hands over the heads.” Bud still says
today, “They were
surrendering and the Germans murdered them.”
After seeing these bodies Bud
leaves the barn and walks back to
Stavelot. He does not tell anyone
where he has been and they didn’t
notice he was even gone, but Bud would
remember for the rest of his life
what he saw in that barn."
Lory
Curtis, son of Bud Curtis, HQ, 1st BN
Fred Scheurwater
Hello Ben,
We have last weekend near by Bastogne in the place
named Flamierge a remembrance for the fallen soldiers and specially
to the 517th Airborne.
Look for the photo's.
Persons present where Joe Bossi, WWII Veteran Maurice Sperandieu (Pattons 3rd Army) and a lot of other
people.
I wish you all a merry christmas and a happy new
year.
Kind regards,
Fred Scheurwater
Tom McAvoy
Subject:
THE STORY BEHIND THE PICTURE: LEST WE FORGET
http://www.wtv-zone.com/Mary/STORYBEHINDTHEPICTURE.HTML
Bob
Barrett
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/yourtown/content/local_news/epaper/2008/12/15/a1a_bulge_1216.html
1941:
Hitler becomes army commander
Adolf Hitler announced today he
had stripped Field Marshal Gen. Walter von Brauchitsch of his command,
assuming the position of Commander-in-Chief of the German Army himself. "The German nation heard its most grievous news
since Adolf Hitler put on his gray uniform Sept. 1, 1939, to wear to victory
or death, when it was told last night that its fuehrer had cast aside the man
to whom he had given command of his armies," explained the Winnipeg Free
Press on December 22, 1941. NOTE: Hitler had reportedly fired Von
Brauchitsch when the former Army commander opposed a plan to immediately
invade the British Isles.