Here is a salute to you on the occasion of your ninetieth
birthday. We go back a long way. The best way I know how to give you
the tribute you deserve on this occasion is to relate some of the personal
experiences that I cherish in which our lives intertwined.
Our first introduction was when you, as president of the 517th
court at Camp Mackall, N. C., had to break me in as the new defense counsel for
some 517th troopers their first sergeants considered to be wayward. Terry
Sanford, as TJA, was present to insist that the court impress them with
sufficient punishment to correct their ways. With one year of law school
under my belt, I considered them to be my first clients to be defended to the
last letter of the law. Because of my enthusiasm in this capacity, you had
to take me aside and in present day terms, tell me to defend my clients,
but to "cool it". I must have followed your advice to your
satisfaction, because we got every one of those troopers off without a
blemish on his record. Much later I found that even Terry was not too
disappointed in that result. So, you can say with accuracy that you helped
launch my legal career.
I was aware from the distance of the 3rd Battalion of the fine
job you did as Dick Seitz executive officer of the 517th's 2nd Battalion.
In combat, the Germans must have realized that, if they were to have any chance
of winning the war, they had to zero in on you again soon after
recovery from your last purple heart.
Our best days together in the 517th were when you, as a high
point man who could have gone home, took command of the 3rd Battalion
in Joigny. In no time after Forrest Paxton's departure, you had a smooth
running battalion preparing to take part in the invasion of Japan. Under
your leadership the company commanders and the staff you selected (Billy Fann as
S-1, Joe Grazaffi as S2, yours truly as S-3 and Joe Calder as S-4) had the
battalion into a full training cycle with high morale at all levels.
Working with you there, on the way home, and at Fort Bragg composed some of the
happiest days of my Army life. They say that Hiro Hitto threw in the towel
when they dropped the two bombs, but I am sure someone gave him the work that
the 3rd Battalion of the 517th was on its way. It would have been a
privilege to serve in combat there with you, but history either deprived or
awarded us a different ending.
You and I suffered mutually under the hand of the 13th
Division that bungled our promotions until the freeze order hit. We
made up for that later and you are to be commended for an illustrious Army
career.
Again a salute, and God bless you and Bette.
Howard Hensleigh
