From: Ben517@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, March 05, 2009 3:14 PM
Subject: MAIL CALL NO. 1736- 517TH PRCT- MARCH 5, 2009
 
70 Pleasant St. Cohasset, MA. 02025 ,781 383 0215 * Mail Call : Ben Barrett  Ben517@aol.com 
 
Hello,
 
Still trying to catch up on mail received during my  AWOL.
 
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
Ben

Website                                www.517prct.org  
Mail Call                               Ben517@aol.com
Mail Call Archives                 www.517prct.org/archives
Roster                                 
www.517prct.org/roster.pdf

Recent website additions:

Lt. Milton Kienlen, A Company

Happy Birthday, Col. Cross!

Norman L. Ross, I Company

1st Battalion at Soy, Belgium, 22-24 December 1944

3rd Battalion  at Bergstein, Germany, 4-8 February 1945

1944 Dec 14 - Hamburg Iowa Reporter - Howard Hensleigh in Les Arc


 Click on                                                  Salt Lake City Reunion

Palm Springs, CA                Thursday July 9 thru July 13

West Coast Party                                                     

April 20-24,2009


Claire Giblin


hey Ben -

Enfrance Tours is offering a tour for the men and women of the 517 family.

They are offering several different pricing levels in an effort to make it available to as many troopers as possible.

Please, think about traveling to France and Belgium this summer.  It is truly the trip of a lifetime, and it will be really special to visit for the 65th anniversary.

You can also see Enfrance Tours online at enfrancetours.com

Join your friends in France this summer!

My best to all -

Claire Giblin


Tom Reber

Dear Ben,
 
Welcome back, trooper!  It is great to have you back, large and in charge.
 
I have heard from Orene Walton, J.B. Walton's wife (F Co.), that JB has been in the process of recovery, from his recent stroke.  To facilitate his recovery and care, JB is presently established at:
 
Thomson Hood Veterans Center
Room 115B
100 Veterans Drive
Wilmore, KY  40390
 
JB is doing better, but is still confined to a wheelchair and has difficulty with his speech and the use of his right hand and right side.
 
Orene knows that any cards or correspondence to the former F Company scout would be a major morale boost to this tough trooper.  Please join me in sending JB some mail.
 
I hope the postal service has a big carrier working this route, because I know the 517th family will respond with a flood!
 
Best regards, Ben -- good to have you back on the job!
 
Tom Reber
son of Lt. Robert Reber HQ 3rd

Subject: Can you help me?

Dear Webmaster,

Hello, my name is Daniel Steinberg and I am very interested to find any
information anyone might have about my grandfather Daniel F. Bellonio. His
name is mentioned at the website :
http://www.ww2-airborne.us/units/460/460.html (460th parachute field
artillery battalion Unit History). The second paragraph said this about him

March 2, 1943: 84 enlisted men of the 377th Parachute Field Artillery
Battalion were assigned as cadre to the 460th. April 10, 1943: Captain
William Ennis, 1st Lieutenant Louis Vogel and eight enlisted men: 1st
Sergeant Joseph Koch. Staff Sergeant Edward Johnson, Staff Sergeant Donald
Kirk, Tech Sergeant George Hubbard, Corporal John Fuller, Sergeant Daniel
Bellonio, Sergeant Jack Luddy and Sergeant Joseph Verbosky, were ordered to
Camp Toccoa, GA for temporary duty in connection with reception, screening
and assignment of recruits for the 460th Parachute Field Artillery
Battalion.  Men selected were shipped to Camp Mackall, NC where the 17th
Airborne Division was being formed.

Now in the Christmas 1994 roster of the 517th PICT my grandfather Daniel F.
Bellonio is said to be a private in the 460th Field Artillery Battalion as
part of the HQ battery. I am wondering how he went from a Sergeant to a
private.

I read something about the 462th PFAB about LT Col Forrest R. Armstrong who
was also stationed at Fort Bragg like the 460th. It it talks about
Armstrong's unique disciplinary approach, how in one instance two men who
got drunk stole a locomotive and derailed it in Hoffman, NC was dismissed
with "boys will be boys". Now the interesting thing is that my mom told me
once that when my grandfather was in the army he hijacked a train. This may
be just a coincidence but is there a way to know for sure that it was my
grandfather they are referring to. Has anyone heard of this? Could this have
been why my grandfather was promoted down from Sargent to private?

I have recently requested some books on the 517th PRCT from the
international library exchange at my school. I am looking forward to seeing
if there is any information at all concerning particularly my grandfather.
If there is any information you may have or a direction you can point me to
help me on my quest I would greatly appreciate it.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Daniel Steinberg
                                                **********
Can anyone help Daniel?-Ben
Pat Seitz and Allan Greer
 
Dear Ben: Three things: 
    Please thank Wayne Cross for the picture of and comments about Col. John Lissner.  He is in my daily thoughts as I was blessed to have him as my Godfather (thanks to my Dad, who once said he wasn't quite sure why he picked Uncle John considering how frequently the two of them used to get into trouble!).  Uncle John's faith was unwavering, rock solid and his spirit is still looking out for all of us with that old twinkle in the eye. 
    A second thank you to Gilles Guignard for the picture and story about Madame Arnulf. 
    And thank you to you for sharing Howard Hensleigh's and Dad's correspondence with Jean-Loup Gassend. 
    Pat Seitz and Alan Greer