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

Hello,

We have posted in this Mail Call and on the web site information about Salt Lake City Reunion including registration forms, programs and hotel registration.

I would like to hear from are European friends about their interest in attending what may be our last National Reunion in Salt Lake City in July 2009.We usually pay registration fee, provide hotel room and raise funds from members to help defray other expenses. We want to hear from you as soon as possible so that we can make plans. Those that I do not hear from I will contact individually.

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

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

website additions:

517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team

2009 517^th PRCT (Last?) Annual Reunion

July 9-13, 2009

Salt Lake City, UT

Reunion Program

Registration Form

Hotel Information and Registration

Dick Seitz

For Allen Jeffcoat, Allen, please pass to Mrs Johns my heartfelt sympathy over the passing of Calvin. Words are so inadequate to express my sorrow and sympathy. With the passing of Calvin our great 517th Parachute Combat Team has lost another comrade, a great American, a courageous paratrooper and a great humanbeing. A man who served his country well. My thoughts and prayer are with you and your family during this period of great sorrow. Dick Seitz

Ben - I'd appreciate seeing the map Wayne Cross referenced in his earlier email. I think it'd add to the chronology I'm working on. Bob...Our legislature just started their annual session and I'll be tied up until early May, so it'll be a while before I get a chance to forward it to you. Hope you all are doing well. mark

Howard Hensleigh

Note to Wayne Cross about Clark Archer's map. Clark did a great job putting things together and assisting in writing and publishing the Odyssey.

When the boys I had rounded up found a house out in the country and we roused up 15 or so Paris vacationers from their slumber, I pulled our my map of the drop zone vicinity, pointed to le Muy and le Mott and asked where are we. The answer was "not on that map!" (Just as Wayne found.) Although I had been S-2 on Tenn. maneuvers, on the drop I was Joe Largan's assistant machine gun/bazooka platoon leader, that had lost the musette bag from the opening shock. The tooth paste, K rations and all my personal stuff was in some unknown location in France on a very dark early morning. But, I still had a pocket full of maps as a treasured possession. When I pulled out the one that covered the most territory, they quickly located Callian, said we were several miles from there and pointed to a small trail or road that would take us there. In no time we were on our way to the drop zone picking up troopers in the dark all the way. They sensed that we knew what we were doing and were glad to join us, even the troopers from service company. Thank the Lord one of them spoke French so we had an interpreter when we reached Callian. Howard Hensleigh

Gene Frice

Ben,

For Wayne Cross, 517 Mail Call 1738, Mar 7,09

Wayne, thank you for your work on Clark Archer's 517 historical data.. We certainly miss Clark and his valuable work. Yes, Wayne, as the case for most airborne operations we were certainly scattered. Of course that frequently does lead to the airborne becoming more effective. Maybe Clark's work, and yours of course, will better tell us where we actually were. To this day I have a recollection of clouds, mountains, trees, and and landing amongst a company of Brit's, with no American presence. When I finally made peace with the British gentlemen we were on our way to Le Muy or Le Motte. I even enjoyed a spot of tea with them which was interrupted by a brief fire fight with some disturbed Germans. It took the better part of the morning to meet up with my F Company.

There is another document that may help add some information to some as to their location during the following four months from August to November 1944. Cpl George Ross, of our squad, recorded the travel of F Company on a day by day basis on a conventional Michelin "Provence" map. Probably illegal at that time. I subsequently obtained the map from Cpl Ross, and made a duplicate. I wrote a cover document, identifying the document as "The Long Walk" The map, of course, relates only to the travel of F Company from Le Muy vicinity to Sospel. However, all or most, of the Regiment took a similar path. If one has an interest, a copy of the map and the document "Long Walk" will be found as a link to the 517 data in Ben's work.

Hope to see all in Palm Springs, Salt Lake City and Nice, FR. I will be accompanied by the Frice Mafia, Laurie, Karen and Robin. My regards to all the Cross's.

Gene Frice, F Company