Hello Ben, I am glad that you made it back home safe and sound. It was really a pleasure to share your company again in Palm Springs. Ruben and I look forward to seeing you and the other fine men of  the 517 at these reunions. We are looking forward to the national in Salt Lake City. In closing, I wish to publicly commend Karen Frice for her kind and caring attitude. If not for Karen, only God knows what would have happened to Mrs. Davis. We are so blessed to have both of Col Frices daughters looking out for our health and welfare. A tip of the Beret to both of them. -- Ray

Dear Gilles: 

In 65 years I am sure things have changed a bit.  The other pictures of these towns indicate 65 years of work to bring them to their well kept present stage as opposed to the run down, war damaged condition when we attacked.

None the less, here are my best recollections.  I think the cultivated fields in area 1 on the north side of the tracks is the location of the vineyard through which we made our preliminary attack.  Here is where the troopers pulled down bunches of grapes (to substitute for rations) as we crawled forward under the German machine gun fire. 

There is a house near the tracks in area 2 which is close to the spot where I went over the tracks.  I went over just a little towards the RR station from the house.  Lt. Freeman was killed on the vineyard side of the tracks, just after Lud Gibbons had yelled at him  to get down, and about 30 yards towards the RR station from this house.  It was from  the upstairs of this house that the Germans fired at me as I went over the tracks and later as I came back across to get my machine gun section.  Fenton with his BAR and Zawicki with his bazooka fired at them and I think knocked them out.  While I was on the other side of the tracks, the Germans kept firing at me, but I was able to roll several times just in time to see the burst of machine pistol fire kick up dirt where I had just been.  They were firing down on me from the upstairs, but I was too busy to locate them.  I do not take any credit for dodging this fire, but leave it to luck or Divine Providence that I am able to write about it today. 

Sgt. Gaunce, H Company's first sergeant, and the others who had gotten across the tracks, had been killed (I am sure by the enemy in  the house) and were lying within 75 yards of the tracks.   

During the darkness we cleared out the enemy on the south side  of the tracks capturing some and killing others.  Going into the attack, the battalion was not too well organized because of the scattering on the jump and the forced march to the drop zone.  After the attack it was more scrambled and the company executive officers and I designated company areas and un-scrambled it, getting squads, platoons and companies in the designated areas. 

That night, the battalion staff reported to regiment that we had taken the objective when actually we were several hundred yards short of it. 

In the dim light of early morning I ran across Lt. Col. Zais and the staff with a map with the S-3 stating we were at the far limits of the objective.  There was a small foot bridge going over the tracks at this point.  If it is still there or you can find an old timer who remembers it, you will have the exact location.  I strongly disagreed with the S-3, and Zais who had had me as S-2 on maneuvers listened.  I showed him the foot bridge, the curve of the tracks up ahead and the house those guys had slept in, on the map and on the ground.  He gave me an H Company squad to patrol and secure the rest of the objective which included the high ground to the west and southwest.  There are a number of accounts of that patrol on the website.

Thank you again for your interest in this history that ,when we were going through it, we thought would never come to light.  I wish I were able to travel and go over the ground with you.

Highest regards,  Howard Hensleigh