From: Ben517@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 11:00 PM
To: Ben517@aol.com; EDLINK74@aol.com
Subject: MAIL CALL NO. 1830 -517TH PRCT- JULY 14, 2009
70 Pleasant St. Cohasset, MA. 02025 ,781 383 0215 * Mail Call : Ben Barrett  Ben517@aol.com 
 
Hello,
 
Just trying to bring Mail Call  up to date. May have missed some. Still in Ca. Send mail
Ben
 
Send contributions for Film Project to.
 
                                         Leo Dean             

Update on the                  14 Stonehenge Lane

517th Film Project            Albany, NY  12203

 
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

Recent website additions:

St. Cezaire and Les Arcs today

A Company in Life Magazine 1944

Dick Seitz
For Lory Curtis.  Lory, my heartfelt congratulations  on all you and your committee did in organizating and conducting the Salt Lake City reunion.  You and you committee worked very hard and you can all be very proud of of the truly outstanding results.  I personally was very impressed  with the magnificent program preented and the efforts you made to satify all the many requests and desires of the people attending the reunion. Please express my best thanks to all your committee for the tremendous job you all did.  Airborne.  Dick Seitz
Brenda Mortensen
Ben - I'd appreciate it if you could add me to Mail Call at bverbeck@gmail.com
.
Good to see you in Salt Lake City.  Hope you're feeling well.
Best,
Brenda (Verbeck Mortensen
Mike Kane
Ben, take a look at the length of time of the clip at the bottom of Chris Lindner's Youtube video. Chris, did you plan that or did it just happen that it's exactly 5:17 long? 
 
Thanks for the vicarious thrill!
 
Mike Kane
                                       *******
Remains  me of the time that Lud Gibbons saw a customer in front of us paying her bill that was $517. Lud paid it.-Ben
Ronald Stassen

Its good to see the conversation below.

I’m still taking care of Capt Woodhull's grave and do my best for this brave soldier whom lost his live for our freedom.

Best regards

 Ronald

Ronald is a Netherlands friend who takes care of Captain Woodhulls grave in the Netherlands American Cemetery

Mike Kane

Ben, regarding Lt.G Grange who was with the 517th, a fellow I work with pointed out a video clip on the web that includes an interview with him. The clip is about the Best Ranger Comptition. My co-worker said he thinks the competition was started by LtG Grange.

You can see it on the website http://www.armytimes.com/ 

On the right hand side, you'll see "Multimedia".   Below the viewing screen are thumbnails of different videos. As you scroll through them, you'll see one entitled "2009 Best Ranger Competition".  Click on it.  Its about 5 minutes long.

Mike Kane

Patricia and Roland Renoux

Hi Ben,
tell us, please, your day and time for your arrival in Nice and the flight number.
Thanks.

During SLC reunion, Tell to all your and our 517th friends our love for them,

Patricia and Roland Orengo
Sospel, France

Nancy Fraser Armand

Yes I will be going to France and hope to be able to stay close as I hope to share the driving with the Beddows and others. I will not be going to Belgium at this time, as the trip is very costly, but I do love Irma and Arnold and Marie. They are lovely and shared their homes with us when we took my dad back for the 60th anniversary in Dec. of 2004.

My sister and I will arrive in SLC on Thursday afternoon .See you soon. I can't wait to meet Joanne, such a wonderful daughter to go on this trip.

Thanks,

Nancy Fraser Armand

Ben
 
I was at the SL reunion and provided the posters and artwork. If possible I would like to get your regular mail call announcements.
 
Thank You

Raymond S. Meldrum
American Patrol Company
P.O. Box 1735  
West Jordan, Utah 84084 USA

 bev strothkamp

Thanks Bev you are so right that this is a "Must Read".  I am going to forward this to Mail Call and perhaps Ben will print it for all the 517 to see.  Hope you and Chris are having a great time together.

Darrell


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeuBB_mOFIA


Harris Johnson-Morris McDowell ,Dixie Welborn

Ben, this man was not with you but represents you anyway.  Harris Johnson
 
Dixie Welborn
Ben -- great seeing you in SLC ---- glad you were feeling better when we left.  Have a great time in CA and Lake Tahoe -- I got this today from a classmate, who was thinking of Brian when he read this.  You may have seen it before - but thought it worth passing on to you. --- Take good care of yourself ------ Dixie
 

We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services.

I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers.

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle", the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.

Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.

Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 . . . " at which point my heart skipped.

At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped.

I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was, and I know what D-Day was. At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem." I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said "Yes. And it's real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say.

I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach, while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach.

He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this.

Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer.

There was no parade.

No big event in Staples Center.

No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage.

No weeping fans on television.

And that's not right.

Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way.
Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans.

Rest in peace, Shifty.

"A nation without heroes is nothing."
Roberto Clemente