Mail Call: MailCall@517prct.org
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Administrivia:
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Please note the new address for MailCall: MailCall@517prct.org I will also continue to search Ben's gmail and AOL accounts for a while as well. Donations for any programs involving the 517th should be sent to our treasurer Leo Dean at 14 Stonehenge Lane, Albany NY 12203. If you want to be removed from the mailing list, just let me know. I won’t take it personally until everyone drops off. If you have trouble receiving MailCalls, it's probably your own fault. But you can always read back MailCalls by clicking on www.517prct.org/archives OK. I am still struggling with gmail. It wants to change my fonts and colors for me, and it’s giving me a hard time about inserting pictures. But I’m gonna keep trying until I get it right. Let me know if I make anything too unreadable. Now please start sending news. Bob Barrett
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Website www.517prct.org Mail Call MailCall@517prct.org Mail Call Archives www.517prct.org/archives Roster www.517prct.org/roster.pdf
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Recent website additions: John Bradovich, HQ Company, Demo Platoon Le Muy infos magazine - selected pages of the August 2009 celebration Kenneth Goodbrake, Reg. HQ, Demo Platoon
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Just a few more notes for Ben. (I hope I’m not repeating any of these.)
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Jo Anne, Bob and the rest of the Barrett Family, I just picked up my personal mails today (Sunday) after I returned from Mass and got the sad news. Please accept my sincere condolences and prayers. Ben was indeed a wonderful trooper, family man, gentleman, and comrade/friend to all that were fortunate to have been in his presence. His 517th patronage, presence and witticisms will indeed be missed I didn't really get to know your Dad/Grandad well until the St Louis reunion when he saw my Company I lanyard and recounted the experiences H company had with my Dad in I company at Manhay. I got to know your Dad even more so in Salt Lake City and of course I was so fortunate to have made it to France last Summer with your family and see Ben enjoying the ceremonies, the French people and the reenactors. Arlington Cemetery will be even more hallowed having Ben resting with his fellow warriors. Please let me know of the DC as well as local arrangements. God Bless Tom Copsey
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[ This following message is from my old boss, my former CEO at Babcock, who is now a Deputy Assistant Secretary with the US Department of Energy in Washington, DC. I don't even know how he heard about Ben. – Bob ] Bob, please accept my late but
sincere condolences on your loss.
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In the last MailCall, we had a note from the CAJT: Thank you
for notifying us. Some of the members of the jump team live in the
DC area and would be honored to pay last respects at the funeral.
Here are some photos from the 2007 reunion in DC: http://cajt.wordpress.com/2008/08/24/517th-reunion-jump-2007/ Of course, we’d be honored to have them attend Ben’s ceremony. Somehow, I don’t think anyone’s going to let them do a jump over DC for us, but we’d be honored to have the CAJT just show up to say hello. Here’s a picture of Josh from the CATJ with Ben.
Unfortunately, here’s a picture of the CAJT with my daughters, Brianne and Keri. Notice the time stamp. Oh, oh.
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Dear Bob and family, Jean Michel notified us of the passing of Ben, and on behalf of my Father, British WW2 Parachute Regiment veteran, Peter Matthews and our family our condolences to you all at this very sad time. Sue Folkard
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Chère famille
BARRETT, Association Mémoires de Provence en 39/45 http://www.memoiresdeprovenceen3945.com
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Dear Mr Barrett and family, It's with a great sadness that I've read the mail about the passing of Ben Barrett! I send to you my sincere condolences to your family! As new president of the C-47 Club Ardennes Salm River Chapter and on behalf of the members of our chapter here in Belgium, .I'm sending our sincere condolences. On behalf of the members of the Museum of Ennal, I send their sinceres condolences to the family! Our thoughts and our prayers are with you! Eddy Lamberty Président of the C-47 Club Ardennes Salm River Chapter Member of the Museum of Ennal, (Belgium). Eddy Lamberty Avenue Joseph Lejeune 45 B-4980 Trois-Ponts
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Dear Bob, dear Joanne and all the Barrett family, Difficult to find words to express the sadness we feel. The first time we met Ben was in 1997, Clark Archer and Ben were very impressed as many of you of the free work we were doing to perpetuate in Southern France the legacy of the 517th, at this time we were the only young fellows of the new generation implicate in this duty. We worked with both of them, we had hundred and hundred correspondences sharing knowledges, informations, and try, often with success, to make connection with french civilian people and american troopers met during WWII. we, the new generation, will be your flame and we will try to transmit of our best the great heritage that you gave us. you can rest in peace dear Ben, your outstanding work for the great 517th still there and we will continue all together to make the "mail call" and the 517th web site alive as we will continue all together to celebrate the 15th of august every year here in Southern france, and to preserve and protect the Airborne Museum of le Muy. we feel so happy and proud that you was able to come last summer with the group, and that you have the privilege to be awarded from our french legion of honor. God bless you dear friend, you always host a special place in our hearts. miss you Ben . Eric Renoux, J. Mickael Soldi , Airborne Museum Le Muy. children, family and all your friends in and around le MUY, France
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Dear Fran, Bob, Joanne and family: My heart goes out to you all. When I heard of Ben's passing, my heart became so heavy with grief. I was fortunate to have met Ben during the 517th, Washington DC reunion. He was kind to invite me to the hospitality room, and I was able meet his comrades. I had a delightful time observing all the memorabilia, and watch the film that was playing at the time. Since then, I had been keeping in touch with Ben. I have been receiving 517th's mail call. Last year, I was so thrilled to catch up with Ben at the Palm Springs reunion. I was able to fly down for the day and spend approximately 6-7 hours with him (I am a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines, so I was able to take advantage of my benefits). He was very protective of me when a comrade would share an off color joke. I felt in a way he was my Dad. He shared his descriptive story of his combat experience in Manhay. His story displayed such dignity, bravery and a great will to carry on. I enjoyed my visit with him so very much, and I had hoped to see him again. I will miss him very much! I would so very much like to attend his ceremony service at Arlington Cemetery. I hope you will keep me in mind. Respectfully, Teresa Messina
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Dear Barrett Family, My deepest sympathies for your loss. As advised last night I drank a toast to a great man. My name is Paul Abbene, cousin to Colonel Bill Boyle. I am just one of the many whom Ben had a hand in reuniting with family. I was a long lost cousin and I owed Bill a long overdue thank you and a hello. Through the website and mail call and Ben's natural expedience I was quickly passed the needed information to contact Bill Boyle. Within a few weeks I was sitting at Bill's kitchen table sharing Christmas cookies and catching up. From that point on my life has been greatly enriched. Bill and I became pals. I met a large, very large, number of cousins who are now good friends and of course Babbie who always keeps an open door and a warm bunk for whenever I visit. Through Bill I have had the great opportunity to meet another large family that is the 517th Parachute Regiment Combat Team. I attended the Washington DC reunion and sat at breakfast with the great heroes of this country. I won't soon forget that moment in my life. At Salt Lake City I had the opportunity to sit down with Ben and thank him personally for all he has done for me. Of course to him it was no big deal, all in a days work on the life-line that is mail call. I hope he fully realized the ever expanding ripple effect he has had on all of us who have come together and stay together because of his tireless efforts. So fortunate am I to have met Ben Barrett. Thank you Ben. God Bless. Love and Strength, Paul Abbene ps - I hope to see you all again at the next reunion, We will again drink another toast to a great man.
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Regular MailCall news:
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Bonsoir à toutes et tous, Je vous communique une triste nouvelle. Ce mardi 02 mars, la maman de Claude Orban est décédée. Monique et son époux Prosper ont accueilli durant des années de nombreux vétérans et amis qui les accompagnaient! Nos pensées sont avec Claude et la famille dans ses moments douloureux. Good evening to all, I have the sadness to inform you that the mother of Claude Orban passed away on the 02 of March 2010. Monique and her husband, prosper have welcomed many veterans and their friends and their families in their home in Rochelinval. Our thoughts and prayers are with Claude and the family. Eddy Lamberty Avenue Joseph Lejeune 45 B-4980 Trois-Ponts
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Bob, First I must say I think of your family on a daily basis and what you all must be going thru. I just want you to know that. I loved your Dad and am so thankful we were honored to travel with him this summer. I enjoyed that trip with all of you. We must go on, he would want us to. So........ The Palm Springs Reunion is coming up quickly and I know it is on the website. Could you please put it in all the mailcalls you put out, I am afraid many don't go to the website for info. It is sad planning this knowing we will be missing one of our greatest soldiers. I hope some of you will be able to attend. Let all your family know I said hello and I am thinking of you. Karen Wallace If you have any questions please call me 541 318 5919
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PLEASE LET ME KNOW OF YOU HAVE ED ATHEYS NEW ADDRESS, I HAVE TRIED TO CALL HIM AND THE TELEPHONE HAS BEEN DISCONNECTED, THANK-YOU TOM MCAVOY AT 4ACESANDA3@COMCAST.NET
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I would like to be put back on the list. As I reported, Edward E Meise died a little over a year ago Jan 2009.I am still mourning his death. Anyway he liked the 517th and told many a story. He said he was there at the Mercedes incident in your pictures. I had sent you a bag of letters he wrote to his sister back then and you returned the stuff but hopefully you made copies so feel free to post anything you wish. thank you, ken meise
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Hi Bob The Font in Mail Call 1972 was really good. Didn't even have to use my glasses. Thanks to you and the family for keeping the 517 family up dated. I have never met a man like your Dad that was so loved by so many people. When I was wrong he let me know in no uncertain terms and when I was right he always had good things to say. There are very few men that have the ability to do this. As I told you before I plan to come to Ben's interment in Washington. I expect there will be a large group of people that plan to attend. When you and the family set the date please give us as much time as possible so we can make arrangements. Regards and thanks, Darrell Egner [ If Darrell says something wrong, and Ben’s not here to correct him, is he still wrong? – BB ]
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