Hello,

I phone Ed Flannery yesterday. He was still in hospital. He would like to hear from members. I also just talk to him  a short time ago. Ed was the inspiration for Mail Call . I will explain later.This Mail Call is brief. I want to let all know about Ed.

Indian River Memorial ( Room 325 )
Hospital Tel No. ( 772)567-4311

While at the reunion we found two new members for our email roster. Donald Saunders 596 and Darrell Engner Hq2. Apparently there are more members  who have access to the internet that are unaware of Mail Call and the Website. As our members dwindel it will become more important that we have this means of communication. No doubt about it. It will be our last resort to stay togeather as a durable organization.We must get as many members as possible and they do not have to be computer literate Nearly every family has at least one person who has the means to send and receive email and can informed them about the website. It can be a relative or a friend. We have many such members already on our email roster.Help us get more.

Ben

Website--prct517.home.attbi.com  or members.aol.com/prct517/

Mail Call--Ben517@aol.com
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While at the mini-reunion in Florida Tom Cross let me have copies of his Static Line columns that he wrote for the paper in the 1980s. I will at times include excerpts from that material. I will have to paraphrase for sake of space.

June 1989 article

"MACKALL BECOMES JUMP SCHOOL FOR 50 COOKS.DRIVERS"

The story in the Thunderbolt about cooks and clerks going through jump school----but when Col. Walsh saw the story he demanded that we destroy all copies  and reprint it without that story.
.Col Walsh had pulled some strings to get the job done so every one would get th $50 per month jump pay and be able to wear parachute wings.It was a morale booster move. But Col Walsh must have stepped on some one's toes and wanted to keep it as quiet as possible.Most of the 5000 copies were burned.
That is why it isn't mentioned in any of the Combat Team histories. It is an example of the kind of C.O. Col Walsh was. He knew his men should All be qualified for good of morale but there was no time for long tedious programs..So he did it in four days and got his men the extra pay as well as the prestige  that went with being a qualified paratrooper...If it cost him a star...so be it.
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Parachure Screen Saver
Click on above hyperlink,Download box will show on screeen. Click open. Be patient . I have this as my screen saver. ( No longer necessary)
Let me know if it works for you.
Ben
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Subj: RE: 517 PRCT 
Date: 1/29/2003 12:06:37 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: ptremblay@asomf.org

Ben,
Please pass onto Mr. Dalrymple and any others that we apologize for the oversight. We're working on revising the Roll Call program, and we'll make sure that the units we missed the first time are added in the final product, both on the internet and in the printed material. The oversight of the 517th in particular was a mistake, a simple one but also a big one. We certainly understand the 517th's importance to our history, and in the long list of units we included on the Roll Call program it was unintentionally left off.
 
I want to thank you and other  517 veterans for bringing this to our attention and also for your understanding and patience as we fix our mistakes. Tom Cross was one of the first to catch it back in October, and even one non-517th veteran has made mention of it.
 
I also want to assure you that the Roll Call program, which is an online database of unit histories and individual service records, is the only place that the 517th has been missed at the museum. The unit is fully represented in all other areas.
 
Hope all is well.
Airborne,
Patrick
 
Patrick Tremblay
Airborne & Special Operations Museum
Fayetteville, NC
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Patrick Trembaly has always been most helpfull  whenever I have requested any information from him.
Ben
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Subj: Re: 517 Guestbook 
Date: 1/29/2003 11:30:51 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: Tbarwalk
To: Ben517

thanks for replying to my post yes i would like to be on the mailing list i'm trying to gather information on him to put pieces together about who he was and how he served,yes he was iin the battle of the bulge in 44  from Italy on through to ardennes. thanks again fred stark
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Fred is seeking information about his father Sgt. Gerald Stark C company. Can anyone help him?
Ben
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Subj: Check out 01/29: AOL News: Cartoonist Mauldin Buried at Arlington 
Date: 1/30/2003 8:22:45 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: CackyG (Dot Lubic )
To: Ben517

Click here:  01/29: AOL News: Cartoonist Mauldin Buried at Arlington---------------for all those who enjoyed his cartoons........
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