Somehow this was left out of Mail Call No. 438-Ben

Subj: Re: Martin Balmuth 
Date: 3/8/2003 5:24:06 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: hhensleigh@earthlink.net
To: AARGoodman@aol.com, Ben517@aol.co

Ben & Al Goodman: Re: Martin S. Balmuth

Thanks for letting me know that Martin Balmuth’s funeral will be in Brooklyn tomorrow. I will ot be able to attend, but hope that someone can get a message to his family. Since we have his address in the latest roster, I will send a copy of this on to that address , as well as sending it to you.

Martin was in the machine gun platoon of Hq. 3rd Bn. The platoon under Lt. Joe Largan and platoon sergeant John Podolak, was split in two sections. Martin was in the section assigned to me during the Italian campaign and on the jump into Southern France. The section was small and everyone knew each other well. Although he could not carry quite as much ammunition along with the machine gun, individual weapon etc. as some of the other men in the section, everyone was in his debt for his other outstanding characteristics. When anyone broke a boot lace climbing up those mountains in Italy, Martin produced one. He was a walking supply point. In his baggy jump suit pant pockets was a supply of toilet articles, medical supplies and whatever else was needed by the men in the section. It was all freely available to any man in the section who needed it.

When a small group of us assembled in the dark near Callian, some twenty five kilometers from our drop zone, Martin assisted in the task of finding out where we were and contacting other troopers. Before daylight, most of the men in Hq. 3rd Bn. G and H Companies and regimental Service Company had come together and were headed for the drop zone. It was essential that a small group of troopers scout out ahead of the main body to make sure that it was not ambushed. Lt. Lud Gibbons asked me to take on this assignment. We knew there were large numbers of German troops in the area so it was risky. Martin Balmuth from my machine gun section along with Ray Scruggs and Sgt. Hopke from G Company’s 3rd platoon and a South African Lt. stepped forward to go with me. He assisted in carrying out this mission. We successfully skirted the large enemy concentrations and eliminated smaller ones picking up German transportation for our jump casualties along the way to Les Arcs where the battalion carried out a successful attack on D plus one. ,Howard Hensleigh