Hello,
This will help me to catch up the mail. I wanted to send mail from Tom Cross and Howard Hensleigh.Lori Richter has for sometime seeking information about her father.Well she got it from the top source.
Ben
Website---www.517prct.org
Mail Call---Ben517@aol.com
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Subj: Re: Fw: 517th paratroopers requested info
Date: 3/24/2003 10:33:52 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: Tomx517
To: lbr915@hotmail.com
CC: seitz2@webtv.net, Ben517, Ge517ne
Dear Lori:
It is difficult to recall many of the numerous persons, events and places that are compressed into the rather short history of the 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment ( 517th PIR ) from its activation at Camp Toccoa, Georgia in March of 1943 until its deactivation at Fort Bragg, NC in February of 1946. The intervening time between this period and the present has been long and memories dimmed remembering only those that were significant and ever lasting. I hope that what I present here will help you remember, with pride, the outstanding paratrooper who was your Father.
I joined the 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment prior to its official activation and was the first Company Commander of Company E of this Regiment until I was assigned in July of 1943 as Executive Officer of the 2nd Battalion, 517th PIR commanded by Dick Seitz. Your father was one of the original members of Company E and remained with Company E throughout WW II. He was assigned to the 2nd Platoon which was commanded by 1st lt. Joseph Kizelewicz. Your father was later promoted to the position of Squad Leader within the 2nd Platoon. He was respected and liked by all who knew him which in this case was every member of Company E. He earned his Parachute Badge when the 2nd Battalion, 517 PIR went to the Parachute School in late 1943. He was awarded, as far as I know, the Combat Infantry Badge and the Bronze Star Medal. He saw combat in Italy, France, Belgium and Germany.
You mentioned that he seldom spoke of his military career but I can state with pride that as a member of Company E that he and his comrades were valiant under the most of difficult of combat circumstances. Two of these circumstances are representative by the following two combat actions: the assault on enemy positions at Mont de Fosse on January 3, 1945, in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium and the Battle for Bergstein in the Huretgen Forest, Germany on February 5-6, 1945. These were difficult combat actions in every sense of the word.
I commend to your attention two outstanding sources of information on the men and combat actions of Company E and these are: Russ Brami and Gene Brissey both of whom were in Company E from start to finish. Gene can be reached by e-mail at ge517ne@aol.com and Russ can be reached at telephone number 352-543-9247. Russ will soon be submitting about 20 to 30 WW II photos of people, places and events involving Company E to Ben Barrett and Bob Barrett who are the "Keepers of the flame" for the 517th website. Your father might appear in one or more of these photos. If Russ submits one of Company E personnel taken at Joigny, France at the close of WW II I believe your father's image will be contained therein. Russ Brami is acquiring a computer which should result in more Company E and other 517th PIR info becoming available on our website.
If you wish to acquire more info about the 517th PIR you can obtain this by checking the 517th PRCT Home Page which contains an excellent listing of books referring to the 517th PRCT. Another important source would be to contact our 517th PRCT Historian by the name of Clark Archer at telephone number 386-258-6033. If you prefer to do this by mail his address is 525 N. Halifax Ave. Apt. #6, Daytonna Beach, FL 32118-4066.
I hope this has been of some help. Would have answered sooner but my computer turned on me and refused to cooperate until now. Best of luck on your quest.
Best wishes, Tom Cross
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Subj: "Purple Heart"
Date: 3/23/2003 10:04:33 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: chrislindner@bellsouth.net
Hi Ben: I have a question about the Purple Heart. On the back of the purple heard does it say “For Military Merit”? It’s not engraved but the letters are raised. When you have time could you please let me know? I got a replacement “Purple Heart” and I was wondering. Thanks a lot. Hope you are doing well. Boy the people are coming out of the woodwork with things to put on “Mail Call” since the War has started. Thanks again for all you and Bob do. Chris
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Subj: Re: 517 prct.
Date: 3/25/2003 11:21:56 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: meltren@samlink.com
hi ben! i'm not very active on the pc. i'm recoop'ng from lung cancer operation. they got it all. no chemo. required.slow process getting well. doing fine tho.good to hear from our outfit.going to try to get to the reunion in OK. take care mel trenary A co. 1st btln.
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_Subj: Re: Roster
Date: 3/25/2003 8:44:42 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: bobx517@juno.com
To: Ben517@aol.com
Will do. I read someone's comment about the Thunderbolt,how out standing.
If no one comes forward before the end of June,there won't be any more
Thunderbolts. I wish I could do it but my cup is full. I would be willing
to help someone if necessary. Possibly a scaled down version.Just a
suggestion. I do have a good Printer,who might be able to help me with
it. Maybe I will talk with him about it. Bob
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Subj: reinstate
Date: 3/25/2003 11:38:35 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: jdavis101@hotmail.com
To: mailcall@517prct.org
Hi Ben....have not been receiving mail call for quite some time now. Would
like to be put back on the list. Greetings to all and God bless our troups
who are fighting for freedom.
Thanks
Jeanne Davis
(Mrs. Gary Davis 517/F Co)
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Date: 3/25/2003 10:05:37 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: hhensleigh@earthlink.net
To: Ben517@aol.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Manoukian, Karen <KManoukian@emersonhosp.org>
To: <hhensleigh@earthlink.net>
> Hi Mr. Hensleigh:
> Not sure who the author is...
> Subject: an argument, think about it!
>>
> I asked a friend of mine who is in his 80's who was in the Korean War
> and World War II to give me a little history lesson and his thoughts
> today on War. I am sharing this because it is a different look at the
> War. It is not my opinion just thoughts from an honorable man that
> lived through two Wars and that I have a great respect for. Thoughts
> to think about:
>
> I'm not going to get into a history lesson. The short, short version
> is that the League of Nations (established after WW I to prevent
> wars) failed to stop Mussolini's Italy from invading and conquering
> Ethiopia. It failed to stop Japan from invading and conquering
> Manchuria and much of China. Their committees wrung their hands
spoke in platitudes but did absolutely nothing to stop war.
>> At France's coaxing Britain's prime minister Nevil Chamberlain met
>
> with Adolph Hitler in Munich and surrendered the Sudetenland to Nazi
> Germany in
> the interest of "peace in our time." The French and British watched
> as Germany took Austria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia. They all had
> committee meetings and wrung their hands and talked of peace.
>> World War II erupted when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Britain had
a> mutual defense treaty with Poland so they couldn't escape. They
> declared war
> on Germany. Germany had a mutual defense treaty with Japan so Japan
> declared war on Britain. France wet their pants and surrendered to
> Germany as fast as they could and gleefully shipped all the Jews
> theycould find to death camps in Germany to prove to Adolph that they
> really were on the side of Germany.
> Japan attacked the United States and, because of Japan's mutual
> defense
> treaty with Germany, Germany declared war on the United States.
>
> Up until December 7th and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a
> large number of our people were wringing their hands and saying,
> "Appease Hitler. He is really a good guy who just needed a little
> more land for his expanding population. The dear man just wants
> peace. And World War II was in full swing leaving better than
> 50,000,000 people dead including about 450,000 American soldiers and
> sailors.
>
> Three cheers for the League of Nations!
> After World War II it was decided to do the whole thing all over
> again.
> This time we would call it the United Nations and we will have
> committee
> meetings and hand wringing parties and make sure peace prevails
> throughout
> the land.
>
> While that august body wrung hands the Soviet Union split Germany,
> invaded Poland and Yugoslavia, Rumania, Hungary and Bulgaria along
> with Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The peaceful world saw Korea
> with 37,000 American soldiers killed, over 1,000,000 South Korean
> soldiers and civilians killed and the country nearly destroyed.
>
> Since then we have had over 50,000 American soldiers killed in
> Vietnam
> and have fought wars in Somalia, Herzegovenia, Panama, Granada, plus
> the Gulf War when Iraq invaded Kuwait.
>
> We should have gone into Baghdad and taken out that evil regime then
> but the United Nations would have no part of that. All they would
> allow was for us to chase the Iraqis out of Kuwait, then peace would
> prevail.
>
> Now, here we are with Saddam violating all 17 United Nations
> resolutions while he has massed poison gas and bio weapons.
>
> He is frantically trying to develop a nuke and his buddy, Kim
Jong-Il
> of North
> Korea may give him a few. (It was the United Nations who prevented
us
> from
> taking North Korea when the war was hot and we had the means to do
> it.)
> Peace!!!!!!!! Sure.
>
> France is wetting their collective pants in fear that the United
> States will take Saddam out and along with him, France's 60 billion
> dollar contracts with Iraq. Russia hedges because Iraq owes them 6
> billion dollars that they sorely need.
>
> In answer to your question....... hell yes we should go to war with
> Iraq. We should have done it six months ago. We should also get out
> of the United Nations. Can you believe that the United Nations has
> appointed Iraq and Syria to head up the United Nations Disarmament
> Committee? Can you believe they have appointed Libya to head up the
> Human Rights Committee?
> All three of these countries are on the UN List of Terrorist
> States.............Absolutely unbelievable.
>
> Just don't get me going. Throughout recorded history the only time
> peace has prevailed is when the good guys have militarily whipped
the
> bad guys. Who are our best friends in the world? Japan because we
> whipped them. Germany because we whipped them. Italy because we
> whipped them. Britain because we whipped them.
>
> This is one opinion, on the War but this is the eyes, ears and heart
> of an American Veteran...
>
>
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