Hello,
Website---------www.517prct.org
Mail Call---Ben517@aol.com
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Subj: Fourth of July page
Date: 6/28/2003 7:32:03 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: BoomBoomAlicki
Found a wonderful 4th of July page that I wanted to share with you. Please visit this awesome site at www.grace24u.org/july4th.html
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Subj: Mail Call
Date: 6/27/2003 9:55:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: jkrumm@qwest.net
Hello Ben,
I thought I should let you know I saved too many email messages on my computer, and the system quit accepting messages for a few days. You probably had the mail call messages you sent to me for the past couple of weeks sent back to you as undeliverable. I have now cleared my system of these saved messages and it is functioning again. If you could please attempt to send me mail calls again, I certainly would appreciate it. I really value receiving them and read each one. I had been saving them, and that resulted in the problem of having further email messages rejected. I now know that if I am going to save that many messages, I will have to put them on a disc. My email address is jkrumm@qwest.net. I appologize for the inconvenience this has made for you.
I received an email message from Gene Brissey. He let me know your reunion went really well. I was not able to attend, because I could not get released from my job.
The service you have provided to the 517th has been so remarkable. I really appreciate all the hard work you have done. It has to have been and continues to be an incredible amount of work. It undoubtedly has made a great difference in the lives of the 517th veterans and to their families. I hope it is somehow fulfilling to you that you have indeed made a great contribution to your comrades.
**************
John Krumm is the son of John Krumm who was a member of E company and he is also a friend of Gene Brissey. John and Gene took a tour of the battle fields in Europe a few years ago -Ben
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Subj: Check out "All Things Patriotic by the PalletMaster's Work…"
Date: 6/27/2003 5:49:34 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Newlb109 ( Boyd Ellis )
Click Here: All Things Patriotic by the PalletMaster's Work…
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Subj: Re: 517 Guestbook entries
Date: 6/26/2003 6:11:02 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Tomx517
Ben:
Reference the Battling Buzzard Patch comment in your e-mail message.
The patch was designed by Dick Spencer of the 3rd Battalion 5117 PIR. Someone said it was made to look scrawny as a left handed salute to Colonel Graves.
It was never officially authorized as far as I know. Dick Spencer drew it and we did what ever we wanted or I should say could get away with. I do not remember any official document stating where and when it would be worn on an article of uniform clothing. It was used mostly on invitations, papers, booklets etc. The 2d Battalion scroll described in your message and shown in the First Airborne Task Force book is a new one on me. The only time I saw it was in the book. It was probably personally designed by the wearer who had it made up by someone in Nice with a sewing machine. Some of the men also had their long GI overcoats cut short and this too was unauthorized. I was standing beside Colonel Graves when he really got upset about the short overcoats and the blackened helmets that had been used for cooking rations etc. This event took place when the Regiment was making its foot march from the Maritime Alps
positions to La Colle-Sur-Loup outside of Nice. The end result of this was a rigid training cycle that commenced in earnest when we closed on Soissons
before heading to Belgium and the Bulge.
Tom Cross
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Subj: Re: 517 Insignas
Date: 6/27/2003 4:04:11 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: c46thva@yahoo.com
Ben
Your message does indeed shed some light on the subject. Thanks for your efforts.
I was also curious about the condition of your uniforms and gear at the time of your departure for the Bulge. Any information on this subject would be greatly appreciated.
In fact any infromation at all concerning your uniforms during the war would be great. Especially anecdotal stuff like the comments your buddy made about the short overcoats and blackened helmets. Its information like that that will help my group to portray in the most authentic way possible the soldiers of the 517th.
Hope to see you and all the other 517th vets at the Camp Toccoa Reunion in September! We plan on coming and hope to gain more insights on the uniforms and appearance of the 517th during the war from you guys. We are planning on doing many displays for the public in the coming year. Several of us will be portraying 517th paratroopers at the Frederick Airshow in Frederick MD in August. We will also be set up at the annual Battle of the Bulge event at Ft Indiantown Gap in PA this coming Febuary.
Again, thanks for the information!!
John Winn
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Subj: Thunderbolt Keep Going.
Date: 6/27/2003 9:42:55 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: louettad2001@yahoo.com
To: ben517@aol.com
I may have sent thia message before but will try
again, DARRELL EGNERS E-Mail on keeping the
Thunderbolt alive was great, If all of the 460th would
send me articles I will fordward them on to BOB or you
can send directly to him by E-Mail or S-MAIL. Note I
am changing out computers next week so dont give up on
me, Keep in touuch AIRBORNE ALL THE WAY::::::::::
Jesse Darden & Lou
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Subj: Re: No Subject-pathfinder detachment
Date: 6/28/2003 1:58:22 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Genesir
To: grandstadlers@msn.com, Ben517
Tom,
Yeh, thanks for the note. Concerning that address-Yes, the detachment (517th) was first in England, at a RAF Air Corps base (somewhere near Oxford). I remember the distance beacuse I had a girlfriend in Oxford (18m) and I used to walk all the way and back almost daily. The base was later commanded by a kin of the Roosevelt's. He got the base for his squadron of whatever. They moved us (the pathfinder detachment) to Auxierre in France where we prepared for a half dozen missions-none of them related to the 517th-who also was standing by for a number of constantly changing missions-cross the river, save the POW camp, save the castle, etc etc. Our only missions carried out in part were in support of getting gas drums to Patton who was running out of fuel and support stuff, and one other mission. They also assigned us to being perimeter guard for several airborne outfits in their marshalling areas.
I have a copy (very poor cy at that) of the unit orders from HQ 13th Abn Div (yeck) assigning personnel from the 515th and the 517th to the Auxere detachment-the orders are dated 23Feb45. I think the orders related to the move to Auxerre (not the period before) and they do not indicate a close date.
I have tried without success to scan the orders so that we could email em-copied them but no good on scan.
Get back to me if need additional-that I probably do not have.
Gene Frice F Co.
*************
Tom Stadler, the son of Burton Stadler who was a pathfinder attatched to Hq 2nd and also served with F Co.Tom is seeking any information that you can give us about his father-Ben
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Subj: Inner Peace
Date: 6/28/2003 8:11:41 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: newacct1088254 (Boom Boom)
To: Ben517
Pass this on to all those in need of Inner Peace!
I am passing this on to you because it definitely
worked for me. By following the simple advice I read
in an article, I have finally found inner peace.
It read:
"The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the
things you have started.."
So, today I have finished my bottle of vodka, my
bottle of red wine, my old bottle of Jack Daniel's,
my Prozac, a small box of chocolates, and a quart of
Rocky Road ice cream.
You have no idea how good I feel.
Pass this on to all those in need of Inner Peace!