Dear Ben,

Made contact with Tommy and Mary Priest. We shared many recollections. He has a new address, tpriest517@bellsouth.com. From the address, you know he has an interest in the Combat Team and its Association. God willing, after almost sixty years, we will have a hoe down at the FL mini. For Tom Reber to add to his list, Tom’s address is in our roster, phone 912-634-9483. Tom and Bob Reber were in Hq. Co. 3^rd from the beginning. They both made it up and down the mountain once or twice a day. Tom and Mary want to continue to get Mail Call.

Several have been after me to provide a picture. Digging into my old WWII foot locker was rewarding. I found a lot of pictures of Col de Braus taken by H. L. Katzander of Yank Magazine. Dick Spencer was wounded and Art Riddler was killed in the attack on Ridge X, just south of Col de Braus. Dick met Katzander while in the hospital recovering from his wounds. Yank became interested in the story and published it. I took Katzander all over the terrain and somehow ended up with a set of pictures. They should be in our website so I will snail mail them to you, Ben. There is a god one of the Fort also.

Grace Horne is suffering the grief that comes with the loss of a spouse. JK was more than a spouse to her. He was much more to us, as well. We miss him. We are indebted to him. He loved the Combat Team and its members. Grace put me in touch with Tommy Priest. JK, Tommy and Bill Webb were the cornerstones of the communications section and close friends in that band of brothers forever.

Howard Hensleigh

Juliana Stonis

Hi Ben,

WOW!! I just finished watching the link:
http://www.inlibertyandfreedom.com/Flash/heroes.swf

It was so moving, a thank you to Tom McAvoy (I believe he sent it).

Juliana Stonis
Daughter of John A. Stonis

Bob Christie

Ben, I could publish info about the MidWest and Palm Springs Reunions.
There is a little over 2 weeks left for any last minute news.We have at least 14 signed up for our Florida mini and a number of others promised but not committed.Bob

Bob Dalrymple 596

DID YOU KNOW?

As you walk up the steps to the Capitol Building which houses the

Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of

the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle

who is facing forward with a full frontal view - it is Moses and the

Ten Commandments!

As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak

doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion

of each door. As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the

wall, right above where the Supreme Court judges sit, a display of the

Ten Commandments!

There are Bible verses etched in stone on the Federal

Buildings and Monuments in Washington, D.C.

James Madison, the fourth president, known as "The Father of Our

Constitution" made the following statement "We have staked the

whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of

mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to

govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves

according to the Ten Commandments of God."

Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country

said, "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this

great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on

religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ".

Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid

preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.

Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of

the established orthodox churches in the colonies.

Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their

authority and instead of interpreting the law would begin making

law.... an oligarchy....the rule of few over many.

The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said, "Americans

should select and prefer Christians as their rulers."

How, then, have we gotten to the point that the concept of our Founding

Fathers, which has sustained us for 220 years in this country

is now considered unconstitutional?

Entry of Oct 25, 2003 at 21:35 [EST]
Name: JV Miller
Unit: US Navy
EMail: jvmiller99@yahoo.com
How I found the 517th page: From a search engine
Comments: My father Howard E. Miller served with the 517th. He passed on October 19th 2003. I would like to hear from anyone who knew him. Please feel free to email me.

Entry of Oct 26, 2003 at 00:10 [EST]
Name: Howard E. Miller
Unit:
EMail: 3millers@bellsouth.net
How I found the 517th page: From a search engine
Comments: My father, Howard E. Miller, was a member of Company G, 517th Parachute Infantry during WWII. I'm writing this to notify everyone that he passed from this Earth on October 19th, 2003. Should anyone who knew him care to correspond I would like to record any memories you may have of him. Like many who survived, he said very little of his war experience.

Entry of Oct 26, 2003 at 08:18 [EST]
Name: sgt. HOWARD E. MILLER G CO.
Unit: usn, vf-211,vx-4,vf-124, air wing, F- 14
EMail: boaters@comcast.net
How I found the 517th page: From a search engine
Comments: I AM LOOKIING FOR INFO ON MY FATHER, HE PASSED AWAY ON OCT. 19, 2003.HE RETIRED IN 1964 AS A SPECIAL FORCES MAJ. AT FT BRAGG, HE WAS IN CO. G. WITH 517 HE ALSO WAS IN COMBAT IN SO. FRANCE,HE MADE THE COMBAT JUMP.HERE IS SOME INFO ON HIS HONORABLE DISCHARGE DATED 4 NOV 1945. BATTLES AND CAMPAIGNS GO 33 & 40 WD 45 ,ROME-ARNO,SOUTHERN FRANCE,RHINELAND,ARDENNES CENTRAL EUROPE. DECORATIONS AND CITATIONS. GOOD CODUCT MEDAL,AMERICANTHEATER SERVICE MEDAL,EUROPEAN AFRICAN MIDDLE EASTERN SERVICE MEDAL, W/5 BRONZE STARS AND 1 BRONZE ARROWHEAD.

Chris Lindner

Hi Ben:

I wanted to send you some pictures that I took when Darrell Egner and I took a visit to Camp Tocooa last week. Darrell had not been there since he came in on the train 60 years ago. We spoke to the man at the Stephen’s Historical Society (Lamar Davis) and they are going to be redoing the Railroad Depot as it was 60 years ago when all of you came there. I will also be snail mailing you some pictures that you might want to put on the web-site that I had made larger that Darrell gave me during WWII.

It was a fun trip for me and especially going with Darrell since he was there for training. The first time I went to Tacooa was with my husband and we didn’t have a clue as to what we were seeing. Darrell was able to give me information about Tacooa that I did not know.

I also included a picture of Darrell, Rick (my husband) and me. I was hoping Floyd Polk’s wife might look at this so that she will now believe I really do have a husband (it’s just a little joke-)

It is so nice that the 517^th family is growing and is including the relatives of the original members. I have really meet some great people in the last two years while researching my Dad’s WWII days. When I started this project I did not realize what a unique group the 517^th PRCT is.

Thanks,

Chris Lindner

Nate Rubenstein’s Daughter

HQ Co. 2^nd BN

We will put Chris's photos on the website-Ben