Ben,

As I mentioned to you a while back, my dad Bud Curtis gave me his letters he wrote home during the war. Here is a letter he sent home about his very first jump. I was amazed at the detail an 18 year old man (really still just a boy) could write. Thought maybe the guys would get a kick out of reading it.

Lory Curtis, son of Bud Curtis, Hq, 1^st BN

Letter to Mom from Harland L. “Bud” Curtis:

Fort Benning, Georgia

September 2, 1943

Dear Mom,

             It sure was good to hear you and Dad over the phone Sunday. I went to church this morning. It sure was cold in Atlanta; I didn’t know it could get that way after all the heat there was when I was in Toccoa.

            Well I came out swell on my first jump Monday. Gee what a thrill we put on our parachutes, then went to the inspection line and into the plane (a C-47 Transport). Well we taxied out on the filed and up into the air and circled the field a couple of times. I was the 11^th man in the first stick. I can honestly say I wasn’t a bit scared, but there were some awfully white faces in that plane. When we got to 1200 feet the jump master says “Get Ready.” We take our anchor line snap fastener in our hand. “Stand Up.” We stand up grabbing the cable that runs the full length of the ship. “Hook Up.” We hook our snap fastener onto the cable. “Check Equipment.” We look at each other’s pack to make sure it is okay. “Sound Off Equipment Check.” 12, okay, 11, okay, 10, okay, 9, okay, 8, okay, 7, okay, 6, okay, 5, okay, 4, okay, 3, okay, 2, okay, 1, okay. “Stand in the door.” He shouts. We close up and he says, “Are You Ready.” YEAH, we sound off. “Well Lets Go.” Then is when you get a funny feeling seeing those guys in front of you disappear. Here I come shuffling up to the door; plant my right foot down hard, pivot in the door, jump out about 6 feet, make a half left body turn, ducking my head so the connector links wont knock you in the head. I count; 1,000, 2,000, then my feet are sticking out in front of my face and it feels like the air is churning around inside your head and all of this happens between 2,000 and 3,000. Wham, the chute opens and I get an opening shock that liked to shook my teeth out. Then it seems like your just suspended in air for a while and you are oscillating back and forth. It’s quiet and peaceful up their and it sure looks pretty all those other chutes below me.

            Then a big grin comes over my face and I think, I’ll be darned if I thought that thing would open. There I am hundreds of feet above the ground with not a care in the world. It is quiet like a graveyard and I can hear the voices of the instructors running through my mind. Check oscillation; make a body turn so the ground is coming toward you; keep your feet together; knees slightly bent; prepare to land. LAND. And at the last 100 feet the ground is coming up to meet me fast, but I land like a feather and make a right front tumble; spill the wind from my chute and take my harness off and head off for the truck to take me back.

            The my head begins to clear up and I think what I did and I feel proud of myself for having the nerve to go out of that door and I am glad I had the guts to stick out all of this training I’ve had to go through because it is really worth it. Thanks my kind of work. You will never realize what a thrill it is.

            Some of the fellows didn’t do so good. Five broke their legs, and a few sprained ankles. A couple of fellows got tangled up together and were coming down fast. The pulled their reserves and came in okay. I don’t think we will jump today, because it has been raining and we will make two jumps Wednesday.

            It still doesn’t seem like I did jump; it’s more like a dream because everything happened so fast. It won’t be long until I will be home now if I come out as good on the next four jumps as I did the first, so keep your fingers crossed until Saturday.

            Tell everyone hello. I have to fall out in about 10 minutes so I had better get this mailed.

            See you soon, Love Bud

A new book now on the website by a 517 trooper about the 517.

Click below for information or check the website.

See Details

Randolph Coleman

Ben, re: Chris Lidell and his trying to find out more about Bobby, I wonder if he has access to the F. Co. panoramic picture. If he does and he can let me know where he is in the picture, I may recall something that will help. I really would like to be of some help if I can. Was Bobby in F. Co from the beginning, at Toccoa? What platoon? I would surely like to be of help to Chris. Randolph Coleman

Bob Barrett

Dad,

Remember I told you about the PC war-gaming forum that has borrowed the 517th name? It is: http://www.517th.org/

I did not realize until they posted additional info that there is a connection to our 517th PRCT, not just a tribute. It turns out that they just recently added info about their "mascot", a WWII tank which they are rebuilding. See pictures at:

http://www.517th.org/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&Itemid=25&func=view&id=794&catid=60

And on that page, you might recognize this fellow:

"This is Scorch's and my dad. This is where our clan name came from. He was in the 517th Company A.He helped liberated Belgium, France, and was in the Battle of the Bulge. "

Jesse Darden

Dear Ben, Our computer has been sick. Right now we
are back on line. So Sorry to hear about Margaret
Frich. She was a very special lady. I knew that she
had problems but did not realize they were life
threatening. Sorry we did not make it to Fl in Jan.
Lou is doing very well. Still in a walking boot &
using a cane. Next Appt. in Tex. is April 12th & we
hope she will be dismissed at that time. We will try
to keep in closer touch this year. Looking forward to
Savannah. Hal & Helen we will be in touch. Love,
Jesse & Lou

Chris Lindner

Hi Ben:

What a wonderful letter from Chris Liddell. I sincerely hope that Chris and Tammy are able to adopt their little girl as soon as possible.

While reading Chris story about him and his Grandfather being “Fishing Buddies” I would believe that his Grandfather was never upset with him for being a teenager. It sounds like Chris gave his Grandfather as much pleasure in his life as his Grandfather gave the same pleasure back to Chris.

The letter reminded me of something in my life that was unique. May 12, l977 my cousin was having a rehearsal dinner for his wedding that was to be held on Saturday. My Mom and Dad and the rest of the family all attended the rehearsal dinner but Rick and I did not go because I had the flu and felt horrible. My Dad saw the entire family on May 12, l977 and for some reason after the rehearsal dinner was over my Mom and Dad came to Rick’s and my apartment to see us. For some reason I don’t know why my Mom and Dad stopped at a store and my Dad bought me a blue tackle box and filled it with some fishing items and gave it to me that night. I worked for my Dad at that time and he said to me “Don’t bother to come to work tomorrow, stay home and get well”. My Mom and Dad stayed for a short time I gave them both a kiss good bye and told them that I loved them and that I would see them later. That was the last time I saw my Dad alive, he died the morning of May 13, l977. It is amazing how things happen; my Dad saw his complete family and died the next morning of a massive heart attack. To this day I still have the blue tackle box that he gave me that night.

I am just happy that I was able to tell my Dad that I loved him. I think telling your family that you love them is very important and sometimes I feel that we take it for granted that our family knows we love them and that we do not say it enough.

Chris Lindner

Nate Rubenstein’s Daughter

Entry of Mar 22, 2004 at 21:33 [EST]
Name: Matthew Braud
Unit:
EMail: mbraud@aol.com
How I found the 517th page: From a search engine
Comments: My father, DeWitt H. Braud from Baton Rouge, LA, served in the 517th. According to the Christmas Roster, it appears that he was in Company H. If you knew him or served with him, I would appreciate hearing from you. His war years were seldom discussed. Thank you!