Dear Ben:

Here is our plan for assisting the European friends of the Combat Team attend our reunions. First, a short quote from Article I, Section 2 of our bylaws which describes the Association’s objectives: "Its objectives shall be to preserve, in patriotic reverence, memory of those men who served in the 517^th Parachute Regimental Combat Team....." I need not elaborate on how our European friends do this in the areas of the Combat Team’s battlefields and cemeteries. Merle, Gene, Joyce Turco, Dick, Bill, Tom and others have eloquently made that point.

Here is our plan. You may send contributions for this purpose to our treasurer, Bob Christie, 390 301 Blvd. W. #10C, Bradenton, FL 34205. They will be deposited separately and disbursed to defray the expenses of our European friends who are invited to attend our national reunions, including the upcoming one in Savannah. If you have any suggestions, send them with your donations to Bob, or to Gene Frice, or both.

Gene Frice, our first vice president, Lud Gibbons, our second VP, and Merle McMorrow, our past president, will contact our friends in France and Belgium to see who can make the trip to Savannah with our assistance. For the Oklahoma City reunion, we sent airline tickets to our guests. We will expect a recommendation from Gene, Lud and Merle on whether we do that again or defray some of the Savannah costs. All three of these gentlemen have visited our battlefield and have had personal contact with all the people named by Dick in his Mail Call message. They are well qualified for the job. Invitations will be issued as soon as these men have things in place.

Our next Thunderbolt is set in concrete--at the press to be distributed soon. Since only about ten percent of our members are on the net, we may send out a message to all members on this subject.

Highest regards, Howard Hensleigh

--- Howard Hensleigh

--- hhensleigh@earthlink.net

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To Ben and all,
     I want to thank everyone for their concern relating to bringing 517th supporters from Europe and those veterans of the 517th who have difficulty in attending our functions.
     Last night I was called by our association President, Howard Hensleigh, concerning the above. A number of others have written Ben in the mail call. This is obviously a timely topic and various areas need to be resolved.
     Howard advised that our charter has no provision for providing funds to bring a 517 member to functions. Further, at the present, there is no internal system to make such a choice. Over the years we have conducted regional gatherings, which in part made travel somewhat easier for our members.
     The most important aspect of this is; the visitors from Europe have not been funded out of the 517th funds. They either have arranged their own travel or have been funded by contributions from our membership -- I, and many others, have contributed to that fund in the past. Bill Lewis, in his unique manner of managing the books, may have found other ways to bring our friends to our gathering.
     Merle McMorrow (a previous President) described, most profoundly in yesterdays mail call, the justification for bringing our Europe friends to the 517th. In part, the future of the 517th for our veterans, family, and supporters, rests with the friends we have in those countries where we served so many years ago. The USA, and the world, needs that voice, however small, amongst the many that certainly are not supporters of our country.
     Howard said all aspects of this problem needs to be resolved in our meetings arising in the next few months.  However the bringing our distinguished guests to this country needs to be addressed immediately, and by individual contributions from our membership.
     Gene Frice, F Co

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 Marty Donahoo

 

The $ 8,000 that was excess from the reunion in Bismarck should have been set up as a separate fund for use in bringing our friends to future reunions.  That excess developed from those attending the reunion but became a part of the general fund for the entire membership.

 

                                                       Merle

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