To: Lucky Hiers
From: Richard H. Wheeler, 460th B
Btry
07Apr2007 - 1946 hours
EST
RE: Mail Call #1300 -
07Apr2007
The Bazooka "Dud" in hdqs Btry
460th
A Dud Bazooka round brought in from the
firing range by a person. Two of Hdq's 460th personnel were tossing the Bazooka
Dud to each other. One of the two catching the Dud round missed catching
it, and it hit the floor between his legs. It blew the barracks door open
and a big hole in the barracks floor. "B" Btry just down from Hdqs
Barracks - Everyone ran up to the explosion sound and I and Sgt Joseph C. Sanford
went into the barracks. It was a mess. In a few minutes officers arrived
and emptied the barracks of all personnel.
Richard H. Wheeler "B" Btry 460th PRCHT
FA Bn
To: Ben
A question for you, Ben. Do you
have the song "Blood on His Risers" on a CD, tape, or
DVD?
Thanks you.
Richard H.
Wheeler
Rick Sweet
Ben I am feeling some better. I think I am going to try
to come and bring my family. I would like to meet you and everyone associated
with the 517th.I got on mapquest yesterday to see how far D.C. was from
Cincinnati. It is 517 miles. I take it as a sign that I am supposed to be
there.
I hope my back lets me make the trip without too much
pain. Thanks for responding. I hope Bob Dodds and Jay Sutcliffe can meet me there
too. Stay safe and take care.
Rick Sweet
Chester Wells
Joe Calder via Ben:
Any more information on Chester Wells? What is
S4?
Ronald Stassen ( Our Netherlands friend
)
Happy easteren to All of you!
Regards
Ronald
Phil McSpadden
To Lucky
Hiers:
The day previous to the explosion of
the 'dud' bazooka shell, the Hq Btry was on a training march thru an area that
had been used for bazooka training. Everyone had been warned not to pick
up any bazooka shells........well, someone did.
I was Battery Clerk for Hq Btry, and
had just walked out the door to go to the Orderly Room for the data for the
Morning Report when the explosion occurred. Whoever
bought this 'dud' back to the barracks was throwing it to one of the other GI's
(we weren't 'troopers' at this time), and they were throwing it back and forth
between several of the guys in and around their bunks. One dropped the
'dud' and it exploded.
Cpl Kenny Loggins had his foot blown
off (when I picked up his boot, his foot was still in it) and he died of shock
the same day at the hospital. Kenny was the only one killed, but several
others were wounded, three to the extent they were discharged from the service
as not being fit for further duty.
I was not there in the throwing of the
'dud', but probably the first on the scene as I was just out the door, and
immediately returned to see what had happened and what I could do, if
anything.
This was in
Headquarters Battery, and was our first casualty. Since none of us knew
how to handle the paperwork, we were fortunate the Headquarters of the 17th
Airborne Division did have people to notify the appropriate people and handle
the details.
This was a rude awakening for me, as
it was the first I knew Kenny was married and had a child, with no allotments to
his wife, and the insurance made out to his mother. Believe me, I
asked a lot more questions of the guys in my Battery.
We were not so lucky in having back-up
when Leo DeGrenier and Francisco Soto died of alcohol poisoning on board
ship, and I had to do a lot of digging in regulations to find the answers
to handling their deaths. Leo had made a phone call to his wife dockside
before we departed to find out he was a brand-new father. This episode was
a needless waste of two good men.
Lucky, hope this answers some
questions for you. At one time, I think I could have told you just about
everything about anyone in Hq Btry, including the home towns, etc. I made
it my job to do so. But when we departed for overseas, I was made
Personnel Sergeant, and had to expand my knowledge to many other areas and over
the years, have lost a lot of those memories.
Was looking forward to seeing you
again, as well as John L Garvey who worked with me in the Personnel
Section, but I'm trying to organize a new club, The Villages Paratroopers, and
we will have our second meeting just about the time I should be leaving for
DC...still working on it!
If I don't see you in DC, let's keep
in touch.
Phil
McSpadden
Gene
Frice -President
Ben,
I received a letter from Joe Quade, 17th Abn Div,
Editor, inquiring
about a Lt. Charles M. Willis, 01 304 475, KIA, March 24,
45. He was
serving with the 12th Armored Div, 56th Armored Inf Bn, Co.
A.
Quade relates, in 1942, Willis was assigned to 513th,
Co. E and was
later assigned to the Abn Tng Center in Africa and later to
Italy. Was
said to have taken part in Dragoon and jumped near St. Tropez
on
August 15 ?? Subsequently received Bronze and Silver Star and
wounded
twice. A Brendan Phibbs, author, was said to have written about
Willis
in "The other side of Time: A Combat Surgeon in WWII.
Ben, Quade wrote that the 17th, will close their ranks on their
54th
reunion at Hampton, VA-a sorry day!
Do we have any
information relating to Lt. Willis?
Gene Frice
***********
Negative. -Ben
Jack Cason
Hello, the battery where the bazooka went off was headquarter
battery