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News
From The
508
February 2010 |
OCTOBER 2010 REUNION UPDATE –
Progress continues regarding the reunion as various hotels have been
vetted and a contract will be signed soon. Once that is achieved a
formal announcement will be made here and on the web site.
SICK CALL – FRANCIS LAMOUREUX (Co G) suffered a stroke
on the day before Christmas. He is progressing well but could use some
cheer. Send Get Well cards to his home at 102 Miller St., Ludlow, MA
01056-3315 or call at (413) 583-2493.
JOE BRESSLER (Hq 1st), now resides in the Veteran of
Foreign Wars Retirement Home, 12801 NE 139th Pl, Fort McCoy, FL
32134-7765. Cards can be sent to him at that address or chat with him at
(352) 236-0823.
REUBEN WEINER, who was attached to the 508th as a
combat photographer, advises that his wife VIVIAN “has been hurting for
the last several months” but is doing a little better lately. Cards can
be sent to VIVIAN at 3339 Warwood Rd., Lakewood, CA 90712.
REDISCOVERED COMBAT FOOTAGE - Incidentally, although
REUBEN once stated that after he turned his film in he never saw it
again … but we found some of it on a DVD recently! COMBAT REELS (see
their web site by the same name) has a number of documentary DVD’s
featuring archival footage. The one entitled “82nd Airborne Division”
opens up with a segment shot by WEINER showing the 508th on parade for
GENERAL GAVIN in England, presumably at Wollaton Park.
Personalities shown clearly include then Major OTHO E. HOLMES, among
others.
A number of other segments feature the 508th and it is obvious that some
of the regiment’s most famous still shots, such as the band and some
combat photos, were taken at the same time as, or from, the film.
TAPS – Seemingly ancient news of the demise of some
508th veterans continues to surface. We have just learned that EUGENE C.
YOTT, Hq 1st, succumbed in February 1963 at the very young age of 43.
A number of other deaths ranging from that early date
up through the 1990s have recently been documented as well.
SEARCHING – RAY CLINE, Jr. is seeking information
concerning his father’s service in the 508th PIR.
RAY R. CLINE appears on an “I” Company roster dated 31 August 1944 which
is posted on our web site, but nothing else is on record regarding his
stint in the regiment. “This is the first time I found reference to his
name, says the son, “I have all of his medals but would like to gain
some information on his service.” If your remember his father, please
contact RAY at raycline2@msn.com
508TH PURPLE HEARTS LIST GROWS - there were reportedly
something in the order of 2200-plus Purple Heart medals awarded in the
regiment during WW-II. Continued research has expanded our list of known
awards to more than 1900 with hopes of completing the list one day. Are
you there? Click on UNIT HONORS; PURPLE HEARTS; and then on the
alphabetic button for your surname. If your award is not listed, see the
bottom of this column for contact details.
SEEKING – longtime 508th friend BOBBY FEUILLYE, of
Normandy, sent a request on behalf of a local family who are tending the
graves of two 508 troopers killed in Normandy. They would like to
correspond with the families, if possible.
Information is needed regarding the home locality and/or family of 1st
Sgt EARL J. SMITH (Hq 1st) of Indiana, who was KIA 6-6-44 and Pvt FRANK
E. MACKEY (Med Det) of Pennsylvania, who was KIA 7-6-44. Any form
of assistance will highly appreciated. He can be contacted at
bobby.feuillye@wanadoo.fr
VISIT WASHINGTON MEMORIAL FOR FREE – If you are a
veteran living in the Wisconsin area, you may qualify to be among 300
going on a no-cost 747 flight to visit the WW-II Memorial in Washington,
DC! Sponsored by “Stars and Stripes Honor Flight”, the flight date
is set for Sunday, May 2, 2010.
For further details contact Vice President Debbie Krueger at
www.starsandstripeshonorflight.org
MORNING REPORT TRANSCRIBERS NEEDED – a few
volunteers are needed to assist in capturing the details from our
collection of Morning Report files.
The files are in Adobe PDF format and the information gleaned is being
put into Excel files.
If you are interested in assisting in the task, please feel free to
conduct us at the following phone or e-mail address. |
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SEND NEWS FOR THE COLUMN
TO:
Dick O’Donnell
760 Conestee Drive
Melbourne, FL 32904
PH: (321) 759-6174
e-mail:
Jumpmaster@508PIR.org
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