OCTOBER 2010 REUNION UPDATE –
The dates have been set! The hotel has been chosen! The web site is
being updated to permit access to details and registration forms! All we
need now is for you to be there – Oct 20 through 24, 2010 at the
Sheraton in Oklahoma City, OK.
Lots of entrainment is being planned and activities
will include visiting the home base of the Airborne Demonstration Team
(ADT) in Fredrick, OK where we will witness jumps with men in full WW-II
attire. Ride-longs in the ADT’s two C-47 aircraft are also planned.
Watch the web site as well as STATIC LINE and our DIABLO newsletter for
developing agenda details.
SICK CALL – RALPH THOMAS (1st Sgt, E Co.) and his
wife have both been under the weather lately. Although RALPH has perked
up he advises that his wife has not. Send cards or call at 6409
Pinehaven Rd. Oakland, CA 94611 (510) 339-3285
SYLVIA HAMBLIN, widow of PAUL HAMBIN (Col., Ret.),
family advises that she is doing very well physically. She can walk with
assistance with a walker a short distance, but she usually chooses to be
pushed in a wheelchair.
She looks great and is still putting on her makeup
and “fixing” her hair daily. She had some lung congestion but that is
all cleared up. Right now she is frustrated because she can’t hear
without you raising your voice quite a bit.
SYLVIA has a phone in her room (715-386-0016) but
unless she is in her recliner right next to it she doesn’t answer it.
The bottom line is she is doing well physically, but struggles with
memory.
HAMBLIN E-MAIL ADDRESS EXPIRING - Paul II said he
will be closing down his father’s e-mail in the next few months. In the
mean time he will continue to log in every now and then. He will send
out an e-mail to all when pwhamblin@live.com logs off for the last time.
But to ensure you stay in contact please start using kittyhamblin@baldwin-telecom.com
WOLLATON DEDICATION DELAYED – Extreme winter weather
conditions including heavy snow falls, frost, rain and wind have put a
crimp in meeting the previously set deadline. Consequently, GRAHAM
LAWSON advises that the dedication of the 508th memorial has been
postponed until the UK’s Armed Forces weekend in late June.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! – On March 5th the 508th website
(www.508pir.org) attained its 7th birthday. Like all youngsters, it is
still “growing like a weed”. The site now boasts more than 3700 pages, a
growth rate averaging 1.6 pages every day! We have lost count on the
thousands of photos those pages contain.
But – the site needs some fertilization as we are
starting to run short of material. Please send us copies of any
pertinent photos or documents you may have. If you don’t have the means
to scan them into digital form, we’ll do it for you and send your
originals back immediately – and at our own expense. (See contact
details at the bottom of the column)
TAPS – continued research has identified the passing
of a number of 508th veterans, some dating back a number of years:
BILES, DONALD M (Co I), 2009, Skytop, PA
FIDELLOW, ERNEST H (Officer), 1991, Brooklyn, NY
HERNANDEZ, VICTOR L (Co A), 1995, Riverside, CA
GOODGION, GEORGE E (Co D), 1971, Lubbock, TX
KOAGEL, JOHN E (Co A), 1986, Camillus, NY
MUZICHUCK, EDWARD J (Hq 2nd), 1959, WV
REKRUT, CHRISTOPHER O (Svc Co),1991 VA
SUITER MARVIN D (Co C), 2010, Camano Island, WA
SWAM, GILBERT W (Svc Co), 2006, White Hall, MD
SWETCOFF, KOONIE J (Svc Co), 1982, Mansfield, OH
WOOD, MATRONA (Hq Hq), 2001, Fairfax, VA
SPECIAL HONORS - MICKEY
ARCHIBEQUE recently wrote, “I was in Hq & Hq Co, 508th ARCT from 1951 to
1955, when we gyro'd (Operation Gyro) to Japan. Now 55 yrs later I am
doing "Final Military Honors" for the NEW MEXICO U.S. VOLUNTEERS. We
will be performing Final Honors for PFC Zachery Lovejoy (Co C-4th BCT),
one of our local troopers [recently killed in Afghanistan].
VETERANS DAY 2009 – Arlington National cemetery
ceremonies were held at various sites including the grave of 1ST SGT
LEONARD FUNK and the 508th Memorial. Men representing the regiment that
day included DOUG DILLARD (Col, ret.) who served in Co C as an enlisted
man, JOE SCHWANN and KEN HAMILL.
|
