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News
From The
508
May 2010 |
OCTOBER 2010 REUNION UPDATE –
The reunion agenda has been finalized and has been posted on the web
site. CLICK ON REUNION 2010 and check it out! While you are there, be
sure to print out a registration form and send it in! Don’t forget that
you need to make your own hotel reservation as well.
MESOTHELIOMA CENTER ADVISES CONTACT - Mesothelioma
Center (Asbestos.com) is an organization devoted to assisting veterans
through their application processes for VA benefits. They help Vets to
obtain the maximum benefits for which they are entitled.
Countless veterans are currently suffering from life-threatening
illnesses that are a result of exposure to asbestos, a material that was
commonly used in hundreds of military applications primarily because of
its resistance to fire.
Their website (asbestos.com) provides a complete
list of occupations that could have put veterans at risk for developing
asbestos-related diseases.
If you, or someone you know, has Mesothelioma and may
have been exposed to asbestos during your service, check out
asbestos.com
SEARCHING FOR BUDDIES - DON MCDONALD, who was in D
Company 508th when it was deactivated in November 1946, is desperate to
locate some of his buddies who were also in D Company at that time.
Those men are BOB PAUL, ED WILLIAMS, and HAL JONES.
Anyone that has any info on any of these men please call DON MCDONALD at
231-796-8250
WEB SITE SEARCH ENGINE – Trying to find someone or
something on our web site (508pir.org)? Use the SEARCH ENGINE button.
Some of our visitors are already aware of the benefits of the engine as
there were 878 searches generated during the month of April 2010.
NATIONAL PATHFINDER ORGANIZATION – a new organization
specifically for those who are, or are, Pathfinders in any airborne unit
is starting.
If you are interested, contact JOHN D. CROWDEN, President, LTG H. W. O.
Kinnaird Chapter, 11th Airborne Division Association, 3412 Vermont Road,
Woodstock,, IL 60098 or call 815-568-6019.
D-DAY 2010 – BILL NATION informed us that he had
been contacted by NBC to see if he knew any 508ers who would be
attending the D-Day celebrations this June. If you are planning to
attend, NBC may want to interview you. Let BILL know at billnation508@mac.com
Also, the official agenda for the 2010 ceremonies and events has been
released. It can be viewed at www.sainte-mere-eglise.info/en/pageLibre00014047.html
CONDOLENCES – GEORGE D. FAIRMAN JR. advises us of
the passing of his mother, SHIRLEY FAIRMAN. SHIRLEY died in her sleep on
April 17th. A grave site service was held on April 20, 2010 at Rose
Hills Memorial Park, Whittier, CA 90601.
Young GEORGE says that his father, GEORGE FAIRBANKS, JR. (Hq 2nd) now
resides in a nursing home and seems to be taking everything in stride.
He can be contacted at 626-451-9896. GEORGE is usually in his room most
of the time other than during meals.
Cards of condolence can be sent to GEORGE D. FAIRMAN
JR., 6002 Reno Ave., Temple City, CA 91780.
LITTLE CAR IDENTIFIED – no, we are not talking about
some newfangled gas sipper down the street. “Little Car” was the
nickname of ROBERT L. AUSTIN in Regimental Headquarters Company.
During the regiment’s era in Wollaton, the men became
acquainted with an English automobile manufactured by the Austin Motor
Company and marketed as the AUSTIN.
While a novelty to a G.I., the vehicle was not new to the English
streets. The manufacturer began operations in 1905. The first model had
a 5-liter four-cylinder engine that powered the wheels through a chain
drive. During the Great Depression the company survived by producing the
“Baby Austin” and this vehicle may have been responsible for PFC
AUSTIN’S new appellation.
It was ZIG BOROUGHS who identified which of six
508ers named AUSTIN had been given the nickname. Zig also said “Little
Car” got him in trouble. While on KP together they took a loaf of bread
from the kitchen to toast on the pot bellied stove in the tent. ZIG got
caught with the loaf and was given a “good-natured reprimand” by Lt.
[Charles A.] Yates. “Guys on KP were always bringing back loot from the
kitchen”, says ZIG. |
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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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