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News
From The
508
December 2010 |
NOMINATION COMMITTEE FORMED – BOB
CHISOLM (Co I) was appointed at the Oklahoma City reunion to chair a
nominations committee. The group will select and recommend a slate of
officers for the 2011 election.
The positions which will be open are President, Vice
President, Treasurer and such other officers, if any, that the Board of
Directors or the members may determine. The committee wants to afford
all Association members the opportunity to be considered for office.
Anyone interested in being considered by
the Nominating Committee should contact BOB by writing him at 7 Cielo
Lindo, Anthony, NM 88021 or via E-mail at rchisolm01@elp.com
508TH SCULPTURE MODEL? - the Hq 1st Morning Report for August 1, 1943
contains an entry stating that T/4 WILLIAM R. O’KEEFE returned from
Detached Service in Lake Mahopac, N.Y. with sculptor LOUIS PAUL JONAS.
That is highly unusual temporary duty!
LOUIS PAUL JONAS (1894-1971), a Hungarian
born sculptor, studied with the internationally known naturalist, animal
sculptor, and taxidermist CARL AKELEY (1864-1926). Like Akeley, Jonas
favored African wildlife, and together they created the famous African
Elephant Group that remains on exhibit in Akeley Hall at the American
Museum of Natural History in New York City. Eventually, Jonas abandoned
taxidermy to concentrate on sculpture and, in 1939, opened a studio in
Mahopac, New York.
We still don’t know what the TDY was about, but
immerging facts lend themselves to forming a theory.
An article in the July 17, 1943 edition of
DEVILS DIGEST (Vol. 1, No. 4), reported O’KEEFE being awarded the
Soldier’s Medal. The prestigious award was for a heroic act earlier that
month when he saved the life of FRANK LYONS in the appropriately named
“Drowning Creek”. That creek runs through Southern Pines, NC, near Camp
Mackall where the 508th was training.
Four weeks after the incident, O’KEEFE is shown
returning from a stint with the sculptor. Could it be that the War
Department sent O’KEEFE to Lake Mahopac so that the selfless act of the
rescue could be captured by the artist for some sort of war effort
advertisement? Got any better ideas?
UNEARTHED WW-II ARTIFACT – We recently
received an e-mail from SAMUEL RENARD of Normandy who asked that we put
him in contact with BOB CHISOLM (Co I).
Over the years SAMUEL has found a number of military objects using
his metal detector in local fields. One such item was a Dog Tag bearing
the name of CARL L. CHISOLM and he wanted to return the identity tag to
its owner or to a family member.
After some on-line sleuthing in the WW-II
Enlistment Files in our National Archives, SAMUEL deduced that CARL L.
and ROBERT E. CHISOLM might be brothers. While he couldn’t locate CARL,
a bit more searching yielded BOB’S name on our web site.
We forwarded SAMUEL’S e-mail to BOB who quickly
confirmed that CARL was indeed his brother. He has now established
contact with SAMUEL and we expect that the Dog Tag will soon be
returned.
TAPS - LAWRENCE F. MURRAY, (Captain, Co B),
age 90, passed away at his home on September 26, 2010 after a long
illness. Born January 9, 1920, in Alva, (near Fort Myers), Florida he
more recently resided in Tallahassee, Florida.
CHARLENE M. LAMSON, wife of ERNIE LAMSON for more
than 66 years, died unexpectedly on November 26, 2010. She was preceded
in death by a son, Kevin and her grandson, Aaron. Survivors include her
daughters Gail & Renee'; 7 grandchildren; and 2 great grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held on December 1 at
the Church Of St. Andrew, St. Paul, MN with interment following at
Roselawn Cemetery.
Cards of condolence may be sent to the family at 1600 Arundel St, #205,
St. Paul, MN 55117.
SICK CALL – SYLVIA HAMBLIN, her son PAUL
reports, is doing reasonably well but he says the future is less
promising. His 91-year old mother was recently hospitalized for about 4
days with pneumonia.
Her progressing dementia coupled with
little appetite, have, in PAUL’S words, “tipped the scale. He feels that
in the not too distant future SYLVIA may not be able to receive
telephone calls. If you would like to say “Hi” her phone number is (715)
386-0016. PAUL and his wife KITTY can be reached at their home by
calling (715)386-9724.
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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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