First let me congratulate you and Bob for getting Dick Spencer’s poem (regarding Art Ridler’s death at Col de Braus) into Mail Call in large enough print to read. Art’s last name has just one "d", but we have written it with two in some places, including my "hen scratching" on the margin of the poem.

Secondly, Congratulations to Michael Nell Aterburn on the work he did in getting his father’s letter into Mail Call. It tickled a couple of my thoughts. His father and mother’s wedding driver, PFC Jesse O. Goswick and PFC Hector H. Colo were killed in the attack on St. Cezaire. St. Cezaire is a few kilometers north of Callian and Montauroux. All three are small mountain towns. All three played a part in 3^rd Bn. "activities". Most of G and H Companies landed near Callian on the jump. This was thirty or so kilometers from our drop zone. As Tom Cross says in his Dragoon write up, we were mission oriented. There were plenty of Germans to fight on the way to the drop zone areas of la Motte, le Muy and Les Arcs, particularly in Draguignan. Our job though was to link up with the rest of the combat team and clear the way for the seaborne troops to head north. We did this on a forced march and (as a somewhat disorganized battalion) made a successful attack on the south end of Les Arcs in the afternoon of D plus one. We weren’t through with the Callian area though. Most of us were there twice. Joe McGeever, Red Meline, Frank Longo and I were there three times. Joe and I were sent back to "liberate" our jump casualties. Joe got his group out in one day. It took me two. When Frank and I arrived at Callian, we found that our jump casualties had been moved to Montauroux. The Germans occupied that town. Frank, a French guide from Callian and I made our way into Montauroux through the "back door" known only to the French. Fortunately the Germans were just leaving town. Doc Plassman had taken good care of the casualties, and we got them out. When we finished the job in the jump zone area, we were sent back here to drive the the Germans back into Italy. Colo and Goswick were killed in the attack on St Cezaire in our push to the east. Mike, as a platoon Sgt., Your Dad participated in all these attacks, and took good care of his men, of which you can be proud.

When your Dad went to Nice in May, I was in charge of the convoy. He was supposed to be there for seven days. He was really there nine. We set out from Joigny early one fine May day. We had rations and pup tents with an evening chow and bivouac spot designated. When we finished chow, I called the noncoms together and asked if they would like to spend the night there or keep going. It was unanimous. When we got to Nice the next morning, the billeting officer raised cane with me because he didn’t have billets. Somehow he found room for us and we enjoyed a little more time in that lovely spot the jet setters eventually discovered. I figured we deserved it because we liberated the place. Howard Hensleigh