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Static Line - Three Winds of Death

November 1991
Here it is some five months after the 35th annual 503rd PRCT reunion in Phoenix and there are still some loose ends to wrap up. I have been trying to contact George Funk for three months without success and I had hoped to have a list of the "first-timers" who had attended the Phoenix reunion by now but such is not the case. However, there is another loose end that should be brought to your attention. The information was given to me by John Pratt. I am going to present the letter verbatim, and you can note from the date that this loose end has been lying around for a long time. History is just so hard to get down on paper. The letter is as follows: 

13 Sept. 1988 

Don. Sorry that you didn't attend the 503 San Antonio reunion, but understand you can't make them all. Sure did enjoy your presence and speech at the Orlando weekend. I do have some pictures that I will get to you if I catch up with them. They are in Florida. I have spent most of the summer in Va. and am writing this in Cape Cod.

The 503rd reunion at San Antonio was most outstanding for me. The enclosed pictures will explain why. They are pictures of the original 503 Bn. prop-blast cup. This cup disappeared when the regiment shipped out of Ft. Bragg in Sept. '42. Archie Birkner, Balfour St. Son Antonio, TX. was cleaning out a garage for a widow of a general officer when he found it. Not knowing what it was he got in touch with a friend who was a former member of the 507 who not only recognized it but knew that the 503 was having a reunion in San Antonio. So the cup showed up at the reunion. The names of all the Bn. officers are engraved on the hack of the cup, but only one, J. B. Pratt, was at the reunion. 

What a thrill as I recalled the day Maj. Bob Sink called me into his office, handed me some pencil sketches and since I was his acting S-4 ordered me to produce a prop blast cup. After much discussion with all the officers of the Bn, we came up with this. 

The basic cup is part of a shock -absorber from the landing gear of a C-47. The handles are the ripcord "D" rings from the emergency chute. Front and back were silver plated. The front was engraved with the unit designation, a set of wings, and the date activated. The back had the names of all officers according to rank. 
Don. I'm sorry about the pictures but I had to use a flash but hope that you can get a note in "Static Line" to see if we can develop a little history of the cup during its long absence. 

Thanks 

The letter was not signed, but it was a draft copy of a letter intended for Don Lassen from John B. Pratt. Co.'s B, H & Hq Co.'s, 1st and 2nd Bn John just sent me a copy of a videotape he made at the San Antonio reunion showing the cup being held by two members of the 503rd. The vocal annotation states that the prop blast cup is still in the hands of Archie Birkner of San Antonio and is one of his prized possessions I will write to Archie and hope that he will send me the names of the people on the cup. Anecdotes such as these are the true essence of real history, as Paul Harvey calls them "the rest of the story." Too often they are lost and never recovered. The big picture is never complete without the little pieces falling into place. 

FOR YOUR INFORMATION: As of this date, there have been four articles called "after-action" reviews of a number of the major units participating in the Desert Storm operations. The articles appear in the Army Times and are five or six pages in length of a diagrammatic and textual nature. The following articles have been published: 2nd Armored Division "Tiger Brigade, 10 June 1991; 101st Airborne Division, 22 July 1991; 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 5 Aug. 1991, 1st infantry Division, 26 August 1991. Copies of these articles may be obtained by sending a self-addressed envelope to After-Action Reviews, Army Times, 6883 Commercial Drive, Springfield, VA 221S9. By the time this column goes into print, there may also be an article on the 82nd Airborne Division. If you want copies of all the articles some 30-35 pages may be involved so you should probably send an 8 ½ x 11 size envelope.
 
I have had several questions regarding the dates of upcoming reunions. It is not too early, even in September, for some people to want to make plans for next year's activities. What I am suggesting is that the date of any planned activity should be made known as soon as possible. 

John D. Reynolds
"D" Co. 503rd PRCT 
718 Towne Center Drive, Joppa, MD 21085 
PH (301) 679-8979
Static Line - Three Winds of Death

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