I hope everyone will understand why I am posting the following.

As time progresses and the site and forum grows, I am getting more and more letters from people wanting personal contact info for members of the 101st Airborne Division, etc. While many of you have legitimate requests regarding these men, you must understand that many of these men get bombarded on an almost daily basis.

Please know that they are good-hearted guys and certainly don't mind signing a book or answering a question from time to time, but sometimes it gets to be too much for them. We all have to realize that they have private and full lives to lead. Therefore I ask that you not write to me and ask for their personal information.

I showed one vet all the email I got asking for his contact info. I told him that I respected his privacy and that I DID NOT give this out. He smiled and said, "Thank you!" He then went on to tell me how many requests he gets and that while he likes to help, he can't always reply with people's requests. He said that many times he doesn't have answers to the questions, nor does he have the time to answer all the mail he receives. He went onto say that several people keep sending him the same requests and sometimes he just gets fed up and simply deletes the mail.

This is something I do for them out of friendship and respect and I thank you in advance for your cooperation and understanding. I am more than happy to forward legitimate questions, etc., then it's a personal decision on their part and I'm not placed in an uncomfortable position.

Ham hocks just don't do justice to home cooking, and salt pork doesn't either. The only seasoning to give that delicious, salty, sultry, wonderful, smoky flavor is bacon grease.

Most Southerners are raised to save all forms of bacon grease and put it in a can next to the stove. There ain't no seasoning on the market shelves that can do the same bodacious things to food that bacon grease does.

Don't want you to think that bacon grease is good only for your occasional sawmill gravy, pinto beans, and cornbread. Southerners use bacon grease just as we would butter or other condiments. Some of us have been known to put it on the supper table with a spoon in it! Any kind of beans (navy, kidney, green, Lima) and peas (black-eyed, purple-hulled, pink-eyed, English) are enhanced greatly by this seasoning. There are also other vegetables like cabbage, collard greens, grits, potatoes, and carrots that bacon grease imparts its earthy flavoring to

If the appearance of bacon grease is unappealing to you, just don't look directly at it when you are cooking or you might change your mind. Quickly spoon it into your dish and stir while you look away. The appearance of this substance is frightening, but then so is your one-year-old after he feeds himself chocolate pudding, and you love him anyway.

You may also wonder about the shelf life of bacon grease. There is a restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, named Dyer's Hamburgers, that fries its hamburgers in eighty-five year old grease. I reckon bacon grease would keep forever.

Go ahead down to the yard sale at the corner and purchase that pretty little grease container that you've had your eye on since last week. Next, fire up the stove and fry up a pound or two of bacon and then save your drippings. Now you are prepared to create your own culinary masterpieces with the awesome flavoring of bacon grease.

Marion and I attended April 101st lunch,

Tuesday night I talked to Gerorge and told him Marion , the Alger store keeper,Post office owner,Wriiter, Historian of Combat Engineers, Wife of Lee Chards was coming down for the lunch.. Marion picked me up and we went to help George at Finnish Club but when we arrived the tables were all set.. We sang (?) andGeorge prayed to start the meeting. We had a great time. Met Gene Kramer a retired Plymouth school teacher. Marion started to shake, and I took her hand and said Gene will not remember that you were in his class in high school.. We also met Geoff a WW2 buff who seen my name in Wild Bill web.. Don Burgett signed three books for Marion. Don Straith has the cast off his hands. We talked with model air plane builder (I can’t remember names) and he had a great P-38. Now the Raffle. Marion and I were at the lucky table. Our table won so many they were giving some to the other table players. The lunch was very good,, We had Pok Chops (it sounds better leaving the R out) and stuffing,carrors , salad, and brownies with ice cream. George said we may be moving our lunch to some other place, because of cost Next month if you show up here and there is no one around,,We have moved and did not tell you.

Art a long ago air man

I got a gal in kalamazoo (that is not spelled correctly, I know how to spell Alger)

Going to 101st lunch and auction. See what we can pick up that will fit in Marion car

Be ready Lee, you know her, will she load up the car ?

papa

I have been trying toresearch information on railway engineers and special service regiments. Most particularly the 334th Special Service Engineers Regimet and the 762d railway shop battlaion(the two organiztions in which my Grandfath3er served). I have read on your forum about the 334th Engineers and have found a website containing information about the 762d, however.... This seems to be the only information I have been able to find. If there is anything you can suggest, that would help my search please drop me an e-mail at Brian0922@aol.com

Thanks

brian

P.s. also could someone explain what Special Service regiment meas?