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Inside the Arc – Horns, Drums, and Gratitude


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It’s just barely visible and you can miss it even after you know it’s there. Still, if you’ve ever seen one, it’s unmistakable… How old can he be, that young man with the far-away expression, standing near the doorway of the DC-3, sometime around midnight on that fateful evening? Surely he could still qualify to […]

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  • ironlips
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I discovered these details after we "went to press", courtesy of Jari Villanueva's website, www.tapsbugler.org :

The Paratrooper is PFC Don Ross, 3rd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment.  PFC Ross, a rifleman, was also the company bugler, and jumped  with his CO.  Shortly after this photo was taken, Ross landed outside the intended drop zone, right next to a German HQ, and was immediately captured.

According to a quote from the book Tonight We Die As Men: The Untold Story of 3rd Battalion 506 Parachute Regiment,

" He was with a small group of prisoners and the Germans were saying 'Shoot the Americans.' They rounded the guys up and were about to shoot them when a German officer stepped in and stopped them. His brother had been captured by the Allies and he wanted to make sure the Geneva convention was followed."

 

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8 hours ago, ironlips said:
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  • ironlips
  • Members
  • 762
  • 1,475 posts

I discovered these details after we "went to press", courtesy of Jari Villanueva's website, www.tapsbugler.org :

The Paratrooper is PFC Don Ross, 3rd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment.  PFC Ross, a rifleman, was also the company bugler, and jumped  with his CO.  Shortly after this photo was taken, Ross landed outside the intended drop zone, right next to a German HQ, and was immediately captured.

According to a quote from the book Tonight We Die As Men: The Untold Story of 3rd Battalion 506 Parachute Regiment,

" He was with a small group of prisoners and the Germans were saying 'Shoot the Americans.' They rounded the guys up and were about to shoot them when a German officer stepped in and stopped them. His brother had been captured by the Allies and he wanted to make sure the Geneva convention was followed."

 

Great article, Frank... and nice to hear more about that young man.  

That German officer... even in the fog of war, good deeds can be done. 

My Uncle Leo... my mom's brother... was an Army Ranger in WWII. He was one of the men who scaled the cliffs on D-Day. Fortunately, he survived the war... but, by all accounts from my family members, came home a changed man. Quiet, withdrawn... never the same as he was before leaving for Europe. The price of victory, I suppose.

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"... came home a changed man ".

They all did,  my dad and his brothers included.. How could it not be so?

The drum corps movement proved therapeutic for many, I think, reinforcing comradery and community. We were the real beneficiaries.

Further research regarding PFC Ross reveals he escaped from the Nazis and fought alongside the Czech resistance until the rest of the Allies linked up with them and he rejoined his unit. Incredible story. Amazing man.

 He passed in 2004. I am trying to locate his family. A guy like this should be in a Buglers Hall of Fame.

But all vets deserve our recognition and gratitude. Happy Veterans Day.

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2 hours ago, ironlips said:

The drum corps movement proved therapeutic for many, I think, reinforcing comradery and community. We were the real beneficiaries.

I hear that.

I think of the guys who started the Hawthorne Caballeros after the war... Jim Costello, George Hayek, and the rest. It had to help them to be able to get together and talk about their mutual wartime experiences, and then focus on their shared drum corps backgrounds and where they wanted to go with their brand-new corps.  A true brotherhood.  

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4 hours ago, ironlips said:

 

"... came home a changed man ".

They all did,  my dad and his brothers included.. How could it not be so?

The drum corps movement proved therapeutic for many, I think, reinforcing comradery and community. We were the real beneficiaries.

Further research regarding PFC Ross reveals he escaped from the Nazis and fought alongside the Czech resistance until the rest of the Allies linked up with them and he rejoined his unit. Incredible story. Amazing man.

 He passed in 2004. I am trying to locate his family. A guy like this should be in a Buglers Hall of Fame.

But all vets deserve our recognition and gratitude. Happy Veterans Day.

Amazing! I was hoping he had survived. He did a LOT more than that!

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