This was sent to me by my friends, Jesse and Ellen. Jesse is a member of the 82nd; Korea, etc.
Hi,
We rec'd the following from Manny DeJesus, Executive Director of the 82nd. I'm don't know if you've already been contacted or not.
This is the letter they forwarded to me:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Most of you know me, but for overall consistency, a quick intro..... I am LTC Elizabeth Coble. While I have served in two Airborne units, I have never been assigned to the 82d, but I am a life member of the 82d Airborne Division Association. I have two masters degrees. My first one was in History. My specialty is 20th US Military History. I did my thesis on LTG James Gavin. I am currently a student at the U.S. Army War College. I wrote a Strategic Leadership paper on LTG Gavin for a recent class requirement.
I am doing my Strategy Research Paper (thesis equivalent) at the War College on Operation MARKET GARDEN, specifically the 82d's AO. I was also approved to do an Elective on 82d Veterans' Oral History of MARKET GARDEN.
It is my goal in these two projects to help capture more of the 82d's history, especially from Veterans who have not yet told their stories.
I am asking for your assistance in finding men who are still alive who participated MARKET GARDEN and would be willing to talk with me about it. I am also interested in any unpublished accounts of MARKET GARDEN that I could use. This could include audio or video tapes, handwritten notes or letters, or typed documents.
I am willing to travel to do interviews, if the Veteran is not willing to do a telephonic interview. I would also pay for any associated costs, like photocopying or audio tape copying, that may be required.
I can use the info and do the interviews through late February 2009. Then I would have to stop to be able to write my findings in time to meet the suspense date.
If you support this effort, request that you send this out to your 82d Veterans, Family and Friends members, or others who might be willing and able to help.
I apologize in advance if I am not sending this to all of the correct people. For example, I know that I should have sent this to Steve Frazier and Manny DeJesus, but I do not have their E:Mail addresses. Please forward as required.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks in advance for your assistance.
Liz
LTC Elizabeth Coble
cell 703-344-4016
I can provide her email addy if anyone is interested