In the early part of 1945 (he doesn't remember the date) he was in Camp 17 when the war ended.   The Americans were dropping food on the camp in 50 gallon drums on parachutes.   Dad said he didn't know what made him do it, but he went and got one of the parachutes, cut or tore off a piece and wrote his name on it and then passed it around for those around him to sign too.   He thinks they signed it in pencil because he said they didn't have such things as pens.   Thirty-eight men including my dad signed their names on it and where they were from.   He brought it home with him.   A few years later after he was home and had married my mother, she suggested to him that they hire a woman to embroider the names before they faded, and so they did.

Last night on Christmas Eve, (2002) he and I sat down with his beloved piece of parachute and I wrote down all the names from it.   We are hoping that if anyone is looking for information about someone on his parachute, they might want to contact us.   Or if any of the men who signed it are still alive and would like to correspond with dad, he welcomes it.   A few he called his "buddies" and some he knows have passed away.   He might not be able to relate anything personal or specific about most of those men but he could relate their circumstances.   Some of them have a question mark with the soldier's name or the town name because a couple were hard to read and he just couldn't remember the name exactly.

We hope you all had a Blessed Christmas!
Thank you,
Annette Morgan,
Associate Member ADBC
Email Address:   fukuoka_gabby@yahoo.com

The above mentioned names are:
Roy E. Hays, Mt. Vernon, Illinois
Clayton A Crimmons, Yakima (?) Washington
Bernard M. Pothier, Medford, Mass.
Robert D. Henderson, Seattle, Washington
Jack T. Stark (or) Stack, Pittsburg, Pa
Donald D. Rutter, Lansing Michigan
Harold D. (Last name unreadable) (Snuff), St. Paul, Mn
Elwood S. Rahall (or) Rahalt, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Robert E. Taylor, Marion, Iowa
Don S. Pike, Oxnard, California
C.E. Perferron, West Palm Beach, Florida
C.A. Schmidt, Clanton (or) Clayton, Iowa
Rosser E. Sohn (?) Rock Springs, Wyoming

(dad thinks he was a Bugler)

Tony Del Pino, Tampa, Florida
W.D. Hicks, Pinckneyville, Illinois
Ronald Walsh, St. Paul, Minn.
R. Aschenbrenner, Lincoln, Nebraska
E.R. Johnson, Chowchilla, California
Ralph Mason, Charter Street, New Orleans, Lousianna

(dad said he was a cook in the Marines)

Jack J. Rocher, Portsmouth, Virginia
Bob Walker, New Orleans, Lousianna
Edward Duggan, Santa Monica, California
Charles G. Davis, Phoenix, Arizona
James O. Wiss (or Atkiss?) Chula Vista, California
James H. Austin, Spokane, Wa.
Holland Hazel (?) McRae, Georgia
James H. Malone, Fairfield, Ill.
Ole Standifer, Cogar (?), Oklahoma

(dad says he was a cook)

James O. Bennett, Wynne, Arkansas
Floyd J. Dudley, Kansas City, Missouri
David N. Chapa, Alamo, Texas
J.M. or Jim (?) Vaughn, Chicago, Illinois
Floyd L. Singer (or ?) Sanger, California
Larry Hollingstead, Vancouver, Canada
Donald D. Rutter, Lansing Michigan
Marvin W. Denny, Ft. Worth, Texas
James Wilson, East St. Louis, Illinois
Jackson S. Holly, Denver, Colorado
Thomas E. Harvey (or ?) Harney, Adrian Michigan RR#1