Robert J. Hartzell - 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, Company I
Robert J. Hartzell - 1942
Robert Joseph Hartzell was born November 11, 1921 to Thomas Harrison & Rosalie (Reiniche) Hartzell, at 475 West Perry St. in Tiffin, Ohio.
In 1940, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, with whom he spent 6 months in Montana building silt dams.
In 1942, he enlisted in the Army, with the goal of qualifying for the Paratroops. After months of special training, he did qualify, and was assigned to Company I of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, of the 101st Airborne Division, just past his 21st Birthday.
He was severely wounded on the evening of June 10, 1944, on Carentan Causeway in the Battle of Normandy. Among the medals he earned during the war are the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.
After attending several 101st Airborne Reunions, Robert was inspired to create a Company I newsletter,with the first issue beginning in 1961. These early newsletters consisted mainly of reunion news, death notices and current rosters. By 1970 the newsletter featured plenty of news from Company I men, and in October 1972, it adopted the name, “Company I Poopsheet”.
Bob continued to publish the "Poopsheet" through February 2003, when health concerns prevented him from working on the newsletter. Betty (Taylor) Hill, younger sister of Lester Taylor, who had died in battle,composed the newsletter on behalf of Bob Hartzell from 2004 until the final issue in 2015.
Robert Hartzell died in Tiffin, Ohio, on January 4, 2015 at the age of 93.
Company I, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division
Click here to view the Company I, 502nd Video Tribute
List of Company I Newsletters
1960s
1961-1 1965 1969-2
1962 1966 1969-3
1963 1968
1964 1969-1
1970s
1970-1 1972-1 1973-3 1974-1 1975-2 1976-5 1978-1
1970-2 1972-2 1973-4 1974-2 1975-3 1977-1 1978-2
1971-1 1972-3 1973-5 1974-3 1975-4 1977-2 1978-3
1971-2 1972-4 1973-6 1974-4 1975-5 1977-3 1978-4
1971-3 1972-5 1973-7 1974-5 1976-1 1977-4 1978-5
1971-4 1972-6 1973-8 1974-6 1976-2 1977-5 1979-1
1971-5 1973-1 1973-9 1974-7 1976-3 1977-6 1979-2
1971-6 1973-2 1973-10 1975-1 1976-4 1977-7 1979-3
1980s
1980-1 1982-1 1985-2 1987-4 1988-4
1980-2 1982-2 1986-1 1987-5 1989-1
1981-1 1983-1 1986-2 1987-6 1989-2
1981-2 1984-1 1987-1 1988-1 1989-3
1981-3 1984-2 1987-2 1988-2 1989-4
1981-4 1985-1 1987-3 1988-3
1990s
1990-1 1990-7 1992-3 1994-3 1996-2 1997-3 1999-1 1999-7
1990-2 1991-1 1993-1 1994-4 1996-3 1997-4 1999-2 1999-8
1990-3 1991-2 1993-2 1995-1 1996-4 1998-1 1999-3
1990-4 1991-3 1993-3 1995-2 1996-5 1998-2 1999-4
1990-5 1992-1 1994-1 1995-3 1997-1 1998-3 1999-5
1990-6 1992-2 1994-2 1996-1 1997-2 1998-4 1999-6
2000s
2000-1 2001-2 2002-3 2005-1 2006-3 2006-10 2008-1 2009-2
2000-2 2001-3 2002-4 2005-2 2006-4 2007-1 2008-2 2009-3
2000-3 2001-4 2003 2005-3 2006-5 2007-2 2008-3 2009-4
2000-4 2001-5 2004-1 2005-4 2006-6 2007-3 2008-4
2000-5 2001-6 2004-2 2005-5 2006-7 2007-4 2008-5
2000-6 2002-1 2004-3 2006-1 2006-8 2007-5 2008-6
2001-1 2002-2 2004-4 2006-2 2006-9 2007-6 2009-1
2010s
2010-1 2011-2 2012-4 2013-6 2015-1
2010-2 2011-3 2012-5 2014-1 2015-2
2010-3 2011-4 2013-1 2014-2 2015-3
2010-4 2011-5 2013-2 2014-3 2015-4
2010-5 2012-1 2013-3 2014-4
2010-6 2012-2 2013-4 2014-5
2011-1 2012-3 2013-5 2014-6