It was taken at an airfield before one of the 2 cancelled jumps in summer 44. They had combat boots and quick release chute harnesses, but were still wearing M42s, before issue of the 43 combat suits. Hurd is the same guy who attacked Germans on Christmas Eve at Bizory with the Nazi flag dragging behind him. Bice started-out in HQ/3 502, but was transferred to the 501 from the 502 before Holland, for reasons I’ve never learned. I do have a couple of pics taken of him when he was still in the Deuce. Bice was from Bend, OR and for several decades, I tried to trace him, with no success. He never attended reunions and was not in-contact with any 2/501 vets, that I know of.

Sadly, about 10 years ago, I learned that Bice and his wife both perished in the late 1980s, when they were both diagnosed with terminal illnesses.