NICK DEGAETA'S SURVIVAL AT ST. VITH AND TRANSFER TO THE 508TH
   Nick DeGaeta sent a letter to Janice Silver as a consequence of the 2008 membership drive for the Family and Friends of the 508th PIR Association.
   In his letter Nick describes how he had originally been in the 509th which was decimated at Sadsot (sic, should read as Sadzot), Belgium.
   During the Battle of the Bulge, the 509th fought in Belgium to blunt the German attack. An account of this battle is described in the book "Bloody Clash at Sadzot."
   The 509th was disbanded at the end of January 1945 with 46 survivors of its 700 members emerging  after the battle near Saint Vith.  The men left were used as replacements within various units of the 82d Airborne Division.
   Degaeta was then transferred to the 508th for the remaining seven months of his service.