Shipped out to England to prepare for the Normandy invasion, the eighteen year old got "scared as Hell" when he was briefed on the German defenses. One of the first waves at Omaha Beach. November 10, 1944: The Battalion was relieved of attachment to the 3rd Armored Division and attached to the 4th Infantry Division. 87. 96. His name is on the link above. 3RD ARMORED DIVISION 94. November 15, 1944: Co "C" relieved Co "B" of Post #1, 2, & 3 as of 1200 hours. 58. The windows blew out the way he told me. Everyone made it out of the plane except George "Danny" Daneau, the nose turret gunner, who went down with the aircraft. 31. Over several days from June to early July 1944, the unit went by parts from England to Vierville, France. They are a component of the United States Army Corps of Engineers . Frank Capuozzi was born in Naples. Bn. After the emergency was over, plans called for the canal to be drained and the wall repaired. March 6, 1945: The Co "C" C.P. United States Army Center of Military History. Formatting (inconsistent in original) such as capitalization, underlining, punctuation, use of quotes, etc. Then the battalion was stationed at Gerszewski Barracks, Knielingen, Karlsruhe, Germany, under the command of the 18th Engineer Brigade, where it provided construction support to USAREUR elements stationed in Germany for the Cold War. moved 100 miles on the night of August 24 - 25th to the vicinity of LA LUPE, arriving at 0830 hours on the morning of August 25th. October 13, 1944: The enemy penetrated our lines between Post #9 and the Infantry on our right during the afternoon - one Co. of the 47th Infantry Regt. January 9, 1945: Co "A" completed the continuous Bailey Bridge in DURBEY. Veteran's Branch of Service? He bunked with regular B-17 crew members, but Bill Livingstone was a gunnery instructor who was there to keep skills sharp. Group. Many years after the war, I found out that the 294th went up to Wales and from there sailed to Normandy in the Susan B. Anthony to Utah Beach on June 7, 1944. I dabble a bit in the creative stuff myself. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. The Allies had arrived in Holland. 249th Engineer Battalion Soldiers and IMA Provide Emergency Backup Power to Hawaii Wastewater Treatment Plant, by Sergeant First Class Christopher P. Woolley and Major Paul B. Olsen, P.E., 249th Engineers Respond to California Wildfires, by SSG Scott Yeager, "249th Engineer Battalion lineage and honors information as of 1 March 2004", Official U.S. Army Prime Power School website, Description of the Coat of Arms and Distinctive Unit Insignia, Bridge to the Past: 249th Engineer Battalion from Combat to Prime Power by COL John K. Addison, Retired, Prime-Power Considerations for Engineer Planners, by Captain Geoff Van Epps, Reflections on Building Great Engineers, COL Paul B. Olsen, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=249th_Engineer_Battalion_(United_States)&oldid=1091887312, Engineer battalions of the United States Army, Military units and formations established in 1943, Military units and formations in Virginia, Articles with dead external links from June 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the United States Army Center of Military History, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Heavy Maintenance Section Fort Belvoir, Virginia, D Company (USAR) Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers support to presidentially declared disasters, Constituted 25 February 1943 in the Army of the United States as the 249th Engineer Combat Battalion, Redesignated 23 March 1948 as the 442d Engineer Construction Battalion and allotted to the Organized, Activated 8 April 1948 with headquarters at, (Organized Reserves redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps; redesignated 9 July 1952 as the Army Reserve), Redesignated 25 June 1952 as the 249th Engineer Construction Battalion, Redesignated 9 December 1954 as the 249th Engineer Battalion; concurrently withdrawn from the Army Reserve and allotted to the, Activated 16 November 1994 at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. March 10, 1945: Co "C" relieved of attachment to the 4th Cav. What a great way to start my Sunday; hearing from someone who was there in the flesh. Battalion noun Any large body of troops. In October 1943, the battalion left Boston for England and spent months in England training. Battalion moved to new bivouac in vicinity of CARENTAN. This bridge remained in use until 1955. 294th Engineer Combat Battalion US Army in Memoriam (pamphlet), 1989 June 6 Scope and Contents From the Series: The Dickinson R. Debevoise World War II series documents his service as a sergeant in the 2nd Platoon of company A of the 294th Combat Engineer Battalion. 135. October 6, 1944: 47th Enfantry [sic] Regt. Thomas W. Silva, Lt. Ray L. Whiteturkey and 42 men from H&S Co. and Co. "C". The division was inactivated at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia on 27 November 1945. The winter of 1943 was brutal. 97. September 6, 1944: Co "B" constructed steel Treadway Bridge 288' in length at HASTIERE across the MEUSE RIVER - bridge was opened to traffic at 1530 hours. 129. 111. alerted for movement with the VII Corps to the ARDENNE Sector. 127. I have gone back to the Digby property several times and I have found the remnants of the 228th Hospital, and this past October, I found the site of the explosion and I placed American Flags in memory of those who were killed and prayed for their souls. Upon arriving to the front, the 249th was assigned to the 26th Infantry Division, already engaged and in defensive positions along the southeast corner of the Bulge. proceded [sic] on to the vicinity of MAYENNE arriving late in the afternoon. A brisk fire fight ensued until daylight. Our unique research process is essential to understanding the experiences of individual military veterans of WWII-since the vast majority of WWII Army/Air Corps personnel records were lost in the 1973 National Archives fire. They don't realize how wonderful it is to hear and I bet you'd be so happy to have yours back. On 16 July 1965, the 299th Engineer Battalion was alerted for movement overseas to the Republic of Vietnam. September 17, 1944: One Platoon of Co "C" demolishing pillboxes in the vicinity of ZWEIFALL, one platoon of Co "C" maintaining ford in MONSCHU. June 23, 1944: Battalion given the Infantry mission of clearing the North East corner of the Cotentin penisula [sic] of scattered enemy troops - liberated the French towns of QUETTEHOU and St VAAST LA HOUGE. This was a Pile Bent Bridge with 3-story trestle bents on the piles, 55 feet high. All Rights Reserved. Co "C" attached to 297th Engr. This is a free service. From then on it was the road to Berlin. The truck disappeared and 29 men were torn apart and their bodies were scattered through the trees. Clyde Burnette fought for consciousness as the other crew in the back of the plane bailed out. Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans. Available for both RF and RM licensing. Google Map of Major Ops of the 298th 3:33 | At the end of the war, combat engineer Bob Darino went from sampling delicious cherry pies in German farm country to experiencing the horrifying spectacle of concentration camps. 49. Hannah Deutch was a teenager when the Kindertransport rescue effort became her means of escape from Germany. 6. The timber trestle bridge at ROTT was closed to traffic. vehicles were withdrawn to an assembly area at MILLEY. 36. Lawrence Snowden remembers that, though it was an easy victory, valuable combat experience and important lessons were imparted on the Marines. I like how you also gave us further background with the "asides", such as the history of the Digby family. After Pearl Harbor, he was drafted and became a citizen in the Army before he shipped out to Europe. One of the pilots was brought into our hospital and had his legs amputated. 32. 76. One platoon of Co "C" was sent to clear the situation at Post #4; they killed one German. June 21, 1944: Battalion moved to new bivouac in the vicinity of MONTEBURG. 119. The battalion was organized and under the command of only three captains. The ship cracked across the deck and partly down the hull. I remember walking in snow up to my crotch in Belgium. It was later learned that the town had never been secured by the 4th Armored Division. Regt. February 24, 1945: Co "C" attached to 4th Cav. moved to the vicinity of DIZY-LE-GROS North of REIMS. As a photo-recon pilot, he was dispatched as soon as the attacks ended to search for the enemy fleet. September 26, 1944: Co "A" completed the Timber Trestle Bridge in VICHT. 294th Engineer Combat Battalion, VII Corps, 1st Army, Bill Adair - Army, Don Scott - Army Air Corps, Bill Garrison - Army Air Corps, Bill Livingstone - Army Air Corps, Clyde Burnette - Army Air Corps, Bill Toombs - Army Air Corps, B.E. The 249th Engineer Battalion (United States) is a versatile power generation battalion assigned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that provides commercial-level power to military units and federal relief organizations during full-spectrum operations. 74. 114. If you have additional information on the 294th I would like to share it with my father-in-law. to continue movement to the vicinity of MAYENNE. July 17, 1944: Battalion moved to new bivouac at TRIBEHOU. moved again to the vicinity of MILLEY arriving at 2330 hours. N/AA pilotEnlisted air crewEnlisted ground crew. Now that's what I call getting the REAL SCOOP! July 28, 1944: Bn. From then on it was the road to Berlin. Frances R. Fulton, Lt. Ray L. Whiteturkey, the Bn. Gp. Thats where Stan picked up a large German Flag. 67. 131. The battalion was used in an effort to block the German advance by deploying landmines, obstacles and establishing roadblocks. During August and September of 1965, the battalion received new vehicles, equipment, and filler personnel. As an aside, many of you, I am sure, have heard about the Slapton Sands incident. After a successful landing there, where he picked up some shrapnel, Tunisia was next. November 24, 1944: Co "C" constructed a Class #40 Bailey Bridge over the timber trestle bridge at MULARTSHUTTE. moved to OBERWINTER at 1400 hours. Loss of equipment was heavy; however, casualties were light. 115. - the enemy attacked with small arms, mortar and artillery fire. January 4, 1945: Co "B" dismantled steel treadway bridge at NOISEUX, BELGIUM. moved from ANDENNE, BELGIUM to RAEREN, GERMANY. was relieved by 246 Engr. Contact was lost with this platoon at 0850 hours. You are a great artist. QUETTEHOU, FRANCE.16 April 3, 1945: Liaison was established with the XVIII Airborne Corps and the 78th Infantry Division. Bn. The unit was assigned to V Corps, First U.S. Army. moved to a new bivouac in the woods North of ANTHEE. I do not know how current the info is, but it's worth trying first: Unfortunately I do not have anymore info at the present time. Bill Adair may have been the luckiest man in the Bataan Death march. 52. In March of 1943, fourteen young men from Saybrook enlisted in the army and left by bus for Fort Devens. We would like to share just a few words about another of Deep Rivers WWII veterans. Keywords : 130. 105. RootsWeb is funded and supported by THE BATTALION WAS ATTACHED TO THE FOLLOWING UNITS AT VARIOUS TIMES: The 294th built the second bridge across the Rhine River, and Carroll recalled that as the American army moved into Germany, all the cities they came across were piles of rubble. It receives no town or state funding. Four German fighters pounced on the B-24 and it was engulfed in flame and going down. GAVRAY, FRANCE.6 In the interim my dear, I would be happy to provide you with your own page, as I have done for so many of my other vet friends on the main site. The battalion's motto is "Build, Support, Sustain!". After all, he was the son of a chef. September 22, 1944: Co "C" started constructing a Class #40 Timber Trestle bridge under the Bailey Bridge in VICHT. February 13, 1945: Co "B" constructed a C1. October 18, 1944: At 0900 hours an enemy force approached Post #5 - the enemy withdrew after exchanging a few shots. A minefield was laid and wire obstacles were erected. Click below to see how you can help us expand our mission. He woke in free fall with no idea how he had made it out, and soon he was in German custody. Eight assault teams of the 299th Combat Engineer Battalion landed on OMAHA beach (Easy Red, Fox Green, Fox Red) with the mission of clearing eight 50-yard gaps in the underwater obstacles. Temperatures were minus 20 degrees. gave him permission to go see him. The Deep River boys were Ernie Calamari, George Ressler, Bill Ackerman, Waldon Hartson, Charlie Euston, George Watrous, Harvey Brooks, Doug Carlson, Ray Swain, and Victor Carlson. Their mission was accomplished. October 16, 1944: At 1705 hours the chow detail enroute to Post #1 was ambushed by 8 Germans - a small fire fight took place and the Germans withdrew.