Lovingly dedicated to my father, Walter “Monday” Poniedzialek , a 540th Combat Engineer, and all the outstanding engineers of WWII.
Marion
What began as a simple one-page site in June 2004, after my initial research into my father’s military history, quickly and unbelievably snow-balled into what you see today. I now have a comprehensive understanding of the 540th after reading hundreds of pages of sitreps from the National Archives, talking with members of his unit, perusing through dozens of books, contacting various institutions, including the Army Corps of Engineers’ Office of History, and meeting people throughout the world.
This site’s main emphasis revolves around the VI Corps Engineer Combat Regiments:
- 36th – 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions (later renamed the 2826th, 2827th & 2828th)
- 39th – 1st and 2nd battalions
- 540th – 1st and 2nd battalions (later renamed the 2832nd & 2833rd)
- 1108th – 48th & 235th battalions
These independent engineer regiments, bravely fought against the Axis powers beginning with the invasion of North Africa in November of 1942. From there, their arduous journey led them into Sicily, Italy, southern France and central Europe, before ending their tour of duty in Germany and Austria in 1945.
However, these pages now proudly feature hundreds of links, tidbits and full-blown accounts of various other units, along with photos, memoirs, maps, after-action reports and more.
While my main emphasis is to acquire the history of the men who served with the 1st, 3rd, 9th, 34th, 36th, & 45th Infantry Divisions, 1st & 2nd Armored Divisions, 82nd Airborne, and any other unit who fought alongside the 36th, 39th, 540th or 1108th Combat Engineers, I’d love to hear from anyone who wants to share information regarding a friend or loved one who participated in the ETO (European Theatre of Operations).
