Dennis,

 

I ran across a paper written by an officer at Ft Benning in the late 40's about the battle of Kasserine Pass.

 

http://www.benning.army.mil/library/content/Virtual/Donovanpapers/wwii/STUP2/HornadayRalphJ%20%20LTC.pdf

 

Hope it has information relevant to your father's service in North Africa, my friend.

 

Gary

Thank you, Gary, for a very informative article. My father was wounded on June 3, 1943, so he may have been at Kasserine Pass, but not injured there. I must have misremembered what he told me. Attached is the bottom portion of his military

transcript that I posted previously. I've attached the bottom portion of his military transcript that I posted previou See section 27. Anyone know what "EAMET" means?

Thank you, Gary, for a very informative article. My father was wounded on June 3, 1943, so he may have been at Kasserine Pass, but not injured there. I must have misremembered what he told me. Attached is the bottom portion of his military

transcript that I posted previously. I've attached the bottom portion of his military transcript that I posted previou See section 27. Anyone know what "EAMET" means?

European-African-Middle Eastern-Theater

 

European-African-Middle Eastern-Theater

Randy... our fountain of knowledge!

Thank you, Gary, for a very informative article. My father was wounded on June 3, 1943, so he may have been at Kasserine Pass, but not injured there. I must have misremembered what he told me. Attached is the bottom portion of his military

transcript that I posted previously. I've attached the bottom portion of his military transcript that I posted previou See section 27. Anyone know what "EAMET" means?

Dennis,

No worries, my friend! These things sometimes change over time. Clearly, this is an example of why it is so important to document in "writing" whatever information that he may have told you or that your remember hearing. Minds visualize information especially over time and these mental visuals often are different then what truly happened. Example... I remember as a very young boy overhearing a story about my grandfather having an accident in a truck on a bridge when he served in Europe. Without information I visualized him jumping from a truck as it plunged off a bridge into a river. In recent years this remembrance came to light with my brother saying he had never heard this before. From my grandfather's communication back during his service we learned that there was indeed a truck accident where he fell from the back of the vehicle onto a towing hitch, but no mention that it happened on a bridge. Since my grandfather passed away in 1978 and my Dad passed away a year and a half ago we don't know whether this accident happened on a bridge or if this was just something apocryphal that morphed overtime in the desire of a small boy years ago to know more of what happened? Clearly, some of the information is correct, but are some details a visualization of hearsay in a young boy's mind? Folks, document, document, document! Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

The 292nd Counselor has spoken!

Gary

Thank you, Gary, for a very informative article. My father was wounded on June 3, 1943, so he may have been at Kasserine Pass, but not injured there. I must have misremembered what he told me. Attached is the bottom portion of his military

transcript that I posted previously. I've attached the bottom portion of his military transcript that I posted previou See section 27. Anyone know what "EAMET" means?

Makes you wonder where he was injured? All remaining Africa Corps troops surrendered on May 13, 1943 and the Invasion of Sicily didn't happen until July 10, 1943. Was he still in Africa when he was wounded or was the unit he was in at the time transferred elsewhere and this is where the wound happened? The 292nd wasn't even formed until November of 1943 and not deployed until the late fall 1944. Question would be this... what unit was your father with prior to joining the 292nd and from there see if there is a timeline for where the unit was located during it's service. Your documentation did say he was in the Battle for Sicily which would have been after his wounding. Interesting... hopefully more information will be posted or found that will shed light on this.

Gary

Here's another article from Ft Benning written in 1947 about the Roer (Ruhr) River crossing and the Engineer units that made the crossing possible during the first day or two. Although it doesn't mention the 292nd, these engineer units were just a few miles from where the 292nd built the Bailey Bridge at the destroyed Autobahn crossing and gives some information on what the engineers encountered trying to do "their thing" under fire.

http://www.benning.army.mil/library/content/Virtual/Armorpapers/KeaseyCharles%20R.%20LTC.pdf

Gary

Thank you, Gary, for a very informative article. My father was wounded on June 3, 1943, so he may have been at Kasserine Pass, but not injured there. I must have misremembered what he told me. Attached is the bottom portion of his military

transcript that I posted previously. I've attached the bottom portion of his military transcript that I posted previou See section 27. Anyone know what "EAMET" means?

Hey Dennis,

I didn't pick up on this the first time I looked at your father's discharge paper but now I see he was National Guard before active army. For "Component" in box #5 is typed "NG", which of course stands for National Guard. Under "Remarks" in box #34 is typed "In state service NG of Illinois 4 Apr 40 to 4 Mar 41". This gives us the time frame of his National Guard service and also tells us whatever Guard unit he belonged to was activated to regular army service on 5 Mar 41. Armed with this knowledge we might be able to narrow it down to which unit he initially belonged to. Guard units were typically assigned to a infantry or artillery regiment etc., then placed with a division upon being called to active service. I did a quick google search for Illinois Guard units activated on 5 Mar 41, elements of the 33rd Infantry Division was what it mainly showed. That dog isn't gonna hunt though because the 33rd was deployed to the Pacific Theater of Operations. We do have this track we can follow. I'll keep looking and maybe Gary can pick up the scent, see if we can find this bird!

Randy

Gentlemen,

Maybe many units were "nationalized" on March 5, 1941? The Unit Randy speaks of, the 33rd Infantry, was activated on that day, but as he said they eventually ended up in the Pacific. Maybe he transferred to another unit between the time the unit was activated and the time they headed to the Pacific? At this point I do not see another Illinois National Guard unit being federalized. Here's a link to a book that lists all of the National Guard units activated during WW II:

http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00047651/00001/62j

Gary

p.s. Dennis, I located your father's enlistment record dated 5 Mar 1941 and for branch it lists the following:

Medical Department - For Enlisted Men of the Medical Department (includes Enlisted Men of the Medical Department on Duty with the Dental Corps)

 

My grandfather in the photo is in the 2nd row on the far right, sorry had my right and left confused on first statement. He is standing right next to the staff sergeant.

 

 

Hey Ken,

 

I'll tell ya, looking at a photo of a large group like this you see so many similarities of faces. There are several men in the picture who I thought might be your grandfather, but the gentlemen in the center of this close up I thought to be the best candidate. Got my fingers crossed.

 

Randy

Randy,

After reviewing this with my grandmother, and my mother they both agreed that the man you found is the wrong one, they both said it is not his nose. LOL. Is there any others that may look like him?

Ken

 

Randy,

After reviewing this with my grandmother, and my mother they both agreed that the man you found is the wrong one, they both said it is not his nose. LOL. Is there any others that may look like him?

 

Ken

Ken,

Well darn, I was hoping to be 2 for 2. I'll take another try at it. I'm assuming your avatar photo is of your grandfather as well, it that correct? I think I was going more by that than the other photo.

Randy

Attached is a letter from my dad to his mom dated May 20, 1943 in which he writes that he was in 3 battles: Kasserine, Berzita and Gasfa...some misspellings there...(plus requests for Colgate tooth powder, tooth brush, flash light, gum, cigarettes and chocolate candy matches...ha!). An interesting nugget in there about his unit assigned to protect FDR "and all the big shots" in Casablanca!

There is another letter written after his being wounded, but he does not say where or how it happened so I did not take a picture of it. The handwriting on it is different from the attached letter, which makes me think that it was dictated. He did have a shrapnel wound to his leg is all I can say. Also attached is something I found that confirms that he was assigned to the Medical Department. I do have a memory of him saying that he drove an ambulance.

Warrens Son, FDR was guarded at Casablanca by Units of the 3rd Infantry Division, The only unit I know for sure of was the 15th Inf. My Dad had a friend who was in the 15th Inf. and told my Dad about guarding FDR and seeing him there.....Ralph

Attached is a letter from my dad to his mom dated May 20, 1943 in which he writes that he was in 3 battles: Kasserine, Berzita and Gasfa...some misspellings there...(plus requests for Colgate tooth powder, tooth brush, flash light, gum, cigarettes and chocolate candy matches...ha!). An interesting nugget in there about his unit assigned to protect FDR "and all the big shots" in Casablanca!

 

There is another letter written after his being wounded, but he does not say where or how it happened so I did not take a picture of it. The handwriting on it is different from the attached letter, which makes me think that it was dictated. He did have a shrapnel wound to his leg is all I can say. Also attached is something I found that confirms that he was assigned to the Medical Department. I do have a memory of him saying that he drove an ambulance.

 

1dad3.jpg1dad4.jpg

See, this is all starting to make sense since other info states he was a truck driver before the war. I wonder how that was related to the Medical reference on his enlistment paperwork? It's clear he must have been transferred to another unit before deploying to Africa. Maybe they needed medical personnel since North Africa was the first "toe dip" in the African-European theater for the U.S. I looked at the letter you posted and the address says Company B, 20th Engineers. Here's a website dedicated to the 20th Engineers and pretty much confirms what your father says in his letter:

http://www.20thengineers.com/ww2.html

We'll keep digging, my friend!

Gary

Attached is a letter from my dad to his mom dated May 20, 1943 in which he writes that he was in 3 battles: Kasserine, Berzita and Gasfa...some misspellings there...(plus requests for Colgate tooth powder, tooth brush, flash light, gum, cigarettes and chocolate candy matches...ha!). An interesting nugget in there about his unit assigned to protect FDR "and all the big shots" in Casablanca!

 

There is another letter written after his being wounded, but he does not say where or how it happened so I did not take a picture of it. The handwriting on it is different from the attached letter, which makes me think that it was dictated. He did have a shrapnel wound to his leg is all I can say. Also attached is something I found that confirms that he was assigned to the Medical Department. I do have a memory of him saying that he drove an ambulance.

 

1dad3.jpg1dad4.jpg

Looks like he meant Kasserine, Bizerte and Gafsa. The above website states "On 24 April, Company B of the 20th Engineers was attached to the Free French Corps Franc d'Afrique and conducted the regiment's first assault. The attack went well." Pretty much in line with what his letter says.

I have to wonder since he was wounded in early June that maybe he was wounded while assisting the removal of mines which is what they did following the German surrender in North Africa. I am inclined to believe that maybe he never got back to the unit following his being wounded and was later assigned to another Engineer unit... the 292nd. No evidence for this as of yet.

Gary