My grandpa Ernest Napier was a carpenter, his rank was PFC in HHC 49th Combat Engineers during WWII. I have pictures of him during the war and I have a few of his buddys at Camp Carson Colorado - I think one was named Guy Mills and a Lt. Christian?

Where could I post the pictures so they might possibly be identified?

I also have some sketchy information about the unit's reorganization and deployment dates and places I would like to share.

Thanks!

You can post them right here on this page with your post. The easiest way is to send them to me and I will post them for you. Let me know if you need anything else.

You can find Ernest Napier's page here:

Memories of Ernest Napier

Hi, My name is James D. Neville.

My father, now deceased, was with the 49th ECB from start to finish. He joined them as a Second Lieutenant, fresh out of Fort Belvoir OCS, in Camp Carson as part of the initial cadre, and served on the battalion staff througout the war.

I am currently conducting research in order to publish a book on the history of the 49th Engineer (Combat) Battalion in WW II. I have managed to locate two other veterans, and the daughter of another deceased veteran, from whom I've received photographs and information. I have the factual information I need to outline the story of the stateside training and oversees operations of the battalion. I nee the personal experience of 49th ECB veterans to 'flesh-out and humanize' the story.

I would like to hear from any other living veterans of the 49th ECB or the families of deceased veterans. I have a questionnaire that I would like to provide ot the evetrans to capture their WW II memories as members of the 49th ECB.

Particularly, I am in need of good reproducible quality photographs to illustrate the book. Photos of the 49th ECB veterans themselves in uniform in WW II, and general photos taken by veterans of the battalion;Colorado, Louisiana, UK, North Africa, continental Europe. Photos of construction projects (ie., bridges) in training or actiual operations, or enemy fortifications breached would be of particular value. I have, for example, a photo of a sawmill operated by the battalion in Belgium during December 1944.

Thanks in advance,

Jim Neville

Good luck in your endeavor. I am right in your court. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Would love to help.

We'd love to see some of the photos and of course would love to hear about the history of the 49th ECB's.

The best to ya...

It appears there hasn't been much activity on this forum for a while.

I recently viewed Ken Burns series "The War". I was interested not only because of its documentation of its history, but because my father went through it.

The reason I'm writing in this forum is that my dad was also in the 49th combat engineers. I do not know what company, however.

He died a couple of years ago.

He, like many, had little that they wanted to share after their experiences there. He was a quiet man, so all the more reason that little is known about it. My mom may know more. I've been drilling her, and she's willing to gather all that she can to assist in piecing together as much as we can of that there is what may be tucked away.

I'll contintue. I just wanted to let you know that I'm out here and will continue to share what I can when its discovered.

Ken Webb, Edmonds, WA

Welcome Ken:

Yes it's unfortunate, but until you posted yesterday, there has been no activity in this area regarding the 49th since 2005! A real shame, but who know what else we can find out in the interim, right?

I hope you are able to piece together at least a brief history with the memories and items your mother is willing to supply. Yes, DO get them before it's too late.

Unfortunately you are amongst the thousands of sons and daughters who are desperately trying to find out anything they can about their fathers. But always remember there is a ray of hope; my story is one of those hopeful cases and shows that anything IS possible.

I am going to try and email a few of the people who posted here and see if I can get in touch with them for you.

You can find Ernest Napier's page here:

 

Memories of Ernest Napier

This goes to Ernest Napier's grandson.

If he would like to talk to my Dad, he said he could call him. He has fond memories of Ernest and funny things too. Dad, Guy H. Mills used to read his letters from home to him and write letters for him too. Ernest at the time could not read or write. I will give you his phone number and you can post it or blank it out. But Dad asks if you will give it to the guy and hope he calls him.

Barbara

Guy Mills

P O. Box 224

Bluewater, NM 87005

505 876 2651 That is for anyone that wants to talk to Dad from the 49th Engineers B co.

and Battalion Headquarters, where he was transferred after 6 wks because of his specialization of Demolition,.

You can find Ernest Napier's page here:

 

Memories of Ernest Napier

This goes to Ernest Napier's grandson.

If he would like to talk to my Dad, he said he could call him. He has fond memories of Ernest and funny things too. Dad, Guy H. Mills used to read his letters from home to him and write letters for him too. Ernest at the time could not read or write. I will give you his phone number and you can post it or blank it out. But Dad asks if you will give it to the guy and hope he calls him.

Barbara

Guy Mills

P O. Box 224

Bluewater, NM 87005

505 876 2651 That is for anyone that wants to talk to Dad from the 49th Engineers B co.

and Battalion Headquarters, where he was transferred after 6 wks because of his specialization of Demolition,.

Barbara:

Nice to have you here. I can put you in touch with everyone associated with the 49th. Will send you the list tomorrow. Getting ready for bed tonight. Have an early interview with a radio station in Ottawa, Canada tomorrow morning at 8 AM.

Welcome. Would love to hear your dad's stories!

This goes to Ernest Napier's grandson.

 

If he would like to talk to my Dad, he said he could call him. He has fond memories of Ernest and funny things too. Dad, Guy H. Mills used to read his letters from home to him and write letters for him too. Ernest at the time could not read or write. I will give you his phone number and you can post it or blank it out. But Dad asks if you will give it to the guy and hope he calls him.

 

Barbara

 

Guy Mills

P O. Box 224

Bluewater, NM 87005

505 876 2651 That is for anyone that wants to talk to Dad from the 49th Engineers B co.

and Battalion Headquarters, where he was transferred after 6 wks because of his specialization of Demolition,.

+++++++++++++++++++++ For Barbara Patterson, daughter of Guy Mills ++++++++++++++++++++++

Hi Barbara, I tried calling Guy tonight but there was no answer. I am really looking forward to hearing stories about my grandfather. I actually wrote NARA and got all of the information on the 49th which has a few pictures in there of them building bridges. I had some momentos my grandfather gave me before he passed but they were stolen by a family member. I hope some day to get them back and post them online to be preseved and shared. There was a drawing of a unit insignia that included Pike's Peak and had all the men's names on the back, also there were maps of all the bridges built by the 49th overseas.

I am a veteran myself (Co C 2nd Battalion 11th Special Forces Group (Airborne)).

Your dad is welcome to write me and I will keep trying to get in touch.

Bill Carr

830 Woodland Drive

Robins, IA 52328

sf11dude@yahoo.com

Barbara:

 

Nice to have you here. I can put you in touch with everyone associated with the 49th. Will send you the list tomorrow. Getting ready for bed tonight. Have an early interview with a radio station in Ottawa, Canada tomorrow morning at 8 AM.

 

Welcome. Would love to hear your dad's stories!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hi Marion, I want to again thank you for being so kind and hosting such a great site, thank you for all your hard work, care and concern.

I've been working on an extract from the NARA files to try and find a way to provide information to everyone. I have spent a lot of time compiling a spreadsheet with quite a few tabs along the bottom listing personnel, unit info, etc. Can I upload it to this site as an attachment, do you want me to copy and paste it or would you prefer to screen it first and decide how best to display it? The file size is 438Kb. Here is one of the tabs - 49th ECB CO's.

49TH ENGINEER COMBAT BATTALION - COMMANDING OFFICERS

GENERAL ORDER RANK BRANCH FIRST NAME MIDDLE NAME LAST NAME DATE COMMAND LOCATION NOTES

1 Major CE R. Ernest Leffel Thursday, April 01, 1943 Camp Carson, CO CE = Combat Engineer

5 Major CE R. Ernest Leffel Tuesday, September 21, 1943 Camp Carson, Colorado

4 Major CE James P. Neville Wednesday, March 14, 1945

8 Major CE James P. Neville Sunday, June 03, 1945

14 Major CE Julius R. Noble Thursday, August 16, 1945

15 Major CE Charles D. McLeod Sunday, August 19, 1945

16 Major CE James P. Neville Monday, August 27, 1945

17 Major CE Charles D. McLeod Monday, September 03, 1945

18 Captain CE Dale E. O'Brien Sunday, September 30, 1945

19 Lieutenant Colonel FA Fred N. Wisehart Monday, October 08, 1945 FA = Field Artillery

20 Captain IN Jack J. Jarvis Tuesday, November 06, 1945 IN = Infantry

Thanks.

Hi Bill:

So good to hear from you, and thanks for your kind comments.

Yes, you can upload it as an attachment and/or send it to me as an attachment, and I can convert it to a PDF also, for inclusion on the main site. Would love to see the whole thing. Thanks for compiling that data.

Well it's getting late this evening, and about time for me to close the laptop. YAWN!

Happy New Year to you and yours.

Thanks Marion! Iwill upload it as an attachment here.