Hi!
I am hoping someone might be able to help me. I am looking for any information, memories and, if possible, a photograph of my Grandfather Earl Arnold Brady. As far as I'm able to ascertain he joined the US Army in 1941 and found himself in Company B of the 202nd Combat Engineers. He was for a time stationed in or around the environs of the town of Helensburgh in Scotland for a period during the war.
Unfortunately, Earl passed away in the 1950s and my mother has very little memory of him. It would be great if I could find out a little about his involvement in the war.
As I said, I know very little about him but if anyone has any questions regarding him I will try my best to answer them.
Kind Regards
Scott
Hello Scott and welcome to the forum.
Does anyone in your family have a copy of this discharge papers, etc.? If not, your family can obtain a copy and that would be a great start. Please see my research section for help in this matter. I would contact his state's veteran's administration. That is the easiest way.
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter 'Monday' Poniedzialek
540th Combat Engineer - H&S Company
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter 'Monday' Poniedzialek
540th Combat Engineer - H&S Company
Hi Marion!
Thanks for the advice. I don't have Earl's dicharge papers or any other paperwork relating to him, but I have seen an application for a military headstone. It contains some information regarding his time in the army. As I recall, it contained the following information:
Name: Brady, Earl Arnold
Enlistment Date: Oct 15 1941
Discharge Date: Feb 8 1946 (Honorable)
Service No. 34098045
State: South Carolina
Rank: PFC
Medals: EAME Ribbon (the word OVER was handwritten beside it, I'm not sure what this means), American Defense Medal and the Combat Inf. Bad.
Branch of Service/Company/Regiment/Division: Company B, 202nd Engineers Combat Bn, US Army.
As the above details appeared to have been verified and accepted, I can presume that the above information is correct.
I'm not sure whether it would still be necessary to obtain his discharge papers but I will try if necessary. As I am not in the US, I'm not sure where to obtain any documentation. I presume as he was from South Carolina it would be the Veterans Administration in that state I would have to contact?
I would love to hear from anybody who might help me know a little more about him.
Kind regards
Scott
Hmmm, I have never seen anything like that before ("OVER" handwritten beside it). Can anyone shed any info on this??
Even though you are not in the US, it shouldn't make any difference. You are still direct family and are privy to his records. 
And yes, it would be South Carolina, in his case.
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter 'Monday' Poniedzialek
540th Combat Engineer - H&S Company
WELCOME TO THE FORUM SCOTT !
THE "OVER" YOU ARE WONDERING ABOUT MEANS THAT THERE IS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE DOCUMENT THAT PERTAINS TO THAT BOX. THEY JUST DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH ROOM. AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE IMAGES OF THE APPLICATION THE ADDED INFO IS HIS BRONZE STAR MEDAL AND REFERENCE TO HIS PRIOR NATIONAL GUARD SERVICE. HOPE THIS HELPS YOU, GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR SEARCH.
RANDY
"The Damned Engineers!" <img alt=":banghead:" src="/uploads/emoticons/default_BangHead.gif" />
Thank you Randy. Something so simple!
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter 'Monday' Poniedzialek
540th Combat Engineer - H&S Company
Your welcome Marion. Scott didn't mention in his post that his grandfather was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, It's possible he doesn't know. If that is the case he should be very proud to find out.
Randy
"The Damned Engineers!" <img alt=":banghead:" src="/uploads/emoticons/default_BangHead.gif" />
Hi Marion and Randy
Thank you very much for the extra information you have been able to dig up. I didn't know my grandfather had received such a prestigious decoration which makes me both proud and humbled.
All I know of my grandfather is that information my mother was able to remember from the letters he sent her after the war (my grandmother and mother remained in Scotland after the war and Earl returned to the US). As I said, Earl kept in contact until his untimely death when my mother was about 15 years old. She only vaguely remembers what he looks like from a photograph he sent (sadly lost sometime ago).
I have happened upon another piece of information about him. Apparently, he trained with "British Commandoes" while in Scotland, which explains the reason he was in Helensburgh as there was a commando training base in the area. I don't know whether this will help in narrowing down in which actions he may have participated in.
Again, may thanks for your help
Scott
Scott: Did you get a chance to look at all the contact info, etc., on the link I provided several post above? I would be curious to see if any of the addresses/phone numbers, etc., are still viable.
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter 'Monday' Poniedzialek
540th Combat Engineer - H&S Company
Hi Marion
Sorry for not getting back to you sooner as I was dealing with work commitments.
I have had a look at the links you suggested and though there is some interesting reading I can't find anything I could attribute to my grandfather directly.
What I have discovered was that some American soldiers (US Rangers) were billeted in Helensburgh during ww2. I have attached a link below. I wonder whether any members of the 202nd were equally co-opted into British Commando units?
http://www.combinedops.com/US%20Ranger_Commando.htm
Regards
Scott
