FINALLY! Finding a few things...

http://www.wilmon.com/normandy.html

The following list depicts each landing LST 493 made in France as recorded in the official deck logs. The information includes the location, date and time of beaching and retracting, military designations of personnel and equipment, and significant occurrences.

LeHavre 4/9/45 - 1456 4/9/45 - 1645 U.S. Army 1275th Eng. "C" B.U.- 288 officers and enlisted, 60 vehicles

I have asked him for further info on his brother, including birth date and serial number.

I found this name on Ancestry.com

Gochenauer Clair N. Conestoga Memorial Conestoga US Army 1275th Combat Batt. 1911-10/19/1979 Europe-Pacific

Will try and contact the family to see if they have any info on his unit.

Charles T Hackett who served with this combat engineer bn

Trying to locate any members or family members who may be able to assist.

Victor J Carnoali

Len Stoddard Brenchley

POCATELLO, Idaho - Len Stoddard Brenchley, 74, passed away at his home on July 8, 1999.

He was born Aug. 13, 1924, in Wellsville, Utah, to Thomas Clegg Brenchley and Catherine Stoddard Brenchley. He graduated from Cache High School and later earned a B.A. in education from Utah State University. He lived in Logan, Utah, until 1952 when he moved to Pocatello.

Len married LaWana Miller on September 3, 1947, in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.

He worked as an electrician prior to completing his schooling in education. He then worked as a teacher at Alameda Jr. High. This led to his becoming a guidance counselor there. Afterward, he transferred to Hawthorne Jr. High to work as a guidance counselor and the vice principal. He was also a boys' counselor when Highland High School opened in 1963. In 1966 he left Highland to work at Idaho State University Vo-Tech as a vocational guidance counselor. He retired in 1986.

While serving with the 1275th Army Engineering Battalion in Europe during World War II, Len received the Purple Heart award.

...

Len is survived by his wife, LaWana M. Brenchley, Pocatello; his sons, Douglas L. Brenchley, David (Brenda) Brenchley and Tom C. Brenchley, all of Pocatello; his daughters Alecia (Reynold) French, Rexburg, Idaho, DeAnn (Bill) Denney, Pocatello, Dawn (Randy) Moore, Pocatello, Wendy (Lannie) Workman, Pocatello and Jennifer (Evan) Harrison, Erda, Utah; one brother-in-law, George Leavitt, Honolulu, Hawaii; 22 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters.

It's sad I can only find obits, but this may lead to a family member who wishes to disclose more info about their loved one and his service with the 1275th.

William W. Cloe Jr.

Date published: 6/11/2002

A funeral for William Weedon Cloe Jr., 77, of Stafford County will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Aquia Episcopal Church. The Rev. Cuthbert Mandell will officiate. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

Mr. Cloe died at his home Saturday, June 8, 2002.

A native of Stafford, he grew up at Laurel View, the family home.

He had retired as a statistician with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Mr. Cloe, who was a 1949 graduate of the College of William & Mary and a 1952 graduate of George Washington University, was a life member of Aquia Episcopal Church. He served on the vestry for many years and sang in the choir.

Other memberships included the Stafford Lions Club, the Stafford County Historical Society and the Rappahannock Music Society.

He was an Army veteran of World War II, having served with the 1275th Combat Engineer Battalion in the European and Asiatic-Pacific theaters.

Survivors include his wife, Margaret Pillar Cloe; a daughter, Elizabeth Morrow Cloe of New York City; a son, William Weedon Cloe III of Mechanicsville; a sister, Mary Wright Cloe Gates of Visalia, Calif.; a brother, John Haile Cloe of Anchorage, Alaska; two grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

The family requests that expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to the American Diabetes Association, Rappahannock Chapter, Box 1385, Fredericksburg, Va. 22402; or to Aquia Episcopal Church, Box 275, Stafford, Va. 22555.

Well this is certainly interesting... This is regarding a daughter's request for her father who was a member of the 1275th.

http://boards.law.af.mil/ARMY/BCMR/CY2007/20070006219.txt

This is a case brought up to the military board for reconsideration for a Purple Heart.

Richard "Happy" Lunn

RICHARD "HAPPY" LUNN

09th January 2011

LUNN RICHARD "HAPPY" 85, of Palm Harbor, passed away Jan. 5th. He was born in Carnegie, PA on May 28, 1925 and came to Florida in Oct. of 1970. He was a member of the 1275th Combat Engineer, serving in Europe and the Philippines during WW II. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Dorothy; sons, Richard, Jr. of Pittsburgh and Frank of Palm Harbor; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. The family has requested donations be made to the Suncoast Hospice Foundation. Send condolences at post-gazette.com/gb

James C. Graham, 93, of Waynesburg, died at 3:45 p.m. Sunday, August 28, 2011, in his home.

He was born Wednesday, July 17, 1918, in Nineveh, a son of the late Ora and Carrie Breese Graham.

Mr. Graham was a member of Claughton Chapel United Methodist Church.

He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served during World War II with Company A 1275th Engineers Combat Battalion. He was a member of Disabled American Veterans 123, James Farrell American Legion Post 330 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4793, all of Waynesburg.

Mr. Graham always enjoyed farming.

Surviving is his wife, Wilma Henderson Graham, whom he married November 26, 1994.

Also surviving is a daughter, Janice (Butch) Brunell of Waynesburg; two sons, James Graham of Charles Town, W.Va., and Carl (Kathy) Graham of Waynesburg; a stepson, Roger Hayes of Waynesburg; a grandson; two granddaughters; a great-grandson; and several nieces and nephews.

Deceased are a sister, Helen Detwiler, and a brother, Donald Graham.

Ah, just found a proud son who posted this on a website. We may wish to join this site in order to talk with him. It might be worthwhile!

http://www.racerhub.com/forum/showthread.php?22737-Thank-you-veterans

Here's what he posted:

THIS GOES OUT TO ALL OUR VETS WHO GAVE YEARS OF THIER LIFE SO THAT WE CAN BE FREE. PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO WALK UP TO A VETERAN LET THEM KNOW THAT WE CARE SHAKE THIER HAND AND MOST OF ALL SAY THANK YOU. MY DAD WAS A WWII VET WE ARE LOSING THEM FAST FOLKS (10,000 A MONTH) ITS NOT ALOT TO LET THEM KNOW HOW WE FEEL. THIER ARE MANY SERVICES GOING ON IN YOUR TOWN STOP AT YOUR LOCAL VFW,LEGION,ELKS OR AMVETS. THEY NEED TO KNOW THEY MADE A DIFFERANCE IN OUR LIVES WITH OUT THEM THIER WOULD NOT BE US. MY DAD GAVE 5 YEARS OF HIS LIFE TO FRIGHT FOR WHAT HE THOUHT WAS RIGHT. SO PLEASE FLY OUR FLAG NOT YOUR FOOTBALL TEAM OR ANYTHING ELSE FLY OUR FLAG. YOU MIGHT HAVE A NIEGHBOR WHOSE A VET BUT HAS KNOW FAMILY LEFT DONT LET THEM FEEL LEFT OUT KNOCK ON THAT DOOR SAY THANK YOU AND A HAND SHAKE YOU WILL BE SURPRISED HOW YOU WILL FEEL. THANKS TO ALL OUR VETERANS

 

HARRY ALLEN 32 TECHICIAN FIFTH GRADE 1275TH ENGINER COMBAT BATTALION

[LEAVING FORT DIX}

RICH IN THE SUNSHINE STATE THANK YOU

I have an email addy for this one. Am going to send her a note right now to see if she knows any details about this unit.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:1993738&id=I174

Everett Johnson

Later....

Tried the email address, but it's no longer valid. Sigh!

When I can login to my Ancestry.com account, I will try from the site itself. I am locked out right now, for I couldn't remember my login. Waiting to get an email with my sign-in info...

Here's a page from Michael Brodhead from the Army Corps of Engineers Office of History. Thanks Michael!

This document talks about some of their accomplishments in the Pacific, namely bridge building and deconstruction.

Talks about their activation at Camp Gruber on April 20th,1944. They landed in France at Le Havre on April 12th, 1945.

The document is light, so may be a bit difficult to read.

document2012-04-03-114923.pdf

As always we strongly suggest you contact NARA in Maryland to obtain any documentation in their archives.

http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/college-park/researcher-info.html

Contact the Textual Records unit at: The National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001, by telephone at 301-837-3510