I am looking for more information about the 169th Engineer Combat Battalion. The shield of this Battalion have the fleur-de-lis. The fleur-de-lis flowered was suggested by the coat of arms of Florence, Italy, where the battalion was activated after being reconstituted in 1944.
I searched the forums here and the internet. I only came up with this here:
<a href=" http://www.wood.army.mil/wood_cms/usaes/2245.shtm l" target="_blank"> http://www.wood.army.mil/wood_cms/usaes/2245.shtml</a>
and obviously on the "CORPS OF ENGINEERS: THE WAR AGAINST GERMANY" at page 218 where is stated:
“… the 1338th Engineer Combat Group's 169th Engineer Combat Battalion was to build the II Corps bridge and the 1108th Engineer Combat Group's 235th Engineer Combat Battalion, the IV Corps bridge. During March and April the 169th Engineer Combat Battalion sent several of its men to the British Floating Bailey Bridge School at Capua, and in April the entire battalion moved to a site on the Arno west of Pisa for training in building the bridges. The 235th Combat Battalion got only a few days of training — and even that for only part of the battalion.”
An Archive search resulted in some pictures of vehicles of the 169th in the Po river area (April 1945).
We found the name of a member of the 169th: PFC Lewis H. Johnson born in 1921.
This name was published on the web in a www.geocities.com web page now unreachable.
Does anybody have more information? Any help will be appreciated.
The picture shows the freshly restored Wyllis of 169th Engineer Combat Battalion crossing the Medici's Bridge in Pontassieve near Florence.
I found some news about:
337th Engineers was a general service engineer regiment, not combat engineers. The regiment was disbanded in Italy in September 1944. Personnel were reassigned to Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 1338th Engineer (Combat) Group and used to form 169th and 182d Engineer (Combat) Battalions. 337th Engineers was likewise entitled to campaign credits for Tunisia, Naples-Foggia and Rome-Arno.
There was also a 337th Engineer (Combat) Battalion (formerly 337th Antiaircraft Artillery [searchlight] Battalion which served in Italy and was transferred to the Philippines shortly after the war ended in Europe. This unit received credit for the North Apennines and Po Valley Campaigns (337th Antiaircraft Artillery [searchlight] Battalion was credited with participation in the Rome-Arno Campaign).
Does anybody have more information? Any help will be appreciated.
Regards,
Andrea Gatti
I am looking for more information about the 169th Engineer Combat Battalion. The shield of this Battalion have the fleur-de-lis. The fleur-de-lis flowered was suggested by the coat of arms of Florence, Italy, where the battalion was activated after being reconstituted in 1944.
.....
March 27 2012
I found a news about a 169th veteran: Jesse Green, 89, of Pineville!
The news was published on "The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia" November 14, 2011:
"PINEVILLE — Pineville World War II veteran Jesse Green was presented with two medals, 65 years after an honorable discharge from the Army. Green was presented with the European-African-Middle
Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze stars (representing three major conflicts) and a World War II Victory Medal at a special church service Sunday at Cook Memorial Baptist Church in Pineville."
Green was a member of the 169th Combat Engineer Battalion Company C and was stationed just south of Rome when he was injured in May of 1944. Green’s squad was replacing a bailey bridge with a wooden one when German forces opened fire, scattering the battalion as men scrambled for cover.
Could you help me to get in touch with him in trying to collect his history in Italy during WW2?
Regards,
Andrea Gatti
Andrea Gatti
The attrition continued; Italy sank to such a low priority on the list of theaters that by the winter of 1944-45 the men there began to feel that they were on a "forgotten front." from THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT: ON BEACHHEAD AND BATTLEFRONT by Lida Mayo
Hi Andrea, The 169th ECB was formed from the first Battaion, 337th Engineer General Service Reg.
We`ll be posting a .pdf file soon that will give you accounts of the unit operations of the 169th in Italy, & just about every engineer unit in the Med Theater, so give us a little time to get it uploaded.
Larry
"I'm proud to be an American, Where at least I know I'm free
And I won't forget the men who died, Who gave that right to me."
God bless the USA - Lee Greenwood
The new document, Engineer History Fifth Army, has been uploaded on the main page in the Documents tab in the Army ETO History link.
http://www.6thcorpsc...d%20Theater.pdf
The accounts of the 169th starts in Vol II, Arno campaiagn section on page 191 then scroll down to the Po section page 248
Marion's note: When you open said document, please note that pg 191 refers to Adobe's index, which is actually page 121 in the actual printed book. Hope that helps everyone.
Same holds true for pg 248 (adobe's index), which is actually pg 162 in the printed book.
Larry
"I'm proud to be an American, Where at least I know I'm free
And I won't forget the men who died, Who gave that right to me."
God bless the USA - Lee Greenwood
The new document, Engineer History Fifth Army, has been uploaded on the main page in the Documents tab in the Army ETO History link.
The accounts of the 169th starts in Vol II, Arno campaiagn section on page 191 then scroll down to the Po section page 248
Hi Larry,
I have no words to thank you! :-))))
I have some information about it but no idea about the content!
The document contains a valuable lot of information, so we can add a lot more to our knowledge on Gothic line events.
Thanks again
Andrea
Andrea Gatti
The attrition continued; Italy sank to such a low priority on the list of theaters that by the winter of 1944-45 the men there began to feel that they were on a "forgotten front." from THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT: ON BEACHHEAD AND BATTLEFRONT by Lida Mayo
From that same booklet, I extracted a page which shows
Organization of Fifth Army Engineer Troops December 1944
This should be handy!
Organization of 5th Army Eng Troops 1944.pdf
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter 'Monday' Poniedzialek
540th Combat Engineer - H&S Company
Rebuilt from "Engineer History - Mediterranean Theater - Fifth Army":
===============================
The 169th Engineer Combat Battalion was activated the 16th of September 1944 in Florence. It was formed by the personnel of the 1st Battalion of the 337th Engineer General Service Regiment.
From 16th Of September 1944 the organization of the disbanded 337th became the following:
1338th Engineer Combat Group
(337th Engineer General Service Regiment)
169th Engineer Combat Battalion (it was the 1st Btn of 337th)
182nd Engineer Combat Battalion (it was the 2nd Btn of 337th)
185th Engineer Combat Battalion (it was the Battery “A”, 213th Coast Artillery Regiment Anti-Aircraft)
================================
Andrea Gatti
The attrition continued; Italy sank to such a low priority on the list of theaters that by the winter of 1944-45 the men there began to feel that they were on a "forgotten front." from THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT: ON BEACHHEAD AND BATTLEFRONT by Lida Mayo
Thank you for the info. Always nice to hear from you. Hope all is well in Italy. Ciao!
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter 'Monday' Poniedzialek
540th Combat Engineer - H&S Company
169th Update -
The update is about the story of the 337th Engineer General Service Regiment and the 1338th Engineer Combat Group and the several battalions of them.
The activities of the various battalions forming the 1338th are linked with the story of the 8th EVAC in Pietramala and the 56th EVAC in Scarperia.
The following is the link to the document:
The story of the 1338th Engineer Combat Group and the 337th Engineer General Service Regiment
Andrea Gatti
The attrition continued; Italy sank to such a low priority on the list of theaters that by the winter of 1944-45 the men there began to feel that they were on a "forgotten front." from THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT: ON BEACHHEAD AND BATTLEFRONT by Lida Mayo
Wow, just saw my website. Thanks so much for the mention. That was a real surprise.
Looks like you did a LOT of work. Bravo. Nice job. I know how time consuming this can be, so I certainly appreciate your efforts.
Oh, I don't mean to be critical, but found one thing you might want to change. It actually should be "Known". 🙂
Know Members of 337th Engineer General Service Regiment
and 1338th Engineer Combat Group
I've done the same thing before, trust me.
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter 'Monday' Poniedzialek
540th Combat Engineer - H&S Company
Thanks Marion,
Correction done, and the mention cannot be avoided :-).
Andrea Gatti
The attrition continued; Italy sank to such a low priority on the list of theaters that by the winter of 1944-45 the men there began to feel that they were on a "forgotten front." from THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT: ON BEACHHEAD AND BATTLEFRONT by Lida Mayo
Your welcome. Better to make the correction now, before too many others spot it. 
Again, thank you for the mention, it's nice to know that we played an integral part in your website.
All the best!
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter 'Monday' Poniedzialek
540th Combat Engineer - H&S Company
I found a new photo where the 169th Engineer Combat Battalion is present, it is on the webpage dedicated to the 337th Engineer General Service Regiment.
The 169th ECB road signs and Merry Christmas on Highway 65 near the Futa Pass - Winter 1944 - the road signs say HQ, C Co. and B Co.
Photo from WW2 RADIO
Andrea Gatti
The attrition continued; Italy sank to such a low priority on the list of theaters that by the winter of 1944-45 the men there began to feel that they were on a "forgotten front." from THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT: ON BEACHHEAD AND BATTLEFRONT by Lida Mayo
That is a huge Christmas sign. Never saw anything quite like that. Three cheers to the engineers. I'm sure all of them were longing to go home to be with their families.
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter 'Monday' Poniedzialek
540th Combat Engineer - H&S Company
I found a new photo where the 169th Engineer Combat Battalion is present, it is on the webpage.
The 169th ECB road signs and Merry Christmas on Highway 65 near the Futa Pass - Winter 1944 - the road signs say HQ, C Co. and B Co.
Photo from WW2 RADIO
What a great picture! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Randy
"The Damned Engineers!" <img alt=":banghead:" src="/uploads/emoticons/default_BangHead.gif" />
