Susan, my father also served with the 257th combat engineers. His name was Franklin Warner. Unfortunatly I have no information on the unit. I see from Marion's post a couple of sources to contact and was wondering if you had contacted any of these and received any info on the unit.

Kenneth

Hi Kenneth:

We spoke via email, but I wanted to touch base with you here too. First off, welcome to our forum. I hope you find this a good source for information. It's also a great way to make new friends.

I sent Susan an email, and told her to make sure she logs in to see this post. I hope we will hear back from her.

All the best,

M1

As Marion has noted, the unit records would need to be obtained from College Park. I have not found much info on the 257th available either.

What i have found is the 257th ECB was an element of the 9th U.S. Army from

5 September 1944 - 5 May 1945. They have Campaign Credits for Ardennes- Alsace, Central Europe, & Rhineland, Occupation - Germany, 2 May - 18 Sept 1945.

No Distinguished Unit or Meritorious Citations listed.

a couple of attachments were found:

257th Engineers © Battalion attchd to 1st Inf Div. 01.10.1944-31.10.1944

257th Engr C Bn attchd to 45th Inf Div 19 Apr 45-23 Apr 45

http://www.oldhickory30th.com/9th%20Army%20XIX%20Corps%20Non%20Div%20Units.pdf

Susan, my father also served with the 257th combat engineers. His name was Franklin Warner. Unfortunatly I have no information on the unit. I see from Marion's post a couple of sources to contact and was wondering if you had contacted any of these and received any info on the unit.

 

Kenneth

Kenneth,

Thanks for contacting me. Unfortunately I haven't checked on the sources Marion sent, but I will soon. Will keep you posted about what I find.

Susan

Received this wonderful email and accompanying PDF file. Talk about a real treasure. Thank you SO much, Michael.

Marion,

 

I was on the WWII Combat Engineers website and noted some inquires about the

257th Engineer Combat Battalion. My grandfather was in the 257th and sent a

letter to my grandmother dated 6/5/45. I do not believe that he wrote it

based upon the writing style but I believe someone in the 257th wrote it and

made copies, one of which my grandfather had. The letter chronicles the

experiences of the 257th Engineer Combat Battalion from November 1944 to

June 1945. I scanned the letter and turned it into a pdf file. I am willing

to send it to you for posting on the website but it is 13 MB in size so I

figured I'd better ask you before I send it. If you are interested, let me

know and I'll send it as an email attachment.

 

Michael D. Bradley, Ph.D.

Professor of Geology

Department of Geography and Geology

205 Strong Hall

Eastern Michigan University

Ypsilanti, MI 48197

https://ww2combatengineers.comdoc...illerLetter.pdf

The story contained in the PDF file is a truly great description of what it must have been like to leave the USA and arrive "somewhere in England" in November 1944 prior to the long haul across Europe.

The first page is of special interest to me because it describes the area in southern UK where I live, with all the familiar town and village names. In many places the odd nissen hut survives. Thank you for posting this great piece of history Michael.

Just one query for you Marion why does the 257th not appear in our 'bible' US ARMY IN WW2.?

Colin.

Good question Colin!

So many people write and wonder why they can't find info on certain units. Sure is a real shame, but at least we are making headway with sites such as ours.

Hugs,

M1

Hi all!

I'm new to the group. My name is Scott Langone, my grandfather's name was Anthony "Tony" Langone from Worcester, Massachusetts and served in the 257th ECB during WWII and I'm interested in knowing more about what the 257th did and very interested to see if anyone from the 257th ECB remembers my grandfather. I'd like to know what he was like back then and what experiences members of the 257th and my grandfather shared.

I look forward to hearing back from anyone.

Thank you for setting up this forum, the information included in this forum has been extremely helpful.

Scott

Hello Scott and welcome to our forum.

I will put you in touch with four others who also have an interest in this group. I will also add your name to that list, and send out a mailing this morning.

Hello Everyone,

This is my first post in this forum, and I must say it is a great forum. Sorry for reviving and old post. Let me introduce myself. My name is Anthony Sicuranza, Jr. and my grandfather, Paul F. Costa was a WWII veteran. I have been searching for years to find more information on his unit and this is the closest I have come to a community that is dedicated the the combat engineers.

Here is what it says on his honorable discharge:

Organization: "H & S Co 257th Engr Combat Bn"

Which stands for, "Headquarters and Service Company, 257th Engineer Combat Battalion"

Here is why I am researching:

1.) My grandfather told me that he was awarded the Bronze Star in the field for his actions in the Ardennes Forest during the Battle of the Bulge. There is unfortunately no record of this but I was hoping somewhere in the world this is documented.

2.) While in Germany his friend stepped on a land mine and sadly died, however my grandfather was struck in the leg with the shrapnel from the blast. While he was in the hospital it was attacked or bombed by German forces and was burned to the ground. No Purple Heart was awarded. He lived the rest of his life with shrapnel in his left leg but no x-rays were ever taken.

* I was told these stories many years after they happened so I understand their may be some inaccuracy in his recollection, but I need to know for sure. I was never able to accurately track his movements through the war and whether or not he was always a combat engineer or was transferred later on. From what he said he originally enlisted in the Army Air Corps but was transferred to the Infantry. He began his fighting in Italy, then was in England for a little, then ended up landing at Le Havre, France, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, then ended up in Germany. As you can see I only have highlights of memories so it is difficult to piece this together. Unfortunately he has passed away now and I have no way to recover these memories.

I have submitted many requests to the Archives but have been faced with the same frustrating responses as the original poster. I have read some accounts that say the 257th was attached to the 1st Infantry Division, the 9th Infantry Division, etc. I am so lost and would like to provide my grandmother with an answer before she passes on too. I have become very frustrated with the dead ends I have encountered. I need to figure this out.

Any advice?

Thanks for listening and taking the time to read this. I really appreciate it.

Hi and welcome to our forum.

If you cannot retrieve a copy of his discharge papers, please turn to either the local county building (where he lived) or get in touch with the local Veteran's Admin in his home state. Most soldiers filed a copy of their papers with the county or if they had any medical treatment with the VA, then they will also have copies. This is how I obtained a copy of my father's paperwork.

Here's the link for the VA - http://www2.va.gov/directory/guide/vetcenter_flsh.asp

Unfortunate as it may appear, many times things happened in the course of the war, making it impossible for injuries, etc., to be recorded and therefore impossible to make it possible to get the proper medals later in life. As in his case, you would have to find the proper documentation in order to proceed. What I would recommend is to try and obtain copies of the units history via NARA in Maryland. This is NOT the same establishment as St Louis. The Maryland facility contains archived unit histories.

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

You can either hire a research assistant or schedule a time to go there yourself. Complete info and instructions are listed on the link above.

Have you had time to look at the links and uploaded documents earlier in this posting? They will help you pull together a more precise timeline.

As I did for others, i will add your name to my 257th group and introduce you to them. I'm sure they will be able to assist you too.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy to try and help.

Hi and welcome to our forum.

 

If you cannot retrieve a copy of his discharge papers, please turn to either the local county building (where he lived) or get in touch with the local Veteran's Admin in his home state. Most soldiers filed a copy of their papers with the county or if they had any medical treatment with the VA, then they will also have copies. This is how I obtained a copy of my father's paperwork.

 

Here's the link for the VA - http://www2.va.gov/d...center_flsh.asp

 

Unfortunate as it may appear, many times things happened in the course of the war, making it impossible for injuries, etc., to be recorded and therefore impossible to make it possible to get the proper medals later in life. As in his case, you would have to find the proper documentation in order to proceed. What I would recommend is to try and obtain copies of the units history via NARA in Maryland. This is NOT the same establishment as St Louis. The Maryland facility contains archived unit histories.

 

http://www.archives....rcher-info.html

 

You can either hire a research assistant or schedule a time to go there yourself. Complete info and instructions are listed on the link above.

 

Have you had time to look at the links and uploaded documents earlier in this posting? They will help you pull together a more precise timeline.

 

As I did for others, i will add your name to my 257th group and introduce you to them. I'm sure they will be able to assist you too.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy to try and help.

Hey Marion,

Thanks very much for all your help. I have looked at the links above and they have been very helpful, especially the letter from the soldier. While reading that I was able to track the journey of the 257th. It also confirmed a lot of the stories and locations my grandfather told me. The detail the soldier went into about the concentration camp very much aligned with what my grandfather had said. Do we have the name of the soldier who wrote this?

I already have all of the discharge papers and anything associated with his service and hopefully I can plan a trip to MD soon to research unit records. Here is one of my biggest problems though, I have confirmed by seeing a picture of him taken in 1943 or 44 that he was at one point in the Army Air Corps. On his uniform he is wearing the "Enlisted Aviation Insignia" pin. This has been my biggest challenge, to find out where in Italy he was and with what unit from his enlistment in 1943 until he was transferred to the 257th sometime in 1944. I'm assuming that the picture was taken between tours because on his uniform he is wearing the Army Good Conduct ribbon (also not on his discharge) and the WWII Europe, Africa, Middle East, ribbon with no bronze star (to signify another tour of duty) at this point, this means he hadn't served his second tour to earn the bronze star on the ribbon.

My timeline so far consists of this:

Enlisted - March 15, 1943

Activated - March 22, 1943

Basic Training - 10 weeks?

Completed Basic - Est. June 1943 (Allies invade Italy July 1943)

Deployed to Italy - July 1943 w/ Army Air Corps

Leave in England before being deployed to France - ? 1944 w/ 257th Engineers

From here I just followed the letter because it was pretty in line with what my grandfather said, however it didn't mention (to my recollection) the Ardennes Forest and the Battle of the Bulge which he remembered vividly.

Honorable Discharge - November 16, 1945

Here lies the challenge:

Was the 257th always together? Probably not.

Do we know what Army or Division the 257th was with for sure? Was it 1st Infantry? I've also seen Ninth U.S. Army. I'm not sure.

Its a long road and its nice to have another people along with me on this journey. Thanks for all your help and please keep up the fight for CIBs for Combat Engineers, they deserve it.

Thanks,

Anthony

Whew! Lots of questions. That's how I was in the beginning too. Couldn't get enough info and fast enough! Been there, done that!

The 257th was a "bastard" unit, meaning they weren't part of a division. They were an independent engineering unit, just like my dad's unit, the 540th. They would have been under the "direction" of an Army Group or Corps.

In this post you will see that smosc already has many pages of the unit's official history from NARA in Maryland, so you should contact him directly through PM via the forum.

https://ww2combatengineers.comengforum/index.php?showtopic=6077&hl=257th

No sense in duplicating someone's work. I'm sure he'd be happy to share info with you.

More in a second....

Okay, I am back, had a few things to do, but wanted to get started...

I am not sure if Otto Polz is still around. He was with the 257th. I will send you his email in a PM in a few seconds. Try contacting him. I hope he is still with us.