Recieved a reply from Laura last night, communications between Laura & Jelle should be ok now.

"Yes - thank you!!! It was blocked by a spam filter but I just retrieved it and read it and emailed him back. What a wonderful young man - thank you so very very much. "

Oh, here's a photo of Jelle and his parents. Great pic. Thanks for sending that to me Jelle.

Thank you Marion. For now, I will pass it along to you. I will work on my uploading skills.

 

My father was a radioman who, according to his citation, made numerous trips across the Rhine with others in small boats, and as I understand it, directed artillery and such to German positions in preparations for the main push to cross. On one trip, his radio was destroyed. I have read that in some places or locations, some of these trips were also to try and fool the Germans as to the place where our forces were about to cross. Decoys. Having no other reference point, I don't know if these were the same incidents my father participated in or an overview of a much larger operation in general. Thank you so much. I am glad to have found some "engineer friends". With my Dad gone, I must depend on others to help me understand his life during these years.

 

...I have a photo taken by my father (251st Engineer Combat Battalion) of a destroyed bridge, taken in a city. It would have been late 1944 early 1945 I think. He was involved in the Roer and Rhine crossings. I can't think of any group better to identify it's location than the engineers.

 

Sincerely, Tom

Tom, I placed the photo here for you, and am also uploading it to the photo gallery today. It sure looks like the Ludendorf to me. I sent you a link to the gallery, so you can look at the other photos for comparison.

I received this reply from Jens Mastnak of Lehrte, Germany (Jens Mastnak, M.A. Stadtarchiv Lehrte) after forwarding him the destroyed bridge photo. Amazing!

"The photo shows Cologne seen from the river Rhine (it must be taken from a boat). The blown up bridge in the foreground is the Deutzer Brücke, in the middle you can see the Cologne cathedral (Kölner Dom) and to the left the Great Saint Martin church (Gross Sankt Martin Kirche)."

Tom Huebner

Son of Tom Huebner

251st Engineer Combat Batallion, Co. C

Excellent news!

Of course it's Cologne, why haven't I visited this post yesterday?

I have found the Bulge Bugle ( http://www.veteranso...03/1997-Feb.pdf ) where...

JAMES B, KIRKLAND, 251ST ENGINEER COMBAT BATTALION,

HEADQUARTERS AND SERVICE COMPANIES, would like to hear from

anyone who may have served with him. Write to James at: 164 Old McDonald

Road, Elizabeth City, North Carolina 27909.

It is from1997, but who knows?

Christoph

Thank you Christoph!

June 2012

Marion, you have created a very special website. It is so well done. . I know how much work a website can be.

 

Thanks so much for your help in getting that bridge picture out there. Great idea with the bridges folder. I'll keep my eyes open as I sort through my Dad's stuff. You can put this picture up if it fits the theme:)

Attached, find my father, Thomas F. Huebner (1922-2004), standing, in Lehrte, Germany. The other man is unidentified, but I am working on it! I could see a sign in the center rear on the building reading Lehrte. I emailed this to a guy in Lehrte for location verification. He works for Stadtarchiv Lehrte, and I stumbled upon his name. The buildings were torn down in 1972 he says, but he sent me a slightly different view ca. 1970. He also had this to say. Very interesting.

 

Dear Tom,

 

the fotos were actually taken in Lehrte. The building in the rear right is the public house "Lehrter Hof". In the middle you can see the warehouse of Heinrich Sundmacher. The buildings were situated at the corner of Poststraße/Burgdorfer Straße. They were broken off in 1972. I have enclosed a foto taken ca. in 1970 were you can see both buildings.

 

The fotos you have sent are very fascinating for me. The history of the occupation of Lehrte in April 1945 by american forces is until now not written. Fotos from this event are unknown and we know very little about these days in April 1945. I will be very glad, if you can answer a few questions.

 

To which unit of the american forces belongs your father by the time he entered Lehrte?

Has your father something written about this time?

Do you have more fotos showing your father in Germany in 1945?

 

Yours sincerely

Jens Mastnak M.A.

Stadtarchiv Lehrte

 

Thanks again. Look for me on the forum!

Sincerely, Tom Huebner Jr.

To: Jelle Nieskens who adopted the grave site of John Rose.

I would love to hear about what else you may have learned about John Rose since you first made the original post on this web site.

My Uncle Paul was also in the 251st combat engineers. My guess is that John Rose and my uncle had the same experience as they travelled across Europe from September 1944 until the end of the war in Europe on May 1945.

Here is where the 251st Combat Engineers were based on the notes kept by my Uncle Paul.

My Uncle was a member of the 251st Combat Engineers. He left his training at Camp McCoy in August 1944. In September 1944, he moved to Kilmer NJ, then boarded the ship Larg Bay to move from NYC to Liverpool, and finally to SouthHampton. In October they crossed the English Channel to arrive at Cherburg France. Then moved to Liege Belgium. In November 1944 they were in Tongres Belgium, Schinnen Holland, Palenburg Germany and Geilenkirchen Germany. In December 1944 they were in Schenseel and then Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. In January 1945, they were in Rurdorf, and eventually moved to Kuckhoven as they prepared for the Roer River Crossing. The Roer River crossing was suppose to happen in early February but the Germans flooded the river, delaying the river crossing for weeks. Roer River crossing eventually happened on February 22, 23, and 24. There are many pictures of this crossing by a Time Magazine photographer that you can easily find on the web. In March 1945, they were in Anrath, Krefeld, Munster, Rhoda, and Eisbergen Germany. In April they were in Hannover, Gurdelagen, Salzwedel. As the war ended in May 1945, they were in Hannover, Lehrtre Germany.

Given that John Rose died Feb 23, 1945, it is highly possible that he died in the Roer River Crossing battles which happened Feb 22, 23, and 24th. There is a tremendous amount written about the Roer River crossing, with lots of great photos by a Time Magazine photographer. Blessing to you Jelle, and great love to your country and your family.

Tom

I sent Jelle a private message and told him to check out this post...

My Uncle Paul at Lehrte Germany April 1945

Another photo from Lehrte Germany April 1945

Cool. Thanks for including him here. Always excited to see new photos of our "boys".

I'll make sure I add those to the photo gallery in the very near future.