326th Airborne Engineers/101st Airborne in Normandy

Hi,

I'm doing some research on a grand-uncle who was in Company C of the 326th Airborne Engineers in WW2. I have the Renedezvous with Destiny book and am in in the process of reading it and have also checked a few things out online.

From what I can gather, as was the customary practice with forming Regimental Combat Teams, different companies and/or platoons of the Divisions's engineer regiment were attached to different infantry regiments/battalions.

Company C was definitely part of the "parachute echelon" during Normandy (as opposed to glider or sea landings). All I can seem to find is that "part" of Company C was attached to the 501st infantry, "part" was attached to the 502nd infantry and "part" to the 506th infantry during the parachute landings.

What I am REALLY trying to figure out is which part of Company C was attached to each of those RCTs. I believe Company C had three platoons, so it would make sense if one platoon was attached to each of the RCTs. But I can't seem to find this information anywhere.

My grand-uncle was in Platoon 2.

Anyone have any info on this?


Best regards,


Ryan

 

The Morning Reports for Company C might be of some help. It's not a sure thing though. As with many official reports, the amount of information is very dependent on who created them. However, the purpose of MRs is to keep track of the personnel for the Company. Since that includes transfers and attachments, it is at least possible that individuals will be listed though the platoon designations may not be included.

 

The official Historical Reports and/or Reports After Action for the 326th might be of help. These documents often include information about assignments of their organic units down to the platoon level. NARA should have them. Failing this the same reports for the three regiments might be of help. An unofficial unit history of the 326th, if there is one, might also be helpful.

 

Col. Bob Sink assigned C/326 to Lt. Col. Bob Wolverton's 3/506 PIR because he was concerned about enemy use of the bridges at Brévands. This group took off from Exeter as Serial 16; with 45 aircraft led by Lt. Col. Frank Krebs of 440 TCG. The bridges were to be rigged with explosives in case they needed to be destroyed. Unfortunately Wolverton’s command team and his communications platoon were effectively wiped out, and so regiment was out of contact with 3/506 and assumed the worst. The bridges were attacked by the air force for the same reason.

Engineers tended to be scattered because of low supply and high demand. Therefore a morning report might not indicate the exact whereabouts of a soldier.

At least two men from C/326 were attached to the RHQ/506 demolitions platoon (Stick 21) which carried members of the famous "Filthy 13". Sgt. Jake McNiece said the engineers were last minute additions to his plane. Film footage shows that Jake painted their faces native American style, using still wet paint from invasion stripes put on the C-47 transports. One of the engineers was S/Sgt. Mariano Ferra. The other engineer was a corporal or T/5 but I don't know his name. All three of them appear in the image below, where Sgt. Ferra appears to have explosive material stuck to the front of his helmet.

 

That's some tough looking hombres there. Never seen these before, some similar but not these in particular. Also I've never seen painted-on chevrons like these either. I knew that the Marine Corps did that, but not the Army before now.

 

Stencil or makeshift painted chevrons were common in the 101st before they switched to the M43 battle dress. Stencil markings on the helmets were gradually reduced in size to make them less conspicuous for snipers. It looks like Tom Lonergan subdued his screaming eagle patch (third photo, far left).

 

That would be the theory, but in facts it was all different, especially in the 101st AB Division which wasn't working like the 82nd AB division in terms of RCTs. Sometimes a company, a platoon or even just a squad of the 326th AEB was assigned to another unit at divisonal, regimental or battalion level for engineer work and it changed with every new daily task.

For D Day, the only attached unit to the 502nd PIR was the 377th PFAB. C/326 AEB HQ and 2nd platoons were attached to 2nd Bn / 501st PIR ( 441st TCG taking off from Merryfield to Drop zone D, objective : Bridges on the N13 causeway ) while 1st and 3rd platoons were attached to 3rd Bn / 506th PIR ( 440th TCG taking off from Exeter to drop zone D, objective : bridges on the Canal of Carentan, near Brévands ).

If he was 2nd platoon / C Co / 326th AEB, he was then attached to 2nd Bn / 501st PIR. What was your grand uncle's name ? I may share any information I have on him whenever I've got some.

Bob Sink was not in command of the division and could not assign another unit to his regiment. This could only be done at SHAEF, army, corps or divisional level. As stated above, only 1st and 3rd platoons of C/326 AEB were attached to 3rd Bn / 506th PIR for D Day.

Regards,

Franck

 

Hi Ryan
What was the name of your uncle in 326 company C. My father was 1st Sgt before getting battlefield commision. I have some pics. May be he is in one of them
Jim Cox Jr

 

I am also on the same hunt for my uncle SGT Frank William Lawson , 326th Co c.

 

My uncle, Christie Mite, was assigned to C Company 326 AEB and made the Normandy and Holland jumps. I am not sure what plt he was in but I know during his time that Cpt Joe Crilley was one of the commanders. There is a website with many of Cpt Crilley’s photos and sketches. Chritie Mite is identified in one of his sketches which shows a number of engineers holding a captured Nazis flag. My uncle is one of the engineers kneeling and holding the flag. The sketch was made from a photo of the same scene.

 

S/Sgt Mariano Ferra was KIA 23 Dec 1944 in Beligum and later brought home to be buried in California 1948.
Earlier today, while shopping at an Antique Mall in Chandler AZ I came upon a M1943 Field Jacket with a note that stated that it was worn by S/Sgt Ferra.....There were a couple of photo copies of the 5 June photos and the application for the the headstone. The patch and stripes were consistent but I noticed that his name was stenciled over his left breast pocket. - this struck me as odd since names on uniforms didn't come into practice until the 1950's. The price on the jacket was high and as a matter of respect I didn't photograph the jacket. I've looked to see if names may have been stenciled in addition to the other mentioned PIR markings but it seems unclear.
Since the pics were easily obtained off the internet and no other positive ID was included this jacket may be a fake.
* The name was on the left side which is opposite of modern uniform but if it was just stenciled on in 1944 it wouldn't be much of a difference.

 

If I recall correctly, the stenciling of names on the jacket over pockets began in the 82nd and 101st in WWII. I have seen several museum displays that would appear to support this.

 

Thanks for the reply! I considered that possibility but haven't seen an example in the quick search I did.

 

There was a display at the West Point museum years ago of a WWII Airborne Captain wearing the jump uniform and it had his name stenciled on the jacket. His name I believe was Wilhelm and it was an authentic jacket. Can’t recall if he had been 82nd or 101st but I do recall reading somewhere that the putting of names on uniforms did start with the airborne units and was a way of identifying the men as individuals. I’v added some photos of C Co soldiers. These had been on Joe Crilley website. The sketch with the Nazis flag was done from an actual photo. My uncle is sitting to the left of the flag w/o shirt on.

 

Holy cow. Look at these young men. They look like warriors but you can still see the teenage boy in a couple of their faces.