1636th Engineer Construction Battalion

Am looking for any information on the 1636th E.C. Battalion. My father, Robert F. Sheppard served in that battalion, but have no idea who they were attached to, as most all of his personal records were destroyed in a fire. He served in Europe, the Philippines and Japan. Was also in the Army Specialized Training Unit. He was Pontiac Illinois. Did his basic training at Fort Leonard Wood. Also was at the Citadel, University of Kentucky, Antioch College and Fort Lewis. Any information would be great. Thank you.

 

Thanks for the quick response. May I ask where you found this info, I can only find fleeting mentions of this.

 

My dad, Harold Walters was in the 1636th Battalion out of Ft Lewis, Washington. Before he died in 2001, he told me about his recounts of the war which surprised me because he rarely spoke of it. My dad said they left Ft Lewis for Fort Kilmer, New Brunswick, NJ where they shipped out to Liverpool, England. They hit Omaha Beach, France on the 3rd day of the invasion on June 9, 1944. He was a crew chief on a wrecker. They went to Alsace Lorraine, France, Saarbrucken, Germany that was burning, Wiesbaden, Germany, Paris, France, Battle of the Bulge, Germany, and Brussels, Belgium where my dad was shot. On August 4, 1945, they landed in Manila, Philippines where they built camps for the troops. They left the Philippines in October, 1945 and arrived in Nagoya, Japan on November 6, 1945. They left Japan on Christmas Eve 1945 and arrived in Los Angeles on January 2, 1946. He was discharged from Fort Monmouth NJ on January 18, 1946. I don't know how accurate my dad's memories were when he gave me this information. But you can get an idea how heroic these men were.

 

I'm sorry I don't have anymore information. And I don't have any photos.
Is there any place else to look for anymore info?

 

I am looking for any information concerning my father - Jessee P McLaurin - who served in the Army diring WWII. Through letters to my mother I have learned of some of the places he actually served. Japan, Manila, Germany, France. Through stories that were told by aunt s and uncles, he was part of the invasion of Normandy. He was with Co B 1636 Eng Bn.

 

Welcome to the forum!

Here is a post regarding the 1636th Engineer Construction Battalion. Not a TON of info, but it is something.

Your first step should probably be to request his personnel file/separation documents from NARA.

Here is a link.

80% of their records were destroyed in a fire in 1973, but you won't know about his until you try.

Also, I googled "1636th Engineer Construction Battalion" and found a book regarding the history of the unit--maybe order a copy? There are many avenues to explore and you'll probably find more questions to ask as you go along! Good luck with your research, and be sure and keep us up to speed with how it's coming.

 

You should also check the county courthouse where he resided after the war. Many veterans, but not all, recorded a copy of their discharge document.

One source that I have (Stanton, US Army OoB WWII) indicates the 1636th Eng Const Bn did not arrive in Europe until April of 1945. So if your father was in the D-Day invasion (June 1944) then he may have served in another unit and volunteered for the Pacific after VE Day, where he may have been transferred to the 1636th.

However many units passed through Normandy after the invasion. Many family histories get mixed up about whether a relative was in the invasion or had crossed the beaches later.

Good Luck

Nice find on the other thread, adambhoy

 

My father, Russell Barber, was a member of the 1636th Engineer Construction Battalion. I scanned a photo album he had from his time with the unit. There are too many pictures to post online. I could copy them to a CD and mail them to anyone interested. I propose sending me a blank CD in a stamped, self-addressed envelope. I'll copy the pix to the CD and mail it back to you. If this sounds like something you'd like to do, send me a private message here and I'll share my address and any other details needed to make this happen. Alan.

 

My father, Russell Barber, was a member of the 1636th Engineer Construction Battalion. I scanned a photo album he had from his time with the unit. There are too many pictures to post online. I could copy them to a CD and mail them to anyone interested. I propose sending me a blank CD in a stamped, self-addressed envelope. I'll copy the pix to the CD and mail it back to you. If this sounds like something you'd like to do, send me a private message here and I'll share my address and any other details needed to make this happen. Alan.

 

Welcome to the forum, Alan. If you have too many photos to post, how about posting some of them? We like pictures

Interestingly, the Army Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit pamphlet indicates the 1636th was only given credit for the Central Europe Campaign (Germany) with the dates of May 2 - June 3, 45? This doesn't jive with what Judy added in post #5 above. Do your photos indicate the unit participated in the ETO longer than this?

 

Alan, welcome to the Forum. I agree with Steve's suggestion that you post some of the photos. It would be a great addition to this thread.

 

I don't have photos but I do have my grandfather's separation papers from the 1636th. I know almost nothing about his time in the War as he died when I was a baby.

View attachment 17854

From the basics I understand it seems to confirm Slipdigit's post, arriving "late" for occupation, prep for invasion of Japan, then home?
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Edit: akgator, I joined mainly to PM you about the photos but I apparently don't have that privilege on the board, being a new member I assume. Is there some other way to contact you? Email?

 

It seems pretty clear your grandfather was in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater from 22 July 45 to 8 Apr 46. Probably in the Philippines due to the Philippine Liberation award.

trsooner, I would keep checking back. akgator may stop back and follow up on the photos.

 

Thanks Tommy, akgator was able to email me.

Searching last night I found the following excerpts from a book called "Luther College Goes to War: Scuttlebutt and the World War II Letters, Volume 1" and one of the reoccurring writers is in the 1636th. He even provides a quick synopsis of the units movements; building a POW camp in Germany instead of celebrating on V.E. day, being the "first re-deployed troops to arrive in the Southwest Pacific directly from Germany and France" via an arduous boat ride from Europe to Manila where they worked on airfields, and finally the occupation of Japan.

http://i.imgur.com/gmMPF.jpg - Pre-deployment.
http://i.imgur.com/VLElF.jpg - Europe to Philippines.
http://i.imgur.com/AvuBj.jpg - Manila
http://i.imgur.com/9j3vN.jpg - Japan occupation.

Figured I'd post this here as it's difficult to find 1636th information and this thread is one of the highest results for the unit on Google.

 

trsooner-Thanks for posting these letters. No doubt that someone in the future will be searching for info on the unit and these will be a big help.