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1636th Engineer Construction Battalion

Discussion in 'Military Service Records & Genealogical Research' started by signoffour_52, Jul 9, 2011.

  1. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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  2. akgator

    akgator Member

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    This is my first attempt at loading photos on this site. The first is self-explanatory but unfortunately, there was no caption with this picture so the soldiers are unidentified. The second photo is "Oct. 17, 1945 1636th Engrs - Retreat Parade at White Beach, Lingayen Gulf, PI." The third picture is "Oct. 9, 1945 The Message Center at 1900hrs PI Time." The man on the right wearing the cap is my father, SSgt Russell Barber. Of course, I recognize my father; the other man is not identified.
     

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  3. akgator

    akgator Member

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    I am fortunate to have a few items from my father's WWII service. Among them is a copy of the "History of the 1636th Engineer Construction Battalion." The document is several typed pages of almost 70 year old onionskin paper – rusty staples and all! I did not want to separate the pages to make scanning the pages easier. That left me with transcribing the document as faithfully as I could. I tried to accurately reproduce the original 8x10 paper, font, formatting and typos. I highlighted in yellow, anything I thought was an obvious error or was otherwise questionable. I hope this helps your historical and genealogical searches.
     

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  4. akgator

    akgator Member

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  5. akgator

    akgator Member

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  6. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    I put these threads together, since they all deal with the same topic. It made sense to put them all in the same place. Thanks to all who contributed to it.
     
  7. akgator

    akgator Member

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    My father's WWII collection contained some official documents and several copies of "Scuttlebutt Jr." - the daily newspaper aboard the USS Hermitage which brought my father and members of the 1636th home. I have included an extract from the History of the 1636th, some interesting documents, and some excerpts from Scuttlebutt Jr. The size and condition of the aging paper of my copies of Scuttlebutt prevent me from scanning the entire collection. I hope you find this useful and interesting.
     

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  8. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    Great photos, akgator! Also, thanks for posting the unit history. Both are excellent additions to this thread.
     
  9. akgator

    akgator Member

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    I thought I'd add two more photos of general interest. The caption for the first reads, "Camp of the 1636th Engr. Cons. Bn. takes shape in the mud of Nicholls Fld." The caption for the second photo is, "Chapel on forward ramp of LST 810, Nov 1945 in the outer harbor of Nagoya, Honshu, Japan."
     

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  10. Earl_Weimer

    Earl_Weimer New Member

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    My dad had a three page typed document entitled "Around the world with the 1636 Engrs.Con. Bn. I scanned the document but it is too large to upload. I am comparing the dates from what I have to this document. Since the one I have appears to be a personal log, there is a little more detail. For instance, on April 19 when they left France there is a note (Just about froze) and "Passed through Riems, Saaqebict, Kaesineslautun, Hamburg, Mainz, finally to Weisbaden, Dolzhien, stayed in the Kohlleah Air Corps barracks."
     
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  11. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    Does it have imbedded photos. Earl?
     
  12. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    Try copy and paste. It might work.
     
  13. Earl_Weimer

    Earl_Weimer New Member

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    I scanned them as images (jpeg files) and each page is atleast 600KB, exceeding the 500KB limit. I will scan them as a pdf and see if that reduces the size.
     
  14. psleavens

    psleavens New Member

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    My father, Richard Leavens, served in the 1636th Engineer Construction Battalion, Company A, from June 1944 to May 1946. Locations my father served or passed through: Budesheim, Frankfurt, Mainz in Germany; Nancy, Lyon and Marseille, France; Luzon, Manilla, and Lingayen Gulf in Philippines; Nagoya, Kobe, and Osaka in Japan. His service album contains photos of some men with whom he served. Last names as he listed them are: Allbritten, Handley, Repson (Rapson?), Edmonds, (Pop) Keller, Hillyer, Bacon, Reiher, MacKey, Trolley, Audette, Adamic, Backlund, Ableman, Bayer, Drost, Hollenbeck, Sweazey, Robinson, Halterman, Young, Jonston, Cash, Valdez, Witaker. Some photos with first names or initials only are Bob, Pete, Bill, L.D., Clifton (could be last name too). Spelling may not be exact. I'm more than happy to scan and share these with descendants and relations.
     
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  15. Leonard E. DeChant

    Leonard E. DeChant New Member

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    Doing research on my father's service with the 1636th Engr Construction Bn. All I can add at this point: He departed the US on 31 Mar 45 bound for the European theater of OPNS. He arrived on 12 Apr 45. At some point in time, he departed the Pacific Theatre and returned to the US on 7 Feb 46 He was discharged on 15 Feb 46 from Camp Atterbury, IN His name was Elmer J. DeChant and he was discharged as an E-8
    As I recall his telling the story, the 1636th ( or whatever unit he was with at the time ) traveled a great deal. He was awarded the following: Central Europe campain, Philippine Liberation ribbon, Asiatic-Pacific Theater ribbon, EAME Theater ribbon.
    I would certainly appreciate any additional information. Semper Fi. Len DeChant dech216@gmail.com
     
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  16. psleavens

    psleavens New Member

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    Thank you so much for making this available! My father was in Company A of this Battalion, but other than some photos, I had no details of his service. I am so grateful for this history. I noticed this on page 12 in the "History of the 1636th Engineer Construction Battalion":

    "After an uneventful crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, the SS “John Ericsson” anchored in the harbor of Le Harve, France, on the evening of 12 April 1945; and the 1636th Engineer Construction Battalion debarked the following morning. Immediately after debarking, the Battalion entrained at Le Harve to go to Camp Twenty Grand, France, (VM 067221), for staging. On 21 April 1945 Battalion Headquarters, the lettered companies, and approximately fifty men of Headquarters and Service Company departed from Camp Twenty Grand, France, via motor convoy on permanent change of station. The convoy crossed into Germany on 22 April 1945 and arrived at the Battalion’s destination – Dotzheim, Germany (2 miles west of Weisbaden) – on 23 April 1945."

    I found a photo in my father's service album captioned "20 Grand", and am glad to now know what that was! Attached the photo to this post. Hopefully it comes through ok (first time trying to upload something). View attachment 24035

    Just found out that Camp Twenty Grand was at Duclair (so, near Le Havre, not actually at Le Havre). Here's a link for more info on this and other camps in that area, for anyone interested.
     

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  17. Leonard E. DeChant

    Leonard E. DeChant New Member

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    Great read - I have a series of B& W photos from my father's with the US Army Engineer Corps during WW II. Some are dated with names of those in the photos, some are not identified. The list numbers about 30 photos. He served with the 1636th after it left New York City for Germany, the Philipines and Japan. I would be glad to email a list of the photos, to include names and locations, to anyone interested. I can also email, or mail, copies of the photos. Contact me at dech216@gmail.com
    Semper Fi to all children of the men who served so gallantly in WW II. Len DeChant
     
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  18. Leonard E. DeChant

    Leonard E. DeChant New Member

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    Follow up for clarification - only a few of the photos include men of the 1636th - most are from his training years at Ft Leonard Wood, MO (1943) and Fort Lewis, WA in 1944.
     
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  19. Marilyn K

    Marilyn K New Member

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    My father William Fraley from Michigan served in the 1636th Engineer Battalion in France, Germany, Philippines and Japan. He returned Stateside in April 1946. I would be interested in your pictures if you are still able to copy them. He is now 94 and living with me in Arizona.
    Marilyn F830F5C9-7AD8-402C-B7E3-E7C76463EF85.jpeg
     
  20. Marilyn K

    Marilyn K New Member

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    Reporting for Duty.
    My name is Marilyn Fraley Kropp and I live in Arizona. My dad William Fraley from Michigan served with the 1636th Engineer Construction Battalion from 1943 - 1946. He was sent to the New York Trade School to learn to be an electrician. He was at Camp Abbot in Oregon, Camp Lewis in Washington, landed at Le Harve, France, served in Germany, The Philippines and Japan. He returned Stateside in April 1946. I am interested in finding more about his unit, I think he was in Company C. I am also interested in any pictures of the 1636th and the places the served. I am currently putting together a small book for him. He is now 94 and has lived with me in Arizona for 10 years. He is still very active and sharp as a tack. I came upon this website after a google search for the 1636th. I worked at J-1, US EUCOM as a DAC while my husband was with the 66th Military Intelligence Group in Stuttgart back in the 70’s.
    How do I replace the flower image with the pic of Dad?
    Thank you. That is all.
     

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