650th Engr Topographical Bn

My Great-Grandfather served in the Bismarck-Archipelago campaign in New Guinea. He was a member of the 650th Engr Topographical BN. I am looking on any information I can find on this group. Websites, books, stories, names, papers, etc. Literally anything would be incredibly helpful!

THANKS!!

 

It can be tough finding info on these lesser known units. If you don't mind spending a bit, you can get a unit history of the 650th. That may be your best bet for getting info specific to the 650th.

For more general info (and perhaps a brief mention) I suggest two volumes from what are known as "The Green Books":

CARTWHEEL: The Reduction of Rabaul

and

Triumph in the Philippines

 

I missed the EPL records, Lou. Good catch. The 650th actually spills over into Box 667, too. There isn't a container list for those boxes, so we don't know what type of records are there. I sent an email to the archivists at EPL to see if it is possible to get one for those containers.

 

There a used copy available for $75+ at Abebooks: http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=otto+a.+ewaldsen&sts=t&tn=mapping+was+our+mission

For a book with 702 pages, I think that's a great deal. There would have to be a large amount of info to fill that many pages!

 

That is a good deal, considering the page count & the fact that it is for a relatively small sized unit. I would recommend picking it up, bjcross42. That's going to be about as good a resource as you will find.

 

I have received a response from the archivist at EPL. He provided me with a summary of the type of documents contained in Boxes 666 & 667:

The thing to keep in mind is that the Army Unit Records collection at EPL are not intended to be collection of complete unit records. They are considered to be an incomplete duplicate set that were sent to EPL in the 1960s. The National Archives II in College Park, MD is the location with the most complete collection. Having said that, I know from personal experience that there are some unique items at EPL despite its classification as "an incomplete duplicate set".

Copies of the box contents can be obtained for $.80 per page. An alternative would be visiting EPL and doing the copying yourself. If you live on one of the coasts, that probably won't work. It's not a bad drive if you are anywhere in the midwest, though.

 

Yes, the Archivist estimated well over $300 to copy both boxes. On the other hand, driving there also has its costs. When I went there, I used a digital camera (no flash allowed!) and only took photos of documents I wanted. I actually had a great time, which probably explains why I'm single. :eyebrows:

 

My grandfather was in that batallion. I have a lot of old photos of people while in training and in New Guinea. If you want,message me and I will send you copies if you would like.

 

Bobby, I have some photos from New Guinea as well. My grandfather was in the 650th Engineers after being transferred in from the 35th after he served in Alaska. Learned at Camp White in Oregon, then shipped out in 1944. I would love to exchange photos.

 

Hi there, I’m also after the same information on the 680th engineering company for the same reason.
Couple of queries, does the recommended book in this thread on the 650th have any references to the 680th Topo is anyone aware? And any other leads, or shared info, photos would be greatly appreciated