Hello all, I am new here but have been lurking about for 3 or 4 years. I have been slowly tracing my Grandpa's foot steps across Europe and it has been a long journey for me. I spent most of my life believing that he served with a Combat Engineer Battalion, when in fact he was Combat Infantry. He was absorbed as a replacement by the 2nd Infantry Division in September 1944 in a staging area just outside Brest, France. He served with the 9IR, 1 Battalion under the command of Lt. Col. William D. Mckinley. I look forward to talking/sharing stories and info with all of you.
Good to have you with us. Sounds like your grandpa was also a good soldier. You will learn a lot about him with your research.
Glad you decided to chime in. Sounds like you've already done quite a bit of research. We're here to help if needed, but we're always ready to chat as well. EDIT I just saw your other post.. Can you post a picture of his discharge documents? Did you make a shadow box for him?
As far as his discharge papers go, my Grandma still has them. I do have a photo copy of them but the original from 1946 was a bit tattered and hard to read. It also wasnt much help as my Grandpa was reassigned to the Pacific theatre, the discharge papers reflect his assignment in the Philippines-the "399th Engineer Depot Co." which I have been unable to locate any history of in The Corps Of Engineer records. I am putting together a shadow box, but like most other veterans medals my Grandpas were missing some items and some he never recieved/put in for. I have replaced a number of them but still need a few items to finish it. I also need a BIG shadow box as my Grandpa served with 4 different outfits spanning almost 11 years. This is how it breaks down- ETO 1944-45 2ID, 9IR, 1 B. PTO 1945-46 399th eng depot co. Oct. 1946-Oct. 1950 2ID, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, HQ Co. Fort Lewis, Washington. Nov. 1950-Nov. 1954 822nd Engineer Aviation Battalion (SCARWAF) Korea- Alaska As a side note, my Grandpa hated the EAB assignment, absolutely despised it. He told me that he "would have taken combat in Europe all over again rather than serve with the EAB" I will see what I can do about posting his discharge papers. Is it common for discharge papers to be incomplete in terms of where and who he served with?