Gilles sent the following email to several of us this week and wanted to know about the engineer unit listed on the V-Mail that he found on Ebay. Well I am happy to say that Steve came up with the following info on this unit.

Marion,

First Reference Check: Dept of Army Pamphlet 672-1

"Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register" dated July 1961

66th Engineer Topographic Co. Campaigns {in no particular order }-

(1) Algiers-Morroco - 1943

(2) Naples-Foggia ground - Sept - Dec 1944

(3) North Apennines Sept - Oct? 1944

(3) Po Valley April 1945

(4) Rome-Arno - May - July 1944

(5) Sicily ground - July 1943

No other engineer unit numbered 66 is listed. Sometimes there are more that one unit with same number, which could be because it changed its identity and role.

Check Other References:

"15th Army Group", Appendix with Organization of both 5th and British 8th Armies. Nothing.

The 66th Engineer Topographic Company is a support unit that would not have been involved with front-line combat. It is more of a think-tank unit. I don't expect to see it mentioned in any of the usual unit history books.

BUT, I got an idea. I thought about checking my Maps. Each map issued by the US Army has reference info in the bottom Left Hand corner. Typically, the LH details identifies the map as prepared under the direction of the Chief of Engineers and may contain some specific info and a date it was originally drawn up. Any revision date might be in the Legend area.

However, the map could be reprinted over and over. So at the Right Hand corner of the map it will list what unit was responsible for the printing and it is marked with a print date. I checked my map collection and most are reprinted by British Royal Engineers. However, I found this on one of my special maps made for the II Corps HQ:

PHOTOLITHOGRAPHED BY 66TH ENGR. TOP. CO. U.S. ARMY, SEPT 1944.

then a little further down, printed in small black letters are:

OVERPRINT BY 66TH. ENGR. TOP. CO., US.S. ARMY, SEPTEMBER 1944.

This map was a map that was printed with the usual contours this is a redish brown color and it had additional info over-printed in BLACK that showed the jeep and mule trails in the mountains around Lioano and Livergano---the scene of the heavy fighting at and above the GOTHIC Line in the fall of 1944.

I can scan the corner of this map for your friend if you think they would be interested. Here is a link my Maps page that shows a close-up of the above described map.

Map Page: http://www.custermen.com/Maps/ArmyMaps.htm

Closeup view of Map: http://www.custermen.com/Maps/MapLoiano2.jpg

Closeup view of map with portion converted to B&W.

http://www.custermen.com/Maps/MapLoiano2.jpg

So I'm positive that this unit served in Italy and made maps for the 5th Army. That is about as good as I can do.

Steve Cole

www.custermen.com

Check this out. Rocky and I have our name in lights on the same page. Both of us joined the Anzio Beachhead Veterans Association. YEAH!!!

http://www.anziobeachheadveteransofwwii.com

Attached Files

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I'm proud to feature our VERY FIRST WOMAN on our site, a dear friend of mine, Gretchen Hovis.

I met Gretchen and her pal "Mac" through my mother-in-law about a dozen or so years ago. I used to go to their house and help them with their computer.

Gretch and Mac are extraordinary ladies, and have many hobbies and interests (including computers), and are very active and a lot of fun. Let's just say that a lot of 40 year-olds couldn't compete!

When I moved from the Detroit area, we kept in contact through cards and email, but it wasn't until a couple of months ago that I found out while talking about my dad and our site, that Gretch was overseas with the 50th General Hospital in France. Of course I was excited to hear about her experiences, so she promised me that she would send some stuff my way. Sure enough, I received a package yesterday, containing a booklet she had put together, complete with photographs.

I was eager to get the page on web site, so spent a good part of my day working to get this accomplished. I hope you will enjoy reading it.

As I said, it's great to have our FIRST WOMAN FEATURED. A very warm welcome Gretch! You are even more extraordinary than I thought!

http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/Gre...etchenHovis.htm

I went shooting with one of my sons today (his first time shooting the M1 Rifle ) and started to wonder about how often weapons were cleaned.

I know there are probably a ton of variables concerned, but how often did you guys clean your weapons? Was it a quick run through of a patch, or did you break it down and clean it whenever you had the chance?

Received the following letters from John McAuliffe of the 87th Inf Div, and a follow up letter from our mutual friend Gilbert Stevenot.

Here are John's words:

[This message could only come from a soldier in the Weremacht and not indoctrinated in the SS .....considering that the SS could not possibly hold such beliefs...Considering how they treated and massacred Belgian and Luxembourg civilians etc..

"Mac"

Subject: German Officer's Message

"Let the world never live through such a Christmas night again!

Is there something more cruel than to die fighting, far from his children,

his wife and his mother ?

To take away a son from his mother, a husband from his wife, a father from

his children is not an honorable act by a human being. Life can only be

given and accepted by people who love and respect one another. Hopefully

universal fraternity will be brought into existance from this scene of ruins,

blood and death".

The above was found by a Belgian school teacher on his classroom blackboard near Bastogne written in German by a German Officer after the Battle of the Ardennes.

Here are Steve's words:

Dear John,

I have seen the blackbord, on which those wonderfully written thoughts were written, with his heart, of this unknown german officer. and if we face the facts at the situation realistically, we can think long about ! That german officer was a warm-hearted man, who had a sound education, in the heat of the battle. His handwrittting was surely the one of a teacher, and it was a Christmas message for all the belligerents.For sure he was not a SS. I have always associated this message to the one of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was the wise commander-in-chief of the allied forces, who said, " I hate war, as only a soldier could have lived it, but also to have lived its brutality, its futility, and its stupidity"

I have received two nice letters, this last days. I will meet, if I remain in good health, and not repeat my misfortune with you, dear John. I will meet two good friends General Albin Irzyk, who was the first to meet General Mc Auliffe, at the gates of Bastogne, just before the encirclement, but had to retreat on Patton's orders, and his friend General James Leach.They are coming from France, from Singling where they have both engaged a big battle, to dedicate a monument. They will be in Bastogne the 9th december,and perhaps the 10th, in my town Rochefort. James is a wonderful friend , he came twice in my town for private visit, and did not know that one of them was official, and so he became a freeman of the City. One more task for me, I will have to arrange a reception in Bastogne and perhaps one more in Rochefort.

I am proud of what I have done in the past years and still waiting for hottest future actions.I am proud to have met so much dear friends, on my way, friends like you, without distinction of ranks. Just the same way than you. You were in all the ceremonies just a pivate. No more no less. Thanks again for your last kind attention.To be, and remain a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge means a lot for me John.We live with our memories.

Till soon John, and best regards.