Randy,

After reviewing this with my grandmother, and my mother they both agreed that the man you found is the wrong one, they both said it is not his nose. LOL. Is there any others that may look like him?

 

Ken

Ken,

Well darn, I was hoping to be 2 for 2. I'll take another try at it. I'm assuming your avatar photo is of your grandfather as well, it that correct? I think I was going more by that than the other photo.

Randy

Attached is a letter from my dad to his mom dated May 20, 1943 in which he writes that he was in 3 battles: Kasserine, Berzita and Gasfa...some misspellings there...(plus requests for Colgate tooth powder, tooth brush, flash light, gum, cigarettes and chocolate candy matches...ha!). An interesting nugget in there about his unit assigned to protect FDR "and all the big shots" in Casablanca!

There is another letter written after his being wounded, but he does not say where or how it happened so I did not take a picture of it. The handwriting on it is different from the attached letter, which makes me think that it was dictated. He did have a shrapnel wound to his leg is all I can say. Also attached is something I found that confirms that he was assigned to the Medical Department. I do have a memory of him saying that he drove an ambulance.

Warrens Son, FDR was guarded at Casablanca by Units of the 3rd Infantry Division, The only unit I know for sure of was the 15th Inf. My Dad had a friend who was in the 15th Inf. and told my Dad about guarding FDR and seeing him there.....Ralph

Attached is a letter from my dad to his mom dated May 20, 1943 in which he writes that he was in 3 battles: Kasserine, Berzita and Gasfa...some misspellings there...(plus requests for Colgate tooth powder, tooth brush, flash light, gum, cigarettes and chocolate candy matches...ha!). An interesting nugget in there about his unit assigned to protect FDR "and all the big shots" in Casablanca!

 

There is another letter written after his being wounded, but he does not say where or how it happened so I did not take a picture of it. The handwriting on it is different from the attached letter, which makes me think that it was dictated. He did have a shrapnel wound to his leg is all I can say. Also attached is something I found that confirms that he was assigned to the Medical Department. I do have a memory of him saying that he drove an ambulance.

 

1dad3.jpg1dad4.jpg

See, this is all starting to make sense since other info states he was a truck driver before the war. I wonder how that was related to the Medical reference on his enlistment paperwork? It's clear he must have been transferred to another unit before deploying to Africa. Maybe they needed medical personnel since North Africa was the first "toe dip" in the African-European theater for the U.S. I looked at the letter you posted and the address says Company B, 20th Engineers. Here's a website dedicated to the 20th Engineers and pretty much confirms what your father says in his letter:

http://www.20thengineers.com/ww2.html

We'll keep digging, my friend!

Gary

Attached is a letter from my dad to his mom dated May 20, 1943 in which he writes that he was in 3 battles: Kasserine, Berzita and Gasfa...some misspellings there...(plus requests for Colgate tooth powder, tooth brush, flash light, gum, cigarettes and chocolate candy matches...ha!). An interesting nugget in there about his unit assigned to protect FDR "and all the big shots" in Casablanca!

 

There is another letter written after his being wounded, but he does not say where or how it happened so I did not take a picture of it. The handwriting on it is different from the attached letter, which makes me think that it was dictated. He did have a shrapnel wound to his leg is all I can say. Also attached is something I found that confirms that he was assigned to the Medical Department. I do have a memory of him saying that he drove an ambulance.

 

1dad3.jpg1dad4.jpg

Looks like he meant Kasserine, Bizerte and Gafsa. The above website states "On 24 April, Company B of the 20th Engineers was attached to the Free French Corps Franc d'Afrique and conducted the regiment's first assault. The attack went well." Pretty much in line with what his letter says.

I have to wonder since he was wounded in early June that maybe he was wounded while assisting the removal of mines which is what they did following the German surrender in North Africa. I am inclined to believe that maybe he never got back to the unit following his being wounded and was later assigned to another Engineer unit... the 292nd. No evidence for this as of yet.

Gary

Here's another website that gives information on the 20th Engineers:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/54eng-b.htm

Since the unit went in with the forces in the invasion of Sicily in July and your father was injured in June he may still have been recuperating and thus did not travel with the unit. Maybe this is how he got detached and subsequently reassigned to another unit... the 292nd. Speculation, but hopefully we'll get to the bottom of this.

Gary

 

Ken,

Well darn, I was hoping to be 2 for 2. I'll take another try at it. I'm assuming your avatar photo is of your grandfather as well, it that correct? I think I was going more by that than the other photo.

Randy

Randy,

My avatar photo is him.

Looks like he meant Kasserine, Bizerte and Gafsa. The above website states "On 24 April, Company B of the 20th Engineers was attached to the Free French Corps Franc d'Afrique and conducted the regiment's first assault. The attack went well." Pretty much in line with what his letter says.

 

I have to wonder since he was wounded in early June whether maybe he was wounded while assisting the removal of mines and such which is what they did following the German surrender in North Africa. I am inclined to believe that maybe he never got back to the unit following his being wounded and was later assigned to another Engineer unit... the 292nd. No evidence for this as of yet.

 

Gary

Gary, I believe you're 100% correct that the 20th Engineers was the probable unit that my dad was attached to prior to the 292nd. The website link you sent even mentions the 20th guarding President Roosevelt just as my father wrote about in his letter to his mom. And, it's entirely possible that he was wounded clearing mines. Here's the quote, "although the fighting was over, the bloody days for the 20th Engineers were just beginning. They moved into the Sedjenae Valley and began removal of the great minefields. Almost every day had its accident, with a cost of 7 officers and 19 men dead and many more wounded, as the engineers removed over 200,000 German mines".

Thanks so much for your help. I can't wait to share this news with my sister.

 

Gary, I believe you're 100% correct that the 20th Engineers was the probable unit that my dad was attached to prior to the 292nd. The website link you sent even mentions the 20th guarding President Roosevelt just as my father wrote about in his letter to his mom. And, it's entirely possible that he was wounded clearing mines. Here's the quote, "although the fighting was over, the bloody days for the 20th Engineers were just beginning. They moved into the Sedjenae Valley and began removal of the great minefields. Almost every day had its accident, with a cost of 7 officers and 19 men dead and many more wounded, as the engineers removed over 200,000 German mines".

Thanks so much for your help. I can't wait to share this news with my sister.

Absolutely, my friend! I found myself excited as well that we could move you forward a step or two and placing a few of the puzzle pieces in the story of your father and his service. But then that's often the case... helping someone else has it's own rewards directly or indirectly.

Question... does your family know whether he was sent back to recover from his wounds? The Serviceman card I found on Ancestry has a date close to the end of June and I wondered if he had been sent back to recuperate? I wondered since his unit headed to Sicily with the invasion in July whether it is possible that he was not yet fit and was later reassigned to a new unit. Logic would dictate that since he was experienced with the Engineers that he may be assigned to a new Engineer unit and in November that would have been the 292nd. The "64 thousand dollar" question of the day!

Onward and upward, friends, in our goal to document the honored men of the 292nd and the unit that they served in!

Gary

Happy Easter Everyone,

I had previously posted these images on another thread, but I thought the 292nd gang might like to see them. This is a Easter greetings card that my grandfather sent to my grandmother. It does not have a date on it but would have had to have been 1944 or 1945.