A warm welcome to you and your brother. I hope you will be able to glean information from our site. If you want to get in touch with Janis via a personal message. Simply click on her underlined name and it will let you use the PM to correspond with her.
All the best, and sorry for your loss.
Marion
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
I received this email this morning and you won't believe it. This is so exciting. Janis, the name he mentions, is in the document you provided. Read on...
Good morning Mr(s) Chard,
My name is Enrico Pedrini, and I write you from Italy (Bologna). I am 29 years old and I am passionate about history of World War II, a collector and I love recover remnants of war with the metal detector on the battlefields.
A few years ago, I recovered (in the landfill of the 8th EVAC hospital in Pietramala (Firenze)) the dog-tag of an American soldier, whose name was Ernest L. Rowell Jr. serial number O-293486.
I knew from the O of the serial number, that it was an officer, but research on the NARA and Footnote not brought me anywhere!
Some time ago, I have tried entering the name of the dog-tag directly on google and to my surprise I found a pdf file from your site, 337th, containing exactly the same name as the dog-tag!
I am almost sure that the dog-tag in my possession belonged to Major Ernest L. Rowell Jr. of Combat Engineers!
I wanted to know if you had other information about him, because apart from the pdf, I have not found any information about him!
Thanks for any help
Enrico Pedrini
Here is my reply:
Dear Enrico:
Wow, what a thrill to receive your great letter.
I went back and re-read the link you embedded, and yes, there can be no question; it is him. How exciting.
BTW, the "O" on his dog-tag is his blood type. This enabled medics to immediately determine the blood-type out in the field, and was stamped on every serviceman's dog-tag. The other letter on lower right is the faith of the man. In his case "protestant".
I can't wait to post your letter on the site, so people will know of your great discovery. Maybe we can find out more information now, thanks to you. Janis (those were her documents), will be so pleased to hear about this.
I look forward to your next letter.
Warmly,
Marion
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
Let's hope we can find out more about this soldier.
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
First I want to greet all members and introduce myself!
My name is Enrico Pedrini and I write from Italy, as reported in the above letter one of my hobbies is the research of remnants of war with the metal detector on the battlefields in the area between Bologna and Florence.
This passion has taken me, in years, to recover several items that belonged to GI during WWII, but it's impossible to explain the joy and feelings that you feel when you retrieve a dog-tag! That is the absolute object (for a researcher) and contains all the more personal story of a soldier, and the Man behind that soldier.
Unfortunately, they can not talk and all the memories remain secret in them unless you are able to contact the veteran himself!
You can not imagine my surprise and my happiness when I found the pdf with the name corresponding to my dog-tags.
I thought maybe I could finally find out something about at least one of three dog-tag that I own!
By this I thank you all for any help and I offer you my best wishes.
Enrico
Ps.: I'm sorry for my bad english but I've not studied it and the translators are not perfect...
Please do not apologize for your English. I can understand you just fine.
I too have to use translators, and yes, they do a great job, but sometimes are a little "rough"!
Welcome to our forum. It's a pleasure to have you here.
I am looking forward to coming to Italy some day. I would love to trace my father's footsteps. Plus I would love to go to Sicily and see where my grandparents were born.
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
If I may, I would give you some detail about where I found the dog tag.
The 8th EVAC Hospital of Pietramala was the biggest American field hospital in Italy during WWII.
This photo of Melvin C. Shaffer, shows how it was extended!
I have a vacation home in Pietramala from nearly 18 years, and I know almost everyone (is a small small town in the appenines) .
Some researchers like me and some of the elders and they told me that once the hospital was dismounted, on the hill where I found the dog tag, that are been downloaded 2 trucks per day for 6 months of used equipment of all kinds.
When for the first time I arrived at the landfill, could not believe my eyes, there was broken and not broken glass everywhere. Bottles of beer, coca-cola, parts of drip, parts of plasma bottle, needles, syringes. We found a lot of wonderful things and the area was so extensive that I could not see the beginning and the end!
Unfortunately I'm young and I arrived late, but many hunters have found wonderful material, talking about dozens and dozens of dogtag.
One summer a few years ago I was there with friends and we started a methodical excavation of the main site, I was lying with his head inside a hole I had dug in the ground, when, touching the wall above, the dog-tag is fall in front of my nose!
You can not imagine the surprise and joy at that moment, because after 30 years of excavations, I thought it was impossible to find something so unique, but obviously I was wrong!
I think that the Major Rowell has lost his dog tag during assembly of the hospital (I do not know if it is a duty of the engineers, you can definitely help me on this) and then unloaded at the landfill at the time of dismantling the hospital .. .
Ps.: it is wonderful that you want to come to Italy to find the footsteps of your father here! Let me know when you think to come!
Your grandparents were Sicilian? The parents of your mother? (if I'm not indiscreet)
Yes, how exciting to find the dog-tag. I can imagine how you felt. After all these years, something like that was still at the site. Wonderful!
You are right; various engineer units WERE responsible for the building of evac hospitals. In fact, I have various reports from my dad's unit, and they have information regarding the building of evacs. I remember one in particular in the Rhone Valley in France.
My mom's parents are from west Sicilian coast. Puma is the last name. My mother was born here along with a few other siblings, but one sister and three brothers were born in Sicily. My grandparents left Sicily and moved to Detroit.
It will probably be quite a while until I make it to Italy, but I am not giving up.
Thank you for all you do to help preserve the history.
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
Enrico, the info on this site might give you more places you can search artifacts.
According to this history, the 8th arrived at Pietramala, 13 October 1944, and left there on 25-29 April 1945.
From the History of the 337th ECB, Major Rowell tranfered from the 185th ECB to the 337th on 23 April, 1945. That was just a couple of days before the 8th left Pietramala, will have to some more cross-checking to find the locations of the battalions around that time.
Enrico, the info on this site might give you more places you can search artifacts.
According to this history, the 8th arrived at Pietramala, 13 October 1944, and left there on 25-29 April 1945.
From the History of the 337th ECB, Major Rowell tranfered from the 185th ECB to the 337th on 23 April, 1945. That was just a couple of days before the 8th left Pietramala, will have to some more cross-checking to find the locations of the battalions around that time.
Thank you for your reply, I knew the website is fantastic!
In Italy on April 25 is the feast of liberation, this date coincides with the end of war in Italy!
The description dell'8th EVAC says that in the third week of November was activated a winterizing program realized by enlisted personnel of the hospital, and engineer. The Major could still be there in November?
