Keep Mr. Lewis in your prayers.
I'd also like to add another story of two other engineers of the 310th Engineer Battalion, who were killed in action. Many of these brave men exposed themselves to sniper and hidden mines while carrying out their daily duties. This soldier's story gives some insight into daily combat.
S-2 Section, 310th Engineers at San Clemente, Italy - January 1945
Photo caption identifies the men (L to R): Captain Kloeris, Cpl Donaghue(driver),
and the passengers in rear as Tech Sgt Tolbert, Tech Sgt Bemis, and Cpl. Gittman.
Three months after this photo was taken, the 5th Army broke through the German lines south of Bologna, Italy, and began agressively pushing towards the Po River. As the 85th Infantry Division advanced northwest from Bologna, past San Gionvanni, it approached their first major river, Panora River. Just prior to reaching the Panora River, Sant' Agata Bolognese was entered without any resistance on 21 January, 1945.
Tech Sergeant Winfred W. Tolbert, Company B, 310th Engineers was killed in action in this small town. The following letter was sent by Chaplain William A. Sanders to the family of Tech Sergeant Tolbert upon his death and described how it happened.
"The vehicle in which your brother was riding drove into the small Italian village and stopped; the occupants dismounted to secure information from Italian civilians. With no forewarning, one of the enemy came around the corner riding a motorcycle, and, with a burst of fire from his machine pistol, gravely wounded your brother. Sympathetic Italians placed him in his vehicle and carried him immediately to a medical aid station, but your brother was dead upon reaching the aid station. The action took place in Northern Italy."
Captain Paul W. Kloeris, 310th Engineer Battalion commander, added the following:
"He now lies buried beside his good friend, Corporal Donaghue, who was killed with him."
According to this letter and the records, Corporal Frederick M. Donaghue, Jr. was also killed at the same time as T/Sgt Tolbert. T/Sgt Tolbert is buried at the Florence American Cemetery in Florence, Italy, but Corporal Donaghue body was reclaimed.
Interesting to be able to put this story together with the above photo that was taken 3 months earlier.
Steve