Hi Jason and others,
I know this topic is really old but I thought I'd put my 2 cents in about the 1053rd. My dad, George Brown, was also part of the group. He said he built bridges and blew up bridges.
I had the great experience of traveling with him back to France and Belgium back in the 1970s when I was
a teenager. He hardly ever spoke about his time in WWII except when we were over there visiting. We went from small town to small town literally knocking on doors of bars and homes of local families he remembered. We were treated like the family of a hero and we often ate with the families...whether they were the originals or not! It was awesome. We also went to see bridges (boring for me) and places where bridges used to be (reaaallly boring for me). Of course now I wish I had listened more.
In Belgium we knocked on the door of a convent/elementary school. My dad brought us and the nuns down to the basement where, according to him, he lived on cheese, cheese, cheese. The highlight was when he walked over to a window frame he had repaired during the war.....and his initials were still carved there. It somehow really struck him. ;-)
I have recently been looking through a few photos from that time. St Lo, St Malo, Porthcawl, Bournmouth, Liege, Rhinehousen Bridge, Meusse (?) Bridge, and more.
I have pictures of him (Brownie) with guys named Timmerman, Smith (Smitty), Brand, Frames, Regan, and "Heavy" Spradling.
In 8 weeks I am bringing my husband and kids to Normandy and of course I wish I had more to tell them about the 1053rd.....