Speaking of engineers in WWII, I saw a show on Attu on the History Channel this morning. (The have commercial free programs in the 0600 hour [EST] for "History in the Classroom") I didn't realize the major part the engineers played in the battle. They worked several solutions for getting gear and supplies up and down the steep (and snowy) slopes of the island. They also were instrumental in finishing off in hand-to-hand fighting the bonsai charge that had overrun several units.
I keep saying to myself as I read things about WWII, "How stupid was our high command (and just about every other for that matter.)" They sent our guys to Attu (of all of the "minor" theaters of the war, this is perhaps the minorist [to coin a term]) with warm weather boots, minimal cold weather gear, and OD green outer uniforms. What the hell?! May is still cold in most of the states, let alone Alaska where it was still winter for the most part. It was, of course, warm enough to melt ice and snow into a sludge, but cold enough to freeze everything (including wet GI boots) over night. Also keep in mind that this was also a battle to regain a crappy little island of no importance to wrest it back from a cut-off Japanese garrison. I understand needing to get the hated "Japs" off US soil, but if it can't wait until summer give the guys some decent personal gear. If "people are your most valuable resource" (not sure if the US saw it that way at that time) then having to amputate frostbitten feet because of some guy's poor planning means that some guy was destroying valuable government property.