160th Engineer Combat Battalion WW II ( new member)

[glen blasingim]

The 160th at Fort Rucker, Alabama

 

 

In the spring of 1944, the 160 Engineer Combat Battalion convoyed from Watertown, Tennessee to Fort Rucker in southern Alabama to receive overseas training.

Dad remembers the p.o.w. camp across from the 160th barracks and how well the German prisoners were treated. James N. Corley, Company B, 160th, told his son Keith that he remembered that they would march in formation past the p.o.w. compound and the prisoners would be out playing ball.That memory stayed with James and my Dad.

Sometime during their stay at Fort Rucker the 160th made a long convoy to Tennessee and back, about 600 miles round trip. Dad remembered going to the canteen and buying a bag of Hershey bars with almonds, his favorite, to take along in the 6x6 where Dad was a back-up driver. Dad liked to snack on the chocolate bars while he was driving. They got a lot of support from the civilians, there would be waving and cheering as they convoyed through the countryside. Once when they stopped to spend the night in the vicinity of Birmingham, swarms of people brought them home cooked food.

One time the men had to strip from the waist up and get in line where they received a barrage of shots. There was a lot happening at Fort Rucker but these things stayed in Dad's memory for all those years.

Early that summer the 160th left Fort Rucker on a train to Camp Miles Standish just south of Boston where they boarded a ship to go overseas.

These photographs of men of the 160th were all taken at Fort Rucker that spring/summer during their overseas training. Most are identified, if anyone can add anything about anyone in these photographs, know anything about the 160th at Fort Rucker or have photographs you would share, please contact Marion Chard at this (her) website.

 

 

Names of men identified in these photographs:

 

Dawgiello, Edward J., Pfc Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Howard, Neoda S., Tec 5 Terre Haute, Indiana

Rydelski, Joseph S., Pfc Erie, Pennsylvania

Stackawitz, Harry O., Pfc Pittsburgh, Penn

Tripp, Lowell H., Tec 5 Ovieda, Florida

Turner, Roby D., Tec 5 Royboro, North Carolina

 

 

Dawgiello

 

Dawgiello

 

Dawgiello

 

Dawgiello

 

Stackawitz and Dawgiello

 

Dawgiello and Joseph Rydelski

 

Dawgiello, Turner and Joseph Rydelski

 

Dawgiello. Turner and Joseph Rydelski

 

Tripp-Turner

Lowell Tripp's family was close friends with Dad's family in Florida. He later became a tank driver for the 160th and Dad got to talk to him often.

 

Turner, Howard and Tripp

 

Dawgiello and Joseph Rydelski

 

Dawgiello and Joseph Rydelski

 

Joseph Rydelski

 

Joseph Rydelski and Dawgiello

 

Joseph Rydelski-unknown-Dawgiello

 

Unknown

 

Unknown

 

PT at Rucker.

Glen Blasingim