Wow...I have to catch my breath before going on.
Marion...Those were words of passion.Keep writing like that and you will have a best seller.
Joe...the very last thing in the world I would want to do is see anything that would diminish the honor of that Badge. I am not the most eloquent of writers but this debate has been going on since 1944 as evidenced in the the following document-
Marion's note: Dec 2014
The document that Chris shared here is a letter from General Truscott to Commanding General, NATOUSA, APO US Army - July 30, 1944. From this document, you can see that even the general agreed with our arguments regarding engineers who were assigned and performed as infantry, including the 36th Engineers, who he specifically names in this document.