Dear Jesse:
So nice to hear from you once again and congratulations on your new arrival.
I have another link for you. It's a PDF article, which includes a photo!
http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/history/PIR-90-MAR.pdf
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December 17, 1944
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Riggs, 81st Engineer Combat Battalion, received orders from the l06th Infantry Division to establish a line east of St. Vith and hold off the Germans. He rounded up all available men of the 81st and 168th Engineer Combat Battalions and managed to hold off the Germans until 21 December when they broke up into small groups and attempted to make their way back to St. Vith. Colonel Riggs was captured, but he escaped in Poland and fought with the Russians until he returned to his unit in April 1945.
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Here is a very good page. It's long, and very informative. There is a mention of the 81st - See December 17, 1944
Merry Christmas and thanks for your very kind words!
Evidently the link directly above is no longer viable. I went back to the site and typed St Vith in their search engine, and it took me to this page. There are several entries if you scroll through!
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"