Hi Marion,
Thanks very much for the info on the 292nd and the Roer. I'm very happy to add that to my small trove of 292nd history. I have the daily situation reports for the 1149th Engineer Combat Group for February, 1945, and these mention the autobahn bridge and the 292nd. The history you've attached show just how important that bridge was to the XIII Corps effort.
I'm glad to hear that you're a fellow Italian American. I wrote the book in the late 1990s. I was at that time in the American Italian Historical Association, writing and presenting papers and articles about Italian American history, hoping to get a job as a college instructor upon retirement from the Air Force. One of the members of the Association suggested that I write a local history and try to get it published by Arcadia Publishers. At that time I was corresponding with a number of Italian American WWII vets and collecting their histories, and I proposed such a book to Arcadia. They accepted the proposal, and I continued my correspondence and writing. The result, after corresponding with about 50 Italian American vets, is a nice collection of stories woven together with almost 100 photos that the men so freely shared. It was published in 2001 and it was a great, happy experience for me.
If there are any Italian American vets on this site who'd like to share their experience, I'd be happy to correspond with them (I cannot guarantee I will write another book, although I'd like to do just that some day).
Thanks again for the info, you work fast!
Pete