292nd Engineer Combat Battalion (New Member)

[Sir Gator]

Gary;

 

Yes that is my birth announcement. That I did have; the obituary of my great grandfather I did not. Thank you for that.

 

My mother believes that the man in the top row is her father...this has caused some confusion for her though.

 

When I started to research my grandfather my mother kept saying that something was not right about his service record as she remembered him in the service longer than it indicated; well she found this letter that was sent by him to her Aunt ( my grandmother's sister) who's husband was oversees as well at that time. It was written by my grandfather to encourage her Aunt on her wedding anniversary. He was that kind of guy, always concerned for others despite what he might have been going through. Ok I am getting off the point here.

 

The letter is dated JUNE OF 1942 and he addresses himself as a SGT at this time in the 292nd.....????? Any thoughts on how this can be???

 

 

 

Regards,

Martha DalSanto

Granddaughter of

Edwin J Grosskurth

292nd Eng Combat Bn Co A

Martha,

 

Glad I could provide you with something you didn't have. A little off topic perhaps, but still related to you and your family. I will add your grandfather identification to the 292nd Company photo.

 

As for the confusion... it is curious. The 292nd wasn't even formed until November of 1943 with the bulk of the troops not actually assigned until about February of 1944 so he could not have been part of the unit in 1942. According to the "Numerical Listings of APO's 1942-1947" put out by the Army Postal Service the APO 339 used on the letter wasn't even created until September 4th, 1944 starting in Rennes, France (see page 90 in the following pdf link).

 

http://www.7tharmddiv.org/docrep/Location%20of%20APOs%201942-1947.pdf

 

So, I believe there must be a mistake on the letter concerning the date. Collaborations is the name of the game here so I welcome other opinions and explanations that others may have. It definitely sounds like your grandfather was a very considerate sort thinking of others which more than likely also helped him during the tough times away from his family.

 

I'll post the updated 292nd photo with your grandfather added shortly.

 

Gary

 

addendum: We have almost 200 letters that my grandfather sent home to my grandmother and the ones after deployment to the continent (aka Europe) were also APO 339.