1108th Combat Engineers - 48th & 235th Bns

1108th Engineer Combat Regiment
D-Day Landings and Campaign History

• Evolvement of 48th Engineer Regiment - two battalions - 1st and 2nd
• April-May 1942 - Organized at Camp Gruber Oklahoma
• April 1943 - Redesignated as 1108th Group, 48th Eng Bn & 235th Eng Bn.
  Two distinct & full Bns. Under Group Hqs.
• August 1943 - Group deployed for ETO
  Landed in Africa - stayed 1 month then sailed directly to Naples Italy about 10 days after D-Day after Salerno
• June 1944 - 48th Engs separated from 1108 Group
  August 16 - 48th Engs sailed for Invasion of Southern France
  The 48th was never again a part of the 1108th
  The 235th stayed in Italy as a part of the 1108th Group
  Two other battalions were assigned to Group
• Only one D-Day invasion credited to the 48th at Southern France
• WE Had six battle stars

Activation

The unit was activated at Camp Gruber Oklahoma, 25 June, 1942, with two battalions, and remained so throughout the war.

WE THE 48th - This book was printed in Heidelberg, Germany in 1945 - Many thanks to Professor David Ulbrich and staff at Fort Leonard Wood, for scanning and compiling this into an PDF file for our site. You're the greatest!

Trail of the 48th - as extracted from WE THE 48th - great maps of their entire excursion

The Flag - The following poem was given to me at this year's reunion by the daughter of William Spear, 48th Combat Engineer, A Co.  Bill was born on 03-22-1922 and passed away on 05-08-2004.  He was the 2nd youngest man in his company, and hailed from Florence, Kentucky. 

The Jackson Brothers in World War II - by Edward Jackson - Co B - 48th CBE

Please note that the following history only covers the Italian Campaign.  The 48th Bn left Italy in August of 1944 and took part in the Invasion of Southern France.  The 235th remained behind in Italy and finished the war there.

Review of the 1108th Combat Engineering Operations World War II - Mediterranean Theater with II Corps - IV Corps - Sixth Corps - Fifth U.S. Army - Part One - (large PDF file)

Review of the 1108th Combat Engineering Operations World War II - Mediterranean Theater with II Corps - IV Corps - Sixth Corps - Fifth U.S. Army - Part Two - (large PDF file)

Al Kincer wrote:  ...sent to me by Art Walker of Co A 48 engs& Peoria IL.

08-25-2007

The following poem was given to me at the 1108th Combat Engineer Group reunion in August 2007, by Frank West, 235th Regiment, Co C.  Frank sat with the idea of writing a poem on combat engineers, and was surprised how quickly the words poured out once he got started.  The words just flowed out me, he declared.  I don't even know where they came from!

The Combat Engineer - Frank West

The way is blocked, and the tanks are stopped

And that's not good at all.

So, we'll sweep the roads and blast it too

And build a bridge to get them through.

We do our job, and do it well

Even though it's done in Hell.

The engineers are here to stay

No matter what the others say.

Trouble is our middle name

And combat is our game.

We lead the way, and save the day

We keep them going in no small way.

They're on the move

Because the engineers are in the groove.

We show them all, how it's done

And keep the enemy on the run.

So pass the word to friend and foe

That the engineers are on the go.

Now raise your glass and drink the wine

To all our friends we left behind.

This booklet was also given to me at the last reunion.  It was kindly donated to me by veteran Bill Rate.  Thanks so much for your wonderful contribution! The history was complied and written by Capt Mark Reardon CE.

This may take some time to download. Please be patient!

The Battalions - History of the 1108th Engineer Combat Group - VI and II Corps

The following document provides information on the 235th Bn.

History of the 337th Engineers - April and May 1945 - added 12-21-08