Marion, Colin and Brooke:
I had a long talk today with Harold Ritzer, Bob's son in law and we shared many memories. As you know, he was in Company "C" of the 294th and I was in Company "B" and the 29 men who were killed were in Company "C". Harold was nearby and so was I and I saw the horrible carnage and parts of bodies scattered through the trees. All that was left of the truck which was near the exploded mines was bits of steel from the undercarriage.
I have invited Harold to come down and visit with me and he hopes that he can do it. We compared ages, and I am a month older than he is, so he is relatively young.
We both thanked God just for being here when so many of our G.I.'s never made it home except in a casket. They never had a chance to go on to productive lives and enjoy a family.
Joe
Joe:
So glad to hear that you have been in touch with Harold. Isn't the Internet such a very wonderful thing at times? I am so happy that I was able to be the conduit for the two of you. 
Hope all is okay on your end. Haven't heard from you in a while, so am always concerned when I don't hear from one of "my vets".
Hugs,
M
Hi all!
Re: Kateri Tekakwitha:
We have just had word that GUIDEPOSTS will not publish the article by Tom Fleming. They feel that it is "too Catholic".
The magazine was founded by Norman Vincent Peale, the great Protestant orator and writer and it shocks me that there is still some anti-Catholic sentiment among our Protestant brethren. I wonder what Rev. Peale would have said?
At any rate, we are going to try to get it published in Readers Digest or some other publication so that many more people around the world will know Kateri's story. It deserves to be told!
Joe
Greetings,
My name is Kenneth Harrington McKeever. My late dad, Kenneth Francis McKeever, had stories about his unit and I wish he had written them all down. My mom said he never talked about the war until the late 50's early 60's. Later he wanted to tell us as much as possible and he told my girls some of the stories for their class projects. Hope I can learn more of his service and the service of his fellow soldiers. He was a member of the 294th and part of the unit killed in England in the mine clearing accident. They were all from Jersey City and they went in as a group through Fort Dix and all the rest of their training. Fortunately for my dad, and for us, he was not there at the time of the accident. He survived because he was picked to drive one of the officers that day. He and the officer arrived at the mess tent just before the explosion. He told us they were on the scene in seconds and had to help pick up his friends. I can only imagine the horror. That day was so vivid in his memory that he even remembered that he had pork chops for his meal. There is a memorial in Jersey City with the names of the men killed on that day. I'm thankful for their sacrifice and for my dads Guardian Angel who worked overtime that day and on many others.
Hello Mr. Izzillo. Thank you for sharing with us here on the forum.
I just visited your website and I must say MARVELOUS work!!!
Brooke
Greetings Mr. Izzillo. I just posted a reply below regarding the accident that happened in England. We all owe that generation and today's generation of heros so much. I have seen your web page and the paintings are fantastic. On a side note, my wife and daughters are descendents of Nicolas Arendanki, Chief of the Huron of Georgian Bay. His village of Arenda was called the "village of believers" and they were martyrs. His wife and infant daughter were part of the few hundred Wendat who survived and kept the faith despite continuous hardship. I would love to share their story and questions I have his cause. But that is for another forum
Welcome to our forum Ken. I also sent you an email this morning too.
Looks like you've come to the right spot. A lot of information regarding that fateful day in England.
We look forward to talking with you.
Marion
Joe,
Brian Guy, an active WWII veteran from the wbg forum lives in Dorset, I would supply a link to his profile but the forums are down at the moment.
www.wildbillguarnere.com, "Brian Guy" is his username. Brian got blown up in the war and has faced numerous health problemes throughout his life. He would love to hear from you.
Brooke
Hello all,
Looking for information on 249th Engineer Combat Battalion, Company C. My Grandfather inlaw, George Memmer, was in this battalion. George passed away a few years back and his wife just passed away two weeks ago. We just found information on his battalion by finding his discharge papers. His Granddaughter and Great Grandsons are interested what and where the 294th served in WWII. George said very little about his time in WWII. Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks
Welcome to our forum. Hope you found this entire post on the 294th, very helpful. If you would like to get in touch with any of the above members, simply make sure you are logged in first, then click on a members underlined name to contact them via private email, or personal message via this forum.
Let me know if I can be of assistance.
Warmly,
Marion
Welcome to our forum. Hope you found this entire post on the 294th, very helpful. If you would like to get in touch with any of the above members, simply make sure you are logged in first, then click on a members underlined name to contact them via private email, or personal message via this forum.
Let me know if I can be of assistance.
Warmly,
Marion
Thanks Marion. This Forum is rather extensive, I don't know where to start. 
This post was very interesting! Considering George was in Company C, maybe it's reason he never told this story? May have been something he wanted to forget.
My family isn't sure where to start. I guess we're looking for a mapping of places 294th, company C traveled through during the war. Then, maybe fill in the blanks with stories from different locations.
I will contact some people with the 294th. Love to hear the stories. Love to find someone who knew George.
Thanks Marion.