Forums

The 160th at Fort Rucker, Alabama

In the spring of 1944, the 160 Engineer Combat Battalion convoyed from Watertown, Tennessee to Fort Rucker in southern Alabama to receive overseas training.

Dad remembers the p.o.w. camp across from the 160th barracks and how well the German prisoners were treated. James N. Corley, Company B, 160th, told his son Keith that he remembered that they would march in formation past the p.o.w. compound and the prisoners would be out playing ball.That memory stayed with James and my Dad.

Sometime during their stay at Fort Rucker the 160th made a long convoy to Tennessee and back, about 600 miles round trip. Dad remembered going to the canteen and buying a bag of Hershey bars with almonds, his favorite, to take along in the 6x6 where Dad was a back-up driver. Dad liked to snack on the chocolate bars while he was driving. They got a lot of support from the civilians, there would be waving and cheering as they convoyed through the countryside. Once when they stopped to spend the night in the vicinity of Birmingham, swarms of people brought them home cooked food.

One time the men had to strip from the waist up and get in line where they received a barrage of shots. There was a lot happening at Fort Rucker but these things stayed in Dad's memory for all those years.

Early that summer the 160th left Fort Rucker on a train to Camp Miles Standish just south of Boston where they boarded a ship to go overseas.

These photographs of men of the 160th were all taken at Fort Rucker that spring/summer during their overseas training. Most are identified, if anyone can add anything about anyone in these photographs, know anything about the 160th at Fort Rucker or have photographs you would share, please contact Marion Chard at this (her) website.

Names of men identified in these photographs:

Dawgiello, Edward J., Pfc Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Howard, Neoda S., Tec 5 Terre Haute, Indiana

Rydelski, Joseph S., Pfc Erie, Pennsylvania

Stackawitz, Harry O., Pfc Pittsburgh, Penn

Tripp, Lowell H., Tec 5 Ovieda, Florida

Turner, Roby D., Tec 5 Royboro, North Carolina

Dawgiello

Dawgiello

Dawgiello

Dawgiello

Stackawitz and Dawgiello

Dawgiello and Joseph Rydelski

Dawgiello, Turner and Joseph Rydelski

Dawgiello. Turner and Joseph Rydelski

Tripp-Turner

Lowell Tripp's family was close friends with Dad's family in Florida. He later became a tank driver for the 160th and Dad got to talk to him often.

Turner, Howard and Tripp

Dawgiello and Joseph Rydelski

Dawgiello and Joseph Rydelski

Joseph Rydelski

Joseph Rydelski and Dawgiello

Joseph Rydelski-unknown-Dawgiello

Unknown

Unknown

PT at Rucker.

Glen Blasingim

Cool! Love seeing more and more of these!

160 Engineer Combat Battalion, Company A

These photographs of Company A were copied from the 160 Engineer Combat Battalion book. Detail is not great but is possibly good enough to identify a familiar face.

Glen Blasingim

160 Engineer Combat Battalion, Company A

Ralph L. Peters, Pfc. from Sanford, Florida served in Company A from Fort Meade to his discharge. His proud son Wayne has honored his Dad with a brief history of his Dad's service on his website, www.petersheritage.com.

Wayne lost his Dad at an early age and is very interested in finding out more about his Dad in the 160th. He would like to hear from anyone who had a loved one who served in the 160th, especially Company A.

Wayne shared this group photograph of Company A. Wayne said that he thought that the photograph was taken about the time the 160th was at Fort Meade, Maryland ( The 160th was formed there April 27, 1943). Private first class Peters had many of his buddies in the photograph autograph the back. Some of the men signed with their rank and several had more than one promotion to the ranks they were discharged with. That would substantiate that this picture was taken early in the 160th's history.

One of the signatures is by Carl L. Bowers, Tec5 from Brazil, Indiana. Carl is one of the three men from Company A who gave their lives while serving with the 160th.

The photograph has some worn tattered edges that look like it was rolled up and probably carried in Pfc, Peter's pack. No telling how many miles it traveled in the back of a 6x6 or how many miles it traveled on his back. It probably had some foxhole time. If there is someone you remember that served in the 160th, Company A, his picture is probably here.

Signatures of 105 of the men in the Company A photograph.

At present, Ralph L. Peters,Pfc is the only man in the photograph that we can identify. He is, third row from top, ninth from left end, circled.

Enlarged signatures identified when possible.

Wayne Peters

Glen Blasingim

It's so nice to see the images and the names. This will be so nice for the kids and grandkids of the veterans. A real treasure for all.

160 Engineer Combat Battalion, Company B

All of these photographs are from the 160 Engineer Combat Battalion book, I estimate that the platoon group pictures were taken February-March of 1945 probably in Germany. Detail in these photographs is not great and I have identified all of the people that we can recognize.

We can identify a few men in the photograph of the second platoon. In the front row kneeling on the left end is Herman S.Landrith, Ssgt. from Walkertown, North Carolina. In the middle row, left end is Joseph W. Bolek. Sgt. from Hammond, Indiana. In the back row, left end isThelbert O. Kallam, Sgt. from Stonefield North Carolina. In the back row, third man from right end is Oscar G. Anderson, Tec5 from Indianapolis, Indiana.

In the photograph of headquarters platoon we can identify the two officers kneeling in the front, on the viewers left is Lt. Delbert B. Linn and right is Lt. Ernest W. Lybarger. In the front row left end is Edwin N. Blasingim, 1stSgt from Chattanooga, Tennessee. In the front row 5th from the left end is Harold G. Baxter, Tec5 from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In the very back row on the far right end is Frank W. Prinz,Tec5 from Indianapolis, Indiana. The man with the dachshund is Roby D. Turner, Tec5 from Royboro, North Carolina.

160 Engineer Combat Battalion, Company C

At present we cannot identify anyone in these photographs that are copied from the 160 ECB book.

Glen Blasingim

160 Engineer Combat Battalion, Headquarters and Service Company

These photographs are from the 160 Engineer Combat Battalion book and of Headquarters and H and S Company.

Boys from Headquarters.

Glen Blasingim

This is a photograph of 160th Engineer Combat Battalion, Company B. This photograph is marked, " January 13, 1944 Camp Rucker Alabama ". I have numbered each man in the company photograph and we have listed those that we are able to identify.

The men listed have been identified by Kenneth McBride ( no 56 ),Father of Michael McBride who supplied this information, my father Edwin Blasingim and some loved ones. Kenneth McBride wrote the names of his fellow engineers on the photograph when he was with them.

If anyone can put a name to a face please let us know and we will add that to this list. The first photograph is of my Dad remembering some of his friends from 72 years ago.

Identified:

   3  Blasingim, Edwin N., First Sgt., Chattanooga, Tenn.

  19 Rydelski, Chester P., Pfc., Erie, Penn

  23 Kallam, Thelbert O., Sgt., Stonefield, N.C.

  25 Rydelski, Joseph S., Pfc., Erie, Penn

  54 Baxter, Harold G., Tec 5, Pittsburgh, Penn

  56 McBride, Kenneth C., Pvt., Baltimore, Md

 63 Stanley, Earl L., Sgt., 1st Platoon, Chattanooga, Tennessee

 64 Brown, Fredrich J., Tec 4, 1st Platoon, Tampa, Fla

 66 Swift, Oddie L., Pvt., 1st Platoon, Ninevah, Indiana

 67 Grider, Virgil, Ssgt., Motor Pool, Vincennes, Indiana

 68 Weber, Pfc., 1st Platoon

 69 Nichols, Pvt., 1st Platoon

 70 Brooks, Abe H.,Tec5, 1st Platoon, Whittier, N.C.

 71 Todd, Pfc., 1st Platoon

 72 Tornwall, William H., Tec5, 1st Platoon, Tampa, Fla

 73 Moody, Percy T., Pvt., 2nd Platoon, Louisville, Ky

 74 Howard, Dewey D., Pvt., 2nd Platoon, Evansville, Indiana

 75 Dawgiellio, Edward J., Pfc, 2nd Platoon, Pittsburgh, Penn

 76 Andre, Pvt., 3rd Platoon

 77 Stackawitz, Harry O., Pfc., 2nd Platoon, Pittsburgh, Penn

 78 Trimbur, Joseph A., Pfc, 2nd Platoon, Pittsburgh, Penn

 79 Church, Ray L., Tec4, 2nd Platoon, Chicago, Illinois

  80 Conner, Pfc., 1st Platoon

  81 Blakenship, Pvt., 1st Platoon

  82 Arradendo, Adolfo W. Pfc., 1st Platoon, Kokomo, Indiana

  83 Corley, Pvt., 3rd Platoon

  84 Walsh, Sgt., 3rd Platoon

  85 Boyton, Reginald E., Sgt., 3rd Platoon, Millinocket, Maine

  86 Scroll, William H., Tec4, Cook, Plymouth, Indiana

  87 Turner, Roby D., Tec 5, 2nd Platoon, Royboro, N.C.

  88 Bolek, Joseph W., Sgt., 2nd Platoon, Hammond, Indiana

  89 Cannon, Harry A., Sgt., 2nd Platoon, Nzssa, Oregon

  90 Groves, Jesse M., Tec4, 3rd Platoon, Winter Haven, Fla

  91 Murphy, Lawrence J., Pfc., 1st Platoon, Philadelphia, Penn

  92 Wheeler, Gaither J., Ssgt., 1st Platoon, Tampa, Fla

  93 Slonsky, Morris M., Ssgt., Cook, St. Louis, Mo

  94 Aron, Tec4, Cook

  95 Miller, George J., Tec 4, 2nd Platoon, Terrehaute, Indiana

  96 Korol, Benedick P., Pfc., 3rd Platoon, Pittsburgh, Penn

  97 Sumner, Charles D., Tec5, 1st Platoon, Indianapolis, Indiana

  98 Carter, Charles W., Cpl., 1st Platoon, Owensburg, Indiana

  99 Anderson, Oscar G., Tec 5, 2nd Platoon, Indianapolis, Indiana

100 Warner,Russell H.,Pfc., 3rd platoon, LaPorte, Indiana

101 Bailey, Willie J., Tec4, 3rd Platoon, Jacksonville, Fla

102 Brock, Edward J., Tec5, 2nd Platoon, Kokomo, Indiana

103 Allred, Russell S., Pfc., 1st Platoon, Winston-Salem, N.C.

104 Erickson, Joseph W., Ssgt., 2nd Platoon, Rutland, S.D.

105 Evans, Thomas L., Ssgt., 1st Platoon, Des Moines, Iowa

106 Martin, John H., Tec5, 3rd Platoon, Mansfield, Ohio

107 Sturgill, Anson, Tec5, 3rd Platoon, Jackson, Ohio

108 Nichols, Pvt., 3rd Platoon

109 Lea, Sgt., 3rd Platoon

110 Wycoff, Ernest W.,Pfc., 3rd Platoon, Mansfield, Ohio

111 Pitman, Pvt., 2nd Platoon

112 Lemanowicz, Edwin A., Tec5, 3rd Platoon, Philadelphia, Penn

113 Mayes, Archie S., Major, Warrensburg, Mo

114 Lybarger, Ernest W., 2Lt., Brooklyn, N.Y.

115 Furrier, Steve J., Pfc., 3rd Platoon, Gary, Indiana

116 Crist, Charles L., Pfc., 3rd Platoon, Coalmont, Indiana

117 Conkey, Lester L., Pfc., 3rd Platoon, Lancaster, Ohio

118 Brabson, Pfc., 3rd Platoon

119 Allen, Herbert N., Sgt., 3rd Platoon, Fitzgerald, Georgia

120 Cruse, John A., Pfc., 3rd Platoon, Columbus, Ohio

121 Young, James H., Pfc., 3rd Platoon, Hawesville, Ky

122 Bennett, Claude, Jr., Pfc., 3rd Platoon, Tipton Hill, N.C.

Let's see how far we get on this. Fantastic!!!