I found the following records on Ancestry.com today. I was already aware of Aubrey Festus Hughes, but found further info on him this morning. Left messages for everyone and asked they get in contact with me.
Many of you may remember him from part one of my documentary, No Bridge Too Far
Aubrey Engineer Combat Company was in North Africa, from Nov 1942 to July of 1943. From July 1943 to September of 1943 they took part in action in Sicily. They moved next to Paestum to take part in the invasion of Italy. During their service in Anzio, Italy the unit experienced heavy bombardment from the German Air Force. Their mission was to clear and maintain the beach as a port of operation for the Allied Forces. In July, the 540th begain support of the 36th Infantry Division for "Operation Anvil", the invasion of Southern France, scheduled for August 15. The day after the invasion, "YELLOW" beach was designated as a supply and unloading beach. Company "F" was assigned to clear and maintain this beach. After successful operation, Company "F" moved to St. Raphael,France to reconstruct the harbor and clear the streets. While working on the street clearance, Company "F" suffered the loss of two enlisted men, one was PFC Aubrey F. Hughes. Two other men later died of their injuries. Twenty seven men were wounded. The casualties were sustained when "Teller-mines", deeply encased in concrete blocks detonated by a bulldozier in removing the blocks.
Walter E. Gardner
Mr. Walter E. Gardner, 90, of Greensboro, went home to be with his Lord and Savior, on Sunday, August 8, 2010.
Funeral services, celebrating his life, will be held 11:00 AM Wednesday, August 11, 2010, at Hanes-Lineberry N. Elm St. Chapel, with Pastor Sandra Myrick, Pastor Shon Barrier, and Pastor Lois Eller officiating. Burial will follow in Lakeview Cemetery.
Born March 16, 1920, in Greensboro, to the late Jesse Boyd Gardner, Sr. and Callie Patterson Gardner, Mr. Gardner was a faithful member of Spirit and Truth International Church, where served as Head Elder. God first, Country, then family, would best describe Walter Gardner. He was a veteran of World War II, serving in the United States Army. Sixty-seven years ago, Pvt. Gardner landed at Safi, French Morocco, with the 2nd Battalion, 540th Combat Engineer Regiment, U.S. Army. For the Safi landing, he was awarded a bronze "assault" arrowhead and the first of seven bronze battle stars. Mr. Gardner's World War II campaign history reads like a modern-day tourist brochure; Algeria-French Morocco, Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, Southern France, Rhineland and Central Europe. In five of these seven WWII campaigns, his combat engineers were there for D-Day, both numbers being quite remarkable. He was active in the American Legion Post 386. He was an avid reader and a collector. He served as a mail carrier for 50 years with the United States Postal Service. Walter was very much a family man who enjoyed nothing more than spending time with his family. He, along with his buddies met at Bojangles daily for lunch. He was a humble and loyal man who was true to his word. You always knew where Walter was coming from and where he stood. He practiced what he preached and had a passion for all people, and their salvation. He had an unconditional love for his family, a great work ethic, and was a great provider for his family. In addition to his parents, Mr. Gardner was preceded in death by his two sisters and his 3 brothers.
Those left to cherish his memory include his wife, Sybil Neal Gardner, who he loved passionately for 62 years; his children, Sandra Gardner Myrick and her husband Don, Neal Boyd Gardner and his wife Jina, and Candy Gardner Fields and her husband Ron, all of Greensboro; grandchildren, Joy Myrick Blair, Pam Myrick Barrier, Chip Myrick, Michael Fields, and Gabriel Fields; great-grandchildren, Matthew, Victoria, Ashley, William, Zachery, Madison, Jaxson, and Trevor; and a sister-in-law, Blanche M. Gardner of Greensboro.
The family will receive friends from 6 until 8 pm Tuesday evening at the funeral home and other times at the home of his daughter, Sandra's, 3705 W. Friendly Ave. in Greensboro.
Memorial contributions may be made to Spirit and Truth International Church 6011 Landmark Center Blvd., Greensboro, NC 27404.
The family wishes to express their heartfelt gratitude to the wonderful folks at Beacon Place for the care they extended to Walter and the support shown to his family. Also special thanks to the 4500 Palliative Care Unit of Moses Cone.
Paul C. Arnold
Death Date: 9 Dec 1944
Cemetery: Epinal American Cemetery
Cemetery Burial Plot: Plot B Row 10 Grave 36
Cemetery City: Epinal
Cemetery Country: France
War: World War II
Title: Private
Rank: Private
Service: U.S. Army
Service ID: 35385303
Division: 540th Engineer Regiment
Data Source: World War II Honor Roll
Alfred J. Gravelle
Death Date: 29 Jan 1944
Cemetery: Florence American Cemetery
Cemetery Burial Plot: Plot B Row 4 Grave 44
Cemetery City: Florence
Cemetery Country: Italy
War: World War II
Awards: Purple Heart
Title: Private First Class
Rank: Private First Class
Service: U.S. Army
Service ID: 31078008
Division: 540th Engineer Regiment
Data Source: World War II Honor Roll
Cicero Dancy
State Registered: Virginia
Death Date: 20 Feb 1919
Cemetery: Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery
Cemetery Burial Plot: Plot C Row 38 Grave 23
Cemetery City: Romagne
Cemetery Country: France
War: World War I
Title: Private, U.S. Army
Rank: Private
Service: U.S. Army
Division: 540th Engineer Regiment
Data Source: World War I Honor Roll
Stewart H. Hatch
Death Date: 1 Jan 1945
Cemetery: Tablets of The Missing At Epinal American Cemetery
Cemetery Burial Plot: Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Cemetery City: Epinal
Cemetery Country: France
War: World War II
Awards: Purple Heart
Title: Private First Class
Rank: Private First Class
Service: U.S. Army
Service ID: 31301636
Division: 540th Engineer Regiment
Data Source: World War II Honor Roll
A note to Enry, notice Alfred is buried in Florence, Italy
I have located Navy muster rolls for the ship LCI(L) 591, sailing on 9 August 1944. The attached file is the list of Army troops aboard which appear to be mostly men of the 36th Combat Engineer Regiment heading to the Invasion of Southern France, based on the date of sailing. We are in the process of verifying the men as 36th Engineers & assembling the muster roll images & matching transcriptions into a complete file which will be posted as soon.
I was on line, looking for information about the old division books and I came across your site. On your site, one of the engineers, Arthur DeAngelo, mentions being sent to rebuild a pontoon bridge that had been bombed by the Germans, near Worms. Actually, my father crossed the Rhine on that first bridge and it was not bombed. A German officer got hold of one of our supply trucks. He pretended to be an American and drove the truck back across the bridge and blew it up in the middle, killing himself. My father was PFC Burkett Moore Sims, 7th Army, 14th Armored (infantry), 62nd Battalion, B Company, First Platoon, First Squad, one of the Liberators. He and the other soldiers were trapped on the other side of the Rhine after this happened with unknown amount of German soldiers surrounding them. I believe he crossed that bridge on Easter Sunday morning. They had twelve tanks which they put in a circle and dug in around the tanks, expecting to be attacked that night. My dad thought the German soldier, who blew up the bridge, must have been an officer because they were not attacked. Without an officer to lead them, the other German soldiers would not attack tanks. In the morning, the mail arrived to cheer up the men. I think he said it took them three days to rebuild that bridge.
I was trying to post this information on your site, but I’m not sure how so I thought I would send you an email and let you decide if it should be posted. I don’t know if Arthur is still around, but I wish I could get this information to him. My dad was the only one in his squad who came back without ever having being wounded or killed. He was 5’5” and had a uniform with a 29 inch waist, probably due to invading and walking across Europe. He was an expert marksman. We have his medal. He was very religious and said the rosary every night for the rest of his life to thank God for bringing him back alive and unhurt. I hope Arthur can read this and hear about a few soldiers on the other side of the Rhine that he helped to save by rebuilding that bridge.
Thank you,
Mary Sims
Dear Mary:
What a wonderful letter. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.
The name Arthur DeAngelo sounds familiar, (the site is so immense now), but I could not find anything related to him on the site this morning. Can you please send me the link showing where you found said info. Thanks SO much.
I look forward to hearing from you, so we can explore this further.
Warmly,
Marion
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Dear Mary:
Aha, no wonder I couldn't find it on my site, for it wasn't on my site! ha-ha! That's my buddy Rod's web, which ranks right up there with the best of them.
I recommend you contact Rod directly, for he would be able to answer any questions you might have.
