Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE
Dave,
You seem to have a wonderful collection of letters. Great stuff!
I did find a page that mentions the 171st in the Army's official history
titled "Corps of Engineers: War Against Germany" by Alfred Beck, et. al. It
is attached.
Otherwise, the Engineer School History Office does not have any
documentation on the 171st.
However, I do have some leads for you.
The Library here at Ft Leonard Wood does have this book in its rare book
collection:
“171ST ENGINEER COMBAT BATTALION” -- ENGINEER SCHOOL LIBRARY, CR 355.31
171ST EN CBT BN, 1939-45"
I suggest that you contact the librarian Mrs. Claretta Crawford.
claretta.crawford@us.army.mil. Give her as much information as possible as
request to see if she can scan or photocopy relevant parts of that book for
you. I don't know the policy. It is rare book, so it does not circulate.
You might look at Ebay and such to see if there is on for sale.
You could contact the Military History Institute in Carlisle, PA.
Ask for the possibilities of copies of these illustrations:
"171ST ENGINEER BATTALION:
1945 8 1v. Illus. 20 x 45 ½ cm. Folded to 20 x 23 cm.
D906."
A good point of contact at MHI is Mr. Richard Baker. (left off email for spam purposes)
For a brief overview of combat engineering in WWII, see Section VII on this
link:
http://140.194.76.129/publications/eng-pamphlets/ep870-1-42/toc.htm
If you can get some exact, dates, places, operations, etc., the you could
send a request for morning reports, daily logs, rosters, and such to the
National Archives College Park. Send email request to:
"Textual Reference-Modern Military Records" to this email
(left off email for spam purposes) This will take a while. Ask for cost estimates
for photocopies (which are expensive!)
This is the best that I can do.
Good luck with your search,
Dave Ulbrich
Historian, USAES
