Get a Sneak Peek of Battles from the Bulge with a Google Earth Battlefield Tour!
My husband saw this on one of his forums, so I am sharing with you. I haven't done it yet, for am really busy this week finalizing the art work and credits for the documentary (part one), which will be released later this month.
I am looking for more information about the 169th Engineer Combat Battalion. The shield of this Battalion have the fleur-de-lis. The fleur-de-lis flowered was suggested by the coat of arms of Florence, Italy, where the battalion was activated after being reconstituted in 1944.
I searched the forums here and the internet. I only came up with this here:
and obviously on the "CORPS OF ENGINEERS: THE WAR AGAINST GERMANY" at page 218 where is stated:
“… the 1338th Engineer Combat Group's 169th Engineer Combat Battalion was to build the II Corps bridge and the 1108th Engineer Combat Group's 235th Engineer Combat Battalion, the IV Corps bridge. During March and April the 169th Engineer Combat Battalion sent several of its men to the British Floating Bailey Bridge School at Capua, and in April the entire battalion moved to a site on the Arno west of Pisa for training in building the bridges. The 235th Combat Battalion got only a few days of training — and even that for only part of the battalion.”
An Archive search resulted in some pictures of vehicles of the 169th in the Po river area (April 1945).
We found the name of a member of the 169th: PFC Lewis H. Johnson born in 1921.
This name was published on the web in a www.geocities.com web page now unreachable.
Does anybody have more information? Any help will be appreciated.
The picture shows the freshly restored Wyllis of 169th Engineer Combat Battalion crossing the Medici's Bridge in Pontassieve near Florence.
I found some news about:
337th Engineers was a general service engineer regiment, not combat engineers. The regiment was disbanded in Italy in September 1944. Personnel were reassigned to Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 1338th Engineer (Combat) Group and used to form 169th and 182d Engineer (Combat) Battalions. 337th Engineers was likewise entitled to campaign credits for Tunisia, Naples-Foggia and Rome-Arno.
There was also a 337th Engineer (Combat) Battalion (formerly 337th Antiaircraft Artillery [searchlight] Battalion which served in Italy and was transferred to the Philippines shortly after the war ended in Europe. This unit received credit for the North Apennines and Po Valley Campaigns (337th Antiaircraft Artillery [searchlight] Battalion was credited with participation in the Rome-Arno Campaign).
Does anybody have more information? Any help will be appreciated.
