Marion, I found your website while trying to search for information on a small collection of personal snapshots of what appeared to be a WWII engineering unit. I bought the set at a second-hand store who had no information on their origin. I have collected snapshots and ephemera of, among other things, WWII, and try to research their meaning and content. Since I retired I have started what I call “Snapshot Rescue” and try to get these images to any organization that will appreciate them. I admire your effort in creating the engineering website and free access to the images; I agree with your stated purpose of history.

 

There are 24 photos in the set, about 2 ½” x 3”, and none have any written captions or names.

 

One image was LST 49 which had served in Operation Dragoon, and the others look like a record of the drive North from the landing in Southern France. Several snapshots were of engineering activities which lead me to believe they were done by a member of an combat engineer unit connected to Dragoon.

 

Let me know if you can ID the unit involved and the men in the photos. I hope some of your readers looking for relatives find them. Let me know if you want me to re-scan at a better resolution as these were done at 200dpi.

 

-Jon Christian

 

(1971-73 Staff photographer for US Army Engineer Command Europe, Frankfurt, Germany- not combat engineers but know the difference!)

 

Marion's note: I will post the pics here over the next few days. Thanks for your patience. In the interim, I started looking up info on LST 49.

Of course I said yes!!

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/07/27/487651658/david-bald-eagle-lakota-chief-musician-cowboy-and-actor-dies-at-97

Rest In Peace Sir

I felt the need to post this here this morning, for I find this very disturbing...

Sorry to say, but it seems to be a growing trend that out of 1000+ members, only a couple of people stop to remember our passing veterans. It saddens me to no end, that when I or others post the passing of one of "our own", literally less than a handful of our 1000+ members, stop to say farewell to our engineers. Sure people SEE the post, but most take a few seconds to read about them, and merely walk off without a word.

And yes, I know that many here are simply "readers", but I feel so sad to see that no one is willing to stop and say, Rest in Peace, sir, or thank you for your service.

These are the men that gave us their all, and,,,

Dear Seahorses:

I have some very sad news this afternoon, for John Fallon just informed me that fellow 36th Engineer, John Zappitello has passed away, and shortly after his death, his wife followed him to that big place in the sky.

So, so hard to accept his passing, for he was a great friend to all the seahorses and helped run the reunions for decades in PA, along with his dear and sweet wife, Marguerite.

I had the fortune to get to know both, and had a grand time at many reunions with them. Lee and I even had the chance to meet up with John in Conneaut, Ohio and spent the afternoon with he and his daughter at a huge reenactors event, just a few years ago. The next morning before we left, we had breakfast with he and his wife and that unfortunately was the last time we saw them. Due to health issues, they were unable to attend the last few reunions. I did keep in touch via letters and phone calls and was planning on meeting up with them this fall, as Colin and I traveled back from the PA reunion, on our way to Michigan. We were really looking forward to our visit. Alas, it was not meant to be.

You both shall be missed. I'm glad we got to be friends.

With love,

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