Thanks, Larry. I am so appreciative!

I actually supplied the info for both of those bios. If you read the article about my father being honored in front ot the IL House, I am the daughter mentioned. Clementine is just a nickname.

(I left out the most important part of his AF bio because it doesn't mention the fact I was born while he was stationed at Fairchild AFB! Just kidding...)

I know my father was an engineer with the 608th - now I am trying to find out more about the unit's history and even just how engineer units functioned. My father is still pretty good at relating his personal experiences but was really never too detailed about the unit history. Since coming here I have a better understanding why that is. Now I have a better understanding of how the men in a unit such as my father's were shifted around and filled in everywhere and the history of the unit is really the personal histories of each of them.

I am happy to be here and so thankful for helpful people like you.

Clem

My dad was in the 608th Engineers LE Company. His name was Olin K. (Casey) Thies. He passed in 1984 and I am interested in finding out more about his wartime experiences and the people he served with and his friends. I have about 15 pictures of his friends with their names written on the backs of the photos. Is anyone interested in these photos? Would relatives of other members of his unit have pictures of him? Is there a roster?

Donna

Daughter of Casey Thies

608th Engineers LE Company

Would love to see the photos. Can you email them to me and/or post them here? I would love to add them to our engineer photo gallery. Thanks!

Clementine,

I do not have too much to offer, but in reading through the After Action Reports for the 157th Engineer C Battalion, the 608th Le Co. is mentioned on February 27th, 1945. At this point the 157th is somewhere in the area of Domfessel, France and they are working on and operating a rock crusher. The report says that the "shovel that was attached (to the 157th) from the 608th Le Co and used at coord. Q557285 for loading rock had to be returned to bivouac for repair and maintenance work."

It does not sound like the 157th and 608th were working together (just sharing equipment), but the 608th must have been close by.

Clementine,

I was looking through my photographs and I realized I did have a little more to add for the 608 Le Co. In my post here http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/engforum/index.php?showtopic=7758#entry36235 you will see in the last photograph on the third post, there is a sign on the Pascal Bridge that says

"Pascal Bridge

Built by

157 ENGR C BN

2nd PLTN. 608 LEco"

So it looks like our outfits may have been closer than I thought!

Brian

Saw this great posting and am placing the link here:

http://www.ww2f.com/military-service-record-genealogical-research/51158-608-engineer-light-equipment-co-cpt-james-l-anderson.html

Hey, does anyone here know exactly where the Pascal bridge was built. Have another person who is very interested in acquiring this info. Thanks!!!

I found another pic of it and it shows a blown portion of the Autobahn, with the Pascal in the background, but what city is this in? Anyone know?

The caption on the photo posted by Brian M said: "Pascal Bridge. (from the Richard Purcell Collection) The Autobahn bridge was blown up by the Germans just a few days before the end of the war. Once the ended, some of the bridge building was performed by the German POWs as can be seen in the photograph. The bridge was named after Tec 4 Pascal of the 157th who drowned during the construction of the bridge. "

On this webage about Harold Whiting, 157th ECB,

http://carol_fus.tripod.com/army_hero_157ceb.html

In the history sketch on that page it says:

"The next major job assigned to the unit was bridging of the Salzach River, west of Salzburg, Austria on the autobahn. The unit was engaged in this project on VE Day."

This may be the Pascal Bridge, but it looks like the 157th had many bridge projects going on that time.

I do know the exact location for that bridge and in fact my WWII buddy Mr. Purcell made a surprise visit to my house this afternoon and I went through and showed him the locations of some of the other bridges he built with the 157th. He was amazed that I could show him aerial shots and street shots (from maps.google.com). I showed him photographs from their bridge building during the war with buildings in the background and then showed the same buildings from current google maps and street shots. He loved it!

As far as the Pascal Bridge, i did have the location of that one and there are some nice shots of the newly constructed bridge that was put up right where the previous one had been blown. The bad part is I am in the middle of organizing all of my data so that is one I could not find this afternoon. I will look for it again tonight and post the location, i know it will not take too long to find.

Marion,

If that is Clementine you are talking to, i may have photos of some cranes and pile-drivers from her dad's outfit. I tried to log onto the forum you posted about earlier where Clementine had the postings about her dad, but it would not let me log in or email me the confirmation information when i signed up.

Stay tuned!