My cousin, Eugene R. Gustafson, Capt., served in the 36^th Combat Engineer Regiment in WWII. He joined the Army on 8 Oct 1941 in Portland, Oregon. He died 28 Oct 1944 at the 3^rd Battalion Aid Station, Rambervillers, France and is buried at the American Cemetery in Epinal.

I had thought that he was in “C” company, (1^st Battalion) based on an inscription on the back of his photo taken about the end of Oct 1942 which reads: “Eugene R. Gustafson 1^st Lt. Co. “C” 36^th Engr’s © Commanding”. I am attaching photos, you can see the 36^th insignia patch on his left sleeve. I’m not sure if Eugene wrote the inscription or a family member upon receiving it. All of his siblings are now deceased so no one to ask.

But then, I recently received a digital copy of his Report of Burial via a request I had made pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act for his “Individual Deceased Personnel File” with the following in regards to his organization: “36 Engrs Co G” and then hand written: “Regt C” to indicate it should be inserted after “Engrs” and before “Co”. Thus: 36 Engrs Regt. C Co G. So now it looks like Eugene was in “G” company which is in the 3^rd Bn. (Attaching a copy)

Place of death on this same report states: 3^rd Bn Aid Sta. Rambervillers, France, 28 October 1944 SFW-Pen. Thorax rear.

Questions:

1) Could Eugene have started out in company "C" and later transferred to company "G"? Is such a transfer even possible?

2) Is there a "Regiment C"?

Any help would be appreciated,

Susanne Brown

Regiment C means COMBAT, so it's 36th Engineers Regiment Combat. :-)

And yes, transfers were common, so it's not at all unusual.

I'll see if he is mentioned in any documentation that we have. You can read the many pages from the regiment on their 36th History Page , including situation reports - actual documentation from the unit.

I also have an original copy of the Fort Bragg book, which contains images and names of all the original members of the unit. You will also find it on the page listed above.

Welcome to the forum. I will forward your email to the everyone on my 36th Engineer Email List.

Merry Christmas!

I did see mention of his name earlier in the Sitreps June 44 to Dec 44, but it was prior to his death in August.

Marion,

Thank you so much for the information!! I did go to the Sitrep reports as you suggested and found mention of Lt. Gustafson on 11 Jun-12 Jun 1944 @ 0355. As I read the entry my heart was in my throat. Thanks so much for directing me to this entry! It appears that Colonel Stanley, who was killed, was commanding the 1st Bn & was replaced by Col. J. B. Chubbuck 1st Bn. company C (sorta looks like an "O" instead of a "C" but doesn't fit). This would seem to indicate that Eugene was still in company "C" (or could he have been transferred back and forth between companies?).

According to Eugene's obituary: He arrived at Fort Belvoir abt 1st of Nov 1941 where he became a Corporal in Dec 1941; Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant 24 Jun 1942 at Fort Belvoir; was briefly at Camp Edwards, Fort Bragg & Camp Bradford (no dates given but perhaps between late June to early Oct 1942); He was Commissioned 1st Lieutenant at Camp Pickett about Oct 1942 and was Commissioned Captain shortly before the invasion of southern France in Aug 1944.

I'm still smiling over my question about Regiment C! Thanks for your answer!!

In appreciation,

Susanne Brown

Well I made another Foux pa!! The entry regarding Col. J.B. Chubbuck C.O. means Commanding Officer not company O. Oh how I wish I would think things through before writing!!

I'm embarrassed,

Susanne Brown

No need to be embarrassed. Many of our forum members started off in the same place; it's all a learning curve. Nothing to be ashamed of...

So glad I could help and get you started. It's exciting, isn't it???