360th Engr. GS Regt. - Printable Version

I have tried to determine which Division the 360th Engr. GS Regt. was in/attached in April - October, 1944 without success. The unit was involved in repairing ports, etc. in St. Malo, Cancale, Brieve before moving on to Brest. My stepbrother was in that unit at that time and his records were almost totally destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo. He is now deceased. His final payment work sheet prepared at the time of his discharge on 11-14-45 showed him as being in the 264th Infantry Regt. which was part of the 66th Infantry Division. However, part of that Division only sailed for England on 11-15-44 and the remainder on 12-01-44 and the 360th was not listed as being part of that Division at that time. That has left me wondering about his Division during April - October 1944.

Good day! Thanks for becoming a member and I hope I can help you with your questions. Let me do a little research and get back with you.

This was taken from another post on my site...

The goals set for the Brittany ports were never realized and at most of them the engineer effort was considered "utterly wasted." Despite the heavy emphasis on those ports in July, the breakout from the bridgehead and the headlong drive across northern France moved the action far from Brittany by September. This development caused logistical planners at SHAEF to regard Antwerp as the major prize; engineers nevertheless expended considerable effort in Brittany before the tactical situation changed so drastically. The 1053d Port Construction and Repair Group and the 360th Engineer General Service Regiment worked on St. Malo, Cancale, and St. Brieuc before moving into captured Brest. The St. Malo project halted just as it neared completion, primarily because the task of reopening waterways south and inland from St. Malo did not appear worth the effort required. Some port-operating personnel went to Cancale, but tidal conditions there proved so difficult that the port was never used. St. Brieuc opened in mid-September but operated for only a month, averaging 317 tons a day, mostly coal for local generating plants and railroads. St. Michel-en-Greve did somewhat better, averaging 745 tons a day; but it closed down on 1 September, never contributing more than a small amount of port capacity and reverting to French control in mid-December. The only ports in Brittany that delivered more than token tonnages were Granville and Morlaix.

One thing that may be true for him is this; he may have been shipped home with another unit. This happened many times at the end of the war.

The 360th was an independent engineer unit, so were never actually part of a division. These were called "bastard" units. My father's unit (the 540th), was an independent regiment, too. They were often attached to other units, such as divisions, regiments, companies, etc, but were always under the control of an ARMY or CORPS. So in other words, they were assigned where needed.

Regarding the fire in 1973 in St Louis...This was not the only place where personnel units were kept. More often than not, you can still get copies of the DD214's from other sources, including the Veteran's Administration. If you click on that link, it will take you to their site. Then simply click on the related state for your step-brother. You will be provided with contact info. This is how I obtained my father's discharge papers. Other venues include his local county building or the local funeral home. Hope this helps.

Here's an interview with Edward Eugene Bebb, a member of 360th, Co E, 2nd platoon.