Exciting letter France - 540th Engineer

[Walt's Daughter]

Here's his second email to me today. The dogtag was found in Barenthal, and this would fit in perfectly with the 540th's records. They were in Barenthal in December of 1944.

 

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Bonjour Marion

 

 

Et Merci beaucoup d'avoir répondu à mon mail.

 

J'ai trouvé ce dogtag à BARENTHAL dans le département de la Moselle (Est de la France près des Vosges)

 

Comme je te l'ai dit, j'ai retrouvé un ancien camp de l'US ARMY avec un peu de matériel dont les dogtags de cinq soldats et quelques collar disques du génie (engineer et collar US)

 

Je ne connaissais pas le régiment qui stationnait dans ce camp, j'ai tapé le N° matricule du soldat WILLIAM COX sur GOOGLE et j'ai eu la page de ton site Web (Awards, honors et décorations 42-45) et j'ai trouvé WILLIAM COX comme décoré de purple heart le 1-22-1944.

 

Merci à toi, grace à ton travail, j'ai appris le grade de WILLIAM COX que j'ignorai et quel régiment était stationné à BARENTHAL,

 

J'ai trouvé les dogtags des GI suivant :

 

1- TACKETT EARL - 34362528 - PRIVATE

2- LEONARD FLYOD - 39150331 - PRIVATE

3- CLAUNCH CURTIS - 34102886 - PRIVATE

4- LYMAN KAY - 19171144 - PRIVATE (Trouvé par mon ami qui fouille avec moi)

 

Merci d'avance de ton aide.

 

Je fouille ce camp depuis un an mais je peux m'y rendre qu'une ou deux

fois par mois.

 

Je te ferai des photos plus large de la foret et des trous individuels des soldats

(foxhall)

 

Best regards

 

Damien

 

 

Maintenant quelques photos des fouilles :

[Jeeper704]

This is the kind of story I really like.

 

I myself got lucky too.

Recently, I obtained an Ike Jacket from a GI in the 5th Armored Division (liberated Luxembourg and saw action in the Hürtgen Forest).

There was a name "D D Smith" on it ........ Smith is like Jones ..... 75% of the Americans are called either Smith or Jones.

I sent an e-mail to Mr. Will Cook although I knew it was a long shot.

Mr. Cook replied ..... D D Smith was Staff Sergeant Donald D Smith of 10th Tank Bn - 5th Armored Division (unfortunately passed away in December 1994).

 

I just love it when pieces become part of history or even when you can put a face with them.

 

Erwin

[Walt's Daughter]

Here's the translation:

 

Hello Marion:

 

Thank you a lot for replying to my email. I found this dogtag in BARENTHAL in the area of the Moselle (In France close to the Vosges)

 

As I stated, I re-discovered a former camp of the US ARMY and a little equipment and the dogtags of five soldiers and some collar pins of US engineers.

 

I did not know the regiment that was in this camp, I typed the name of the soldier WILLIAM COX on GOOGLE and I had the page of your website (Awards, honors and decorations 42-45) and I found WILLIAM COX was decorated with a purple heart on 1-22-1944.

 

Thanks to you and your work, I learned the rank of WILLIAM COX that I was unaware of and which regiment was in BARENTHAL.

 

I found the dogtags of the following GIs:

 

1- TACKETT EARL - 34362528 - PRIVATE

2- LEONARD FLYOD - 39150331 - PRIVATE

3- CLAUNCH CURTIS - 34102886 - PRIVATE

4- LYMAN KAY - 19171144 - PRIVATE (Found by my friend who searches with me)

 

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

 

I searched this camp for a year but I cannot return there more than once or twice a month.

 

I will show you the bigger photos of the forest and individual foxholes of the soldiers.

 

Best regards,

 

Damien

[Walt's Daughter]

Yes, Erwin, that was great luck. I am happy for you. This too is a wonderful event. I can't wait to find more. I am looking through the records right now for Dec of 44 and their time spent in and around Barenthal. I am so glad this gentleman found me. Ah, so many questions are in the making...

[Jeeper704]

Keep us updated.

I for one am sure interested in reading about these finds.

 

Erwin

[CaptO]

...At approximately 0330A, Pvt Zerface, Co. "E" fatally wounded when accidentally run over by dukw, while asleep in his tent.

 

This is serious business! In the areas we occupy for training we have a "ground guide" walking in front of the vehicle when it comes into an area where people are working and sleeping. This way you limit the speed of the vehicle and you also prevent (in most cases) running over people and gear. In the 8+ years of being active duty I've only seen a machine gun (a Mk-19 40mm automatic grenade launcher) run over. I have heard of others killed, however, in these sorts of accidents in other units. It doesn't surprise me at all that casualties of this type would happen 63ish years ago when you have the weight of the German army causing all sorts hate and discontent to contribute to the fog of war.

It’s always a sad thing no matter what the circumstance.

[Walt's Daughter]

I must admit it gave me a pretty creepy feeling when I read it. I re-read because at first I couldn't believe what I was reading. How sad indeed! Can you imagine how the GI felt when he learned what he had done? Oh man.

[chambers]

wow, just look at all that stuff he found! That's pretty cool

[Walt's Daughter]

Even better news! Damien searched through my photos pages and found a pic of the S/Sgt on OUR website! Here he is with his buddies.

 

http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/Web...eers/Album5.htm

 

Joel Minkoff's (also shown in the photo) great artistry is shown here too.