Was wondering about something ..... could it be possible that my friend was sent to the 112th Combat Engineers as extra manpower for D-Day?They were attached to 29th Infantry and I believe they were overstrength specifically for this mission.
That would make my friend's service timeline complete.
Thanks.
Erwin
Hi Jeeper704
Yes, he could have been assigned to them here is why. The 112th began loading on ships June 1st (Was he already aboard a ship when reassigned?) Before D-Day the commanding officer of 112th Battalion, Lt Col John O'Neill had left the Battalion temporarily to command a special army/navy team formed with the task of clearing anti-landing craft obstacles on Omaha Beach in advance of the invading troops.
The team led by Lt Col O'Neill suffered heavy casualties in carrying out its mission.
( This team more than likely included troopers from the 112th ECB and would have needed replacements for the landings. This unit had it's own special mission after the landings. They and the 254th ECB were trained extenively in beach landing operations)
His executive officer Major William A Richards assumed command of 112th Battalion for the D-Day landings.
Assault units of the battalion landed on Omaha Beach.
The assault forces organised briefly on the beaches and courageously went over the top in the face of a seemingly hopeless situation through the minefields and obstacles.
Major Richards was among 37 men of the 112th Battalion who were killed or missing. A further 45 members of the battalion were wounded, 34 of them seriously.
Despite these casualties and the extremely fierce enemy opposition, 112th Battalion succeeded in their D-Day mission and their heroism was recognised by the award of a Presidential Unit Citation and a number of individual decorations for gallantry. Hope this helps. I have a couple of questions 1. what unit did he train with in the states and did he ship to England with them? 2. What duties was he assigned when he was with the 981st EMC?
Best regards
PJW