From: ben (left off for privacy)
To: (left off for privacy)
Sent: Monday, January 19, 2009 11:40:21 PM
Subject:
To whom it may concern:
Was the 313th Engineer Combat Battalion part of the 540th Regiment? The reason I ask is because my grandfather was a member of the 313th battalion. He passed away before I was born and the only reason I know his battalion was due to a newspaper article regarding a promotion. His unit was assigned to the 88th Infantry Divison who has some of the same campaign credits, Rome-arno, Po Valley, and North Africa are just a few, and my family members seem to have little information regarding this matter. I want to honor his sacrifice and the sacrifice of those who served with him. Any information you may have is greatly appreciated. My email is (left off for privacy).
Sincerely,
Ben
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Dear Ben:
No they were not. The 540th was a simple two battalion regiment, the 1st and 2nd, later to become the 2832nd and 2833rd, respectively. They were known as a "bastard" unit, meaning they were never permanent part of a division, but rather struck out on their own, and functioned separately. Thought they were often times "attached" to other units, for battles and campaigns. They functioned directly under the 5th and 7th Armies and also VI Corps.
The 313th Engineer Bn was part of the 88th Infantry Division.
This site is still under construction (he's working on the engineer section), but I would contact the webmaster directly.
http://www.88infdiv.org/ - I just checked this in April 2018 and the site is NOT available. What a shame!
http://www.lonesentry.com/unithistory/88th...ntry/page2.html
Well that should get you off to a good start. I look forward to hearing from you. You may want to look at my research section here:
http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/eng...hp?showtopic=23
I strongly suggest you contact Michael Brodhead, a friend, and one of the historians at the Army Corps of Engineers, Office of History.
Warmly,
Marion
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"