Hi Marion:
To follow up on my previous letter to you this morning: I am a retired dentist, now 86 years old, but very active, alert and doing things. My daughter, sent me the link to your web site,about the VI corp engineers, and I felt impelled to respond. Icould not understand how there could be 2 148th. engineer combat batallions, except that it could have been re-activated in the VI Corps.
I graduated from dental school in 1941, and opened my first office in Phila., PA . Pearl Harbor changed everything for me, and I applied for a direct commission in 1942, and was sent to Camp Shelby, Miss., assigned to the Station Coma couipleplement. Shortly after that, the 148th. was activated at Shelby, and I reported to them as part of the cadre of 32 officers, including a Doctor and a Dentist. Soon, within a couple of weeks we got a shipment of @ 800 new draftees mostly from PA., from Indiantown Gap and other PA induction centers, and we began training there. In about 6 months we were sent overseas to England, as part of 7th. Corp, 1st. Army, and went in to France on Utah Beach on D+3, and advanced with 7th Corp across France, Belgium and Germany ending up in Eisenach at the end of ETO hostilities.
Part of one of our many jobs was the construction of the Hodges Bridge, with two other Battakions and a QM dump truck company, and probably many other units that I do not remember. However I remember clearly all the events surrounding the site selection, surveying znd preparation for the crossing.
All that is too long to tell here. I have often thought of writing a history of our batallion- we had adventures through the Bulge, suffered our share of casualties, and the memories of the great "kids" wed had in the unit are still clear in my mind.
I had in fact a couple of years ago a letter from a man in Washington, PA who had a copy of the roster of the men, and has been having reunions, but at that time I was not able to become active in any way with them, although I did have a copy of the roster, and I knew manyh of the names it listed. I cannot find those records, although I always prided myself on keeping stuff like that, but in my last two moves I must have misplaced the file, and I am sorry I cannot find the file at this time.
Regards Lester
I am going to try to attach some photos to send to you
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"