401st Combat Engineer Battalion

[Custermen]

Wow! Great info. Thanks.

Those guys were all over the map. This description has good details of dates and exact places and may help understand the fluid battlefield during the drive across the Po Valley up into the Alps.

 

And that name sounds familiar: Colonel John D. Cole, Jr. I take note of anyone with my last name and I thought I recall him being in an infantry or artillery unit. That will bug me all night.

 

Steve

[M.Jones]

rch 1945 and redesignated the 19th Engineer Combat Group, while regimental headquarters was at Frassineta, east of Monghidoro, Italy. The 1st and 2nd Battalions were reorganized at the same time, and redesignated the 401st Engineer Combat Battalion and 402nd Engineeer Combat Battalion, respectively.

[Jace]

I found this thread very informative. Thank you everyone that wrote here! My wifes Grandfather served with the 19th Combat Eng. From Africa till after Monte Casino. He has written his experiences down And I have transfered them to the computer recently if anyone is interested! I'm so glad to find a forum out here on the web that I can share my excitement and honor of our family.

 

Here is the pro log of his history: He was in the 4th squad, 4th Platoon CO.F, 19th Combat Eng. (the 30 Cal. M.G. Man.)

 

I… Ernest W. Warner had been in the front lines 555 days and overseas well over two years. Was in six major campaigns and entitled to wear the silver star on my combat and theater ribbons, five invasions. Three by the amphibious type landings and two invasions by land, one in Africa and one in Italy in and around the Naples-Foggia area.

The two units of service I was in was the 19th Engineer regiment (combat) and the 9770 Chemical Warfare Service- to which I was attached upon my return to the U.S.A. and the unit from which I was discharged.

 

His history is very extensive. 20 pages or so. Is that too much for this forum?

 

JACE

[Jace]

<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>A platoon of the 19th Engineers relieved me , just one hour before, of the job of building the bridge across the Rapido river for the assault by the 36 Division in January 1944. No one ever explained to me why the switch was made. I suppose THe Lord had plans for the brave engineers from the 19th that died that night I commanded 1st platoon of co. B 48th Engrs. at the time. I have thought many times about the operation. Why, WE, were the ones that had trained for and had made a special reconnaissance of the site. Yes The 19th was in Italy!!! I tell of the operation in my writings. AL Kincer 48th Engrs</span>

 

<span style='font-family:Optima'><span style='color:green'>

<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Added note from Marion -

 

Al and others. I've noticed that changing the font sizes, etc. are still a problem for many on this forum. Here's a helpful hint.

 

If you want to change the size of the font, etc., first highlight all the text with your mouse, then while it's still highlighted, go up to the size box and select from it.</span></span></span>

 

This might Have been our Grandfather that relieved you guys. Here is his perspective.:

 

(Excerpt from Life History of Ernest Warner- CO.F 19th Eng.)

 

Our outfit moved up the valley along the Volurno River and we were again stopped at another river by the name Rapido (rapid). The battle along the Rapido was a mess. We helped put 3000 infantrymen across the Rapido and after three days of battle they were ordered back and only 500 of them came back. The rest were M.I.A. (Missing In Action) or wounded or captured.

 

I helped to put several platoons over and one particular platoon was sunk in the middle of the river and I heard the boys gurgle and gasp as the hit that cold water, and to help matters out the water was awful swift and not a little deep in spots. I helped this one young infantryman out of the water and had just clambered out of that freezing water and had moved to the top of a dike when old Jerry again gave us a few rounds of M.G. fire and we went over the bank and yelled at that young fellow to not go clear over as the mines had not been cleared. I was too late. He rolled over one and I figured he was done for – but as I went closer I found he had not been wounded but he was really shook up and his clothes were in rags and I tried to help him to his feet he kept on trying to crawl on his hands and knees, I finally succeeded in getting him to his feet and well on the way back to the aid station and upon reaching the aid station I turned him over to the medics in charge and as I was about to leave the officer in charge came out and wanted to talk to me. I really got a dressing down for letting that young soldier keep his weapons. The Doc. Told me he was shell-shocked and that a person near that victim should take all lethal tools of any kind away immediately because they the shell-shocked G.I. had no control over their passions or emotions. I guess I was lucky he didn’t try to kill me. I hadn’t been feeling to well during this phase of operations but figured that it was only the smoke that was bothering me. The chemical warfare boys kept the valley full so old Jerry could not see us so readily. Early the next a.m. I could hardly get out of bed; I went over and asked the medic for some aspirin. The medic took one look at me and hiked me over to the Doc. And as he examined me, he kept telling the aid men who were there to get the ambulance ready for a trip to the field hospital. He asked me if I had ever had malaria, and I told him no. The next words were that of…â€well you got it now.â€

 

JACE

[Walt's Daughter]

Hey Jace:

 

Wonderful, just wonderful. It's fantastic to have your hands on the diary entries and I'm thankful and grateful that you took the time to post those here. Of course I would love to read more and I'm sure the other members would agree with me.

 

It's very cool when we can tie one regiment in with another and see how all the little pieces of the campaign make up the bigger picture.