1053rd Engineer Port Construction and Repair Group

[j3rdinf]

Thank you in advance for reading my posting. I have run into a dead end in researching my grandfather's steps during WWII. His name was Victor Richards and was from Rochester, NY. He was assigned to the 1053rd Engineer Port Construction and Repair Group and left for England, from Boston, MA on 28 December 1943, arriving in England on 07 January 1944. His unit landed in France on 16 August 1944 and redesignated at Lige, Belgium 02 January 1945. This is where things become murky. His unit was redesignated to the Headquarters and Headquarters Company as "Port Construction and Repair". His unit left France on 16 January 1945, arriving in the Philipines on 20 July 1945, and was deactivated on 15 January 1946. IN trying to research his history, I cannot find anything on 1053rd Engineer Port Construction and Repair Group. Can anyone help at all? Thank you again in advance.

[Walt's Daughter]

Wow. Now that may be a tough one. Probably my toughest one yet, but I'll see what I can personally find out about this unit.

 

Thanks for posting here, you never know, someone might just see this and have an immediate answer. I'll keep in touch.

 

How did you find out about us? Always like to know.

 

[jasoncummings]

Thank you for your help, it is very much appreciated. Btw - I found you guys via a search on Google. Thanks again and have a great day.

 

Jason

[Walt's Daughter]

I would strongly recommend trying to write to the Army Corps of Engineers. They have folders on each engineer group during the war. Some of much more extensive than others and some may only have a few pages, but it's worth a shot.

 

Contact Info For Army Corps of Engineers

 

They were a huge help to me!

 

Have you seen this link?

 

Roots Web

[jasoncummings]

Marion,

 

Thanks for the links, very much appreciated. The "Rootsweb" link provided some information that I have never seen regarding my grandfather's service in WWII. His unit is very hard to get any information on, as it seems that they were disbanded during the Battle of Bulge and placed in other units that needed men. I also appreciate the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers link. I placed a call and left a message, hopefully they can help me out as well. Anyway, thank you very much for your assistance, it is greatly appreciated. Have a great afternoon.

 

Regards, Jason

[dusty]

Jason;

The redesignation you refer to is probably derived from the soldier's mail address.

The early PC&R Groups consisted of 4 sections, the HQ being incorporated into the 2 dock sections. All mail seems to have been addressed as Hq of Hq co (number PC&R Gr)

http://users.bentonrea.com/~tinear/1054.htm

My history of these units begins with the 1054, but contains some generic info that may interest you.

I started with 1054 because my Dad was in it. But these early PC&R Groups were unusual and I intent to pursue the history of all of them.

Keep in touch.

Dusty

[MARNE]

The 1051st, 1052nd, 1053rd and 1054th Engineers, Port Construction & Repair Battalions were organized and constituted at Fort Joseph Screven, Georgia over the years of 1941-1943. Fort Joseph Screven is 45 minutes away from me on the North End of Tybee Island, near Savannah, Georgia.

 

I actually portray the U.S. 70th CAC, "A" Battery, circa. 1940 at Fort Joseph Screven.

 

The 1051st & 1053rd Served in the Mediterranean/Europe. The 1054th served in the Pacific on New Guinea and in the Philippines. The 1052d I WAS in Europe but, toward the end of the war was transferred over to the Pacific only one of handful to do so.

 

Regards,

MARNE

[Walt's Daughter]

Gee it's great to hear from you. As I always tell folks; you never know when information will appear out of the blue. Consider the fact that the original posting was in 2005, and....

 

 

This is great info. Thanks Marne!

 

Hope all is well with you.

[MARNE]

Hey Marion!

 

Yes, I know its been a VERY long time... I've been doing great actually and you?

 

The boys in the 3rd Division Living History Company are doing well. We just finished... FINALLY... the WWII Memorial here in Savannah last November. We'd been working on establishing a WWII Monument to Savannah's fallen since the late Summer of 2006... and to see it finally come to life was simply amazing. I will post pictures of the ceremony and the

veterans who attended on that great day here in Savannah... a COLD day.. but GREAT nonetheless.

 

Regards,

MARNE

[Walt's Daughter]

I finally got a chance to view the pics this morning and left some comments. I really enjoyed those and think the monument is stunning. Very different from anything I've ever seen before. It was fantastic that you had over 300 veterans show. Awesome!