292nd Engineer Combat Battalion (New Member)

[Tony's Boy]

He is indeed in the photo he is in the second row on the 2nd to the far left. This is a photo but trying to get it scanned.

[Sir Gator]

He is indeed in the photo he is in the second row on the 2nd to the far left. This is a photo but trying to get it scanned.

Kenneth,

 

Cool!! it is indeed the same as what I have (sans burn hole). From their vantage point looking toward us, my grandfather is in the back row, 4th from the right. This is fantastic!!! I assume this photo was taken at Camp Butner. Did I read right that maybe you weren't sure what company your grandfather was in? My grandfather was in A company for most of the training period from Feb-Oct 1944. However, if my recollections are correct from letters he wrote home, right before they left Butner he was transferred to H&S company and then subsequently transferred back to A company in January of 1945 due to the mechanics in that company being out of service. Could this possibly be a photo of H&S company? The consensus was that the photo doesn't have enough men in it to be a full company. Would the Headquarters and Service Company have been smaller then A, B and C companies?

 

Randy,

 

Can you look at one of the prints that you just received of A company and use the previous hi-res image that I posted as reference to see if you can see my grandfather? Remember, he is fourth from the right in the back row (as they look at us) in my photo.

 

We'll get to the bottom of this, gentlemen, I assure you!

 

Gary

 

Incidentally, even with the the upper end scanner that I have I had to scan it in three pieces and then digitally reassmble it (time consuming at the resolution I scan things). As I have stated in the past to others, if somewhere down the road you would like me to take a crack at it then it would be my pleasure. I do realize that his is a family heirloom so there would be a natural reluctance to do this especially since you really barely are acquainted with all of us here. Just food for thought, my friend, to try to assist in any way possible. G

[rwrich51]

I received a copy of A co today from Hampton House . I must say I was very happy with it. My father is 10th from the left in the back roll and what I thought was pretty neat was Randy's grandfather was 5th from the left in the same roll and I could be wrong but I believe Gary's grandfather is in the same roll 4th from the right not real sure. I would like to say a great big Thank You to LIsa for making this possible. And another big THANK YOU to Marion for this site....Ralph

[Sir Gator]

I received a copy of A co today from Hampton House . I must say I was very happy with it. My father is 10th from the left in the back roll and what I thought was pretty neat was Randy's grandfather was 5th from the left in the same roll and I could be wrong but I believe Gary's grandfather is in the same roll 4th from the right not real sure. I would like to say a great big Thank You to LIsa for making this possible. And another big THANK YOU to Marion for this site....Ralph

Say Randy,

 

Any chance you could take a photo of the portion of the photo that you think my grandfather is in. I am going to order a copy regardless, but if that is indeed him then there are other family members who will want copies, also.

 

Thanks so much in advance, my friend!

 

Gary

[buk2112]

Gary,

 

This is so cool you and Ken have the same photo, are we having fun yet guys? The more I look and think about your photo the more convinced I am that what you have there is a platoon picture. A company of men is usually made up of four platoons at or about forty men each, your pic has the right amount of men. The man standing on the far left is an officer, he would be the platoon leader, the man standing on the far right is a Staff Sergeant, he would be the leader's assistant the platoon sergeant. I'm willing to bet they took individual platoon photos before they took the company as a whole. I have studied the Company A photo I just received a lot this evening. I believe all the soldiers in your photo, also appear in the Company A photo. In some cases the same guys are standing right next to each other or very close together in both photographs. The back drop is identical in both pics, both were taken at the exact same spot at Camp Butner. I believe that I have identified both of your grandfather's in the Company A photograph . I hate to make you wait a bit my friend but it has been a long day for me, I will post close ups tomorrow of who I think your relatives are in the photo, and you guys can confirm or not. If I am correct about your photo being a platoon one, then your grandfather's were not only in the same company but also in the same platoon and who know's, maybe the very same squad. This is all great stuff guys!

 

Randy

[buk2112]

I received a copy of A co today from Hampton House . I must say I was very happy with it. My father is 10th from the left in the back roll and what I thought was pretty neat was Randy's grandfather was 5th from the left in the same roll and I could be wrong but I believe Gary's grandfather is in the same roll 4th from the right not real sure. I would like to say a great big Thank You to LIsa for making this possible. And another big THANK YOU to Marion for this site....Ralph

 

 

 

Hello everyone,

 

My wife called me at work Thursday to say my Company A photos had arrived in the mail. Let me Tell you, I couldn't get home fast enough to check them out. I was well pleased with the quality of these reproductions. You can see good detail and faces are easily recognized. I had picked out my grandfather before I got the photo completely unrolled. There was great interest in this picture for my family and we had ordered five copies. I set about delivering these yesterday, everyone was so thrilled to get one. My dad has been a barber for 55 years now and he was proud to display the picture in his shop, I'm sure it will receive a lot of comments.

 

Ralph called me yesterday afternoon to tell me that he had just got his copy of the photo. We had a good conversation about it and like he said my grandfather and his dad were close together in the back row. As you are looking at the picture he is #5 from the left and Ralph's dad is #10 from the left. We both thought this was pretty neat. Some other observations we made about the photo were that the soldier in the very center of the front row is holding a little dog .I didn't catch it at first glance because the dog's head is turned and his white color blends in with the soldier's uniform. Ralph told me his father has other pictures of this guy, always holding a dog. Another thing we noticed was there are five men inline together in the very center of the group who are dressed in white instead of khaki uniforms. We both don't know what to make of that, another little mystery to ponder. We both feel like there were probably not a lot of copies of this photograph to begin with and probably even less now. We feel extremely lucky to be given the opportunity to have one. My grandfather has been gone since 1972, coming across a new picture of him is a treasure indeed!

 

I wanted to give a big thank you to everyone who made this possible. Lisa Sykes has been very kind to take the time and effort involved so we all could have this piece of history. Hampton House, for a job well done. And last but certainly not least, Marion. Kudos you guys!

 

 

 

Hope everyone has a good day!

 

Randy

[buk2112]

Say Randy,

 

Any chance you could take a photo of the portion of the photo that you think my grandfather is in. I am going to order a copy regardless, but if that is indeed him then there are other family members who will want copies, also.

 

Thanks so much in advance, my friend!

 

Gary

 

 

 

Gary,

 

The gentleman in the center is the one I thought might be a match for your grandfather. What do you think?

 

 

[buk2112]

Say Randy,

 

Any chance you could take a photo of the portion of the photo that you think my grandfather is in. I am going to order a copy regardless, but if that is indeed him then there are other family members who will want copies, also.

 

Thanks so much in advance, my friend!

 

Gary

 

 

 

Gary,

 

The gentleman in the front row center is the one I thought might be a match for your grandfather. What do you think?

 

 

[Sir Gator]

 

 

 

Gary,

 

The gentleman in the center is the one I thought might be a match for your grandfather. What do you think?

 

 

IMG_0479 (2400x1800).jpg

Randy,

 

That is indeed my grandfather, Randall Gates! Wow. how exciting! We are finalizing how many copies the family wants and will be placing an order Monday morning.

 

Thanks to Lisa for this unexpected opportunity to obtain such a treasure and to Marion for empowering us all to create our small, but growing 292nd community. This is truly a gift that will be cherished by our family forever!

 

I am in your debt, ladies!

 

Gary

[buk2112]

Wow Gary that is super! I am so glad that is him. His location in the picture is the seventh soldier counting from the left side in the front row This is the same section of the group my grandfather and Ralph's dad are in. I must say I'm a bit confused about which soldier is Ken's grandfather in his photo. If he could clarify, I would be glad to try and find his grandfather in the Company A picture as well. I'm sure he will be in there, like I said in my previous post, I'm finding all the soldiers in his photo to be in the Company A pic as well. Have a good one.

 

Randy