1264th Engineer Combat Battalion

[Tom V]

On 10/15/2009 at 12:36 PM, Proud Son said:

Hello

My Father was also in the 1264th Combat Engineer Battalion. He also went through Fort Hood Tx. his name is William Edward Wells. We are so fortunate that he is still with us and in great health, despite what the Germans did to him. He will be 87 on Dec 7th of this year. He was originally in the Army Specialist Corp which sent 200 men to the University of Dayton to study engineering for the rebuilding of Europe after the war. Once things escalated he was transferred into the 1264th. He was wounded in the Rhineland campaign and spent 14 months in the hospital. He was out before the bridge at Remagen. He does not speak of it at all with the exception of an occasional funny story. He still has nightmares but is the best example of a good man I have ever known. I'm sure the same thing can be said for your Father. Those men were cut from a better cloth. Our Father's served together and might have known each other. If you would like I will ask him. I also bought a book that was written by men in that unit and was printed in Germany in 1945. I found it in an antique bookstore in FLA. I read the forward and cried. They said " We are not writing this for us because we would like to forget what we saw here." We are writing to the future children of these men who will inevetibly ask, Pop what did you do in the big war?" They went on to say that" ..."And he will never speak of it." They wrote that book to me and you. I gave it to my Dad and the only thing he said is." Whoever said time heals all wounds never saw this stuff, cause some just don't heal. If you want any info from the book I would be happy to get it for anyone. I would love to hear more about your dad.

Hi, I am very interested in the book you mention. Would you be willing to sell or send a copy of it? My dad was a T Sargent in the 1264th and I have very little information besides a few remembered stories. Trying to identify his path through Europe and maybe match a couple photos we have. 

[Tom V]

On 7/13/2017 at 9:26 PM, Sam said:

It's been years since I last visited this forum. I recently found it again while researching the 1264th ECB for a history paper at school.

Yes, I returned to college after being laid off from my job due to the company moving overseas. I mean, 55 isn't too old to graduate with a degree, is it?

Anyway, I have been doing a LOT of research into the 1264th for this paper - I even found the notes from my meetings with Rex Pierce from 7 years ago. Sadly, he passed away a couple of years ago.

I haven't yet turned in the final copy of this paper, but I have been asked permission for the college to retain an electronic copy of this paper as a resource. If you happen to spot any mistakes, PLEASE let me know ASAP.

The sources are listed at the end - with the vast majority of the information was found via personal interviews or from the unit history itself. I tried to include as much information as possible - I even called the National Weather Service to obtain the weather information for Brownwood, Texas (Camp Bowie was located just south of Brownwood), on April 1, 1944.

Enjoy...I hope this is informative for you. Do not copy without permission, please.

 

Does a copy of the mentioned report exist somewhere? Would love to get a copy of it. 

[Tom V]

On 7/14/2017 at 7:21 AM, Walt's Daughter said:

Had a chance to read it this morning. Nicely done. Wouldn't change a thing.

Any way to get a copy? 

[Walt's Daughter]

I have eight people in my 1264th email list. I will put you in contact with them. Don't know how many addresses are still viable, but it's worth a shot. 

[Tom V]

Thank you. Much appreciated. 

[Sam]

Sorry I haven't responded to requests until now.

Life has kept me busy - as have the 25,000 kids at the schools I take care of - seems like the Engineering/Maintenance Department has a never-ending job.

I am going to try to post an attachment of the final paper I submitted. It was up for consideration for publication in a major history journal, but due to my refusal to edit it to fit space requirements (it would have eliminated some very pertinent data, in my opinion), the submission was finally rejected after more than a year.

I hope this will be informative for those of you who read it.

The Bastard Battalion.docx

[Walt's Daughter]

So wonderful seeing this thread being revived. That's what I love about this forum. No topic ever slips away for good.

 

[Sam]

Do we have any professional writers in this group? I think the story of the 1264th ECB would make a fantastic book and/or movie - but the information I have been able to find out is very limited, as the unit history book I have didn't cover everything, according to Rex Pierce, and sadly, he passed away a few years ago without being able to share all his knowledge of his service. The others that have passed either didn't share their experiences (like my father), or those that did did not have their stories shared with the world.

While the stories of the "Big Red 1", the 101st Airborne, and several others have been told (usually with many omissions and much embellishment), the stories of the ECB's haven't seen as much attention. The stories of the 291st and the 238th ECB's have appeared in print, but I consider the contributions of the 1264th to be of equal importance as those of any other unit in WWII. Victory would not have come if all the men and women in the military, and those who supported them, had failed in their quest to achieve victory. The wives and mothers left behind who donated time and labor to volunteer, working hard to recycle metals and rubber; the women who stepped up and worked long hours in factories; the men and women who designed and tested the weapons used; the doctors and nurses who cared for and treated the wounded, and even the orderlies who cleaned the bedpans of those injured in combat all have stories to tell, and all of them contributed to the allied victory.

These stories need to be shared - especially with the majority of today's younger generation, with their misguided grasp on reality, their lack of understanding of history, and their delusional ideas of safe spaces. They need to learn the realities of the world - and what better way than to know that those who came before fought through the worst the world could throw at them, and the fortunate ones also experienced the best the world and their fellow man could give.

 

[Walt's Daughter]

I'm actually a writer, editor and publisher. I've written some magazine articles for WWII magazines and such, and also published a tween trilogy in the past few years. Story of Q

 

Here's a page that features my articles

As far as storytelling is concerned, it's one of the reasons this website exists. If you check out all the memoirs on the main site, you will see how many stories have been shared with me over the last decade or so.