My Dad's service in WWII - Information help.

Hello everyone,
What a wonderful forum of information, stories and help here. I will try to be brief. I am trying to find out about my Dad's journey from Normandy Beach (from England) to Germany. He started out in the Ninth Air Force to the IX Engineer Command and into 834th Engineer Aviation Battalion. Originally scheduled to come in on the second wave of Day 1 - Normandy Invasion, but because the beach was not secured they came in the next day. His division immediately got to work on building air strips and they received a Presidential Citation.
On his separation papers, CO. "G" 5th Infantry. I was wondering how he got there and if its the 5th Infantry Division - which one of the 3 Infantry Regiments could he of been a part of - the 2nd Infantry Regiment, 10th Infantry Regiment, or the 11th Infantry Regiment, all of which have "G" companies. This is one several hurdles I must get over and go further in my Dad's journey.
I would like to point out that my Dad did not speak much of service to his children and I understand that. I went to Utah Beach and Normandy Beach this Summer to try to get some answers and did. It was an experience I will never forget.
I need some help with this 5th Division puzzle, if anyone can help - I would be most grateful. This information will passed down to my Dad's grandchildren and their children.
Thanks everyone,
Sincerely,
Tim Aldrich (Son) of PFC Albert J. Aldrich

 

Welcome to the forums!

 

Hello Sir,
I noticed you were posting from Stirling, Scotland. My Dad left his home in the Buffalo/Lackawanna area of New York to, I believe New York City and boarded the USS West Point (Formally the America Luxury Liner) on 08/06/42. He arrived in Europe on 08/17/42 and based on places that were inscribed on his mess kit he spent time in Liverpool England, Wales and Scotland. I was wondering if you could tell me what part of Scotland he might of went to.
Thanks for any help and thanks for the welcome.
Sincerely,
Tim Aldrich (Son) of PFC Albert J. Aldrich

 

The war campaigns he fought in - Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes and Central Europe - do you think he stayed with the 834th Engineer Aviation Battalion for that? How would I find out otherwise, his mess kit is inscribed with England, Scotland, Wales, France, Belgium and Germany, all places he was in.
Thank you for your response.
Tim Aldrich (son) of PFC Albert J. Aldrich

 

Tim, the following link for the 834 has the text for their unit citation along with a copy of the unit history, some photos and a small number of entries in their website forum. I did not find a photo of your father in the unit history but that doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't a member of the unit.

http://www.ixengineercommand.com/units/834th.php

There's even a 7 minute video showing them on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpxee-y6hNk

Info about one of the airfields they worked on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maupertus-sur-Mer_Airfield

A PDF about IX Engineer Command for a $1.99: http://www.merriam-press.com/aviationengineersinmobilewarfare.aspx

Photo of men from the unit on Fold3 website: https://www.fold3.com/image/38253429?ann=8d7cda80-07c0-11e0-5c66-267a44110924

Look on page 267 at this link: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/VII/AAF-VII-9.html

Good luck with your search.

Steve

 

Thank you, Sir.

 

Thank you, Steve, I will investigate it all!