Posted by Allan Wilford Howerton Link: "Dear Captain, et al."
on March 19, 2009, 3:35 pm, in reply to "John Estevo, A Co 309 Eng."
172.167.140.177
Pfc. John B. Estevo is listed in the Company A, 309th Engineer Combat Battalion section of the 84th Division roster but there is no other information about him except that his hometown was Eureka, California.
The combat engineers were an essential element of the 84th Infantry Division. Their operations were integrated with that of the division as a whole and the best source of information about their activities is likely to be found in the division history, "The 84th Infantry Division in the Battle of Germany" by Lt. Theodore Draper (Viking Press, NY: 1946). It is out of print but used copies and reprints may be found through various Internet booksellers. The book has descriptions of the role of the engineers in various river crossings, particularly the Roer and the Weser, and a variety of other activities. There are several photographs pertaining to the river crossings. The appendix lists the names of the Battalion’s commanders and the commanders of its companies.
The wartime records of the 309th (on file with the National Archives and Records Administration—NARA) may also contain a variety of materials such as monthly after-action reports, combat interviews, monthly historical data reports, general orders, special orders, and other miscellaneous information. There are brief histories for some 84th units written by soldiers just after hostilities ended. If there is such a history of the 309th it may be with these records. This material is at NARA’S Suitland, Maryland facility. Web site:
http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/suitland/
For more detailed research pertaining to personnel and day-to-day locales, the battalion’s daily morning reports may be available on microfiche at NARA’s St. Louis, Missouri facility. Web site:
http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/standard-form-180.html
My unit crossed the Roer River, escorted by engineers on a footbridge they constructed under enemy fire, and crossed the Weser River in small boats managed by the combat engineers. My memoir, "Dear Captain, et al.: "The Agonies and the Ecstasies of War and Memory" contains detailed accounts of these river crossings and other references to the engineers. Information is at the link below.
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