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How do you find information on the 664th topographic engineers in World War 2?
My Dad passed in 1998 & was in the 61st engineer combat battalion in WW2. I have been unable to find any info on the internet. My Mom has a photo from Stars & Stripes which is a 1 page cartoon on the 61st engineer combat battalion. I recall the cartoon is of a football game & the caption is "They have the goal line mined" with reference to the 61st engineer combat battalion. I know my Dad lived with a Belgium couple for a short while during WW2 but have no further info. All the best, Wayne Masters The 61st Combat Engineer Battalion landed at Omaha Beach, Normandy, France on or about D-Day + 6 , June 12, 1944. They maneuvered as far south as Epernay, France before heading north to Dolhane, Belgium and eventually into Germany. Your father lived with a family in Dolhane and most of the 61st battalion, including my father, were billeted with Belgian families in this town for about 8 weeks from November, 1944 through early January 1945. The 61st were on the northern fringe of the Battle of the Bulge. I am uncertain of their precise engagement in the battle but I do know that anyone capable of carrying a rifle was put on guard. Robert Di Salvo Son of PFC James Di Salvo 61st Combat Engineer Batallion 31086601 disalvo10@comcast.net
What World War 2 group wore the insignia of a parachute lowering a skull with batwings?
The insignia that you describe was the unit insignia of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment. The 502nd, along with the 501st & the 506th were the three Parachute Infantry Regiments of the 101st Airborne Division during WW 2. Richard V. Horrell WW 2 Connections.com That insignia was used by Gus "Doc" Anagnostis for the drop zone he owned in Dickinson, Texas (halfway between Houston and Galveston. He called the club the Galveston Skydivers. He made 61 parachute jumps on his 61st birthday. He drank uzo and danced with handkercheif and could be me arm wrestling when I was 20 and in great shape. In the movie "The Longest Day" he was portrayed as a sole survivor of his group and I watched his chin quiver, just a little, when those boys were shot in the air, under parachutes off of target L.Z. I have one on my jumpsuit. It is smiling now! Gus "Doc" Anagnostis was my papoo (Grandpa). He did indeed use the insignia for his diving school. However, he made 51 jumps on his 51st birthday (not 61) - he is in the Genus Book of World Records for this. Papoo used this insignia for his school because he was in the 101st Airborne Screaming Eagles. He parachuted in the night before D-Day, and he survived the Battle of the Bulge. He was truly a bad-a##. Elizabeth Anagnostis
