Each of our soldiers only had their fellow comrads with them each and every day. When times were tough ~ they always had Jesus on their side ~ just like a bridge over troubled waters ~ He was always there!
HOW TO BUILD A BRIDGE UNDER ENEMY FIRE
Our 202nd Combat Engineers were trained to go in and build a bridge so the infantry could advance. Our task was usually done under the cover of darkness and as quietly and quickly as we could. One bridge we built was over a railroad. We built it in one night and the infantry was waiting to cross. The railroad was 20 or 30 feet below where the bridge was being built. Building this bridge we had to build it twice the length to balance it as we rolled it over the railroad. When the bridge was over the open area and to the other side, we dismantled the part that was used for balance. During the next day the enemy shelled and destroyed the bridge. The next night we repeated the process and built a second bridge. The second day the same thing happened, the enemy destroyed the second bridge. The third day a third bridge was built. This bridge remained because the infantry shot the sniper that was radioing back to get the bridge destroyed. It all took a lot of teamwork. The "Bailey Bridge" was composed of sections of steel and was fastened together with aluminum pins pounded into place with rubber mallets, to cut down on the noise, when built at night. The infantry laying along the side of the road waiting to cross told us to be quiet as the enemy shoots at noises and said they would not trade places with us for anything. We responded with the same lack of desire to trade places with them. Some of the bridges were made out of pontoons to cross a river. The deck of the bridge was lashed to the pontoons and the pontoons were lashed together. This type was used on rivers that were too wide for the Bailey Bridge. While the bridge was being built we took a section of a bridge and loaded a tank, a jeep or a truck and ferried them across one at a time. The 202nd were trained at Camp Shelby, Mississippi beginning in March of 1943. We were taught to build the bridge, tear it town and build it again. We did build some permanent wooden bridges in a park in Mississippi. We were sent to Northern Ireland, then to Southampton for training and to load ships for the invasion in Europe. We landed on Omaha Beach and continued inland to take part in the breakthrough at St. Lo. Part of our job was to clear the bridges and mine fields ahead of the infantry. We traveled about 20 miles ahead of the infantry to build a bridge to enter the city of Brest, a German U-boat base. After the Germans surrender there, the engineers moved on to the city of Metz in northern France. At Luxembourg we took on supplies and were on our way to the Battle of the Bulge, the largest battle ever fought, involving 600,000 soldiers. Combat engineers were needed to relieve the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions. Holland was our next base to prepare for the Rhine crossing. This is the site of our longest bridge ever built under enemy fire. It was 1,152 feet and was built in a little over six hours. We were sent back to France to await further orders and the war was ended before we had to go to Japan. Our Battalion was deactivated and we were sent home on November 15, 1945.
~ Lyn ~
