Remembrances

Submitted by
Name: Micki Gasparich Naal
From: Joliet, IL
E-mail: Contact

Comments:
My father, Joseph Gasparich, was in H&S company. He just celebrated his 88th birthday and is in fine health except for a back injury he sustained in the War. After the War, my dad became an electrician and worked 40 years at US Steel in his hometown of Joliet, IL. He married Helen Lazar and they went on to have eight children - all college educated and doing well thanks to the hard work and dedication of our parents. My father never once complained about the War and felt he served with all great men. He was especially fond of his commanding officers and felt that he would do anything they asked for out of mutual respect. He told me that Officer Behe was the greatest man he ever known. My dad is always extremely humble when it comes to his contribution to the War. He cries when he speaks of the best friend he lost who was an infantry fighter and was shot in Germany AFTER the war from a disgruntled or unknowing German soldier. My dad's cousin died as a pilot who volunteered fom more missions than he needed to do. My brothers and sisters and I are personally grateful to have this website to understand more the great contribution of the men of the 555th. My dad protected us from the bad things, but knowledge is everything. My mom passed away just this past month and my dad is now on his own. He will be fine with our care and because he is one of the strongest men of character I know. My dad would say that the War and Officer Behe trained him to handle just about everything with strength and grace. God bless you all.

Added: October 26, 2011

Submitted by
Name: Gerald J. Semro Sr.
From: Woodstock Il.
E-mail: Contact

Comments:
This was just brought to my attention by my son who lives in Cary Il. Robert A. Semro was my brother and was in the army at that time.Bob passed away on April 3rd 2009. He was living in Florida.

Added: October 3, 2011

Submitted by
Name: V Tetzlaff
From: Minnesota
E-mail: Contact

Comments:
Thank you so much for this website! My dad, Floyd Tetzlaff, was a Private in B Company. He never talked about the war or what he experienced and the only remnants I have are a few pictures of him in training in Oregon and a few letters he sent home to his mother, my grandmother. I could only hear from his brother how difficult his service was; he just wouldn't talk about it to his children.

All of his military records were destroyed in the fire which obliterated so many others and the gear and paperwork he'd kept was ruined in a flood when I was a teenager. He died in 2006. Your website is the only source I've had to get a picture of what it must have been like for him, a 19/20-year-old who grew up on a farm and had a way with carpentry and tools.

I'm grateful to you and everyone who has contributed to this site for keeping this history alive. We should never forget what was accomplished with so little complaint.

Added: June 15, 2011

Submitted by
Name: Don Bobber
From: Eden Prairie, Mn
E-mail: Contact

Comments:
My name is Don Bobber and my father's name is Robert Bobber. My dad was born in 1924 and died in 1994 after a lengthy battle with non-hodgkins lymphoma. My dad's experinces during WW II were never openly shared with me, my brother, or sister. I'm sure he confided in my mother who he married after the war, but I really think his way of erasing some of the horific memories was to be stoic and not openly discuss it. I remmeber growing up my mom and dad would attend the army reunion parties held periodically and I assume this was somewhat therapeutic for all the men who experienced some horific things. When I read through the web site I cannot be anything but extremely proud of my dad and all the 555th for their heroic actions.

Added: April 22, 2011

Submitted by
Name: William Motquin
From: Green Bay WI
E-mail: Contact

Comments:
I am writing to see if anyone knew my grandfather he was in B company his name was Wilfred motquin. I would love to hear stories about his time in the war if anyone remembers him. He passed away in Oct 1999. I was in the Army as well stationed in Germany but never talked to him about his experiences somethign i will regret forever. So if anyone knew him I would be grateful for an email.
Thanks
William Motquin

Added: January 29, 2011

Submitted by
Name: Richard Cullen
From: Naples, Florida

Comments:
Attached please find a short description of my experience as a member of the 555th which was sent to my niece who was a college student at that time. She was preparing a paper on WW2 and asked if I would assist her with my experiences.
June 3, 2001

Caroline;

(Per your request) Following is a short brief resume of my duties and experiences in World War II.

Shortly after my eighteenth birthday (10/31/42) a notice was received from the government to prepare myself to be examined, and if accepted I would be inducted into the land or naval forces. At 6:30 A.M. on March 1 1943 at Fort Sheridan, Ill. I was sworn in as a U.S soldier, one of the first groups of eighteen year olds drafted into World War Two Military Service. Incidentally we rode a trolley car from the south side induction center to downtown Chicago. There we bordered a steam train, destination Ft. Sheridan IL.
After a short stay at Ft Sheridan (week) about 500 recruits loaded on a train (steam) headed for Camp White Oregon where basic training began. With few exceptions the enlisted strength of the newly formed 555th Engr. Battalion was recruited from Ill. & Wis. With the exception of the cadre that trained us about 90% of the 555th (three nickels) was made up of 18 & 19 year old KIDS. Many of us had never been away from home before.

For the next eight months in the states of Ore. & Wash. We went through extensive training & schooling on perfecting our primary mission, bridge construction. This included construction of heavy pontoon bridges & rafts on the swift mountain rivers of the West coast.

In early 1944 we loaded troops and equipment on to a train and headed south from Ft. Lewis Wash. to Imperial Dam Calif. (Yuma Az.), where we continued our training. We were a group of kids (young for our age) by today’s standards, competing to break records building bridges, rafting and ferrying and outboard motor operation. In the fall of 1944 we convoyed east to Camp Polk La. where we completed our intensive training in preparation for overseas. Late in 1944 we headed for Camp Kilmer N.J. where we boarded the S.S. Mariposa for the seven day zigzag trip to bombed out Liverpool England. We were well trained and ready, (hipped up).

After about 10 days in England we boarded an L.S.D and crossed the English Channel and landed in Le Harve France. It was here that I met my brother Jim who was a commission officer, I was proud of him. I was a Corporal and had to salute him. Instead of giving me instructions on how to stay alive he lectured me on the nasty women of France. In Auffay France we started processing and assembling vehicles and equipment for our first combat mission. As the Germans retreated they blew up all bridges to slow the allied advance. After a slow (2 days) trip across France with our convey of equipment we arrived at the site of our first mission on the Rhine River near Borrstadt, Germany. At night about 24 hours before we started bridge construction we would ferry the infantry across the river to push the Germans back from the river bank so we may bring our heavy equipment in to choose a bridge site and construct the floating bridge. (Usually near the destroyed bridge). Our timing arriving in the combat zone was beneficial as far as our survival. The Germans were retreating when we arrived and in many cases were surrendering. We took many prisoners. As we advanced in southern Germany we built bridges across the Rhine Nectar, Danube and other rivers near the cities of Gross Walstadt, Heidelburg, Heilbronn, Markt-Heindenfeld & Ulm Germany. Stiff enemy resistance was encountered at Heilbronn. Most of the bridge construction was done in darkness. The Germans would light up the night sky with phosphorus flares so they could see where to fire their artillery shells. We had the most causalities at Heilbronn.
In the spring of 45 all the German air fields were bombed out but they on occasion had jet fighter planes strafing our conveys and bridge sites. Where were they coming from? Later we found that they were using the autobahn hwy. for take off and landing. They had planes camouflaged in the trees along the highway. The American air force soon handled that problem.

Added: September 22, 2010

Submitted by
Name: Richard Cullen
From: Naples, Florida

Comments:
part II

While in England and France before we reached the combat zone every morning about dawn the sky was filled with American bombers returning from their bombing missions in Germany. The roar was earth shaking. When we arrived in Germany we saw the results of these missions. Most German towns were completely destroyed, people without homes, bodies everywhere. On your next visit I will show you pictures of what I am trying to describe. We could not have won the war without the Air Force, and lets not forget the civilians here at home who unbelievably retooled and built all the equipment necessary to defeat the Germans and * * *’s.
The war stories go on and on. I could go into detail on how we handled ourselves when we reached Germany but some things are best if not talked or written about. If you need more facts or details on any one incident let me know.

If America went through what the people of these war torn countries have gone through we would be much more considerate and understanding of each other. By the way, after the war experience, death, rape, destruction we had no help in returning to the normal civilian life. Most of us rejoined society without using that experience as an excuse for committing serious crimes. Little different today, huh.

At all cost we must avoid war. We must be strong military. We must train our young men. If we are prepared the chances of an armed conflict are minimal. Spend whatever is necessary on training our young men, war equipment, such as planes, tanks & other military equipment and hope and pray we will never use it. America was involved in World War II because in the 30’s we let our armed forces become weak and vulnerable. A strong and well trained nation is respected, a weak nation is conquered. A good comparison to military spending is insurance. We all buy many different types of insurance and hope we never have to use it. Let’s spend on defense and hope we never have to use it. Consider defense spending as insurance, today’s preparation determines tomorrows achievements.

There is much more that could be said but I’m signing off. Hope I’ve been of some help to you and your project.

Added: September 21, 2010

Submitted by
Name: George D. Geier 36809361
From: Wausau, Wisconsin

Comments:
The following letter was written by George D. Geier and is being sent at his request. We did not put it on the remembrances page, however, if you would like to, he has no problem with your doing that. We are all grateful for your putting this website together, we all enjoyed looking at all the information and gave us an insight of what George did while in the service. George is in very good health and has applied to go on a trip to Washington, DC through the Honor Flight.

Thank you again,
Randy and Deb Geier

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To Jim Behe, compiler of the 555th Heavy Ponton Battalion website

I want to thank you for calling my son, Randy Geier, the other week inquiring about me and sending the website about the 555th Engineer Heavy Ponton battalion. I was a member of that battalion and served under Captain Paul F. Behe, your father.

My name is George D. Geier, 36809361. I am from Wausau, WI. I was drafted into service in March 1943 and went to Camp White, OR for basic training. I am 86 years old and was in H/S Company, and your father was one of our officers, a good friend, and one of the best men I have ever known. When we were in Yuma, AZ at Imperial Dam, I had a friend, Reuben Paulson, who was called home on an emergency furlough for his father's funeral. Reuben came to me asked if I had some money that he could borrow. I had saved some money for my furlough, which I was supposed to go on shortly. I gave him the money, and he said he would get it back to me when he came back. Upon returning, he said he didn't have it, which put me in a bind. I went to the Red Cross and asked them to loan me enough money to get home with, but they refused me, then I didn't know what to do. After thinking about it for a while, I thought about asking your father if he could, and would, lend me enough to get by with. I told him I wouldn't be able to pay him back right away, but would as soon as I could. As only a private, I wasn't getting a whole lot of money each month. Without a bit of hesitation, he gave me enough so I could go on that leave. I did pay him back, but it took a couple of months.

I think of him often and when I saw the website it brought a lot of memories of the good times we had together.

In the history portion of the battalion, it stated how the unit excelled at bridge building and other things. We did the things we did because of the way we were treated by the officers in charge of us. When we did good, we were treated that way. Many nights that we worked late, or all night, we were given the next day off. All the officers were well thought of and therefore the enlisted men worked very hard for them.

You should be very proud of your father for being who he was, and for yourself, for dong this website, as I am sure it took a very long time to get everything together. I'm sure glad and proud to have known and had him as a friend.

Thank you again,

George D. Geier 36809361
H/S Company
555th Heavy Ponton Engineer Battalion
3904 W. Sherman Road
Wausau, WI 54401

Added: September 2, 2010

Submitted by
Name: John A. Rippy
From: Robinson, Illinois

Comments:
April 16, 2010

I served with the 555th Heavy Pontoon Battalion in WWII. I vaguely remember your father’s name, Capt. Paul F. Behe. The officers would come and go. I was in the 555th from the beginning of my career with the Army. I retired from the Army after 20 years of service.

I resided in Robinson IL and rode the train to Chicago to report in. From there, we took the train to Medford, Oregon for Basic Training at Camp White. There, they took a picture of the platoon. From there we went to California where they shipped us over to Heidelberg, Germany by ship. The war was going on when we arrived and our battalion stayed there until the war was over in 1945. We made bridges for the military to cross tanks over the river in Germany. I think we made three bridges while we were there. We would build a bridge that led into the water that they would drive a tank on and down to a boat waiting on the river. Once the tank was on the boat, the boat would take the tank across the river to the other side where we had built another bridge leading from the water to land. They would start up the tanks and drive them off the boat, up the bridge and off into war. I remember one time we went to work on a bridge and John Bradbury from Robinson (at that time) was hit (injured) from a German attack.

I remember our platoon stayed in a big ole rental house in Heidelberg the entire time we were there. There were German ladies who came in and did laundry for us. I drove a semi-truck that contained food and stuff on it. I worked on the bridges as well. I did a little bit of everything.

I’m 86 years old now and I don’t remember the names of the men who were in the battalion with me. I still have my copy the big picture of the battalion. I hope this helps you.

Sincerely,

John A. Rippy,
Sergeant First Class, Retired
1501 N Allen St
Robinson IL 62454

Added: September 2, 2010