The “Roll of Honor” is our humble way to pay respect and gratidute,
to pay trubite and above all to Honor the men of the
17th Armored Engineer Battalion, 2nd Armored Division
who have fallen during the Second World War.

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Final list in alphabetical order of individual names
of fallen during the Second World War of
the 17th Armored Engineer Battalion, 2nd Armored Division

This list has been compiled from extensive evidence-based research from multiple sources. It is a compilation of several official lists, after action reports, veteran accounts, biographies etc etc. All names and their corresponding official graves have been cross checked as thoroughly as possible.
Due to ongoing research and new information becoming available, this list may well be updated.
Despite our sincere great efforts, errors are not excluded and this overview therefore has no official status, and no rights can be derived from it. (Researched by the members of the re-enactment association “Voorwaarts MARS”.)

NUMBER	LAST NAME	FIRST NAME	SERIAL NUMBER	GRADE	ARM OF SERVICE	CASUALTY CODE	DATE OF DEATH	COMPANY
1	AKINS	ELDON W	39390982	PVT	CE	KIA	July 28, 1944	Unknown
2	BACLE	PETER	14010206	SGT	CE	DOW	November 19, 1944	C
3	BARDYSZEWSKI	STANLEY	32249788	PVT	CE	DNB	November 13, 1942	Unknown
4	BASHAM	ROY	6472162	S SG	CE	KIA	July 28, 1944	Unknown
5	BENNETT	CHALES H	14019426	PFC	CE	KIA	November 8, 1942	A
6	BLACKFORD	HAROLD J	36882668	PVT	CE	KIA	August 12, 1944	A
7	BLEVINS	FRED J	14032332	TEC5	CE	KIA	July 27, 1944	A
8	BLEVINS	RALPH	7082616	S SG	CE	DOW	October 7, 1944	Unknown
9	BOBO	BILL W H	38478432	PVT	CE	DNB	September 26, 1944	Unknown
10	BONITATIBUS	FRANCIS J	32226302	PVT	CE	KIA	June 15, 1944	A
11	BOWMAN	JOHN T	33122222	PFC	CE	DOW	October 12, 1944	A
12	BOYNTON	RICHARD H	11067657	PFC	CE	KIA	July 20, 1943	B
13	CABEY	JOHN M	31039720	PVT	CE	DOW	June 19, 1944	A
14	CASTRO	AMADO P	39110580	PVT	CE	KIA	August 4, 1944	A
15	CHAVEZ	RICHARD	38167989	PVT	CE	DOW	December 21, 1944	C
16	CLARCK	ALBERT F	33066504	PFC	CE	KIA	April 10, 1945	A
17	CRIMMINS	FRANCIS J	0-495555	1 LT	CE	KIA	September 15, 1944	A
18	DAVIS	RUFUS E	6396534	PVT	CE	DOW	August 13, 1944	A
19	DAVISSON	GEORGE H	15010336	PVT	CE	KIA	April 10, 1945	A
20	DI BARTOLLO	ANTHONY	32295015	PVT	CE	KIA	June 16, 1944	A
21	ENGLE	RALPH E	35265896	CPL	CE	KIA	June 12, 1943	Unknown
22	FARROW	ELMO C	7087157	SGT	CE	DOW	June 15, 1944	A
23	FELDMAN			PVT	CE	M	January 9, 1945	A
24	FINK	WILLIAM	36009886	SSGT	CE	DNB	August 12, 1943	B
25	FORBES	EARL T	35894761	PVT	CE	KIA	January 4, 1945	B
26	FRANCH	CHARLES L	37351208	PVT	CE	KIA	August 13, 1944	A
27	FUMAGALLI	JOSEPH S	32813723	PVT	CE	KIA	January 19, 1945	A
28	GIARAMITA	LEONARD J	37507618	PVT	CE	DOW	January 6, 1945	A
29	HARRISON	JOHN W	39310916	SGT	CE	DOW	December 9, 1944	Unknown
30	HARTIG	FREDERICK J	16062002	PFC	CE	DNB	September 30, 1943	A
31	HOFFMAN	JOHN	35458415	PVT	CE	KIA	June 15, 1944	A
32	HOWARD	FREDERICK W	14003302	PFC	CE	KIA	December 7, 1944
33	HUGHES	LA VERNE G	36245334	PVT	CE	KIA	July 27, 1944	A
34	HURLEY	HENRY W	O-020560	LT C	CE	KIA	July 14, 1943	BTLN HQ
35	JANNUZZI	RAPHAEL E	01110585	2 LT	CE	KIA	June 16, 1944	Unknown
36	JENNIE	RANDOLPH C	39323215	CPL	CE	KIA	July 27, 1944	A
37	JOYCE	WILLIAM J	31132571	SGT	CE	DOW	1945	A
38	KAUCHIS	ADAM F	32025171	SGT	CE	KIA	July 27, 1944	A
39	KELLY	THOMAS W JR	O-431192	CAPT	CE	KIA	July 28, 1944	HQ COY
40	KENNY	EDWARD C	39116601	PVT	CE	KIA	July 30, 1944	Unknown
41	KENYON	KENNETH W	11036895	PVT	CE	KIA	August 10, 1944	Unknown
42	KILDEA	CHARLES J	33316151	CPL	CE	KIA	January 9, 1945	Unknown
43	KOLIOPULOS	THOMAS N	32173441	PFC	CE	KIA	January 19, 1945	A
44	LARKIN	RAYMOND V	12044508	PVT	CE	KIA	June 15, 1944	E
45	MAJEWSKI	WILLIAM S	31006197	SGT	CE	KIA	June 14, 1943	A
46	MANTHA	CHARLES W	32224677	CPL	CE	KIA	October 5, 1944	C
47	MASTERSON	JOSEPH F	33072246	PVT	CE	DNB	February 21, 1944	B
48	MC MAHAN	CECIL E	O-415287	CAPT	CE	KIA	July 27, 1944	A
49	MIKOVICH	DAN D	39613768	PVT	CE	KIA	July 27, 1944	A
50	MITCHELL	DONALD L	01105682	1 LT	CE	KIA	November 23, 1944	D
51	NATALE	GEORGE M	31072785	PVT	CE	KIA	October 13, 1944	Unknown
52	NEAL	CLEON	34082747	PVT	CE	KIA	August 12, 1944	A
53	NUGENT	CLYDE H	36103713	S SG	CE	KIA	June 12, 1943	A
54	OWENS	THOMAS L	14032352	PVT	CE	KIA	January 6, 1945	A
55	PASZTORCSAK	ANDY	33264353	PVT	CE	KIA	July 14, 1943	B
56	PATCYK	CHESTER L	32729821	PVT	CE	KIA	August 6, 1944	B
57	PAYSON	BURNETT M	33107533	PFC	CE	KIA	February 23, 1945	E
58	PROCTOR	LEROY C	33435955	PVT	CE	KIA	April 16, 1945	C
59	ROTHENBERGER	HARRY R	33368825	PVT	CE	KIA	June 12, 1943	A
60	RUSSELL	RODGER P JR	34174111	SGT	CE	DOW	November 24, 1944	Unknown
61	SIRICO	RALPH	32343165	PFC	CE	DOW	October 13, 1944	Unknown
62	SKURKY	GENE P	33108238	TEC5	CE	KIA	January 13, 1945	A
63	SMITH	FARRIS D	17161706	PFC	CE	KIA	October 13, 1944	A
64	SNIDER	PAUL F	35256976	PFC	CE	DOW	March 3, 1945	HQ
65	SNYDER	THOMAS H	15121676	PVT	CE	KIA	March 30, 1945	D
66	SUBLETT	LLOYD D	39690506	PVT	CE	KIA	July 13, 1943	A
67	SUMMERS	FREDRICK C	33068929	PFC	CE	DOW	March 30, 1944	Unknown
68	TAYLOR	HENRY G	34089455	CPL	CE	KIA	August 12, 1944	A
69	WALDRON	JAMES G	37206754	CPL	CE	KIA	July 27, 1944	A
70	WALKER	GORDON F	32140999	SGT	CE	KIA	June 16, 1944	HQ COY
71	WALKER	HENRY	34180256	PFC	CE	DOW	April 16, 1945	C
72	WALSH	ALBERT F	33058560	PFC	CE	KIA	April 13, 1945	Unknown
73	WILFRED	STROM	37283842	PVT	CE	DNB	October 10, 1942	D
74	WILIAMSON	C L		CPL	CE	M		A
75	WLOCH	SYLVESTER	32200524	PFC	CE	KIA	June 12, 1943	A
76	WOODSIDE	LAWRENCE P	39450349	PVT	CE	KIA	August 24, 1944	A

Military Casualty Code

KIA: Killed In Action. This is an individual who was killed in action at the front, by enemy action in the rear, or if a prisoner of war. (battle related)

DOW: Died Of Wounds. This is an individual was who wounded and later died. (wounds are battle related)

DOI: Died of Injuries. This is an individual was who wounded and later died. (injuries ar not battle related)

DNB: Died Non-Battle This is an individual who died in a line of duty death, such as from sickness, homicide, suicide, or accidents outside of combat areas (training). (not battle related)

FOD: Finding of Death. The missing in action person is declared dead, or Legal Presumption of Death, after missing one year or more. In the absence of a recovered body, soldiers that were determined to be dead under Public Law 490. (battle related)

FOL: Finding of Loss. (Not in line of duty)

M: Missing. This is an individual who is reported as missing and later was determined to be dead. A missing person disappeared less than a year prior to January 31, 1948. As time passes the fate of some of these missing will become known and others will be declared dead in the absence of hope that they are living. A few–too small a number to be considered as a percentage of the missing–fall into a third category: persons who intentionally deserted the service and are bending every effort to avoid repatriation. Cases of this type have been discovered in the past but the number of these cases is exceed­ingly small.

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Why we made the Roll of Honor

We know 42 Engineers of the 17th Armored Engineer Battalion were Killed in Action. We know 5 Engineers went missing. We know that 14 Engineers died during the Second World War, period 8 November 1942 to 12 May 1945. These are the official numbers. 
(These official numbers were not correct, our research revealed a higher number of 17th Engineers that were Killed in action, died or went Missing.)

But now the years passed on,  what do we excatly know? One can read the names of the fallen 17th Engineers on the white marble Crosses on the American War Cemetries, but that are only 31 names. Who are the other 17th Engineers who never came home? We think we managed to identify all of the fallen 17th Engineers. 

Not only the names themselves gives the fallen 17th Engineers their identity back. They were young boys and older men, living with family in their homes, had girlfriends, sometimes married and had childeren. They were skilled men in mostly technical craftsman. They had friends, hobbies and interests. They had a religion, or not. They sometimes were from foreign descent, like Canada, Poland and Italy and so on. They shared love for the family, and friends. That gives the Silent Engineers, who paid the ultimate price for our Freedom, their personal identity.

And that is excactly what we aim for with the Roll of Honor, give them back their name, their identity and sometimes their appearance with the help of a photograph. 
We all can at least know a little of who they were, maybe we recognise ourselves in them. That will make it easyer not to forget these Engineers. 

Because: “Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them”

Amidst the desert sands dawnings just begun,
battle rages on, bombing veils the rising sun.
A boy not yet a man holds a picture to his heart,
of loved ones not forgotten though oceans keep them apart.
Called to serve his country, land of freedom home of brave,
risking his existence for the lives that he may save.
Concealing his dismay he holds his head up high,
his arms embrace a trusted friend watching him slowly die.
A boy he is no more, on that day there stood a man,
his heart filled with rage, his mind fights to understand.
Raised to be a man of God, taught thou shalt not kill,
now placed upon the battlefield where there tis his only will.
Resting beneath the sunset, wounded he dreams of home,
lying on the desert’s floor a soldier died alone

(Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com)

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What is the Roll of honor; introduction

Years of ongoing research have led to this Roll of Honor about the 17th Armored Engineer Battalion..
Of each casualty we have an photograph of his grave, from all over the world.
Then all the info we have found is mentioned under his Grave, his family and house in the States, his Enlistement records, photographs.
Through all the research over years about the 17th Armored Engineer Battalion we have collected a fair amount of information and managed to write an papragraph about how, and when the 17th Engineer got killed, or died and under what circumstances, sometimes impressively accurate.
Then copies of all the official papers, like deathlists and US Sensus, gravestone application cards, enlistment draft records, just to name af few, are added. 
We still keep finding information about the casualties and hope to get in contact with more relatives and people who have relevant information, so feel free to get in contact with us.

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Graves of the men of 17th Armored Engineer Battalion at the American Cemeteries from the American Battle Monuments Commission (AMBC):

Name American Cemetery	Location American Cemetery	Number of Graves
Normandy American Cemetery	Colleville-sur-Mer, France	8 Graves
Brittany American Cemetery	Saint James, France	2 Graves
Lorraine American Cemetery	Saint Avold, France	1 Grave
Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery	Hombourg, Belgium	8 Graves
Netherlands American Cemetery	Margraten, Netherlands	8 Graves
Cambridge American Cemetery	Cambridge, United Kingdom	1 Grave
North Africa American Cemetery	Tunis, Tunisia	1 Grave
Sicily-Rome American Cemetery	Nettuno, Italy	2 Graves

In total there are 31 Graves of the fallen men 17th Armored Engineer Battalion at the American Cemeteries from American Battle Monuments Commission. 

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Graves of the men of 17th Armored Engineer Battalion burried in the United States 

Many of the fallen have been (re)burried at Cemeteries in the United States, mostly near their hometown, by request of the relatives,  next-of-kin or by request of the deceased as stated in his last will.
Of the 405.399 American Casualties only 176.399 are registerd by the American Battle Monuments Commission.
Many of the deceased men have been re-burried in the United States, and not registered by the AMBC. With that we had done lots of research and found more graves of the fallen 17th Engineers that the was stated in books. 

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Sources used for the Roll of Honor

1. Draft registration Cards

(Source: FamilySearch.org)

A lot of pages about a the Engineers dont have any “Draft Registration Cards. The original draft registration cards for the following states were destroyed several years ago and were never microfilmed before they were destroyed. Therefore, there will never be records for these states in this Roll of Honor.

• Alabama
• Florida
• Georgia
• Kentucky
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Tennessee

2. Enlistment Records

(Source: FamilySearch.org)

The Army Enlistment Records a the logical way to start with and give the most essential details about the 17th Engineer. 

Example below: 

Enlistment details

Frederick C Summers

United States World War II Army Enlistment Records

Name	Frederick C Summers
Name (Original)	SUMMERS FREDERICK C
Event Type	Military Service
Event Date	02 Dec 1941
Event Place	Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Race	White
Citizenship Status	citizen
Birth Year	1919
Birthplace	MARYLAND
Education Level	2 years of high school
Civilian Occupation	Structural-and ornamental-metal workers
Marital Status	Single, without dependents
Military Rank	Private
Army Branch	Branch Immaterial – Warrant Officers, USA
Army Component	Selectees (Enlisted Men)
Source Reference	Civil Life
Serial Number	33068929
Affiliate ARC Identifier	1263923
Box Film Number	06062.270

 

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3.  United States Population Sensus 1910, 1920, 1930 and 1940

(Source: FamilySearch.org)

The United States Sensus records gives some crucial information about the location the Engineer lived before the war, and also the family who billeted in the house at the moment they visited the house.
It also tells us what the civilliab occupation was before the war, not only of the Engineer but also what his father and siblings did. Mostly it is a occupation that clarifies the later assignment to the Branch of Engineers. We see that Chauffeurs, Crafstmen, Railroad workers, Steel workers, carpenters, farmers, Automobile repairman etc were being transferred to the Engineer Branch. 

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4.  Source Book:  “A history of the 2nd US Armored Division 1940-1946“
Total of casualties of the 17th Armored Engineer Battalion

Killed	Missing	Captured	Wounded	Injured	Died	Totals	Returned to duty
42	5	22	210	22	14	315	129

Period 8 November 1942 to 12 May 1945

(*NOTE: our research reveals different numbers and totals)

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5. Official Deathlist; World War II – Honor List of Death and Missing – by State and County 

These lists were made up in June 1946 and were made for each State and then divided by County and the names in alphabetical order. 
The intersting thing is that in this document one can relate the ASN number and the name to the “Military Casualty Code” (more information below). 
So we know what the cause of death was and gives us more details we use to clarify ot the Engineer died during a specific mission, during artillery barrage or somekind. 
Most of the time we know the Company the Engineer served and by the unit history we can relatively accurate tell were he died. 

Military Casualty Code

These codes are used by the Military during the Second World War to declare the status of soldiers who died or were missing and are being used in the Roll of Honor.

TYPE OF CASUALTY: This is indicated by the symbol at the far right of each column. An individual who was killed in action, whether at the front or by enemy action in the rear areas, or if a prisoner of war, whether by air bombardment of his prison camp or by being shot while escaping. is designated “KIA.” Persons who were wounded and later died are marked “DOW”–died of wounds. Those who suffered fatal battle INJURIES as opposed to WOUNDS, in combat or in combat areas, and died in a line-of-duty status, are designated “DOI”–died of injuries. Other line-of-duty deaths, such as from sickness, homicide, suicide or accidents outside combat areas (including training and maneuver deaths) are listed “DNB”–died, non-battle. Individuals who were determined to be dead under Public Law 490 are designated “FOD”–finding of death. Missing persons are marked with the single letter “M”.

(source: Foreword Honor List of dead and missng 1946)

KIA: Killed In Action. This is an individual who was killed in action at the front, by enemy action in the rear, or if a prisoner of war. (battle related)

DOW: Died Of Wounds. This is an individual was who wounded and later died. (wounds are battle related)

DOI: Died of Injuries. This is an individual was who wounded and later died. (injuries ar not battle related)

DNB: Died Non-Battle This is an individual who died in a line of duty death, such as from sickness, homicide, suicide, or accidents outside of combat areas (training). (not battle related)

FOD: Finding of Death. The missing in action person is declared dead, or Legal Presumption of Death, after missing one year or more. In the absence of a recovered body, soldiers that were determined to be dead under Public Law 490. After at least one year from time of disappearance, when there was either conclusive proof that the person is dead or equally overwhelming evidence that the person could not have remained alive. Findings of death under Public Law 490 and its amendments are made in the case of persons when–and only when–there Is either conclusive proof that the person is dead or equally overwhelming evidence that under the circumstances the person could not have remained alive. These findings are made only after review and after a lapse of least one year from the time of disappearance. (battle related) 

FOL: Finding of Loss. (Not in line of duty)

M: Missing. This is an individual who is reported as missing and later was determined to be dead. A missing person disappeared less than a year prior to January 31, 1948. As time passes the fate of some of these missing will become known and others will be declared dead in the absence of hope that they are living. A few–too small a number to be considered as a percentage of the missing–fall into a third category: persons who intentionally deserted the service and are bending every effort to avoid repatriation. Cases of this type have been discovered in the past but the number of these cases is exceed­ingly small.

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6. Official Deathlist; World War II – Alphabetical listing of names
Battle deaths of the 2nd Armored Division by organization as of 30 June 1947 (Source: NARA)

(not accurate; list was made up in 1947)

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6. Personal archive: Casualty list from Private First Class John A Shields, 17th Armored Engineer Battalion, Company A, First Platoon

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6. Personal archive: Casualty list from Lieutenant Andrew (Andy) Peter Smith, Platoon Leader with the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment

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6. Headstone Application Cards (Source: NARA)

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7. Military Official Burail documentation

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8.  Report of temporary burial/ grave

Many of the fallen during World War 2 were burried in a temporary grave all over the ETO. At the time the AMBC erected the American Cemetaries they were re-burried at the AMBC Cemetary or were re-burried in the United States by request of the next-of-kin. There are some reports were some fallen 17th Egnineer are being mentioned and were burried at a temporary grave. Example below. 

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9. Other relevent sources 

Sometimes we find aditionall information by the help of the World Wide Web, or official associations and offcourse family/ relatives. We even managed to get in contact with veterans of the 17th Armored Engineer Battalion. We have received letters, photographs, stories and souvenirs. These give excellent information of the Engineer. Some Examples below. 

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Written by M. Brandjes