Hello, My name is Dick Bowman, from up in Illinois and a Co. C 815th Engr Battalion veteran, serving in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970.
I was also the moderator for the now defunct MSN Group "815th Engineers". I am glad you were able to use some of the material from the old site for your "Buster's War".
The 815th was my first permanent duty station and because of that I have great affection for the unit. I am always on the lookout for historical material and photographs. I suppose you can call it unit pride.
It was my pleasure to do the planning work for the past two 815th reunions. In that capacity I was able to make contact with 815th veterans, and family members, from all years.
This past January after our 2009 reunion notification went out I received an email from a 91 year old, computer savvy gentleman from down in New Orleans by the name of Elmer Reid Powell. Reid was the commanding officer of B Co. 815th Engr Aviation Battalion from 1942 to 1944. It is most likley Reid knew Buster. I sent Reid an email earlier today with the link to "Buster's war" but have not yet received a reply.
A couple years ago I obtained the 815th fragmented war record from the air Force archives. the grandson of a C Co 815th Engr Avn Bn veteran, Ryan Richardson, changed the "negative" images to readable positives in PDF format. Ryan loaded it all on a disc and sent me a copy. The next time I load the disc and review the material I'll keep an eye peeled for Buster's name. I say fragmented history because the early 815th records were lost in the autumn of '42 when the transport carrying the unit's heavy equipment and other assets to North Africa was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine.
I'm glad I stumbled upon your blog. Best regards, Dick Bowman dbowman49@aol.com
1 comment:
Hello,
My name is Dick Bowman, from up in Illinois and a Co. C 815th Engr Battalion veteran, serving in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970.
I was also the moderator for the now defunct MSN Group "815th Engineers". I am glad you were able to use some of the material from the old site for
your "Buster's War".
The 815th was my first permanent duty station and because of that I have great affection for the unit. I am always on the lookout for historical material and photographs. I suppose you can call it unit pride.
It was my pleasure to do the planning work for the past two 815th reunions. In that capacity I was able to make contact with 815th veterans, and family members, from all years.
This past January after our 2009 reunion notification went out I received an email from a 91 year old, computer savvy gentleman from down in New Orleans by the name of Elmer Reid Powell. Reid was the commanding officer of B Co. 815th Engr Aviation Battalion from 1942 to 1944. It is most likley Reid knew Buster. I sent Reid an email earlier today with the link to "Buster's war" but have not yet received a reply.
A couple years ago I obtained the 815th fragmented war record from the air Force archives. the grandson of a C Co 815th Engr Avn Bn veteran, Ryan Richardson, changed the "negative" images to readable positives in PDF format. Ryan loaded it all on a disc and sent me a copy. The next time I load the disc and review the material I'll keep an eye peeled for Buster's name. I say fragmented history because the early 815th records were lost in the autumn of '42 when the transport carrying the unit's heavy equipment and other assets to North Africa was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine.
I'm glad I stumbled upon your blog.
Best regards,
Dick Bowman
dbowman49@aol.com
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