The Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1061st EPC&R was activated at Camp Gordon Johnston on 15 December 1943. In July 1944 the unit left and headed to England via New York. They subsequently landed on Omaha Beach on September 9, 1944. In 1945 they were sent to the Phillipines.
The museum has in its archives a complete unit history of the 1061st Engr. PC&R, written by Ray A. Behanna, Sgt. Major. It details the training the unit received, as well as its various assignments in Europe and the South Pacific. This document names many of the men who were part of the 1061st. The museum also has numerous photographs of the unit
Thomas A. Lampkin and John D. Dame at Camp Gordon Johnston, June 1944
John David Dame took his training with the 1061st at Camp Gordon Johnston. His papers state: “The job of the 1061st was to follow close behind the evacuation of the enemy from given port and to make things ready for the port to receive shipments of crucial war materials, men, and machine. You can well imagine the foul disposition of enemy troops forced to evacuate a port they had effectively used against us. They were trained to destroy as much as possible. That’s just a long way around to say that EVERY place that we were called upon to rebuild was a hellish mess.”
The museum archives hold some of the papers of John Dame, including his memories of the unit, along with many pictures taken in both theaters of the war.
For more information on EPC&R units in Europe, go to:
