About The Website

79th Engineer Battalion History About The Site Greetings fellow veterans and friends who are interested in the history of the 79th Engineer Battalion: On July 4, 2002 I tried to find something about the 79th on the web. I found almost nothing. There was a history about the battalion on Geocities by Bobby Thompson and a 79th Yahoo Group by Dave Presley. That was all. I couldn't believe it. Then I went to Military.com and Classmates.com and saw a bunch of 79th vets seeking information and leaving their names. Then I looked at my old shoe box full of of pictures. On July 13th, 2002, I published this web site. Soon several other 79th veterans, including officers, all from the time when the battalion was in Germany made significant contributions by providing historical information, memories and pictures. At the same time, Thomas Radke started a Gerszewski Barracks Yahoo group, which remains popular to this day with about 700 members. Old memories suddenly came alive. Then I started corresponding with Germans from Karlsruhe and Knielingen about the history of Gerszewski Barracks and it's demolition. Even direct relatives of Sgt Gerszewski began to contact me and send information about his life in North Dakota and his heroism in World War II. I was flooded with information. By 2004 my little website had become a hodge-podge of information and pictures on free web-host providers all linked together. I had information on Geocities, Tripod, Angelfire, Doc Stock, Freewebsites, Fateback, Image Shack and one or two more that I can't remember the names of now. The site was all over the place on the internet, and a total mess of unorganized information on a lot of CDs. The sites would crash, I would exceed hosting limits, get computer viruses and become really frustrated because it was taking so much of my time learning how to write HTML, CSS scripts, convert files, resize pictures, upload them, link it together; the whole nine yards; and, it really pissed off my wife. And then, at the same time that was going on, I got even more information that nearly doubled what I already had. The new information was about the time when the battalion was in the Korean War and World War II. And it opened an entirely new dimension of long lost history that suddenly came alive in a most unusual way; and I felt a burden that it was somehow my responsibility to link it all together. My wife thought I should just get off the damn computer. I think it was in 2006. The website had more than 33,000 hits. And I finally gave it up. It was such a mess I just couldn't do it justice. So I deleted the files and walked away. All of those old web host providers have since gone under, so it was doomed to fail anyway. It was just a lot of work down the drain and a big "I told you so" from my wife, Karin. But I still had an unbelievable amount of historical information and felt a burden to share it, which I ignored for several years. This year (Sept 2015) I started to get nostalgic again. Especially on holidays. Labor Day rolled around and I started thinking about the 79th again. So I went to the Yahoo Groups to see what was happening. I Googled the 79th to see if there were any new websites but there wasn't much there. Then I went to a Korean War forum and saw a message from a old vet seeking information about the 79th but died in the meantime. Then I saw a post by David Herring who built the Arch Bridge. He is the one who got the ball rolling with all of that Korean War stuff I had. He was recommending my old website as a place to go. And I knew there was nothing there anymore. I felt a new burden to step up and do the right thing. I started this new website on September 8, 2015. It took a couple of weeks to put it together. This time there are only three webhost providers linked together; Blogger, Flickr and YouTube. They all have unlimited storage and are very reliable. It's pretty much done now but I continue to tweak it and polish it now and then. Currently there are more than 2,000 pictures on the site; and, if you started from the beginning to the end, following all of the links and watching all the videos, it would take you several hours to finish. The complete history of the 79th from 1940 to 1992 is now here for anybody who cares to know about it. It's here to stay, and this time the fantasy goddess is a happy camper. Feel free to leave comments on the pages you identify with. This website is all about 79th history and historical recollections; not current political and social issues. So keep that in mind when you leave a comment; but the webmaster will not moderate what you have to say regardless of what it is. Post what you remember while you're still on the up-side of the grass. If they ever reactivate the battalion the new soldiers can learn about the battalion's past in a way I wish I had known. I am very proud to have been a part of the 79th Engineer Battalion. Even though I was drafted. And even though it was a generational disaster when I was there. I call it "The Elephant in the Room". I want to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has contributed to this site: Thomas Radke, Paul Strauser, Chelle Clements, LT John McConaghy, Dr. Michael Broadhead, LTC Eugene Stokes, LT Jonathan Ridgeway, Thomas Wadell, Walter Elkins, MAJ Bruce Gearhart, Richard Frisch, Bill Terrell, Dave Presley, Bobby Thompson, Andres Lopez Martinez, John Martinez, Dan Woolsey, Norm Snowden, Clyde Keene, David Herring, LT James Patterson, Albert Harden, LT Sid Friedman, Alfred Klinke, CPT William Gay, LTC Mike Presnell, James Earle, Mark Kogut, Paul Abat, Oliver Grobs, Sabine Altenmueller, Baruch Gerszewski, Dr. John Hoffman, Keith Agan, Floris Wood, Katie Ames, Don Winship, LTC Billy Robison, Dr. Don Morton, Ray Marvez, Jim Thompsen, Wayne Patterson, William "David" Wade, Dave Nelson, Frederick S. Giarette, Robert Gable, Bruce Coleman, Steve Shirley, Amy Grant, Jim Downs, Rick Stevens, Richard Berschauer, David Crow, Rick Stevens, G. Patrick Riley, John Wainscott, Gerald Kearns, Eugene Vuillemot, Randy Hambrick, Richard Berschauer, Andy Knapp, Bill Lapeer, Jeff Bergeron, Lowell Skidmore, Jim Church, MAJ George Hunsaker, Norma Martinez-Rodriguez Zamarripa, Steve De Frates, Robert Welch, COL Bob Derrick, Mel Clifton That's about it. The entire history is here as I understand it. Have fun. Fait Accompli, Bruce Christman Webmaster If you want to contact me scroll to the bottom of the page and leave a comment. Notice I was in 24th Engineer Group, Engineer Command Europe The picture was taken from a German Tank as I recall, before they pulled us out of the mud.