IX Engineer Command

A dear family friend is the widow of a Maj. Russell Keith Snow who served with the 819th EAB. During Christmas dinner our discussion turned to her late husband who had won the Bronze Star. She has no information about what he may have done to get awarded the Bronze Star. I mentioned that I might be able to reach someone through the internet that would possibly know. I'm still amazed that I found this forum so quickly. If anyone here has any kind of information about Maj. Snow and his activities, we would be very appreciative and gladly get the information to her. I have read some of the history of the 819th and it's stellar history from Normandy forward. Any information we could get to this very kind lady would really make her Christmas special.

Kind Regards,
Bob Smith aka OkcPatriot

Hi Bob. Actual individual citation texts are not usually found in the histories but I will look in the IX Engineer Command history and see if I can find anything.

I don't think the 819th EAB published a unit history at the end of the war which is unfortunate since they are one of the two units in the IXEC that earned the Preisdential Unit Citation for it's part in the D-Day landings on Utah Beach.

Another source might be the unit period reports that are held at the Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell AFB. You can purchase a copy of the microfilm with the unit reports for around $30 or you can request they send you paper copies. I don't know the cost for that.

This is my next major project for which I will be soliciting sponsors ... to acquire copies of these films and convert them to digital form so they can be shared with others like yourself. You can see a sample of what these hold here.

I'll let you know if I find anything in my sources.

David

Hi David,

Thank you so much for the reply. I have been going through the website and have learned so much. I will get the information you mentioned to Mrs. Snow, and will try to help her make some contacts. I will also ask if she has any photos that she could share. She lives in Tulsa, and I'm in Oklahoma City, and I don't think she has email, so will have to use the US Postal Service.

I will also continue to look further into the 819th activities and will gladly send you anything I may find.

Thanks for helping with this forum, I can tell it is a labor of love.

Best Regards,
Bob Smith

Hey Bob. I looked through the IX Engineer Command history last night but didn't see a specific mention of Maj Snow. I did find him on a list of IX Engineer Command officers at the end of the war as the 819th EAB S3 (Operations Officer).

Wish I had more.

David

Good work David!

Thanks for looking, and I will continue to do more research also. Maybe there will be more discovered about the unit and his story also.

Have a great day,
Bob.

I am the younger brother of Maj. Russell K Snow. His wife now lives in Fairview, Texas. I live in Plano, Tx.
Russell entered service 10 June 1942 and served in the ETO for 3 yrs, 3 mon., 3 days. His first 31 months of duty his MOA was 1337 ( AE Unit Officer). His last 14 months his MOA was 7970 ( Airport Engineer). His Unit was part of the 9th Air Force in England and later in Europe. His Unit landed at Normandy of D+4 and spent their time in Europe building fighter and medium bomber fields just behind the front lines.

His records show that he received the Bronze Star. We ( his wife and I) have no specific info on the awarding of the medal.

A lot of Military records were distroyed in a fire in the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis in 1973.

Both his wife and I would appreciate any info anyone can send us.

Thanks,
RDhankSnow

Hi,

Thanks for your reply and to let you know who I am, Russ and Cheryl Snow are good friends, Cheryl is the sister to David Dunn who is married to my wife's sister Denise. My name is Bob Smith and my wife is Karen. Having heard some of the history regarding Maj Snow I have tried to find out more about his service and any personal information to pass back to his wife. It's interesting that you too have found this thread. Thanks again! Okcpatriot..