Original Items. One-of-a-Kind. This is the grouping of Sergeant First Class Lester J. Cross of the Engineer Special Brigade, who served with the unit at Normandy during World War II. The group includes his dog tags & patch along with an original photograph of him wearing an ESB helmet.

The dog tags read:

LESTER J CROSS
34420771 T42-430
MARY ELLEN CROSS
ST PATRICKS RECTORY
HAMPTON, IOWA C

The dog tags are on their original chain and are in fantastic condition, this is exactly how you want to find these. The patch is a great period example, and the original photograph depicts Cross coming out of a bunker carrying an M1 Carbine. The photo measures 8 x 10” and has some folding but is overall a great addition.

Anything ESB is incredibly difficult to source, but this grouping is fantastic with a photograph that brings it to life. Comes ready for further research and display.

The History of the Engineer Special Brigades
Engineer Special Brigades were amphibious forces of the United States Army developed during World War II. Initially designated engineer amphibian brigades, they were redesignated engineer special brigades in 1943. The 1st, 5th, and 6th Engineer Special Brigades were assigned to the European Theater of Operations. The 1st Engineer Special Brigade participated in the landings in Sicily and Italy before joining the 5th and 6th Engineer Special Brigades for the invasion of Normandy.

The 2nd, 3rd and 4th Engineer Special Brigades were assigned to the Southwest Pacific Area, and participated in the campaigns in the Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, Leyte, Luzon, the Southern Philippines and Borneo campaign. The 1st Engineer Special Brigade fought in both theaters of the war, participating in the Okinawa campaign near the end of the war. The 2nd Engineer Special Brigade remained active after the war, and served in the Korean War before being inactivated in 1955.

At the onset of direct American involvement in World War II, it became apparent that the United States would need a large strategic and tactical amphibious warfare capability. In 1941, the amphibious forces were divided into two corps: one in the Atlantic, and one in the Pacific. Both were combined United States Army and United States Marine Corps commands, administered by the United States Navy. The Amphibious Corps, Atlantic Fleet, consisted of the 1st Infantry Division and the 1st Marine Division, while the Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet, consisted of the 3rd Infantry Division and the 2nd Marine Division.

In April 1942, the United States and United Kingdom agreed on plans for an emergency invasion of Northwest Europe in the late northern summer of 1942 (Operation Sledgehammer) that would be conducted in the event of signs that the Soviet Union was on the brink of collapse, or that the Germans were withdrawing from Western Europe, possibly due to an internal coup or collapse. This would be followed by a full-scale crossing of the English Channel in mid-1943 (Operation Roundup). These were envisaged as shore-to-shore operations. The US Navy's policy at this time of only taking volunteers meant that it was short of manpower, and those personnel it had available were mainly allocated warships and the amphibious ships required for ship-to-shore operations. This meant that the landing craft for Sledgehammer would have to be operated by the British and the US Army.