Today I would like to honor the memory of my great-uncle Sam H. Ball, Jr. I’ve posted about my Uncle Son’s heroic time in WWII before and if you missed it click here to read more about him.
I was very privileged recently to visit with my cousin Karen Ball Cowan, Sam’s daughter and she graciously shared these photos with me and gave me permission to post them here.
Capt. Sam H. Ball enlisted in the Army on 31 May 1940. He served until 5 Jan 1946 in Company “A” 146 th Engineer Combat Battalion when he was Honorably Discharged. He remained in the inactive reserve until 16 Aug 1953. He was also a member of the draft board.
After the war, Sam was a salesman for KTFS Radio Station in Texarkana for 35 years.
Please enjoy the pictures.
Officers from Company “A” 146th Engineers:
Here is the back of this photo:
The gentlemen in this photo are not identified, but I recognize Sam standing in the middle.
These are some postcards that he had:
Here is a picture of them constructing a bridge, I have no idea where this is.
Destruction. Vossenack, Germany.
Wow! Is all I can say about these maps.
Liberation!! These are some postcards that he had:
More recognition for a job well done:
Reunions:
Remembering the War:
It’s overwhelming and humbling to look through his collections of photos from this time in his life and realize the magnitude of what he went through, and to know what a good man he was after the war.
If he ever had any problems that bothered him from his time in the war, I never heard him complain and neither did my grandmother, Mary Parks, his sister. That’s just the kind of guy he was and I am so proud to have known him, if only I could have heard some of the stories!
Susie
