93rd Engineer Regiment, Company C Guidon

[nirvana]

I like guidons with history. This turned up a while ago, so I grabbed it. 93rd Engineer, Company C, a segregated unit that helped build the Alcan Highway early on in the war. Black enlisted men and NCOs, white officers. It came from the estate of the commanding officer, Robert Platt Boyd. He wrote a book on the unit, and this flag is pictured on the cover. You can see the giant tear on the nine which has been stitched up by hand. I have a copy of the book signed by him, which I believe was his personal copy. He died in 2000, and for some god unknown reason his family apparently sold it. Per the link below, his wife died in 2016. I got this flag before then, so perhaps his estate was cleared out when he died.

 

 

 

 

Because of his Yukon Territory experiences, Boyd was designated an Arctic Expert and joined the 10th Mountain Division in 1943, where he served with the 126th Mountain Engineering Battalion at Camp Hale, Colorado. When the 10th Mountain Division deployed, they performed a series of daring assaults against the German army in the northern Apennine Mountains of Italy. The 126th Engineers Battalion built aerial tramways and suspension bridges to support combat operations in mountainous terrain.

 

Major Boyd served briefly as Battalion Commander when the commanding officer of the 126th Engineers was wounded by a sniper. He was in command as the 126th Engineers manned assault boats for the Po River crossing. According to his Silver Star award citation, he faced 88 and 20 mm flak and machine gun and rifle fire. As boats were lost, Boyd rallied crews, reorganized engineer parties, and helped move casualties to safety. He made four trips across the river under heavy enemy fire and his courage was a source of inspiration to all who witnessed his action.

 

 

Local profile:

 

https://www.auburnalabama.org/community/veterans/heroes/Robert-Platt-Boyd-Jr

 

 

 

 

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30357147-me-and-company-c

 

 

History of the unit.

 

 

http://www.93regimentalcan.com/regiments/93rd-regiment/93rd-regiment-history/