Draft:Lee R. Mather, Jr.

Sergeant Leonidas, or "Lee" Ranson Mather, Jr. (February 11, 1923 - December 29, 2008) was a non-commissioned officer in Headquarters and Service (H&S) Company, 208th Engineer Combat Battalion. This unit was attached to the U.S. First and Ninth Armies, commanded by Generals Omar Bradley and William Simpson respectively during World War II.

Youth
Lee Mather Jr. is from Timonium, Maryland. He said that he was born there on the Gorsuch Farm, along York Road. Apparently, the Gorsuchs were old friends of his mother and she'd gone to visit them late in her pregnancy. It began to snow, and she was unable to get home to Baltimore. Then she went into labor, and gave birth there on the farm. During the 1920's, Lee Mather and his family lived in Pimlico, near his father's old neighborhood of Hampden. During the 1930's, the family relocated to Timonium, near the old mill town of Warren, where his mother was from. Lee Mather Jr. was present at the Pimlico Special for the match race between War Admiral and Seabiscuit in 1938. Mather attended Towson High School up until 1939, and had gone to work as an attendant at a gas station in Lutherville. Then he got a job as a shipping clerk at Black & Decker, in Towson, Maryland. During his two years there, he met his future wife, Ethel Ruby. She joined the company after graduating from Hampstead High School in 1941. In June, 1942, six months after the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Mather had to register with the Selective Service System. This meant that he could expect to receive an order to report for induction in 7 months when he turned 20. During that time, he and Ethel went on with their courtship. Then they were married in Lutherville, Maryland on January 5, 1943. A few weeks later, the local Draft Board sent him a D.S.S. Form 150. He was given a date, about 2 weeks hence, to report and be evaluated for his suitability for military service. When the time came, Mather reported, met all the criteria and was inducted into the Army on February 9, 1943. It was 2 days before his 20th birthday. He left for basic training a week later, on February 16, 1943.

Military Service
Mather was originally assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 27th Engineer Combat Regiment and received training at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky. The unit was re-designated the 208th Engineer Combat Battalion on March 25, 1943. From April to June, 1943, the battalion (under the Second United States Army) participated in maneuvers in Tennessee. At around this time, Mather was promoted to Private first class. Afterwards, the unit returned to Camp Breckinridge to complete training. Later that summer, Mather was given leave and he took a train to Baltimore and visited with family. While he was stationed at Camp Breckinridge, he and Ethel had an address in Henderson, Kentucky. They became good friends with Dewey and Marj Tremaine, a fellow serviceman from the battalion and his wife, both from Oregon. Ethel commuted across the Ohio River to work at a shipyard in Evansville, Indiana. There, she operated a teletype in the back office, transmitting messages between the office and the yard. In September, back at camp, Mather went on bivouac for a week. Shortly thereafter, he was promoted to Technician Fifth Grade and was addressed as "Corporal". During this time, men of the battalion's H&S Company were attached to the IV Armored Corps, as part of their training. This unit disbanded in October, 1943 and was re-designated. Later, Mather and his wife moved into a house in Evansville. He most likely spent his 21st birthday packing up and getting ready to ship out. On February 15, 1944, the unit left Camp Breckinridge and proceeded to Camp Shanks, arriving there two days later. Lee Mather's and Dewey Tremaine's wives travelled to New York to be with them for the few days they had before their ship sailed. The girls stayed with Dorice "De De" Beltran, the wife of Dick Beltran, (another member of the battalion) who lived in Brooklyn. As it was cold, they stayed on the third floor of the house, where the heat was, and all slept in one bed, just under the roof. Each night, they switched positions because the roof slanted down, and there wasn't much headroom up against the exterior wall. On February 25th/26th, the unit boarded the USAT George S. Simonds in New York Harbor. At approximately 8:30 AM the morning of February 27th, 1944, the ship embarked for the European Theater of Operations. By this time, Mather had been promoted to Technician Fourth Grade and was addressed as "Sergeant". At sea on the evening of March 3rd, the USAT George S. Simonds had an engine failure, and the ship fell behind the convoy. A destroyer also left the convoy and joined them for protection. During the night, they caught up with the convoy. Then at noon on March 4th, the USAT George S. Simonds turned around and headed west with a destroyer. They had been three hours ahead of New York time, and then they set their clock back half an hour that day. Two days later, they pulled in at Naval Station Argentia, Newfoundland for engine repairs. After spending a week in port, they got underway again on the 13th of March, and joined Convoy CU 17 the next day. Five days into the voyage, on March 18th, the convoy found itself approximately 400 nautical miles off the west coast of Ireland. At 10:30 A.M. ship's time that day, German submarine U-311 torpedoed and sunk the SS Seakay, one of the tankers in the convoy. One life was lost. The survivors were picked up by USS Reeves (DE-156). The next evening, lights were visible on the horizon. Then at approximately 10:30 AM on March 20th, the USAT George S. Simonds arrived at Greenock, Scotland. The battalion was ferried ashore that afternoon. Once ashore, they boarded a train later that day. The next day, still on the train, they passed through Glasgow, and then Edinburgh. They reached Oxford, England at approximately 11:30 AM on March 21st. After that, they got onto trucks which took them to Camp Bessels Leigh, Berkshire, England approximately five miles from Oxford. They spent the next three months preparing for the job they would be doing in Fortress Europe. It appears that during this time Mather received 5 weeks of training from the 1109th [Engineer Combat] Group Radio School. He received a certificate stating he completed it "EXCELLENTLY". On June 24th/25th, 1944, the battalion boarded LST-375 and other vessels in Portland, England and got underway at approximately 10:30 PM. Their convoy sailed all that night, and all the next morning, on its way to Normandy. That afternoon, LST-375 and the other ships carrying the battalion paused off Utah beach for a short period until the tide was at its maximum height. Then the ships headed directly towards the beach until they were grounded. Once the tide subsided, the battalion went ashore at approximately 4:00 PM the afternoon of (D+20) June 26, 1944. The battalion had been scheduled to land approximately one week before, but was delayed in the marshalling area in the vicinity of Weymouth, England. A severe storm on the English Channel had disrupted the schedule for unloading ships on the French coast. Once ashore, as fast as they came off the ships, the men and vehicles moved inland to a transit area for regrouping. One of the first things the men noticed was a long line of German prisoners on the beach being marched to a holding area. That same day, German General Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben and Admiral Walter Hennecke surrendered their positions in Cherbourg to Major General Manton S. Eddy, the Commander of the U.S. 9th Infantry Division. Some members of "C" Company, 208th Engineer Combat Battalion saw the German General being taken away in a jeep after his surrender. The next day, the battalion moved into a bivouac area near Bricquebec. Once in France, the battalion's first mission was maintenance of roads under the 1109th Engineer Combat Group. This was a First Army unit, which was then a part of the British 21st Army Group, commanded by Bernard Montgomery. On July 10, 1944, the battalion detached from the 1109th Engineer Combat Group and was attached to the 1105th Engineer Combat Group. During the last week of July, the battalion began work on a bridge over the Vire River at Pont-Hébert. While the bridge was under construction, Generals Eisenhower and Bradley visited the site. First Army photographers made a moving picture of the construction of the bridge and the film was later shown in theaters in the U.S. On August 1, 1944 the U.S. First Army broke out from Normandy, and was subsequently transferred from British 21st Army Group to the U.S. 12th Army Group. General Bradley took command of 12th Army Group, and General Courtney Hodges took over First Army. Then the 208th Engineer Combat Battalion moved to a new bivouac area in the vicinity of Saint-Lô, and began the job of improving traffic regulation through the city. Then on August 20th, the battalion was given an assignment to proceed to La Loupe and set up an Engineer Headquarters. At the end of August, 1944, the battalion moved from La Loupe, to Pierre-Levée, France. The route took the battalion through Paris on September 2, 1944. Cheering crowds lined the streets as the battalion drove through the city. On September 27, 1944, the battalion received orders attaching it to the 1115th Engineer Combat Group, under XIX Corps. The battalion then moved to Maastricht, Holland. The next day, September 28th, they went into bivouac near Mechelen, Belgium. At around this time, Mather acquired a Petrus Regout plate like the one below, commemorating the Liberation of Maastricht.



On October 13, 1944, the battalion detached from the 1115th Engineer Combat Group and was attached to the 1142nd Engineer Combat Group. Two days later, work began on a bridge across the Wurm river near Marienburg, Germany. On October 23, 1944, billets were found in Nuth, Holland, and the battalion moved indoors for the first time since entering the European Theater of Operations. Two days later, the 1142nd Engineer Combat Group was relieved from assignment to the First Army, and was assigned to the Ninth Army. On November 16, 1944, Battalion Headquarters and H&S Company moved to Gulpen, Holland. Over the next several weeks, the battalion converted various buildings into hospitals. Four days into the Battle of the Bulge, on December 20, 1944, the U.S. Ninth Army was attached to the British 21st Army Group, under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. Three days later, the 208th Engineer Combat Battalion was at Aachen, Germany.



On January 1, 1945, the battalion was living in Germany, half way between the city of Aachen and the town of Brand. Control points and road blocks were being maintained as part of the general defense plan against further activity by the Germans who were on the offensive. On January 9, 1945, orders were received placing the battalion on a six hour alert status to be used on the defensive as Infantry in XIX Corps Reserve. This was in case of offensive action by the Germans to the North of the Ardennes breakthrough area. A plan was prepared to be used by the battalion, and classes were held on such subjects as "Control of Artillery Fire". A reconnaissance was made of the area in which the battalion was most likely to operate and visits were made to units already in the front lines. The expected offensive by the Germans in the Aachen area never materialized and the battalion was not committed as Infantry. Later in January, the battalion worked on keeping roads passable by clearing snow drifts and spreading cinders and sand on icy roads. In addition, several saw mills in Holland and Germany, 10 in all were utilized to cut piles to be used in upcoming bridge building operations. Local Dutch and German civilians were hired by the battalion to work in the saw mills. After the German counteroffensive ended on January 25th, Ninth Army eventually moved east of the Siegfried Line. On February 4th, the battalion moved to Geleen, Holland, and took over the responsibility for engineer work in an area bounded by the cities of Maastricht, Heerlen and Sittard in Holland, and the city of Maeseyck in Belgium. At about this time, the ground was beginning to thaw, and many (macadam) roads were beginning to fail. The battalion was under pressure to keep the roads passable, among other things, to facilitate the Allied advance. Gravel/stone was in short supply, as only stone which had been hauled in previously was available. No quarries or sources of stone existed in that part of Holland. Sometimes demolished buildings were looked to as a source of bricks, and other materials for road repair. On February 9, 1945, the battalion moved to Mariadorf, Germany. And, in preparation for the Roer River crossing, the battalion was attached to the 1104th Engineer Combat Group, in XIX Corps. The mission of the battalion in this operation was the repair and maintenance of division main supply routes (MSR's) and the construction of a mine boon across the Roer River on D-Day. The repair of the division roads involved filling in shell craters near the river banks. One of the roads was obstructed by an American truck which had been taken out by a mine. The truck was to be removed during this operation, as well. D-Day was originally set for February 10th. A day or two before this, the Germans, in an effort to stop the river crossing, opened the valves on the Schwammenauel Dam. This flooded the Roer River, and delayed the crossing by several days. And so on the evening of February 9th, the 208th Engr C Bn was told that the operation was being postponed. This was probably welcome news to Mather. His 22nd birthday was coming up in 2 days, and he could now expect to still be alive to "celebrate" it. Units of the 1104th Engr C Gp used this delay to study the river, and surrounding area, and adjust their plans. D-Day was rescheduled for the 23rd of February. In the meantime, The 208th Engr C Bn worked on roads in its area, and made preparations for constructing the mine boom. German artillery had an advantage, being on higher ground on their side of the river. Because of this, filling in the shell craters in the roads was an extremely dangerous job, and, was done at night. The day before D-Day (D-1) troops and equipment began moving to the assembly areas. On D-Day, February 23, 1945, Ninth Army launched Operation Grenade, crossing the Roer River at Jülich, Germany. It started with a 45-minute artillery barrage that began at 2:45 A.M. The wrecked American truck in the road had been left alone until this time, to safeguard the element of surprise. When the artillery barrage lifted, infantrymen from the 9th Army's 29th Division went forward to establish a bridgehead on the German side of the river. A photographer from LIFE Magazine was on hand to document and report on this operation. The Germans fired mortars at the engineers repairing the roads. On the first day of the operation, German mortar fire knocked out three dump trucks, one R-4 dozer, one power shovel, and caused two casualties in the battalion. On March 2nd, General Eisenhower came to meet with Generals Simpson, McLain and Gerhardt, commanders of the 9th Army, XIX Corps and 29th Division, respectively, and see how things were going in Julich. Eisenhower's 4-jeep convoy was just getting over the river into Julich when a German Messerschmitt Me 262 was spotted flying overhead. It was the first jet aircraft Lee Mather ever saw in his life. It overflew Ike's convoy and strafed a Command Post that the convoy arrived at a few minutes later. American batteries nearby let loose an antiaircraft barrage to no avail. The 262 also strafed some boats operating on the (Roer) river. Several P-47's tried to engage it, but it was too fast, and it eventually headed back to the east. Also on March 2nd, 1945, the battalion detached from the 1104th Engineer Combat Group and XIX Corps. The battalion was subsequently attached to the 1142nd Engineer Combat Group for a week. The photographs taken by Richard Silk during the Roer River crossing were published with an article in the March 12, 1945 issue of LIFE.

On March 9, the battalion was attached to the 1103rd Engineer Combat Group of XVI Corps and proceeded to Wachtendonk, Germany. The area of responsibility was extended east to the bank of the Rhine River, and the battalion moved to Lintfort, Germany on March 18th. They crossed the Rhine River March 24, 1945 in the vicinity of Rheinberg, Germany. Three days later, the battalion was attached again to the 1142nd Engineer Combat Group. On April 4, 1945, Ninth Army detached from the British 21st Army Group and reverted back to General Bradley's 12th Army Group. On April 20, 1945 the battalion moved to Buldern, Germany. Five days later, it was at Gütersloh, engaged in road maintenance. Then on May 1, 1945, the BBC reported that Adolf Hitler was dead. Two days later, the battalion arrived in Bielefeld, Germany. There the task was to prepare captured engineer supplies for shipment to the Pacific. Men of the battalion were in the process of doing this when Supreme Headquarters announced V-E Day May 8, 1945.



On June 15, 1945 the Ninth Army ceased to be operational, its Headquarters closed down and the 208th Engineer Combat Battalion was transferred. Mather was attached to Major General Floyd L. Parks' newly-formed First Airborne Army in a new assignment at Headquarters Berlin District. Once the details of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany were worked out, he entered the American Sector in Berlin, Germany on July 4, 1945. The task at hand for the engineers was rebuilding sufficient units to house the Berlin headquarters. Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division, and other First Airborne Army units were there as well. Their mission was to provide security against possible sabotage, uprisings led by Nazi fanatics and looting by German criminals. In early July, the 208th Engineer Combat Battalion was engaged in constructing a mess hall for use in connection with the Potsdam Conference. From start to finish, the project took only 5 days. Afterwards, Mather got a chance to spend a week in Switzerland, and do some sightseeing in and around Geneva. As he did not have the ASR score of 85 points required for demobilization, he went back to Berlin to perform occupation duties. The engineers assisted in the direction of the rebuilding of Berlin which, was then known as "the most bombed city in the world". They were there to generally supervise the German labor and methods employed to make Berlin self-sufficient. Elements of the First Airborne Army were also directed to aid in the procurement of food, clothing, and directing the general reeducation and reconstruction of Germany. The Surrender of Japan, in August, 1945 most likely came as welcome news. The troops in Europe could rest assured that they would not be redeployed to fight in the Pacific. And, as more ships and resources were committed to Operation Magic Carpet, they could reasonably expect to be back home by Christmas. In December, 1945, Mather was sent back to the United States, possibly by way of a train to Saint-Valery, France. He most likely spent some time 5 kilometers beyond, at Camp Lucky Strike, or some other Cigarette Camp in Normandy. After waiting for a ship to take him home, he boarded the USS Croatan (CVE-25) at Le Havre, France for the return voyage. Mather was among 1,236 troops, nurses and Women's Army Corps "WACs" onboard for the ride home. Of that number, only 7 of them were African American. One hundred and twenty-three others were denied permission to come aboard, and were left behind to wait for another ship. Those soldiers had been debarred from the USS Croatan because there were no Jim Crow facilities onboard that ship. Captain Charles Griffin of the USS Croatan reportedly knew "from conversations with white army officers that they were accustomed to jim crow facilities for colored troops." The Croatan got underway on December 3, 1945. At one point, Mather was wandering around the ship, and ended up in Officer's Country. Some naval officer accosted him about it, asking him why he'd gone to that part of the ship, etc. Then he told Mather (in so many words) that it was off limits to enlisted personnel. Years later, he still seemed a little sore about it. Mather once said that naval officers "look down their nose" at subordinates and, that army officers (in his experience) did not act like that. At some point during the voyage they encountered rough weather. Mather was tasked with taking garbage cans to the fantail, and empty them over the side. While on the fantail, he saw a wave coming right for him, and he "hurried" back (or ran and dove) inside the skin of the ship. When he turned around to look, the garbage cans had been washed overboard. They docked in New York on December 14, 1945. Five days later, Mather was formally discharged from the Army of the United States at Fort Meade, Maryland.

Later years
In 1947, a War Memorial was erected in Ethel's home town of Hampstead, Maryland. It features a plaque on which Lee Mather's name appears. Lee Mather and his wife settled in Towson, Maryland. He went to work for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company after the war, but found the work dissatisfying. His daughter was born on July 4, 1948. He obtained his high school equivalency in 1949. In 1951, he obtained a VA loan, and bought a house in Timonium. His son was born on January 4, 1952. During the Korean War, Mather received a personal letter from William Fraley, an officer from the old 208th. In the letter, Fraley talked a little about what he was doing in Korea, and asked Mather to consider returning to service. Fraley went on to say that he could make the arrangements to have Mather right at his side, doing the same kind of things they had done in Europe. Though Mather declined the offer, he and Fraley would remain lifelong friends. Later, Mather went to work for Welsh Construction Company. He and Ethel divorced in 1958, and he remarried the following year. Around 1970, he and his wife moved to Miami, Florida. Around 1972, he founded his own company, called "Lemco", and went into business for himself as a contractor. Since 1977 he has lived in Bel Air, Maryland where he built a house. In the 1980's and 90's he attended several annual "Fighting Dozer" reunions in Branson, Missouri, and other places around the country.

In 2014, Mather was named a Knight of the Legion of Honour in recognition of his part in the liberation of France. A ceremony was held on May 8th at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C. One of his grandsons and great-granddaughters attended the ceremony to accept the award on his behalf. Military units Attachments
 * Second Army
 * IV Armored Corps
 * First Army
 * Ninth Army
 * First Airborne Army
 * 1104th Engineer Combat Group
 * British 21st Army Group