The advantages of working for a college is that you always have the advice of experts at hand. That's what Jan Ross, administrative assistant to the associate dean of Humanities at Greenfield Community College found out when she began to research the 300th Combat Engineers.

Ross's father Sgt. Donald H. Ross served in the 300th Combat Engineers during World War II. Like many veterans, Sgt. Ross rarely spoke about his service in the war. With help from the GCC staff, a project to find out what he did has gone far beyond that. Through hours of research, Ross and her husband Brad Peters have built a picture of what the war must have been like for an average soldier in the 300th. But, like any good history lesson, this one needs to start at the beginning. Ross discovered adjunct history professor Saul Sherter was also an Army engineer.

Sherter gave Ross a book about D-Day that whet her curiosity about the engineers. Dovi Afesi, another history professor told her the idea had potential. With Afesi's and Sherter's advice, Ross began a quest to find out as much as they could about Sgt. Ross. As the research progressed, Afesi convinced one of his best students, Philippe Simon, 46, to help with research. Much of Simon's research involved finding out what engineers did. He spoke with military experts and even read the old combat engineer training manuals. Combat engineers served a vital part in the army, building bridges, roads, and fixing anything mechanical from radio communication systems to weapons and vehicles. Sgt. Ross worked in water supply at headquarters.

"Simon has been a great help in this project doing a lot of digging with his historical shovel," Ross said. "He uncovered the only document the Army has been able to provide about the 300th." "This was amazing and a passion, and I often remarked to Jan that I wish I had this as a full time job to do this research during the day," Simon said. Early on, Afesi told Ross to write to the National Archives for records, but unfortunately a fire in the ‘70s destroyed 1,000s of records, including her father's. She almost gave up, but like any good teachers, Afesi and Sherter didn't let her.

Next Ross researched online and found a veteran who sent an illustrated map a 300th officer drew to chart their progress across Europe. From there, Ross made contact with another 300th veteran and he got them in touch with others. The web of contacts grew and soon Ross compiled hundreds of photos and personal stories of the war. Simon transcribed hours of recorded interviews from when the couple went to two of the 300th reunions and also did a number of telephone interviews. These recorded stories from the veterans are an important asset for historians.

"A thousand vets a day now die," Sherter said. "I used to do oral history years ago, and if you don't get stories from elderly folks and senior citizens, at any time, as you know, they can pass away." The project has evolved to a web site that serves as a repository for information. The page balances historical facts with stories veterans tell in their own words. The illustrated map is the basis for the web site, which was built by GCC art professor Paul Lindale.

"I was interested in doing something for the veterans," said Lindale. "It was a web file project that would benefit people in a different way than a web site would normally." The site now features more than 350 photos and 15,000 words of text. Lindale said it was challenging to design the site for an older generation. He chose large, easy to read text and made the links easier to find. The stories give a snapshot of what every day life was like for the soldiers.

"I'm really proud to be able to tell these guys' stories. The things they did were incredible," Simon said. "They just invented ways and means along the way, and they just got the job done. They did some really useful things." It's the personal stories that make history come alive. Afesi said that is what he found so interesting about this project, the individual stories of an event usually described on a large scale. Simon too said that was the appeal of this story. "It just gives you a great flavor of how war is a microcosm of individuals," Simon said.

Afesi said this successful project highlights the skills of employees at GCC at every level. "In the long run, this should be a credit to the college as a whole," Afesi said. "It's a personal project, but shows some of the activities that employees on the campus take." If you know someone who was in the 300th or want information, please email or visit www.300thcombatengineersinwwii.com.