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94th
Engineer Battalion |
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| 354th Engineer Battalion (Const) | |||||||||||||||||
 354th Engineer Battalion (Const) DI |
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| 1950 - 1955 | |||||||||||||||||
| (Source: History of 354th Engineer Battalion (Construction), 11 September 1950 to 10 March 1955, HQ 94th Engineer Bn (Const), APO 46, 25 March 1955) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1. The 354th Engineer Construction Battalion was notified 12 August 1950 by West Virginia Militart District that it was being ordered to active duty on 11 September 1950. 2. In November 1951 the unit was alerted for movement to Europe and was brought up to full T/O&E strength of 26 Officers, 15 Warrant Officers and 844 Enlisted Men. New equipment was received. The unit was assigned to USAREUR per Movement Order Nr 6, Hq, Camp Pickett, Va., dated 29 January 1952 and departed by motor transportation on 20 February 1952 for Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, Va. where it loaded aboard USAT General Hershey and sailed for Bremerhaven, Germany. On arrival at Bremerhaven 1 March 1952, the unit was relieved from attachment to 311th Engineer Group and attached to 39th Engineer Construction Group. The unit departed for Hohenfels, Germany, a training area near Nurnberg, Germany, and arrived there on 2 March 1952. 3. During the period 2 March 1952 to 19 October 1952 the battalion was engaged is construction of a 2500 foot aircraft strip, for light aircraft; a "combat in cities" course; rifle ranges; barracks and mess halls and an open air stage. On 20 October 1952 the unit moved from Hohenfels, Germany, to Nellingen, Germany. Average strength for 1952 was 20 Officers, 16 Warrant Officers, and 826 Enlisted Men. 4. With a winter of MOS training at Nellingen the battalion, less Company C, moved to Northern Area Command in May 1953 and established headquarters at Giessen, Germany. Company A constructed four prefabricated steel warehouses at the Giessen Quartermaster Depot. Company B was stationed at Butzbach, Germany where it completed a firing range. Approximately 342,000 yards of earth and 24 acres of trees had to be removed from the new range. One platoon of Company B completed a steel truss warehouse at Frankfurt, Germany. Company C, at Nellingen, completed a hardtop Air Strip 1000 x 300 feet with tie down facilities for 50 planes; installed lighting fixtures, and a POL storage point. Average battalion strength for 1953 was 24 Officers, 14 Warrant Officers, and 854 Enlisted Men. On 7 December 1953 the battalion was redesignated 354th Engineer Battalion (Construction) per GO 99, Hq, USAREUR dated 24 November 1953. Authorized strength 20 Officers, 10 Warrant Officers, and 539 Enlisted Men. The battalion returned from Giessen to Nellingen in September 1953. 5. Construction in the early part of 1954 consisted mainly of small civil affairs projects which helped to establish good will and furthered German-American relations. In July Company C moved to Muenchweiler, germany to construct a Hospital Train Staging Area. Company B sent a reinforced platoon to Heilbronn, Germany to construct a baseball diamond; 3 softball diamonds, a quarter mile track, a football field, and a building with dressing rooms, shower rooms and latrines. This project was completed 2 October 1954 and on 2 November 1954 B Company departed far Thionville, France on a six week projct of providing Engineer support for a USAREUR CPX. In August 1954 Company A built parkways, roads and curbing at 5th General Hospital, Bad Cannstatt, Germany. On 2 November 1954 Company A left for France to assist Company B and returned to Nellingen, Germany on 10 November 1954. Company B returned to Nellingen, Germany from France on 14 December 1954. The battalion was reorganised 10 December 1954 per GO 190, Hq, USAREUR, dated 24 November 1954 with an authorized strength of 20 Officers, 10 Warrant Officers, and 686 Enlisted Men. On 20 December 1954 Company B started work on a POL dump and tie-downs at the air strip Nellingen, Germany. 6. Company C returned to Nellingen, Germany on 5 February 1955 after completing 89% of construction started at Muenchweiler. This project was suspended for an indefinite period due to wet and freezing weather. Company B continued construction of POL storage during 1955 and began construction of an 18 hole golf course at Kornwestheim, Germany. Company A began construction of an athletic field at Nellingen, Germany and repair and improvement of drainage on the rifle range at Stetten, Germany. The 354th Battalian was released from active duty on 10 March 1955 per G0 40, Hq, USAREUR, dated 21 February 1955. All construction already in progress and all personnel and equipment were transferred to the 94th Engineer Battalion (Construction), activated 10 March 1955 to replace the 354th Battalion. 7. During the period 11 September 1950 to 10 March 1955 the 354th Engineer Battalion was commanded by: |
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| (Source: Email from Herbie Meeks) | |||||||||||||||||
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I worked a while servicing wheel vehicles. Then Chief Warrant Officer Bowman picked out a few of the better mechanics and sent us down to Murnau, Germany near the Bavarian Alps, where we attended a 10-week Heavy Equipment Machinery school. William Campbell and I came out of there with a Master Sgt. MOS number, but we did not get the stripes then, because of something about the pay raise that went along with the stripes. William and I were technical inspectors for all of the heavy equipment and we were in charge of the mechanics who kept the construction equipment running. We also traveled to the construction sites described in the article "History of 354th Engineer Battalion (Construction)" describing some of the construction jobs. Campbell and I toured these jobs inspecting the Heavy Equipment, as well as all wheel vehicles. Our job was to see that all equipment was serviced, and cared for, and deadlined if we found some thing wrong. We ordered parts from the supply warehouses near Giessen. (I am probably getting these town names mixed up). Had to find the Guest Houses to buy Beer, not many Cafes, and no Hamburger Joints. The Express Guest House, in Esslingen, Germany, near Stuttgart, was a favorite for the Boys stationed at Nellingen. I did travel the whole distance from Bremerhaven to Berchesgarten. The Russians occasionally charged the front line, in what they called maneuvers, just to harass us, as we had to go on full alert, and move out with full field gear, and retreat towards France, with all the heavy equipment we could move on trucks. Every vehicle had a 50 caliber ring mount on top of it, and machine gunners had to grab their 50 caliber machine gun, and mount them as we moved out. Of course the rest of us all had the old M1 Grand, or a M1 Carbine. I previously emailed pictures taken on the job at Münchweiler, where we were working on a railroad spur, and receiving dock, at the Munchweiler Hospital. This was the last job the 354th worked on. I was then shipped home about the same time the 354th colors was re-assigned to the USA, March 1955. All of the battalion's equipment and jobs were assigned to the 94th EBC. The yet to become famous country singer, Johnny Cash, Air Force, was also on his way home on the same Troop Ship with me. We formed a small Country Music Band, and entertained the troops all the way to New York. I will never forget the Hurricane we hit, and rode out for 3 days. It was a 10 day trip due to the Hurricane. If any of your readers have pictures of the band, taken on the Troop Ship, I would love to have copies emailed to me. |
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| 94th Engineer Battalion | |||||||||||||||||
 94th Engineer Construction Battalion DI |
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| 1955 - 19.. | |||||||||||||||||
(Source: Email from John . Briggs) |
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The 94th Engineer Battalion was originally constituted as the 53rd Engineer Battalion on 1 October 1933. The Battalion was then
re-designated as the 94th Engineer Battalion on 1 January 1938. The Wolverine was born on 12 February 1941 when the Battalion was activated at Fort Custer, Michigan. After being re-designated as the 94th Engineer General Service Regiment, the unit departed from New York on 23 March 1943 in route to North Africa. In early 1944, the regiment moved to Italy, where it participated in both the Naples-Foggia and Rome-Arno operations. On 1 November 1944 the regiment moved to France, and then as part of the massive U.S. demobilization was deactivated on 22 December 1945 at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts.
After being re-designated as the 94th Engineer Construction Battalion on 16 May 1946, the Wolverines were reactivated on 27 May 1946 at Fort Lewis, Washington. After assignments to various locations throughout the eastern United States, the battalion was once again reorganized and re-designated as the 94th Engineer Battalion on 20 September 1953. That same year, the battalion was moved to France, where it would eventually be deactivated on 27 November 1954. Reactivated on 10 March 1955 in Nellingen, West Germany, the Battalion was reorganized as a construction unit (94th Engr Const Bn) on 24 December 1958. In 1972, the Battalion moved to Darmstadt, Germany, where it was re-designated as the 94th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) in 1978. In April 1988, the Battalion Headquarters and Company A was combined to form Headquarters and Support Company. In 1991, the Battalion deployed to Southern Turkey and Northern Iraq in support of Operation Provide Comfort to provide humanitarian relief to Kurdish refugees following Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Following Operation Desert Storm and the fall of the Soviet Union, the battalion was reassigned to the 130th Engineer Brigade, V Corps, and then reorganized in 1992 to become the only Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) in the European theater. Newly designated Companies A and B moved from Karlsruhe, Germany to Hohenfels and Wildflecken, Germany, while Headquarters and Support Company and Company C moved to Vilseck, Germany. In addition, the 535th Engineer Company (CSE), at Grafenwoehr, Germany was attached to the battalion, making it the largest engineer battalion in the Army. In 1993, Company B was inactivated as Wildflecken, Germany, and Company C in Vilseck, Germany was re-designated as Company B. In November 1995, the 94th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) and the 535th Engineer Company (CSE) were called to deploy in support of peace enforcement operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Reassigned to the 1st Armored Division, Task Force Eagle, the battalion supported every phase of Operation Joint Endeavor. In July 1998, Company B with attachments from the Headquarters and Support Company again deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina for four months in support of Operation Join Forge. In May 1999, the battalion was once more called upon to support peace enforcement operations in Kosovo in support of Task Force Falcon. The battalion, along with the 535th Engineer Company (CSE), were the primary construction units called on to build Camp Bondsteel, the primary base camp intended to house 5,000 personnel. In November 1999, the 94th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) and the 535th Engineer Company (CSE) redeployed to Central Region to prepare to build again. This opportunity would come in January 20003 when the 94th Engineer Battalion deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Battalion transitioned to support Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. The 94th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) supported the 3rd Infantry Division and V Corps in its historic attack to seize Baghdad in March and April of 2003. After spending one year in theater supporting combat and stability and support operations, the Battalion returned to Germany. The Battalion is currently (2006) deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 3. |
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| If you have more information on the history or organization of the 94th Engr Bn, please contact me. | |||||||||||||||||
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