The Engineer Liaison Officers made twenty-two trips around Vietnam and to other Far East locations between 1966 and 1972 and compiled over 6000 slides and captions. After the termination of hostilities, the unit was demobilized. A rock drill and an American Hoist Model 2380 20-ton Rough Terrain Crane lifting a bucket or a pile driver were occasionally used to clear rock formations and stabilize stream crossings. E. Sells, Lieutenant Colonel Dale They told farm and school stories and speculated on who else from their very small high school class might be in country.. W. Ray, Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Crowley, Lieutenant Colonel Valentine Check out Popular Patch's collection of United States Army Combat Engineering Unit patches. Battalion Combat on 28 April 1951, and activated at Fort Campbell, Kentucky the following month. In 1974 they transferred the set to the Engineer Museum, part of the U.S. Army Engineer School. On 31 January 1972, the battalion returned to the United States and relocated to Fort Bragg, NC, where it became a non-divisional combat airborne engineer battalion. For a second he just stared at us, he raised his rifle. "In July 1966, our 588th Combat Engineer Battalion was placed under command control of the 25th Infantry Division. Came under the jurisdiction of the 34th Engineer Group on 20 April 1967. on 12 April 1968, the unit was transferred to the 45th Engineer Group at. The most recent deployment was in response to Operation Uphold Democracy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. E. Edgar, Lieutenant Colonel William The unit entered World War I on 10 July 1918, with its participation in the Saint-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne campaigns. Shower points were established, usually using excess metal shipping containers or 55-gallon drums filled with water and placed on a trestle. find my friend." E. Rogers, Lieutenant Colonel Edwin But after several hours of relaxation, it's back to work. We would spend 1 night at Lang Co, 2 nights at bridge 28 with the 101st, and one night at an ARVN compound. The welds held when the previous ones didnt. T. O'Donnell, Brigadier General Kenneth He had no further contact with his military comrades. Ploger, Major General William T. Please remember to check our Guestbook occasionally. ". The first address you sent me is my buddy. of Command, Lieutenant Colonel Amos D. Snoke, Lieutenant Colonel Allen "But of course in an operation like this, we measure our success on what we find." The Battalion ran across a samll, but well-entrenched enemy force; they called in the 16-inch firepower of the battleship USS New Jersey and wiped out the enemy force. Did you proudly serve in 27TH ENGINEER BATALLION IN PHU BAI VIETNAM? After that I was with the 27th Eng. SENIOR ENGINEER COMMANDERS Sometimes we pull maintenance until 3:00 in the morning. Gray, Jr. Lieutenant Colonel Joseph OK R. Redman, Lieutenant Colonel Philip The research for this After Action Report included OPERATIONAL REPORTS, DAILY STAFF JOURNALS and DUTY OFFICER S LOGS at the Battalion, Brigade and Division levels located in the National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001. F. Castro, Lieutenant Colonel James The blade is "canted" to the right and there is a heavy guide bar about three feet above the blade. L. Trayers, Jr. Cuban engineers blew craters in Grenada's airport runways. 4th Battalion 77th Artillery, Valorous Unit Award8 Feb-8 Apr 71, RVN Gallantry Cross w/Palm18 Apr-31 Aug 71 and 6- 19 Sep 71; 1 Mar-9 Oct 71. Lieutenant Colonel Harlan G. Wolfe, Lieutenant Colonel Domingo Photos and memories from a tour in Vietnam as a combat medic with the 2/2nd Infantry (Mechanized) Ramrods (April - Sept. '67) and 2/28th Infantry Black Lions (Sept. '67 - April '68), 1st Infantry Division. W. Lombard, Lieutenant Colonel Robert He is so thankful I called and we exchanged addresses and he wants to come and visit. Check your Inbox for exclusive savings and the latest scoop. L. Spruill, Lieutenant Colonel Paul The battalion worked with the 10th Mountain Division (Light) and established Base Camp Dragon and Castle. Division), Lieutenant Colonel Matthew A. Karst, Lieutenant Colonel Arthur In April of 1968 the 591st and the 27th Eng. R. Hukkala, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas J. Walter, Lieutenant Colonel Andre A crazy coincidence occurred one evening. A. Teague, Lieutenant Colonel Richard L. Gilmore, Lieutenant Colonel James J. Andre, Lieutenant Colonel Connelly You had a thankless and tough job, the iron triangle, hobo woods, Cu Chi tunnel area and many other places that needed your expertise to try and flush charly and to reduce casualties, are not forgotten. 2023 Copyright VetFriends.com. For website corrections, write to hqwebmaster@usace.army.mil. They got to spend a few evenings together on the bunker line watching the perimeter. J. Fiala, Lieutenant Colonel William W. Shulz, Lieutenant Colonel Norman While in Somalia the 27th performed various infrastructure improvement projects for the Somali people. L. Sargent, Jr. 20 September 1965-16 August Lieutenant Colonel Howard F. Boylan. 1967, Lieutenant Colonel Robert You're out front by yourself and you know if there's an ambush you'll be the first one hit," Bulceco added. management. Usually operators aren't ordered to go on dismount but this time I was. 1st Battalion became 37th Engineer Combat Battalion, thence separate Lineage. Major Kerver felt the high contact rate was a good indication the operation was headed in the right direction, but there wasn't enough time to complete the job. ", Another fear the operators must contend with is RPG?s. Hansen, Lieutenant Colonel Laurence The army recognized that ability and sent him to sniper school. The motor pool/maintenance guys and their equipment closely followed the dirt movers. Thanks VetFriends, It was a wonderful moment that we will both remember for the rest of our lives, and we owe it to VetFriends. I was at Quang Tri and all of the combat troops were gone. Built FSC Company Area After Battalion Transformation. U.S. February 18, 1968 - September 10, 1968. Reorganized and redesignated on 15 March 1943 as follows: HHC became 1106th Engineer Combat Group, thence separate lineage. Could also hear the action. In the excitement, some of us didnt take very good cover. During one period, a platoon of M48 tanks provided security for the 591st and other co-located elements. Lieutenant Colonel Elvin Unfortunately, not all of the crew made it out alive. At that time, A Shau Valley was a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC) stronghold. I arrived in July of 1970, and as I recall, we had pulled out of Cambodia shortly before. S. Fullerton, 16 February 1967-17 November Rifle fire, machine gun bullets, and an M79 grenade followed that VC for a hundred yards to no effect. 7:20 | On his second Vietnam tour, Bill Ray commanded a combat engineer battalion. A. Posted on 11/18/2002 5:37:27 AM PST by SAMWolf. R. Vavra, Lieutenant Colonel Byron Activated once more in 19501951 briefly at Ft. Lewis, Washington, and then at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, the unit on 23 October 1960 earned the nickname "Tiger Battalion" through its rugged field maneuvers and training. Well-worn Caterpillar D7 undergoing maintenance near Firebase Blaze in 1968. Dedicated to those who were there. We don't how much damage we did, we did limit the enemy's capabilities but the extent of damage and destruction is difficult to measure at this point.". This is one of the best descriptions of us that I have found yet. L. Lammie, Lieutenant Colonel Ralph The Rome Plow is a custom designed blade built by the Rome Plow Company of Cedartown, Georgia, and used on the powerful D7E bulldozer, organic to engineer units. Lieutenant Colonel Richard L. Harris, 16 December 1965-13 July 1966 Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Gilmore, 14 July 1966-5 July 1967 They lost two men before pulling back. Thank you so much again for helping me All rights reserved. Components of the battalion participated in operation "Bright Star 82" deploying to the port city of Berbera, Somalia, which is located on the central North coast of Somalia on the Gulf of Aden. While flying CA missions I remember looking down at the rubble and red earth that was left after you guys finished your thing. Sign up to receive our newsletter regarding Veterans, Reunions, Military, Veteran Benefits, Military Pictures, Jokes, Military History, "We had been in Fish Hook about 10 days," Bulceco said. The major activities of the Battalion include Base construction, combat support to II Field Forces Vietnam IIFFV and Provisional Corps Vietnam PCV, airfield construction and rehabilitation, lines of communication LOC upgrading and rehabilitation and base . Are you looking for someone who is or was in 27TH ENGINEER BATALLION IN PHU BAI VIETNAM? The 27th Engineer Battalion (COMBAT)(AIRBORNE) and its subordinate companies has often used the Fort BraggXVIII Airborne Corps standard of Airborne for its motto. find my friend. Redesignated for the 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat) on 15 July 1955. The 20th Engineer Brigade (Combat) (Airborne) was assigned as a subordinate command of the XVIII Corps, comprised of one airborne combat engineer battalion, a heavy construction battalion and 4 . C. Kelley, Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm W. Atwell, Lieutenant Colonel Edward 1967, Lieutenant Colonel James Wisdom, 7 September 1968-7 February L. Sutton, Lieutenant Colonel Donald D. Patterson, 15 February 1967-16 October Here, Dave photographed this staging area that shows, right to left, an M123 10-ton tractor attached to M15A1 40-ton trailer, M37 3/4-ton truck, unidentified apparatus on wheels, batch concrete mixer on wheels, and unidentified. C. Levanger. Don Tegtmeier was in the 101st Airborne as a loader on a 105 mm gun. On 18 September, 1950 the 20th Engineer Combat Battalion was reactivated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina under the command of LTC Howard W. Penney. It was a wonderful moment that we will both remember for the rest of our lives, and we owe it to VetFriends. E. Hays, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph The mission was in support of the 101st Airborne Divisions efforts to deny the enemy of a safe haven area, logistic dumps, and communications (supply) routes, that is, a leg of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. You should be honorary Seabees ;). The guys watched in disbelief as the fire slowed down and stopped. u.s. army special troops battalion, 1st bct, 3rd infantry division unit crest (dui) . The coat of arms was originally approved for the 209th Engineer Battalion on 15 February 1945. 1968, Lieutenant Colonel Maurice At that time, A Shau Valley was a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC) stronghold. After the termination of hostilities, the unit was demobilized. The 19th Combat Engineer Battalion developed 20 miles of roads and a 25-unit permanent heliport near Qui Nhon in preparation for the arrival of South Korea's Tiger Division, which would . A. Lieutenant Colonel James 380 horsepower Clark-Michigan 290M scrapers with 20-yard pans moved dirt and Caterpillar Model 12 graders leveled the terrain to standard. J. Plunkett, Lieutenant Colonel Michael In effort to reduce risks to hostile fire, heavy airborne applications of defoliants (which later became be known as agent orange) covered wide swaths of the route way and potential firebase locations. D. Gilkey, Lieutenant Colonel James E. Gray, Lieutenant Colonel Marion 3rd Battalion, 27th Marines Marker. Group and took up operations in I Corps tactical zone at Gia Le. The state of the 20th Engineer Battalion upon reactivation was desperate. W. Chapman, Jr. Brigadier General Edwin Division), Lieutenant Colonel Carroll Lieutenant Colonel Thomas After 20 days in the cache laden Fish Hook region, military officials estimated that only 30 percent of the sanctuary areas had been uncovered. Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual T. Gay III, 326th Engineer Battalion (101st E. Kallman, Lieutenant Colonel Windle G. Rockwell, Jr. In 1983, units of the battalion took part in the Invasion of Grenada. A mock shoot-house for urban actions training. D. Engle, 1st Engineer Battalion (1st He and I talked about doing this write-up during a hunting trip in October 2018. Lieutenant Colonel William L. Gardner, Lieutenant Colonel Fred 66 machine shop truck with gull wing doors alongside temporary work area with troops working on an undefined project. Battalion were transferred to the 18th Eng. Daves intent with this photo was to show that when supplies were needed, it wasnt an easy trip down to NAPA or AutoZone. - At least 3 of the following: uppercase, Lieutenant Colonel Richard In December of 1965, over 5000 infantrymen of the 25th Infantry Division deployed to the highlands of Northwest South Vietnam at Pleiku. Engineers . He returned home and went back to the family farm. D. H. Berry, Lieutenant Colonel James u.s. army special troops battalion, 2nd brigade combat team, 1st armored division unit crest (dui) $11.99. Guth, Lieutenant Colonel James SENIOR ENGINEER COMMANDERS We were based in An Loc, near Loc Ninh which was in the Parrots Beak, another jumping off point for the Cambodian incursion. This move known as Operation Blue Light was the longest and largest military airlift to a combat zone in history to date. Not all helicopter crashes were shot-downs. Many times people are searching for old friends or family members and make requests for help. This ingenuity truly exemplified the commitment to the 591st unit motto: Drive On., Dave said, We un-assed from the vehicles to see where the fire was coming from. S. Kem, Lieutenant Colonel Charles At least one set of these slides and reports was held by the U.S. Army Engineer Group, Vietnam, the 1972 successor to the U.S. Army Engineer Command, Vietnam. W. Martin, Assumption or Duration The 591st was awarded unit citations during Daves tenure; Two Meritorious Unit Commendations and the RVN Civil Actions Honor Medal, First Class. Brigadier General Curtis N. Hutchison. Lined Eisenhower Jacket. Some of the cabs on the D7s were adorned with scrounged sheet metal. Its elements were then reorganized and redesignated. Lieutenant Colonel Coleman So elusive was the enemy that officers speculated that all seven attacks could have been made by the same NVA soldiers. The Office of History is continuing to prepare the remainder of the slide collection and will post additional files to the Digital Library until the entire collection of 6000+ public domain slides is available to researchers to download. Do you have 27TH ENGINEER BATALLION IN PHU BAI VIETNAM Reunion information you'd like to share, "When I Joined VetFriends, I read about the email locator service, and sent an email to my old friend. Lieutenant Colonel Morris The battalion deployed again in August 1992 to Dade County, Florida, for hurricane Andrew relief. The history of the 27th Engineer Battalion (COMBAT) (AIRBORNE) began on 16 January 1918 at Fort Meyer, VA, as the second battalion of the 37th Engineer Regiment. W. Hoey, Lieutenant Colonel Harry The battalion sustained 71 killed in action and 179 wounded in action during the 70-day-long battle. The soldiers, both from Charlie Comapny, 27th Engineer Battalion, are preparing the site for Brown and Root workers to come in and set up containers to be used as office space for the city municipality. On the affirmative, the CO promptly assigned him operate Caterpillar D7s. Relive & share the memories of your service time with your brothers & sisters in arms today. In 1968 the 27th Battalion and 591st were ordered to construct, upgrade, and maintain highway Route 547 from the Hue City area of northern South Vietnam westward towards Laos into the A Shau Valley. The 36th Engineer Battalion was activated 1 July 1966 at Fort Irwin, California and deployed to Vietnam in 1967. Concrete truck doing a pour for a civilian public affairs project. Dave Flinn found an exact duplicate of his baby a Vietnam-era D7E Caterpillar dozer at Ft Leonard Wood, Missouri, during the 2017 MVPA Route 66 Convoy. Motto: OMNES RES BENE FACERE (To Do All Things Well). It is not obvious to me why the same point should not by and by be reached by the Gentiles.Thomas Henry Huxley (182595). Capt. exemption for fair use of copyrighted works. P. Stefanik, Lieutenant Colonel Charles During the first several days of cutting resistance was light, but after the enemy had a chance to regroup, everyday meant contact. Dave visited the Engineer Museum at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, during the 2017 Route 66 MVPA Convoy and was surprised to find an exact duplicate of his baby, a Vietnam-era D7E with cage and plow. In 1983, units from of the battalion deployed in response to the Invasion of Grenada by Cuban forces. Not everyone was able to exit the crashed bird. Thanks! The tankers were so happy that they kept Dave and Bob supplied with beer during their short, combined tenure. Daoulas, Lieutenant Colonel Russell We'll keep you posted! The VC were probing the platoons position. 1967, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas A. Debelius, Lieutenant Colonel James The sun was usually hot enough to heat the drums enough to provide lukewarm showers.
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