4th Engineer Battalion (United States)

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4th Engineer Battalion (Combat)

4th Engineer Battalion DUI
Active 1861-1921
?-1946
1948-present
Country United States
Branch Regular Army
Nickname Vanguard of the 4th Division
Motto Volens Et Potens (Willing and Able)
Engagements World War I
World War II
Vietnam War
Decorations Presidential Unit Citation

The 4th Engineer Battalion (the Vanguard of the 4th Division) is an engineer battalion of the United States Army. It saw action in the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War.


Contents

[edit] Symbolism

The scarlet and white are the colors of the Corps of Engineers. The wavy fess alludes to the feats accomplished by the organization in World War I, in which the regiment bridged the Vesle under heavy fire, making possible the forcing of the passage by its attached Division. The yellow canton, representative of the color of the Engineers' facing when the old companies of the regiment were organized in 1861, refers to the 2d Engineers, from which the 4th Engineers was organized in 1916. The device on the canton was the badge of the engineers and Pontoniers of the American Civil War. The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 4th Regiment Engineers on 18 February, 1927. It was redesignated for the 4th Engineer Battalion on December 5, 1940.

[edit] Formation and Early History

It was organized 31 December 1861 in the Regular Army at Washington, District of Columbia, from new and existing companies of engineers as a provisional engineer battalion. It was constituted 28 July 1866 as the Battalion of Engineers. The battalion was then expanded 14 March-7 June 1901 to form the 1st and 2d Battalions of Engineers. The 2d Battalion of Engineers was further expanded, reorganized and redesignated during July 1916 as the 2d Regiment of Engineers. The unit was expanded yet again during May and June 1917 to form the 2d, 4th, and 5th Regiments of Engineers. The 4th Regiment of Engineers was redesignated as the 4th Engineers in August of 1917 and was thereafter assigned to the 4th Division in January of 1918. After occupation service, the unit was inactivated in 1921 at Camp Lewis, Washington. Between 1927 and 1933 the unit was reassigned to support the 6th Division and six years later it was redesignated as the 4th Engineer Battalion activated (less Company A, which activated 24 July 1922 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina) 1 June 1940 at Fort Benning, Georgia. Reorganizations and redesignations led first as the 4th Engineer Motorized Battalion (September 1942) then the 4th Engineer Combat Battalion (August 1943) were formed. Soon after World War II ended, the unit was inactivated 19 February 1946 at Camp Butner, North Carolina. This did not last long however, with reactivation on 6 July 1948 at Fort Ord, California and subsequent redesignation as the 4th Engineer Battalion in June 1953.

[edit] Vietnam War

The 4th Engineer Battalion was activated for deployment to the Vietnam War from Fort Lewis, Washington as the vanguard of the 4th Infantry Division, and assigned to support the 1st Brigade 8th Infantry. Company A was sent to Pleiku, Vietnam via ship on the MST Buckner, flying from SEATEC on July 7, 1966, to Oakland Naval Shipyard, and then transported to, via San Diego to pickup 3500 Marines, then on to Japan over night some got passes, and then to Qui Nhon. We were then airlifted to Pleiku Central Highlands, Camp Halloway Air Base, by Caribou Aircraft. Then the battalion was driven by rough terran buses to Dragon Mountain and into a huge area of four square miles, in order to start securing and building up construction of base camp for the arrival of the 4th Infantry Division in August 1966. This is the origin of it being named the "Vanguard of the 4th Division". This base camp was named Camp Enari after the 1st officer, Lieutenant Enari, to be killed.

[edit] Further operations

The 4th Engineer Battalion convoyed back down to Qui Nhon,then via LST transport for personnel and heavy equipment, convoyed to to Tuy Hoa to build the 1st of the 8th Infantry 4th ID Base Camp. The battalion was then assigned to operations to La Hai, Phu Yen Province. There, it helped repair roads and bridges on Highways 1, 14 & 19 through the Central Highlands. After it had completed these tasks, the unit returned to Dragon Mountain and Camp Enari. This task included mine-clearing and "jungle busting" with HD 16 Allis Chambers Bulldozers (replaced by the D-7E Caterpillar Bulldozers and M-48 tanks equipped with blades.

Later, the individual companies of the battalion were assigned to ground operations in Tuy Hoa, Dak To, Kontum, Ban Me Thuot, Ia Drang Valley, and Duc Pho. Various Landing Zones (LZs) were built by the 4th Engineers: LZ Ducco,LZ Marylou near Kontum, LZ Oasis, LZ Jackson Hole, LZ Baldy and others. Their operations there included activities concerning Tuy Hoa, la Hai, Polei Kleng, Bong Son and its enormous bridge, and the coastal town of Duc Pho (LZ Montezuma). Captain Knutzen, a West Point graduate, led the unit thorough a one year tour with only one soldier reported as KIA.

The 4th Engineer Battalion participated in the intense combat of Tet 1968. It is often said that engineers are really "infantrymen with additional picks and shovels." This was certainly the case for the 4th Engineers Battalion, Combat, in Vietnam.

[edit] Withdrawal

The personnel of A Company departed Vietnam on 6 June 1967, with the rest of the battalion to follow within weeks.

[edit] Modern era

The 4th Engineer Battalion's Headquarters and Headquarters Company was activated 18 October 2006 atFort Carson, Colorado (Support Company concurrently constituted and activated)

[edit] Lineage and Honors Information

4th Engineer Battalion Lineage as of 6 December 2006

  • Organized 31 December 1861 in the Regular Army at Washington DC, from new and existing companies of engineers as a provisional engineer battalion (constituted 28 July 1866 as the Battalion of Engineers)
  • Expanded 14 March-7 June 1901 to form the 1st and 2d Battalions of Engineers (1st Battalion of Engineers--hereafter separate lineage)
  • 2d Battalion of Engineers expanded, reorganized, and redesignated 1 July-1 August 1916 as the 2d Regiment of Engineers
  • 2d Regiment of Engineers expanded 21 May-20 June 1917 to form the 2d, 4th, and 5th Regiments of Engineers (2d and 5th Regiments of Engineers--hereafter separate lineages)
  • 4th Regiment of Engineers redesignated 29 August 1917 as the 4th Engineers
  • Assigned 1 January 1918 to the 4th Division
  • Inactivated 21 September 1921 at Camp Lewis, Washington
  • (Company A activated 24 July 1922 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina)
  • Relieved 15 August 1927 from assignment to the 4th Division and assigned to the 6th Division
  • (Company A inactivated 30 September 1929)
  • Relieved 1 October 1933 from assignment to the 6th Division and assigned to the 4th Division (later redesignated as the 4th Infantry Division) (Company A concurrently activated at Fort Benning, Georgia)
  • Redesignated 19 October 1939 as the 4th Engineer Battalion
  • Activated (less Company A) 1 June 1940 at Fort Benning, Georgia
  • Reorganized and redesignated 19 September 1942 as the 4th Engineer Motorized Battalion
  • Reorganized and redesignated 1 August 1943 as the 4th Engineer Combat Battalion
  • Inactivated 19 February 1946 at Camp Butner, North Carolina
  • Activated 6 July 1948 at Fort Ord, California
  • Redesignated 5 June 1953 as the 4th Engineer Battalion
  • During the war in Vietnam, the battalion was correctly identified as the "4th Engineer Battalion (Combat)," to differentiate it from "construction" engineer battalions. It was then the internal engineer battalion for the 4th Infantry Division, and supported the division's mission in the Central Highlands from its base at Camp Enari, just outside Pleiku.
  • Inactivated 15 December 2004 at Fort Carson, Colorado, and relieved from assignment to the 4th Infantry Division.
  • Reactived as 4th Engineer Battalion (Combat), at Fort Carson and ssigned to Iraq.

[edit] 4th Engineer Battalion Honors

[edit] Campaign Participation Credit

  • World War I: Aisne-Marne; St. Mihiel; Meuse-Argonne; Champagne 1918; Lorraine 1918
  • World War II: Normandy (with arrowhead); Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe
  • Vietnam: Counteroffensive, Phase II; Counteroffensive, Phase III; Tet Counteroffensive; Counteroffensive, Phase IV; Counteroffensive, Phase V; Counteroffensive, Phase VI; Tet 69/Counteroffensive; Summer-Fall 1969; Winter-Spring 1970; Sanctuary Counteroffensive; Counteroffensive, Phase VII

[edit] Decorations

  • Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for Vietnam 1967-1968
  • Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm for Vietnam 1966-1969
  • Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm for Vietnam 1969-1970
  • Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, First Class for Vietnam 1966-1969

Company A additionally entitled to:

  • Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for Pleiku Province
  • Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for Dak To District

Company C additionally entitled to:

  • Valorous Unit Award for Quang Ngai Province
  • Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm for Vietnam 1966-1967

[edit] References

  • Shelby Stanton "The Rise and Fall of an American Army"
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