HISTORY INDEX
ATTENTION!!!: All Light–Blue Links and Red Sub–Links Contain an History File:
INTRODUCTION file:
• Lineage and Honors
• Distinctive Unit Insignia
• 97th Engineer Battalion Transcribed Data Sheets, 1933–1971
IN ALASKA file:97th Engineer General Service Regiment (Colored):
22 Feb 42 redesignated from the 97th Engineer battalion (Separate) at Elgin Field Fla and arrived at Seattle P/E [Port of Entry] 20 Apr 42; departed 22 Apr 42 and arrived Valdez Alaska 29 Apr 42at the southern terminus of the Richardson Highway; built pioneer roads and constructed part of Alaskan–Canadian Highway from Slana in the Tanana River Valley and reached Tanana River by 25 Aug 42; linked up with the 18th Engr Regt at Beaver Creek 25 Oct 42; returned to Seattle P/E 11 Sep 43 and moved to Cp Sutton N.C. 18 Sep 43; staged at Cp Stoneman Calif 29 Feb 44 until departed San Francisco P/E 10 Mar 44; arrived Milne Bay New Guinea 24 Apr 44 and in April 1946 relocated to the Philippines; there redesignated 97th Engineer General Service Battalion (Colored) on 30 Jun 46.
SOURCE: Shelby, Shelby L., ORDER OF BATTLE U. S. ARMY, WORLD WAR II (Presidio Press, Novato, CA, 1984), p. 542.
• Alcan HwyIN THE PACIFIC file:
• New GuineaIN REACTIVATION file:
• Some History Regarding MG Leonard Wood
IN FRANCE file:
• COMZ Station List, 1954
• Welcome To The US Army COMZ EUROPE
• Welcome To Verdun
Vassincourt Specific:
Vassincourt Military Base, 1939: The Little Known Airfield At Vassincourt, France.
Vassincourt Military Base, before late 1956. Perhaps the only photo of the airfield with an airplane parked on the ground. Daniel Klinck states the Quonset hut project did not begin until Fall 1956 (tents are in the above photo; see story below). Click on this link to see a large scale version
The Overseas Weekly article, HOUSING IN ADSEC HAS COME A LONG, LONG WAY, 1956
[also contains military history of SFC Everard A. Davis]
Multi–Part Pictorial History, Vassincourt, 1955-57, by 1LT Daniel N. Klinck:
Other historical material from the Vassincourt—Trois Fontaines area:
- • The Advance, Vol 4, No. 8, 19 May 1956, courtesy of Daniel N. Klinck
[assistance from Walter Elkins, Webmaster, http://www.usarmygermany.com]- • The Advance, Vol 4, No. 11, 8 June 1956, courtesy of Daniel N. Klinck
[assistance from Walter Elkins, Webmaster, http://www.usarmygermany.com]- • Historic Photographs by Wladyslaw Rechul, 4507th Labor Service Company, 1954—1966
- • Sentry Dogs [copy assistance courtesy of Daniel N. Klinck (best viewed at 150 percent)]p
• Battalion related photographs from ILT James J. Vesey, Company A, Vassincourt, France
• Battalion related photographs from James Anderson, Etain, France
My name is James Anderson and I was the combat photographer with the H&S Company, 97th Engineer Battalion, stationed at Etain AFB from June 1960 through August 1962. During that time I took many pictures that I recently came across. The attached photo is of the officers assigned to the 97th and I only remember one, Warrant Officer Sam R. Southall [back row center, immediately behind LTC Crise] who was the Personnel Officer.
I remember his because the combat photographer was being phased out because of the more popular use of the 35mm camera. He helped me cross-train and I became a personnel specialist during this tour.
I was hoping that perhaps some others who were stationed there could help with the names, and perhaps in the future you might want more pictures of the personnel in the field that I photographed as I come across them:
Jim
Editor: LT Donald Wade Parman, deceased, Gig Harbor, Washington, Dec 11, 1934 - Nov 14, 2017, is at the left shoulder of CWO Sam Southhall.
APPENDIX I & II file:• Memoirs–Col. R. A. AtkinsIN GERMANY file:
• LTC Fernand M. Achée, Jr., Commander, September 1963–February 1965
• LTC William P. Gardiner, Photo Album, February 1965—June 1966
• USAREUR Engineer Command Overview, 1966–74 (courtesy Brian Haverin)
• Personal Accounts
• Essays (then and now) by Harry Puncec, Verdun, 1959—1962
• EXTERNAL History Page: USAREUR (France and Germany)
• Col. Albert DupontIN KANSAS file:
• BG (Ret.) Michael LePeilbet
• LTC Ancil Pressley
• The Fort Riley Post Extracts, transcribed by Larry L. Castleman (PDF)
Harry Taylor -- born on 26 June 1862 in Tilton, N.H. -- graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1884, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on 15 June 1884. In the years that followed, Taylor served in the field on various projects, including East Coast defenses and the Columbia River project. By 1916, he was Assistant Chief of Engineers in charge of the River and Harbor Division. At the start of America's participation in World War I, he sailed for France as Chief Engineer Officer, American Expeditionary Force. In this capacity he supervised the construction of railways, barracks, wharves, and shelters throughout France. Awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Taylor returned to Washington and was named Major General, Chief of Engineers, on 19 June 1924. He retired on 26 June 1926 and died of pneumonia on 27 January 1930 in Washington, D.C.
Photo from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
SOURCE: NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
