HHC, 20th Engineer Battalion
"Thunder"
The Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 20th Engineer Battalion traced its origins as part of the 20th Engineers to 15 August 1917, when the War Department issued General Order Number 108 forming the 20th Engineer Regiment. The Regiment was awarded a Campaign Streamer for its operations throughout France, then demobilized upon its return to the US in July 1919.
The Regiment was reactivated in July 1940 at Fort Benning, Georgia. In July 1942, after completion of its combat training and after helping construct Camp Shelby, Mississippi, the 20th Engineer Regiment deployed to Casablanca, French North Africa. On 6 July 1943, the Regiment departed Tunisia with the 3rd Infantry Division and conducted a first wave assault landing onto the beaches of Sicily.
After the fall of Sicily, the Regiment moved to Scotland and was reorganized. The 1st Battalion, 20th Engineer Regiment was redesignated the 20th Engineer Battalion. The newly designated 20th Engineer Battalion was then moved to England to prepare for operation overload and the invasion of Normandy.
The Battalion landed in the assault echelon of the 1st Infantry Division on D-Day. The Battalion went on to fight across France, Belgium, and Germany with many different divisions in battles such as the Hurtgen Forest and Battle of the Bulge, and ended the war in Czechoslovakia.
The Battalion was stationed at various posts between 1946 and 1966, including Fort Bragg, Fort Devens, and Germany. In 1966, troop ships deployed the Battalion to Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. The Headquarters Company served in Field Force II areas of operation throughout the war conducting logistical forward support operations to the Battalion, while at times being reorganized and fighting as infantry. The Company through its dedicated and tireless efforts earned the Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal. The Battalion then redeployed to Fort Campbell in 1971.
In October 1990 the Headquarters Company was called upon again when the Battalion was alerted and deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield. The Company conducted support operations that quickly aided the Battalion's countermobility and survivability operations in direct support of the 101st Airborne Division and XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery. In Operation Desert Storm, the Company demonstrated its ability as the Battalion attacked 300 miles into Iraq. During the attack, the Battalion constructed logistics bases, cleared roads of obstacles and unexploded ordinance, and cleared the town of Al Busayah of enemy munitions and equipment, all while receiving support from the dedicated soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarter Company. The Battalion returned to Fort Campbell in April 1991.
In June 1992, the 20th Engineers moved to Fort Hood to reorganize, mechanize and become part of the 1st Cavalry Division as part of the Engineer Restructure Initiative (ERI). Commencing in 1994, the Battalion deployed yearly to the National Training Center with the 1st Brigade "Ironhorse," 1st Cavalry Division, executing highly successful mobility, countermobility, survivability and force protection missions during every rotation.
In addition to supporting the yearly rotation to the National Training Center, the Company stood ready to execute its No Notice Missions in support of the Battalion. On 18 August 1994, the Battalion deployed as a task force headquarters to fight forest fires in the Boise National Forest, Idaho, and in the Fall of 1995, a portion of Headquarters Company deployed with Task Force 2-8th Cavalry to the mountains of Korea in support of Operation Foal Eagle.
In August 1998 the Company began moving support element forward into the war torn country of Bosnia-Herzegovinia to support the Battalion deployment forward in order to conduct peacekeeping operations. During 7 months of deployment the Company tackled the difficult task of providing support to a Battalion that was located at 5 different base camps throughout MND-North. Once again the soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Company proved that the success of the Battalion could be traced back to their tireless efforts.
Having gained the experience of fighting wildfires in Idaho, the Battalion was called on once again in August 2000 to provide firefighting support in the Lolo National Forest, Montana. Headquarters and Headquarters Company was chosen as the command cell for the Task Force Lumberjack Inferno. which was comprised of over 500 soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
