117th Engineers - Pacific Theater

This is off the topic regarding your post, but I just had to say how pleased I was to see a member of the 117th Engineers joined this unit page. I've been researching the amazing history of the 37th Infantry Division since my father passed away in 1994. He was a member of the 145th reg. History might have been written very differently if not for the outstanding contributions of the 117th Engineers. I sincerely hope the history of a Division, so long over looked, will come to light. This history could not be presented without a special spotlight cast on the 117th Engineers. Their bravery, heroics, and invaluable achievements were simply unbelievable. Under incredible pressure and tasked with the impossible, they moved on with such determination every impossible challenge was met and defeated. "We need a bridge!", and there was a bridge. Their talent and committed efforts brought the 37th to Manila and beyond. From the bottom of my heart and with humble respect I salute the men of 117th Engineers. It is an honor to finally have the opportunity to do so. Thank you, Leslie

My father and I recently went through a box of photos taken in the Pacific of the 117th Engineers. I have several photos of soldiers receiving citations, such as the purple heart and silver star. Names of these soldiers are on the back of the photos. Our goal is to give these photos to the soldiers and/or family members. If you were a member of the 117th during WWII, under Lt Col Eubank, please contact me at KEubankDWWII@aol.com

The 121st Engineer Battalion continued its training program at Fort Meade until 10 April 1942. On this date the battalion, less 5 officers and 180 men, was transferred to Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, and redesignated the 117th Engineer Battalion, organic to the 37th Infantry Division.

The battalion was created in 1918 in the District of Columbia National Guard. It was mobilized into Federal service in 1940 as part of the 29th Infantry Division, made up of units from Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The 121st staged at Fort Meade, Maryland for movement to England. At the same time, the 37th Infantry Division from the Ohio National Guard, was staging at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania.

The 37th has also been alerted for movement to England, and had sent its 112th Engineer Combat Battalion ahead as part of the advance party. Orders were changed and the 37th was diverted for service in the Pacific Theater. There was no time to recall the 112th, or to create and train a new engineer battalion. The War Department ordered all personnel and equipment of the 121st Engineers moved from Fort Meade to Fort Indiantown Gap, and the unit was redesignated the 117th Engineer Combat Battalion. One officer and six enlisted personnel, symbolically representing the 121st Headquarters, each line Company, and the Medical Detachment, remained behind with the organization's colors.

The new 117th Engineers shipped out to the Fiji Islands, and saw extensive combat in the Philippines. The men from the DC Guard worked under enemy fire building and repairing 64 bridges, destroying enemy held buildings and tank obstacles, and participating in river crossings with "consummate skill and courage."

When the 29th Division reached England, the 112th Engineer Battalion from the 37th Division became the reconstituted 121st Engineers. By the time the 121st saw its first combat, on D-Day at Omaha Beach during the invasion of Normandy, its ranks consisted of the soldiers from Ohio as well as new soldiers from throughout the United States. None of the seven original DC Guardsmen were with the unit at the time of the invasion.

The history, lineage and honors of the 121st continue today in the lineage of the 372d MP Battalion of the District of Columbia Army National Guard. In 1948, a "new" 121st Engineer Battalion was established in the Maryland Army National Guard. Although it carries the same name as the WWII unit, the new MDNG unit has NO previous history.