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45th
Engineer Construction Battalion |
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| Battalion History | |||
| 1951 - 1965 | |||
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| In studying the STATION LISTS for the 1950s, it appears that the 45th Engr Const Battalion consisted of a Headquarters, Headquarters and Service Company and a few attached labor service companies. Only in the 1961/63 time frame does the STATION LIST show an organic lettered company ("A" Company). The STATION LIST for June 1964 shows that the battalion was expanded to 4 lettered companies ("A" through "D"). The STARS & STRIPES article mentioned below (June 7, 1965) states that the organic companies were gradually inactivated before the actual inactivation of the battalion in 1964. Can anyone provide details? |
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If you have more
information on the history or organization of the 45th Engr Const Bn, please
contact me . |
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| 1961 | |||
| (Source: Email from Dave Kerpics) | |||
| I read with great interest your web page on the 24th Engr Grp. I was a member of the 45th Engr Bn from june 1961 to dec 1963. My MOS was 612, tractor scaper operator. You can imagine my surprise when my unit wasn't even mentioned. Do you have any infomation as to what may have become of it? I have been trying to find out for along time. Our battalion had 3 companies of labor sevice troops, mostly Latvians. It seems to me after these 40 years later that the 45th seemed to be pretty well established in K-town, I mean it seemed like the unit was there for some time before I got there. Funny you mentioned the Berlin Crisis. Shortly after I arrived in Germany the Checkpoint Charlie thing happened when our tankers faced off with the Russians in Berlin. My first job when I got to the 45th was to run an air compressor and bore holes for fencing for the motor pool for the 3rd Armored Cav Regt. who I think was brought over because of the Berlin Crisis. While I was there we widened Ramstein AB runways; built HAWK missle sites at Giessen and Erding, Germany; resurfaced Toul/ Rossier AB runway in France; ran a rock crushing operation at Baumholder; just to name a few. We were in the same barracks with the 370th Engrs and a dump truck outfit (maybe from the 555th Engineers). I would really appreciate any info you may have . Perhaps some of my old pals will see this. |
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| 1962 | |||
| (Source: Email from James T. Karam) | |||
| Trying to find information on the deactivated 45th Engr Bn. I was in the Army there in S-4, Kaiserslautern, Germany from 1962-64. The offices and barracks were at Kleber Kaserne. We were supporting a Lativian Labor Service Group. I think it was the 8361st LS Engr Const Co. Can you help or put me in the right direction on the web or whatever to locate info on my old outfit? |
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| 1965 | |||
| (Source: STARS & STRIPES, June 7, 1965) | |||
| The 45th Engineer Construction Battalion was recently inactivated during a ceremony held at Kleber Kaserne in Kaiserslautern. Participating in the ceremony were Col Russel J. Wilson, commander of the 24th Engineer Group and Col Charles H. Banks, 7th Engineer Brigade CO. On May 3, 1965 the three labor service companies that were attached to the 45th were transferred to the 6970th Labor Service Construction Battalion. Based on information found in the article, it appears that the 45th had been one of three battalions attached to the 24th Engr Gp in 1965. (The other two were the 79th Engr Bn, Pirmasens, and the 293rd Engr Bn, Baumholder.) The battalion was activated on Dec 1, 1951 in the Heidelberg Post area (STATION LIST shows Schwetzingen as its home station in the unit's first years in Germany). On June 2, 1954 the battalion moved to Kleber Kaserne, Kaiserslautern. This installation would remain the battalion's home station during the remainder of its service in Germany. Between June 1954 and December 1961 (1), the battalion was comprised of a Hq/Hq and Service Company and three Labor Service companies:  8252nd LS Engineer Co8631st LS Engineer Co8850th LS Engineer CoSome of the projects completed by the 45th in the above period: Earth-work for an overpass and improvement of the autobahn exit at Kaiserslautern; extension and rehabilitation of the snack bar at Vogelweh; adding an annex to the Kaiserslautern dependent school. Among the battalion's accomplishments were also various construction projects at Baumholder, Mainz and Spesbach and improvements to boy scout and little league camps and facilities. (1) That might indicate that on Dec 1, 1961 "A" Company was activated and joined the battalion. |
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| Related Links: |
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45th Engineer Construction Bn DUI