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540th Engineer Group
VII Corps

Looking for more information from military/civilian personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army in Germany from 1945 to 1989. If you have any stories or thoughts on the subject, please contact me.


Group History ()

Avn Sec

54th Engr Bn

70th Engr Bn

82nd Engr Bn

168th Engr Bn

237th Engr Bn

498th Engr Bn

38th Engr Co (PB)

93rd Engr Co (FB)

503rd Engr Co (LE)

320th Engr Co (Topo)

Newspaper articles



 
Group History
540th Engineer Gp DI
1956
(Source: Annual Historical Report, 1956, Seventh Army; USAREUR STATION LIST, 30 Sept 1956)
ORGANIZATION - 30 June 1958

UNIT DESIGNATION

LOCATION COMMENTS
HHC, 540th Engr Gp Ludwigsburg
54th Engr Cbt Bn Leipheim
70th Engr Cbt Bn Nellingen
237th Engr Cbt Bn Regensburg
38th Engr Co (Panel Bridge) Kornwestheim
93rd Engr Co (Float Bridge) Leipheim
503rd Engr Co (Light Equip) Kornwestheim
574th Med Det Kornwestheim  

1958
(Source: Annual Historical Report, 1 Jul 1957-30 Jun 1958, Seventh Army, 1958)
ORGANIZATION - 30 June 1958

UNIT DESIGNATION

LOCATION COMMENTS
HHC, 540th Engr Gp Kornwestheim
168th Engr Cbt Bn Nellingen
237th Engr Cbt Bn Heilbronn
498th Engr Cbt Bn Leipheim
93rd Engr Co (Float Bridge) Leipheim
38th Engr Co (Panel Bridge) Kornwestheim
503rd Engr Co (Light Equip) Kornwestheim
574th Med Det Kornwestheim  
[1] Source: US Army Station List, 30 June 1958
 
If you have more information on the history or organization of the 540th Engr Gp, please contact me.

 
(Source: Email from Edward C Brice)
I was assigned to the 540th Engineer Group (C) Headquarters Company from Oct 1966 to April 1968 in the S-1 section at Ludendorff Kaserne in Kornwestheim, although I was originally slated to go to the 38th Finance Co. at Wilkins Barracks in Kornwestheim. The Personnel Officer CW4 Earl Hoffman asked if I would help out in the S-1 section temporarily until accommodations were set up at the finance unit for me. Well, the temporary job which started out running the mimeograph machine and ended up with myself becoming the section NCOIC at the end.

The Group at the time consisted of the provisional battalion which included the HHC 540th Engr Gp, 38th Engr Co. ( Panel Bridge ), 93 Engr Co. (Float Bridge), 320 Engr Co. (Topo) and the 503rd Engr Co. (Light Engr). All were stationed at Ludendorff Kaserne except the 93rd which was at Nelligen Kaserne. The outlying battalions of the group consisted of the 9th Engr Bn at Achaffensburg, 82nd Engr Bn at Bamberg and the 237th Engr Bn at Heilbronn. There was a Aviation Unit commanded by Maj Thomas E.Dupree (Part of 16th ? ) attached to our group which I believe was located at a small airfield located somewhere near Pattonville. Also, Co. A, 1st Maintenance Bn and 574th Med Detachment were stationed at the kaserne at that time.

The Command Section of the Group was headed by Col Douglas K Blue, Executive Officer Lt Col David P. Roye and Command Sgt Major Vincent J Santacroce. Col Blue received his orders to be the Deputy Commander of the 18th Engr Brigade in Viet Nam during the summer of the 1967. Col Howard B.Coffman replaced him at the group and who later became VII Corp Engineer after I had rotated home. SGM Santacroce also received his orders for assignment to 18th Engr Brigade sometime in 1968.

HHC was commanded by Cpt Charles F Porter Jr, XO 2nd Lt Alan R Goedecke and Top was 1st Sgt Woods.

The S-1 section went through a few adjutants in my time- 1st Lt Stephen Meyer, Cpt Edwin R Randels and Cpt Stanley Kawaguchi. The NCOIC was Sp 5 Charles J Smith with SFC Norman J King the ReUp Sgt and SFC Jack O Collins running the EM Clubs. No Chaplin was assigned at the time I arrived and a Catholic Priest Father Suzette from Stuttgart was assigned to the chapel part time for counseling and Sunday Services. Later Cpt Edward Dougherty was assigned full time who in turn was replaced by Cpt John J Feeney Jr.

The S-2 was headed by Cpt William W Childress and NCOIC was MSG Frank Ruple.

The S-3 was originally headed by Maj Wuertz , who rotated out in 67, and replaced by Cpt Stuart H Burroughs with SMG Andrew M Gallegos the NCOIC.

The S-4 section was lead by either 1 Lt Richard S Majewski or 1 Lt Dennis L McCool and the NCOIC was MSG Thomas A Corpening.

The Personnel Section was headed by CW4 Earl Hoffman, (rotated out in 67) and replaced by CW3 Lawrence Stockhausen and the NCOIC was SFC John K Robinette.

I understand from correspondence with fellows remaining in S-1 section and CSM Santacroce after I left, that the majority of the officers and senior NCO's rotated over to the 18th Engr Brigade in Viet Nam.

In closing , the men that I was associated with in the 540th were the finest that wore the uniform and I can not think of any higher compliments and my only regret was not taking pictures of the personnel and the kaserne.
Edward Brice
 
ORGANIZATION - 1966

UNIT DESIGNATION

LOCATION COMMENTS
Prov Engr Bn Kornwestheim
HHC 540th Engr Gp Kornwestheim
38th Engr Co (Panel Bridge) Kornwestheim
93rd Engr Co (Float Bridge) Nellingen
320 Engr Co. (Topo) Kornwestheim
503rd Engr Co (Light Equip) Kornwestheim
9th Engr Cbt Bn Aschaffenburg  
82nd Engr Cbt Bn Bamberg  
237th Engr Cbt Bn Heilbronn  

 
UNITS OF THE 540TH ENGINEER GROUP

540th Engr C Gp

9th Engr C Bn

82nd Engr C Bn

237th Engr C Bn

168th Engr C Bn

498th Engr C Bn

38th Engr Co

93rd Engr Co

320th Engr Co

503rd Engr Co
   

 
(Source: Email from Donald Edward "Doc" Wuerz)
The following was prepared by Donald "Doc" Wuerz, P.E., P.L.S., Lieutenant Colonel, US Army, Corps of Engineers, Regular Army, Retired, from memory, efficiency reports, notes, and other data. Kindly report corrections to him at the email address shown below: CAROLandDOC181@cs.com

This writer was assigned to the 38th (PB) Engineer Company and then the 237th Engineer (C) Battalion as a 1st Lieutenant from 1956 to 1959, and from 1965 to 1968 with the 237th Engineer (C) Battalion followed by assignment to the 540th Engineer (C) Group as a Major. Subsequently, from 1972-1975, he was assigned as Commander, Engineer District, and Executive Officer to the Director of Facilities Engineering and Housing, Baden Wuerttemberg District which included the kasernes for the 540th Engineer (C) Group and subordinate units, as a lieutenant colonel.
 
FORMER COMMANDERS, STAFF OFFICERS, AND SENIOR NON COMMISSIONED OFFICERS WITHIN THE 540th ENGINEER (COMBAT) GROUP AND SUBORDINATE UNITS.
HEADQUARTERS, 540th ENGINEER (Combat) GROUP
Commanders:
1956 Colonel Lloyd L. Rall (Previous to this assignment he was the Professor of Military Science and Tactics, PMS&T, at Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Command Sergeant Major Rosenberg was his senior enlisted man then, and again in Germany at the 540th Engineer (C) Group.
1957 Colonel Steven Malevich
1959 Colonel Graham H. Turbiville
..
1966 Colonel Douglas K. Blue
1968 Colonel Howard B. J. Coffman Jr.
Command Sergeants Major:
1956 Command Sergeant Major Rosenberg
..
1966 Command Sergeant Major Vincent J. Santacroce
Executive Officers:
1956 Lieutenant Colonel Hansford D. Ford
1958 Lieutenant Colonel Sidney E. Roberts, Jr
..
1968 Lieutenant Colonel David P. Roye
Pilot and OIC Ludwigsburg AAF (540th Engr Group Asset)
1956 First Lieutenant Roy Gentry
..
1967 Major Dupree
S-1:
1966 First Lieutenant Stephen Meyer
1967 Captain Stanley Kawaguchi
1967 Personnel Officer Chief Warrant Officer 4 Earl Hoffman
1967 NCOIC Specialist 5 Charles J. Smith
S-2:
1956 Major George A. Smith
..
1967 Major Donald Edward Wuerz
1967 Sergeant Major Sergeant Major Andrew M. Gallegos
S-3:
1956 Assistant S-3 Captain Lewis Andrew Pick Jr.
..
1967 Major Donald Edward Wuerz
1967 Sergeant Major Sergeant Major Andrew M. Gallegos
1967 Assistant S-3 Captain Stuart H. Burroughs
1968 Captain Stuart H. Burroughs
S-4:
1967 First Lieutenant Dennis McCool
38th ENGINEER (Panel Bridge) COMPANY
Commanders:
1956 Captain John Edward Wagner
1956 1st Lieutenant Walter P. Hayes
1957 Captain Lewis Andrew Pick Jr.
1st Sergeant:
1956 First Sergeant Wagner
Platoon Leaders:
1956 1st Lieutenant Donald Edward Wuerz (and XO, Consolidated Mess Officer, Motor Officer, and Supply Officer)
1956 1st Lieutenant Donald Fritsch
1956 1st Lieutenant Stanley Wallenfeldt
1956 1st Lieutenant Siefert (This name may be incorrect)
Platoon Sergeant:
1956 Sergeant First Class Smith
Supply Sergeant:
1956 Master Sergeant Jefferson
503rd ENGINEER (Light Equipment) COMPANY
Commanders:
1957 Captain John Edward Wagner
1957 Captain Faris (This entry may not be correct)
237th ENGINEER (Combat) BATTALION
Commanders:
1958 Lieutenant Colonel Sidney E. Roberts Jr.
1959 Major James A. Dennis
..
1966 Lieutenant Colonel Henry K. Mattern
Executive Officers:
1958 Major George A. Smith
..
1966 Major Donald Edward Wuerz
S-3:
1957 Major "No Tatoo" Rule
1957 Major William A. Anderson
1957 Assistant S-3 1st Lieutenant Donald Edward Wuerz
1957 Captain Paul I. Fowler
..
1966 Captain Bukovitch
Battalion "Barber," (Bald, One Style Fits All):
1966 Major Donald Edward Wuerz
Battalion Mess Officer:
1957 First Lieutenant Donald Edward Wuerz
Company Commanders:
1958 Captain (B Company) David Herdman Cameron
1958 1st Lieutenant (C Company) Jay Hyde
82nd ENGINEER (Combat) BATTALION
Commanders:
1966 Lieutenant Colonel George Sanders Oliver
498th ENGINEER (Combat) BATTALION
Commanders:
1958 Lieutenant Colonel John Pearce

 
(Source: Email from Tom Bolon, HHC, 540th Engr Gp, 1968-69)

I read with interest Edward Brice's remarkable recollection of the 540th during the mid to late 1960s.  I was stationed at HHC 540th from January 1968 to March 1969.  I, too, was a finance clerk that was temporarily reassigned to a S-4 clerk.  I spent my entire tour of duty in S4, working for a succession of NCOICs starting with Thomas Corpenning, who by the way was a terrific soldier.  My first OIC was Jim Majewski and Charles Brown was his XO of S4.  There were 4 of us finance clerks that were reassigned to HHC, and one each went to S1, S2, S3 and S4.  We all arrived in Kornwestheim as E-3s and rotated home as Sp5s.  With few reservations, all of us enjoyed our time in the Army. 

I noted above that I worked for Captain Charles "Charlie" Brown, I wonder if you or anyone you know may know of his where abouts?  I know he was from the East Coast, that he graduated from and played baseball for Brown University.  At this time (2006) he would be around plus/minus 65 years of age.  Charlie gave me some great advice and guidance and was very instrumental in my return to college, as well as my decision to ultimately go to law school.  His advise has served me well and I would like to thank him. 

In 1969-70 the 540th Engineer Group was stood down and the group was re-established as the 7th Engineer Brigade which included several additional Battalions.   


 
Aviation Section, HQ 540th Engr Gp
 
(Source: Email from Oscar C. Cordo)
I was also with the 540th Engr Gp from Feb 20 1968 until Apr 19 1969, although in the aviation section.

I do not know how I wound up there, but it turned out great. My MOS was 35M2l68, that is Avionics Navigation Eqpt. with a spanish translator code, and the unit was not authorized that. The 21st Replacement BN in Frankfurt didn't know what to do with me so they send me there. Got there about 11 PM and in the morning, I spoke with SFC Ehmer, the aviation NCOIC. He offered to let me stay there since I was an airplane mechanic in civilian life.

Took my wife and son there and lived in the economy in Beihingen, outside of Ludwigsburg, had a great time.

Names I remember:
Capt Thomast, CW2 Burton, CW2 Flewharty, Helicopter pilots; Capt Gutzwiller Airplane pilot;
SFC Ehmer NCOIC, SP6 RJ Baker, Inspector, SP5 Guzetta, SP5 Nelson airplane mechanics;
SP5 Craver, SP5 Martin, SP4 La Covey, SP4 Attila Molnar, SP4 Fudge helicopter mechanics;
SP4 Bowers, SP4 Bicchiery, SP4 LeFevre, operations clerks.

We had two other CW2 pilots, another SP6 Inspector and two or three more helicopter mechanics.

The name of the airport was Ludwigsburg Army Airfield, and it was right next to Pattonvile Housing area.

We had two CH34, two OH13 helicopters, one O1A Bird Dog and one U6A Beaver airplane. We stayed busy.

I was awarded a secondary MOS of airplane mechanic so that I could stay there, and was promoted to SP5 with a primary MOS of helicopter mechanic.

 
38th Engineer Company (Panel Bridge)
 

A GARWOOD 20-ton crane of the 38th Engr Co supports the 168th Enginner Bn
during a Rhine River crossing exercise (Günter Oswald)
38th Engineer Company Creat
(Source: Letter from E.C. Wallenfeldt, 38th Engr Co, 1956-57)
The 38th Engineer Company had a crest, or at least a "pin" if the unit was not authorized a crest by ARs, that was worn by members of the unit in 1956 and 1957. Lee Eliason, Sylvester Lyskawa and I designed that crest in 1956. At that time, Lee was first sergeant, Sylvester was company clerk and I was a platoon leader. I don't know how much longer after that time the crest was used since I transferred from the 38th in 1957 to join the 70th Engineer Battalion.

Over the years the 38th has changed its mission from that of a panel bridge unit to that of a medium girder bridge company and, most recently, to that of an assault float bridge company (1998) according to information presented on the Net. The information Edward C. Brice has provided for your web site indicates that the 38th was still a panel bridge company in 1966-69, but I doubt the crest was still being worn.

Enclosed is a photostat of the crest (see list of crests in UNITS OF THE 540th ENGINEER GP) Lee, Sylvester and I designed. The significance of the panel is obvious; the star represents the unit's origination in Texas; and the crossed sabres are intended to show that it started as a cavalry outfit. The red stripe is for the Engineers while the fleur-de-lis is for the company's involvement in WWII combat in France. The German eagle is to indicate combat in that country during the same conflict.

Since I also served with the 168th Engineer Battalion from March of 1957 until March of 1958, I was interested in what William Hokanson reported for the period 1957-1963.

Seeing the information you have posted on the Net brought back memories from almost 50 years ago and those hectic but never boring cold war days. I wish I could remember more details, especially the names of all the folks I served with.

 
93rd Engineer Company (Float Bridge)
 

A 3-float raft is used to ferry a jeep across the Danube River (Nels Pearson)
 

Engineers simulate an attack across a footbridge that they had previously
erected at a training site (Nels Pearson)
(Could this be the Leibi Training Site?)
 
1955
(Source: David Pearson, son of Nels Pearson who served with the 93rd in Leipheim)
My father served with the 93rd Engr Co (Float Bridge) in Leipheim from 1955 to 1956.

I have found some old slides taken while he was stationed with the 93rd Float Bridge in Leipheim. I also have his German stein (complete with image in the bottom) from his company time.


1. 93rd Engr equipment

2. Smoke screen

3. Erecting a footbridge

4. Erecting a footbridge

5. Location identified

6. Bremerhaven Columbus Quay
   

 
1961
(Source: Email from Richard Landry)
I arrived in Nellingen, as a young kid. I was 17 at the time. I was with the 93rd Engineer Company (Float Bridge) until June of 61 and than rotated back to the States.

The 93rd had 3 types of bridge equipment at that time: the Class 60, the Foot Bridge and the ISR, (infantry support raft). Our job was to support the 168th Engineer Bn and any other company in need of bridge equipment during their training exercises.

As a member of a Bridge Co, we spent a lot of our time on the river’s edge. We lived in squad tents due in part to the length of time and number of company's we would be supporting. I should also add that we had portable showers, with hot water and Medic’s that would be attached to us during these long training sessions. We also had a German Mom and Pop concession stand that sold Beer, food and a few other items.

Most of the bridge training was done on the Donau at Günzburg. The summer training sessions were so long for us that we were allowed to bring civil that was used as a bus to take us to Ingolstadt so we could hit the bars there. On the other hand, the winter training there was brutal. I can remember one winter exercise when a Class 60 raft was constructed at night and then sunk. The idea was to bring the raft up the following morning. It got so cold that night that the compressor lines to the raft froze and the raft stayed submerged until the lines thawed out a few days later.

During the Rhein exercises at Speyer each summer, the 93rd was always there. As we did not have enough Class 60 sections to complete the bridge across the Rhein, another Bridge Co always met up with our company and together we were able to finish the bridge exercise.

I had many good photos of sessions along the rivers but all were lost in a fire in 1966.

 
320th Engineer Company (Topo)
 
320th Engineer Co (TOPO) DI
 
(Source: Email from Bob Eilenfeldt, 320th Engr Co (T), 1967-68)
I was the Company Clerk in the 320th Engineer Company (Topo) from March, 1967 until May, 1968.  Recently, we were helping my mother clean her apartment and came across a box containing every letter that I wrote home during my two years in the Army and the attached photos. This piqued my interest so I googled 540th Engineer Group and found your website. I also enjoyed read Ed Brice's comments. I remember Ed being in the 540th Engineer Group Headquarters Company while I was stationed there.

320th Engr Co (Topo)
Ludwigsburg, 1967-68

 

1. Main gate, Ludendorff Ksn (KB)

2. 320th Engr Co barracks (KB)

3. 320th Engr Co sign over entrance (KB)

4. After returning from a field exercise (KB)

5. Mess hall (KB)

6. Wehrmacht statue (KB)
 

7. Bob Eilenfeldt (KB)

8. CO's jeep (KB)


 

 
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