19th Engineer Battalion

History

The 19th Engineer Battalion has a long and distinguished lineage. The parent unit of the 19th Engineer Battalion was constituted 1 October 1933 in the Regular Army as the 36th Engineer Regiment. The 19th Engineer Battalion originated as the 3rd Battalion of the 36th Engineer Combat Regiment. The regiment was activated at Plattsburg Barracks, New York in June 1941.

During World War II, The battalion conducted five amphibious landings while accompanying the victorious allied armies through Africa, Italy, France, Germany and Austria. The battalion had suffered 902 combat casualties including 144 killed in action. For their gallantry and service, the battalion was awarded 10 campaign streamers from World War II, and soldiers from the battalion were awarded 7 Silver Stars and 13 bronze Stars.

In 1965, the Battalion deployed to Vietnam in an amphibious landing on the beaches of Qui Nhon. The Battalion' primary mission was to upgrade highway QL-1 from virtually a dirt trail to an all weather road from Qui Nhon to Bong Son. From March 1965 thru June 1970 the 19th Engineer Battalion served with distinction and was awarded 13 campaign streamers for action in Vietnam and received the valorous unit award for its actions. 105 Soldiers gave their lives while serving in Vietnam and over 400 were wounded in action.

The 19th Engineer Battalion participated in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm where it was awarded three campaign streamers. Five Soldiers gave their lives in support of these missions.

The 19th Engineer Battalion was inactivated 15 September 1997 at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

The 19th Engineer Battalion was again activated 16 October 2005 at Fort Knox, Kentucky as the first modular Engineer Battalion, capable of commanding any type of Engineer organization from sappers to construction to topographic units. Along with the organic Headquarters Support Company and Forward Support Company, the 15th Engineer Company (Horizontal), the 60th and 76th Engineer Companies (Vertical), and the 72nd Survey and Design Detachment were activated and assigned to the 19th Engineer Battalion.

The 19th Engineer Battalion then mobilized to Iraq and served from August 06 thru November 07 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Battalion provided assured mobility and general engineering support for the 25th Infantry Division and MND-N. The 19th accomplished four key tasks in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom: Road repairing, route sanitation, training Iraqi Army Engineers, and constructing protective structures. One Soldier gave his life in Iraq. The battalion was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation.

The modularity of the 19th Engineer Battalion enables the 76th Engineer Company to deploy to Afghanistan to support the winterization and FOB expansions of Bagram Airfield and FOB Salerno from December 2006 to March 2008.

In April 2009, the 19th Engineer Battalion then deployed to Regional Command, South, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Battalion's mission was to provide general Engineering, along with construction management to expand Regional Command South. The battalion was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation.