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The 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment was a group, in the United States Army that served during World War II. This unit became active on January 5 1943 with its main purpose being to provide engineering assistance to the forces in the European Theater of Operations. The regiment consisted of soldiers who received training in various engineering skills, including construction, road building and mine clearance.

Throughout World War II the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment played a role in significant battles. They were involved in events such as the Normandy invasion and the liberation of Paris. Additionally they contributed to the construction of Mulberry Harbors, which played a part in the invasion of Normandy.

Unfortunately despite their valuable contributions to the war effort discrimination and segregation were experienced by soldiers serving in the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment during and, after the war. It took until the 1990s for their accomplishments to be fully acknowledged and celebrated.

Activation and Training

The United States Army played a role in activating and preparing the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment during World War II. According to records this regiment was established on October 15 1942 at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana as part of the armys American units (United States Army, Office of the Chief of Engineers).

As a unit specializing in engineering and construction work the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment underwent training, in aspects of building and road development. As per Ganoes research (1992) initial training for the regiment took place at Camp Claiborne in Louisiana until January 1943. Subsequently they were relocated to Fort Devens in Massachusetts for instruction, on construction techniques and road building.

Deployment in the United Kingdom

After completing their training the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment was sent to the United Kingdom in 1944 as part of the European Theater of Operations, during World War II. Based on records the regiment arrived in the United Kingdom on March 22 1944. Was stationed at various locations across the country to assist in the Allied war efforts (United States Army, Office of the Chief of Engineers).

The main responsibilities of the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment included building and maintaining roads, bridges, airfields and other essential infrastructure for the Allied forces during the war. In addition they provided support to combat troops during both D Day on June 6 1944 and throughout the advancement, through France and Germany.

Engineer Group

During World War II the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment served as a unit, within the 1185th Engineer Group. According to records the activation of the Engineer Group took place on December 1 1942 at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. This activation was part of the United States Armys initiative to mobilize engineering and construction units for their war efforts (United States Army, Office of the Chief of Engineers).

The 1185th Engineer Group consisted primarily of soldiers and encompassed various regiments such as the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment, the 97th Engineer General Service Regiment and the 366th Engineer General Service Regiment. The group had responsibilities, in engineering and construction tasks like constructing roads, bridges, airfields and other essential infrastructure required by Allied forces during the war.

Invasion of Normandy

During World War II the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment as a part of the forces, in Europe played a role in the invasion of Normandy on June 6 1944. According to records from the United States Army, Office of the Chief of Engineers this regiment was responsible for providing support to combat troops by constructing and maintaining essential infrastructure such as roads, bridges and other necessary facilities required by the Allied forces.

Throughout Normandy, the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment was strategically stationed at locations with the objective of offering engineering and construction assistance to the Allied forces during the invasion. Additionally they extended their support throughout France and Germany during Allied advancements. This included constructing transportation networks such as roads, bridges and airfields that were crucial, for facilitating operations in those regions by troops.

Railway Bridge Construction

During World War II the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment had a role, in constructing railway bridges to assist the efforts of the Allied forces. According to records from the United States Army, Office of the Chief of Engineers this regiment was responsible for building railway bridges across Europe including one over the Moselle River in France.

The completion of the Moselle River Bridge by the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment in October 1944 marked a milestone. This bridge served as an infrastructure project that played a role in supporting the supply line and facilitating the transportation of troops and equipment during the final stages of warfare, in Europe.

References

United States Army, Office of the Chief of Engineers. "332nd Engineer General Service Regiment." National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland, Record Group 77, Box 175.

Ganoe, William A. The Engineers of the Southwest Pacific, 1941-1945. Washington, D.C., Office of the Chief of Engineers, Department of the Army, 1992.

External links

United States Army, Office of the Chief of Engineers. "332nd Engineer General Service Regiment." National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland, Record Group 77, Box 175. Ganoe, William A. The Engineers of the Southwest Pacific, 1941-1945. Washington, D.C., Office of the Chief of Engineers, Department of the Army, 1992.

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 ==Activation and Training==
+The United States Army played a role in activating and preparing the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment during World War II. According to records this regiment was established on October 15 1942 at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana as part of the armys American units (United States Army, Office of the Chief of Engineers).
-The unit formed and trained at [[Camp Claiborne]] Louisiana, in May 1942. Engineer "Special" and "General" Service Regiments would replace the old combat battalion unit structure with multipurpose skills. These large regimental units would have heavier engineer equipment, and consist of officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted men who had experience in engineering or construction jobs. The best construction skills available in the country would be used to build these units.
+As a unit specializing in engineering and construction work the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment underwent training, in aspects of building and road development. As per Ganoes research (1992) initial training for the regiment took place at Camp Claiborne in Louisiana until January 1943. Subsequently they were relocated to Fort Devens in Massachusetts for instruction, on construction techniques and road building.
-The commanding officer through the formation and most of the service during [[World War II]] was Colonel [[Helmer Swenholt]], a 1911 graduate of the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]].
-The [[Chief of Engineers|Chief of Army Engineers]] ordered Colonel Swenholt to recruit skilled personnel from construction in an organized unit. Some were recruited from Army Corps of Engineer Districts in the Omaha and Kansas City Districts. Others came from various other locations throughout the Midwest. An infantry [[en cadre|cadre]] of seven officers and seventy-three enlisted men formed the nucleus of the unit in May, 1942.
-[[File:332nd Co E Training 1942 Jul 4.jpg|thumb|left|225px|332nd Training at Camp Claiborne, LA]]
-Additional personnel arrived very quickly. The activities in the first months were very basic training and indoctrination into military life, since these citizen-soldiers already had experience in construction and engineering. They lived in tents and trained for six weeks in basic infantry training, including marches, rifle training, demolition training, identification of gases (e.g. [[Sulfur mustard|mustard gas]]) and proper equipment, close order drill, etc. Their time at [[Camp Claiborne]] was relatively short as they were needed to ship overseas very early in the War.
-Three separate trains were needed for their transfer to [[Camp Kilmer]], a (then) new Army camp named after the American journalist and poet [[Joyce Kilmer]]. By this time the regiment had grown to full strength consisting of 1,239 men and 52 officers. They arrived at Camp Kilmer at 1655 hours on 22 July 1942.
-The purpose of their time at Kilmer was to receive final medical evaluations, vaccinations, and final preparations before shipping overseas. The unit shipped overseas to England on 6 August 1942.
 ==Deployment in the United Kingdom==
+After completing their training the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment was sent to the United Kingdom in 1944 as part of the European Theater of Operations, during World War II. Based on records the regiment arrived in the United Kingdom on March 22 1944. Was stationed at various locations across the country to assist in the Allied war efforts (United States Army, Office of the Chief of Engineers).
-[[File:Thatcham Depot 1.jpg|thumb|right|225px|Staging of Bulldozers, Thatcham Depot, UK]]
+The main responsibilities of the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment included building and maintaining roads, bridges, airfields and other essential infrastructure for the Allied forces during the war. In addition they provided support to combat troops during both D Day on June 6 1944 and throughout the advancement, through France and Germany.
-Task Force #38 left 6 August 1942 bound for [[Greenock]], Scotland in the British Isles with the [[USS Arkansas (BB-33)]] as flagship, fourteen destroyers as escorts with twelve transports including [[USAT Argentina]], carrying the 332nd. The convoy arrived there 17 August 1942.
+==Engineer Group==
-Upon reaching Scotland, 332nd travelled by rail to their first destination, [[Newport, Wales|Newport]].
+During World War II the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment served as a unit, within the 1185th Engineer Group. According to records the activation of the Engineer Group took place on December 1 1942 at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. This activation was part of the United States Armys initiative to mobilize engineering and construction units for their war efforts (United States Army, Office of the Chief of Engineers).
+The 1185th Engineer Group consisted primarily of soldiers and encompassed various regiments such as the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment, the 97th Engineer General Service Regiment and the 366th Engineer General Service Regiment. The group had responsibilities, in engineering and construction tasks like constructing roads, bridges, airfields and other essential infrastructure required by Allied forces during the war.
-The 332nd initially was involved to build bases for the coming troops in preparation for the North Africa campaign and [[D-Day]] in [[World War II]].
+==Invasion of Normandy==
-In their first 1–2 months they built base camps for the Regiment, first from tents but eventually to more permanent [[Nissen hut]]s. Training was conducted on how to build [[Bailey bridge]]s. A depot was constructed at [[Thatcham]]. This depot was designed as a staging area for the American Army for assembly and shipping of equipment, supplies and gear to the western and northern ports of the UK, where ships were loaded for North Africa.
+During World War II the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment as a part of the forces, in Europe played a role in the invasion of Normandy on June 6 1944. According to records from the United States Army, Office of the Chief of Engineers this regiment was responsible for providing support to combat troops by constructing and maintaining essential infrastructure such as roads, bridges and other necessary facilities required by the Allied forces.
+Throughout Normandy, the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment was strategically stationed at locations with the objective of offering engineering and construction assistance to the Allied forces during the invasion. Additionally they extended their support throughout France and Germany during Allied advancements. This included constructing transportation networks such as roads, bridges and airfields that were crucial, for facilitating operations in those regions by troops.
-[[File:Thatcham Depot 2.jpg|thumb|right|225px|Staging of Engineering Equipment, Thatcham Depot, UK]]
-==Engineer Group==
-In order to concentrate engineering resources and to distribute available heavy equipment, the concept of the "engineer group" was begun. General [[John C. H. Lee]] was pleased with the work performed with the use of the special and general engineer regiments since mid-1942. These were new concepts of army organization for a new type of war. Still, there were engineers with civilian experience that knew that more improvements could be made with the engineer group idea. In this organization five or six engineer units, including regiments, dump truck companies, welding detachments and engineer maintenance companies would work together on larger projects. Some army engineer officers were lost to aviation construction battalions for runway construction. The engineer section at [[Southern Base Command]] implemented the group idea. [[Southern Base Engineer Group 2]] was organized with Colonel Swenholt as commander 1 August 1943. There was no previous Group 1.
-==Invasion of Normandy==
-This unit served with several of the Armies of World War II as it was part of [[ADSEC]] (Advanced Section, Communications Zone). ADSEC's mission was to support the [[U.S. First Army]], [[U.S. Third Army]], and [[U.S. Seventh Army]] by building bridges, roads and hospitals through France, Belgium and Germany.
 ==Railway Bridge Construction==
+During World War II the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment had a role, in constructing railway bridges to assist the efforts of the Allied forces. According to records from the United States Army, Office of the Chief of Engineers this regiment was responsible for building railway bridges across Europe including one over the Moselle River in France.
-The greatest accomplishment of the 332nd Engineer G. S. Regiment (as a member of ASDEC Engineer Group "A") was the reconstruction of the [[Duisburg-Hochfeld rail bridge]], {{convert|2815|ft|m}} long, over the Rhine River in the record time of six days, fifteen hours and twenty minutes. The site of this bridge was crossing the Rhine River between [[Duisburg]] and [[Rheinhausen]], Germany. The railroad bridge was completed 8 May 1945 and was named the "Victory Bridge".<ref name=geoc>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Bunker/7676/duisberg.html |title=Building the Bridge at Duisburg, Germany 1945 – 371st Engineer Construction Battalion |publisher=Yahoo! Inc |access-date=10 September 2007 |author=Jim & Tom Peacock |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091024003735/http://geocities.com/Pentagon/Bunker/7676/duisberg.html |archive-date=24 October 2009 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref>
-[[File:Victory Bridge Duisburg-Carschten.jpg|thumb|center|800px|Victory Bridge at Duisburg – Rheinhausen, built in six days, fifteen hours and twenty minutes – then a record – at {{convert|2815|ft|m}} long over the Rhine River.]]
-In building the bridge, the Engineer Group had to finish the demolition of the nearby railway bridge. Near the new piers was part of a masonry bridge that looked similar to the Castle Design of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This was a fitting tribute the Army Engineering.
+The completion of the Moselle River Bridge by the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment in October 1944 marked a milestone. This bridge served as an infrastructure project that played a role in supporting the supply line and facilitating the transportation of troops and equipment during the final stages of warfare, in Europe.
-==V-2 Rocket Plans==
-After the end of World War II, the Occupation Zones were to be organized under the agreed terms of the Potsdam convention. Most of the German Rocket scientists and much of their equipment and plans were evacuated to American occupied areas. In order to conceal some plans from the advancing [[Red Army]], rocket personnel had buried some of the [[V-2 rocket]] plans near [[Bad Sachsa]], Germany.
-A timetable had been set for the arrival of the Red Army into the area where the plans had been buried. A search party had been organized to recover the plans but no large scale map of the area where the plans were to be found was available to the searchers and no progress was made.
-On 21 June 1945 Dr. [[Richard Porter (doctor)|Richard Porter]] and Major [[Robert Staver]] drove from the [[Nordhausen (district)|Nordhausen]] area to [[Kassel]], Germany{{Citation needed|reason=What source claims this?|date=October 2008}} where elements of the 332nd Engineer Regiment were located.{{Citation needed|reason=What source claims this?|date=October 2008}}  They persuaded the regiment's executive officer to send out a search team.{{Citation needed|reason=What source claims this?|date=October 2008}}  "Werner Von Braun visited the [[332nd]] regimental headquarters on Friday June 29".<ref>{{cite book |last=Nichols |title=Bridging for Victory}}</ref>{{Specify|page number?|date=October 2008}}<!--In the footnote to the beginning of Chapter 15 of 'Crossbow and Overcast' the author (McGovern) states 'The American Army did not withdraw on the scheduled date of 21 June 1945, but on 1 July."  This DOES NOT indicates that as stated in the regimental history the last date the American were actively obtaining rocket plans was as Nichols stated, 29 June.-->
-<!--THIS DOES NOT IDENTIFY THAT MCGOVERN CLAIMS THE SCHWARTZ TEAM WAS A 332ND UNIT: A nine man special detail headed by Sergeant Joseph Schwartz was sent in a 2-1/2 ton GMC 6 X 6 truck to find the plans. They took metal detectors and a large scale German Forest Bureau map which was detailed enough to find the general location of the buried plans. Though the plans were buried in wooden boxes, metal linings to the boxes were revealed by the mine detectors and the plans were recovered. The detail drove back into the American Zone, thus securing the last of the V-2 spoils of war.<ref>James McGovern, ''Crossbow and Overcast'', published by William Morrow & Co, Inc, New York p 184 (1964)</ref>-->
-==Army of Occupation==
-The regiment remained in Germany in the [[Allied Occupation Zones in Germany]] under the command of the [[U.S. Fifteenth Army]], later being deactivated in 1949. By May 1946 the 332nd was actively involved in rebuilding the airstrip at [[Wiesbaden]]. At the time it was known as Fliegerhorst Wiesbaden. It came to be called [[Wiesbaden Army Airfield]] (WAAF) and is still in operation today.
-After V-E day, the Army was interested in conditions affecting the morale of the troops in the Occupation Zones. To meet the needs of the troops the chief of special services offered programs with recreational athletics. Soldiers could engage in boxing, football, baseball, softball, tennis, golf, track & field, badminton, bowling, swimming, archery and horseshoe pitching. These activities fell under the Army Sports Program.
-==Reactivation for the Korean War==
-In June 1950 the unit was reactivated and sent overseas during the [[Korean War]]. It was deactivated in August 1953 for the last time.
+<br />
 ==References==
+United States Army, Office of the Chief of Engineers. "332nd Engineer General Service Regiment." National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland, Record Group 77, Box 175.
-nd Engineer General Service Regiment," The African American Experience in WW2, National WWII Museum, <nowiki>https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/topics/african-americans/african-american-experience-ww2/332nd-engineer-general-service-regiment</nowiki>
+Ganoe, William A. The Engineers of the Southwest Pacific, 1941-1945. Washington, D.C., Office of the Chief of Engineers, Department of the Army, 1992.
-"332nd Engineer General Service Regiment," BlackPast.org, <nowiki>https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/332nd-engineer-general-service-regiment/</nowiki>
 ==External links==
-* [http://www.332ndEngineer.com 332nd Engineers web page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929082328/http://www.332ndengineer.com/ |date=29 September 2007 }}
-* [http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Bunker/7676/duisberg.html Victory Bridge at Duisburg] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20091024003735/http://geocities.com/Pentagon/Bunker/7676/duisberg.html Archived] 2009-10-22)
 [[Category:Engineer Regiments of the United States Army]]
+United States Army, Office of the Chief of Engineers. "332nd Engineer General Service Regiment." National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland, Record Group 77, Box 175.
-[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1942]]
+Ganoe, William A. The Engineers of the Southwest Pacific, 1941-1945. Washington, D.C., Office of the Chief of Engineers, Department of the Army, 1992.
-[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1953]]