The unit was activated 28 May 1941 at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, pursuant to authority contained in letter AG 320.2 (4-25-41) M (Ret) M-C, WD, AGO, 25 April 1941. Subject: "Constitution and Activation of Unit's". General Orders Number 33, Headquarters Fort Jackson, South Carolina, 28 May 1941, activated the 38th Engineer Regiment (Combat) (Corps).
Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Willis E. Teale, CE, commanded for eight months there after. Most all officers were obtained from the 5th Instructor's Course, The Engineer School, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Enlisted cadre came from the 12th Engineer Battalion, 8th Infantry Division. The main body of enlisted personnel came direct from the ERTC, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
For thirteen weeks during the summer of 1941, the 38th Engineers learn to work together as a team. In processed new personnel, requisitioned and received equipment and supplies, attended class, trained on basic skills and learned new ones.
The 1st Army Carolina Maneuvers were conducted September through December of 1941. This exercise was conducted throughout North and South Carolina. Units from all over the Eastern United States participated. Almost half of the Army's total strength participated in these maneuvers.
An advance party of the 38th was deployed on 1 September 1941 to the vicinity of Chester, South Carolina to set up a base camp for the Regiment. The Regiment arrived on 15 September 1941 and immediately went to work maintaining roads. The Regiment was a part of the 1st Corps, 1st Army, and functioned as Corps Engineers.
During the maneuver period the Regiment was engaged in various construction and reconnaissance missions, mine field laying, bridge and road construction, and other normal combat engineering tasks.
The Regiment participated almost in entirety as the 1st Corps Engineers. However. from time to time, companies and detachments were assigned to support Tank, Ground, and Calvary Units.
Very valuable experience and training where obtained from the two and a half months spent in the field. The following is a summary of the Regiments participation while deployed.
Normal operation and task:
The companies of the Regiments gained a great deal of experience on actual road, wood bridge, and culvert construction; piping and electrical wiring installation; foot bridge and pontoon bridge construction; road maintenance for other units; engineering reconnaissance, tactical employment as security detachments, bridge mining and land mine operations.
Unit Movements
Moves were made under all type of conditions; during daylight by convoy and infiltration, during night by convoy with normal lights and with blackout lights and by infiltration.
Heavy Equipment
After the start of the tactical phase of the exercise there was little or no opportunity to use the heavy equipment of the H & S Company, other than the air compressors and the bulldozer trailers and prime movers. However, experience was gained in the movement and camouflage of the heavy equipment.
Pontoon Bridge Construction:
One light and two reinforced pontoon bridge were constructed and then dismantled by the 1st Battalion.
Water Points:
Water point establishment and operations was carried out both as an assigned task of a line company and as a function of the S-4 section. Four portable purification units and one water distributing point from city water mains were operated. There was a total of approximately 1,500,000 gallons of water distributed. Of this total 48 percent was from the four portable units and 52 percent from city mains.
Experience was also gained in unit messing, communication, and electrical operations under tactical conditions.
The Regiment arrived back at Fort Jackson on 1 December 1941 and began more unit training and other exercise until the middle of February 1942. During this period LTC Teale was transferred to the 1st Corps and LTC Herbert E. Coughlin, CE, took command. Also during this time frame, the Regiment was alerted for overseas movement, destination secret.
Immediate preparations began for deployment. Personnel and equipment shortage where brought up to operating strength. Equipment was inventory and packed. Letters were wrote home to inform loved ones.
On 3 March 1942, the Regiment departed Fort Jackson by train and arrived at Charleston, South Carolina. Last minute inventories were made and equipment was loaded. The unit was finally going to embark upon the mission it had trained so vigorously for.
On 14 March 1942 at approximately 0910 hours the USAT Coamo, the supply ship Luchenback and destroyer escorts, departed Charleston, South Carolina, for parts unknown. On board were personnel and equipment of the following units:
and equipment for the Army Ferry Command, but no personnel.
These personnel and equipment were what was designated as "Task Force 4612", code name "Agate".
The USAT Coamo and its destroyer escort sailed on for 15 hours, then, at approximately 2400 hours, loud explosions were heard. The accompanying destroyers were dropping depth charges. After this incident they sailed for another three days, then on 17 March at approximately 0345 hours, another submarine scare caused more depth charges to be dropped
On 24 March at approximately 1545 hours the Task Force crossed the equator. On 26 March they entered the Harbor of Recife, Brazil. Here they spent the whole day taking on fuel and supplies. They departed on 27 March with a new naval escort consisting of the cruisers "Omaha" and "Cincinnati".
During the afternoon of 30 March the towering profile of Ascension Island loomed out of the South Atlantic Horizon. This was the moment all personnel on board had been anticipating. Here their first mission would begin.
As the ships approached the anchorage, numerous volcanoes could be seen. Towering above all these was a large green tipped mountain. This mountain (Green Mountain) had the only foliage to be found on the island at that time.
Ascension is a volcanic island. It is approximately seven miles long and four miles wide. With the exception of Green Mountain, the island was covered with dust and a thick layer of cinders. The tropical vegetation on Green Mountain was the only bright spot to be found. Large rocks and the volcanic hills prevented the passage of vehicles and made it very difficult to walk on.
Ascension Island was of British rule with the British Wireless and Cable Company being in charge. Only two locations were inhabited at the time. Georgetown was on the lower ground and was where the BW and CC station, offices, pier, warehouse and homes of their employees were located. Green Mountain was inhabited by farmers and their servants (natives of St. Helena) who performed all the manual labor required. Vegetables and fruits were grown here for those employed by the BW and CC.
The U.S.A.T Coamo anchored in Clarence Bay at 1500 hours on 30 March and the first landing party to go ashore were LTC. Robert E. Coughlin and a selected staff, using the Island Magistrates motor launch.
A plan for disembarking and establishing a base of operations had been worked out in advance, and the assignments where as follows:
The First Battalion was to unload the ships, the first being the U.S.A.T. Coamo and then the freighter Luchenback.
Co. "A" was to transfer the cargo to the barges
Co. "B" was to unload the freighter Pan Royal, another supply ship which had preceded The Task Force and had arrived the day previous.
Co. "C" was to take over operations of all motor launches, barges, and lighters.
The 2nd Battalion would handle the operation of the dock machinery and the handling and disposition of the freight.
At approximately 1700 hours on 30 March, the 2nd Battalion started moving ashore. Motor launches from the cruisers, "Omaha" and "Cincinnati", were used for the movement. The smaller of the diesel powered launches could carry 10- 20 men, and the larger 20-30 men. The transfer of troops was completed at approximately 2100 hours.
The 2nd Battalion established their bivouac area on the beach at Clarence Bay. This part of the beach was about a mile from the pier, and became their temporary encampment during the unloading of the ships, and until permanent facilities were made available.
The 2nd Battalion and Regimental Headquarters personnel began working on the major projects while the 1st Battalion continued unloading the ships. Roads were constructed so that supplies could be taken to the proper locations. Work on the airfield began, A camp site was set up, and as steel plates came ashore, the tanks were erected.
At the outset, labor was pooled and different task were assigned to individual officers who were best fitted for the particular job. There was no organizational assignment at all. This proved to be a very wise decision.
Cut and fill, involving cinders and rock, consisted of moving 380,000 cubic yards of material. Considerable rock was encountered, and during the nine weeks of blasting, thirty-five tons of TNT and 13,000 blasting caps were used. Only one runway was necessary as the wind blew constantly in one direction. On 10 July 1942 the first plane landed. The asphalt runway was 6,000 feet long and 150 wide, with 50 foot shoulders; also three taxi strips, splinter proof bunkers, and parking aprons were constructed
The gasoline system consisted of the installation of eight 11,000 barrel tanks, ten 25,000 gallon tanks, four miles of 8 inch welded pipe, 2,200 feet of submarine 8 inch pipe, necessary pumps, and four miles of 4 inch pipe. The submarine pipeline was floated out and laid on the sea floor on 3 June, using all available manpower on the island to lift and carry the line seaward. The 8 inch line leading from the beach to the tank farm was completed on 10 July. The erection and welding of the 11,000 barrel tank was completed 30 June. The ten 25,000 gallon tanks were installed at the airfield on 17 June.
Carpentry and building construction consisted of the construction of a hospital, airfield support buildings, and various odd buildings scattered around the island. In all, approximately thirty 20' X 100' buildings were constructed. A nose hanger was also constructed. Tents were floored, boxed screen latrines were built, and a Radar station were erected.
The water system was a very vital installation, because all fresh water had to be obtained by distillation of the sea water. By proper conservation, it was possible for each man to have one quart of fresh water daily exclusive of the water for the kitchen.
Power for the camp and airfield came from a 55 KVA generator. 5 KVA generators were situated at other locations on the island.
Considerable road work was accomplished during this period. This amounted to new construction in most cases. The drainage was no problem and there was usually a good base to begin with. One soldier received the "Soldiers Medal" for heroism while operating a bulldozer on the Green Mountain road.
Camouflage was another separate assignment. It consisted of painting all buildings with different colors of camouflage paint to break up the outlines. The runway was naturally camouflaged, due to the way it blended in with the surrounding lava beds. The tank farm was camouflaged by the use of nets draped over them down to the fire walls that surrounded the tanks. These walls were around twenty-five in height.
Before departing, 5 officers and 198 enlisted men were selected to form the 898th Engineer Aviation Company (Separate) to remain on the island and continue to improve and support these facilities. One staff officer also remained behind to over see the unloading of 100,000 gallons of gasoline and test the system. He would rejoin the Regiment by air at a later date.
Around the first of August, the Regiment started cleaning, conducted inventories and prepared for deployment to their next mission. On 19 August 1942, the Regiment sailed from the Ascension Island aboard the USAT James Parker, destination Central Africa.
Updated: 16 July 2005
38th Engineer Combat Regiment
46 Officers
1141 Enlisted members
426th CA (AA) Sep. Bn. Battery "A"
6 Officers
148 Enlisted members
175th Station Hospital
8 Officers
65 Enlisted members
692nd Signal Corps Air Warning Detachment
1 Officer
7 Enlisted members
Ordinance Detachment
1 Officer
13 Enlisted members
Postal Section
0 Officers
2 Enlisted members
Finance detachment
1 Officer
7 Enlisted members
Quartermaster Detachment
1 Officer
40 Enlisted members
Army Airways Communication Section
0 Officers
9 Enlisted members
538th Engineer Battalion, Thailand
is
a member of the
