History
Units
Men
Airfields
Photos
Resources
Sources
Reading
Forums
Guestbook
How to Help
Contact
Site Map
What’s New
Colonels H. W. Ehrgott, of Washington, D.C., Chief of Staff; Donald J. Leehey, of Portland, Oregon, Deputy Commander for Administration; and Carl M. Spainhour, of Washington, D.C., as Deputy Commander for Operations. Colonel Charles S. Kuna, of Torrington, Connecticut, continued as Deputy Chief of Staff of the IX Engineer Command.
New units absorbed included the 923rd Engineer Aviation Regiment and the 829, 831, 847, 851, and 859 Battalions. These units, plus the 937th Camouflage Battalion and the 876, 877 and 878 A.B. Battalions, did the bulk of the maintenance and expansion work on rear area fields. Three other new units of the command, although remaining attached to the United Kingdom Base, also carried on important maintenance and repair work in England. They were the 827, 844, and 861 Engineer Aviation Battalions. Another battalion was later added to the Command when the 837 moved up from the MTO and construction work in Italy to begin an important project in Southern France.
On the occasion of its reassignment to USSTAF, the command received a handsome compliment from Lieutenant General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Commander of the U. S. Ninth Air Force. In a message addressed to General Newman, the Ninth Air Force chief praised the engineering effort as an "outstanding contribution to the successful operations of the Ninth Air Force".
"The conception, organizations and training of the Engineer Command required exceptional vision, energy, initiative and resourcefulness. The rapidity and efficiency with which this was accomplished is a great tribute to the ability of you and your staff. On and after D-Day your Command played a historic role in the invasion of the Continent by providing the means whereby tactical air power could be expressed. Time and again your Command has proven to the world, especially the enemy, what happens when new, or rehabilitated airfields are made available in record time. France, Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg are dotted with monuments to the IX Engineer Command", the commendation said.
|
| Page 29 |
