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The 606th Engineer Camouflage Battalion was activated on
16 April 1943 at
Camp Carson,
Colorado
under the command of Major Joseph L. Knipper.
The cadres for the original organization were derived from the 603rd
and 604th Engineer Camouflage Battalions, the 636th
Engineer Camouflage Company in
Hawaii
and 637th Engineer Camouflage Company in Panama. Filler personnel making up
the bulk of the command came from the states of Ohio,
Indiana
and Kentucky.
During
the second half of 1943, the battalion successfully completed basic, unit
and combined training. “B”
and “D” Companies took part in the
Tennessee
maneuvers, leaving Camp Caron
on 22 October and returning on 22 November.
“A” Company went to
Camp
Hale, the ski-troop center, to conduct a camouflage school for the 10th
Division, while “C” Company held courses for the 89th and
71st Divisions at Camp Carson.
On 14
February 1944, the entire battalion moved to the Tennessee Manoeuver Area
to engage in extensive operations of all types including camouflage
instruction, depot and equipment pool operation and salvage.
Bn. Headquarters was located at
Lebanon,
Tennessee. On 31 May 1944, the
battalion moved to Camp Forrest,
Tenn.
Upon
arrival at the new station, the organization was honored by the arrival of
Captain Chuan-Chung Chen who was attached to the battalion as an observer
from the Chinese Army. During
this period, the battalion was reduced to cadre by the transfer of the
bulk of the enlisted personnel to other Engineer units.
Shortly replacements arrived from the 637th, 639th
and 643rd Engineer Camouflage Companies.
The men of the 639th were veterans of long service in
the Aleutians, while the 637th had been in Panama.
On 19 June 1944, Lt. Col. Knipper was transferred to the 4th
Army for eventual duty with the 10th Army.
Captain Bernard A. Reymann assumed command until the arrival of the
new commander, Lt. Col. W. H. Mohr, on 23 July 1944.
From
Camp
Forrest, the battalion moved by motor convoy to Fort Jackson,
South Carolina, arriving there on 15 September 1944.
Training for overseas continued there until 10 January 1945,
interrupted by a short manoeuver period in October with the 66th
Division at Camp Rucker,
Alabama.
Following
a rail movement to Camp Miles Standish,
Massachusetts
, the 606th Engineer Camouflage Battalion, one man short of
full strength, sailed from Boston,
Mass.
For the European Theater on 18 January 1945 on the USS
Santa Maria. The battalion disembarked at
Le Havre,
France, on 29 January 1945 and moved via motor to Camp Lucky Strike, near St.
Valery, Seine,
Inferieure,
France
under assignment to the Fifteenth United States Army.
At Lucky Strike, vehicles and equipment were procured in
preparation for a move towards the front and active participation in the
conflict. A shortage in
camouflage supplies temporarily delayed this movement, enabling the
battalion to locate at St. Aubin Le Cauf until 18 March 1945.
On this date, “D” Company departed for duty with the British
Second Army, participating in the Rhineland Campaign until 1 April when
they returned to join the Battalion. While
attached to the British Forces and under assignment to the U. S. Ninth
Army, this company assisted in the crossing of the Rhine near Wesel,
Germany, suffering one casualty on 22 March 1945.
“D” Company
departed on 4 April 1945 for duty with the XXIII Corps of the Fifteenth U.
S. Army at Osterath,
Germany. Two days later “C”
Company joined the XXII Corps at Gustorf,
Germany. On 5 April 1945, the entire
battalion was relieved from the Fifteenth Army and assigned to the Ninth U.
S. Army. Headquarters,
Headquarters & Service Company, “A” and “B” Companies plus the
Medical Detachment moved on 10-12 April 1945 to Gutersloh,
Germany
and
Bielfield,
Germany.
Headquarters
of the 606th Engr. Cam. Bn. were set up in Gutersloh
when Headquarters and Service Company commenced the operation of a
camouflage factory plus a sign and box factory.
Subsequently,
factories were opened at Munchen Gladbach,
Germany
and
Maastricht,
Holland. Extensive employment of
civilian labor, including German Nationals and displaced persons resulted.
Companies “A” and “B” assisted in the operation of the
Ninth Army Engineer Depot at
Bielefield,
Germany
while separate detachments from these companies operated advanced depots
at Gardelegen,
Oschersleben,
Germany
and the Rhur Pocket. Assistance
in operational camouflage was rendered to advance units.
Lt. Col. W. H. Mohr acted as camouflage officer for the Ninth Army
while also supervising the numerous activities of the battalion during
this period. “C” and
“D” Companies were engaged in the operation of engineer depots and
factories for the XXII and XXIII Corps of Fifteenth Army in the Rhine
Valley, although like the rest of the battalion, assigned to Ninth Army.
In the middle of May, they moved to
Isselhorst,
Germany, a short distance from Gutersloh.
On 31 May 1945, the battalion moved to Korbach,
Germany, the assembly area for return to the United States
for redeployment. At Korbach,
the battalion passed briefly into the control of the Seventh U. S. Army.
On 11-13 June 1945, a motor movement was made to Camp Lucky Strike,
France, where packing was completed for the return voyage.
On 19
June 1945, the battalion embarked on the USS General Gordon at
Le Havre
, and arrived at Hampton Roads on 28 June 1945, entraining there for Camp
Patrick Henry, Va.
After processing, all members
of the organization left for a period of recuperation at their homes.
On 4 August, the members of this battalion began reassembly at Camp
Shelby, Miss. While at this last
station, the war ended and plans for redeployment were abandoned.
Discharge of eligible men from the service proceeded at a rapid
pace.
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