The 41st Engineer Battalion dates back to 1942. Before they became part of the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) located at Fort Drum, New York, the 41st Engineer Battalion was called the 126th Engineer Mountain Battalion based out of Camp Carson, CO. The 41st has been activated, inactivated, re-designated and reorganized several times since they were constituted on 27 August, 1942. The lineage of the 41st starts in 1942 and goes up until the year 2006. Their Campaign participation includes World War II, North Apennines, Po Valley, Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and humanitarian missions. In 1994 the Battalion was part of the 10th Mountain Division Task Force (Joint Task Force 190/Multinational Force Haiti) that helped restore …show more content…
They also did road construction, probed for mines when they encountered mine fields. After defeating the Germans in the Apennine Mountains of Italy the 126th Engineer Mountain Battalion along with the rest of the 10th Mountain Division headed to Po Valley. The terrain went from mountains to flat land with orchards and cherry trees. Once the Division got through Po Valley they encountered Po River and again they had to rely on the engineers to get across. The engineers constructed a pontoon bridge for heavy equipment, and tanks to cross. With the continuous push forward from the 10th Mountain Division the Germans started surrendering to the Americans. On May 2nd 1945 a German radio broadcast was put out ordering a cease fire. The soldiers heard of rumors of the war being over but did not get the word until the evening of May 2nd 1945. The soldiers felt a sense of overwhelming relief and at the same time were extremely exhausted. The 126th Engineer Mountain Battalion was inactivated on 21 November 1945. The Battalion was re-designated as the 41st Engineer Battalion and activated on 1 July 1948 at Fort Riley, Kansas. Then the Battalion was inactivated on 14 June 1958 at Fort Benning,