Final History of the 333rd Engineer Special Service Regiment (Preactivation)
On 19 March 1942, there was issued in Washington, DC., a memorandum over the signature of Col. Harlington, Chief of Opns and Tng Branch, Troops Div, Corps of Engineers addressed to the CO's of engr units to be formed for the militarization of overseas construction. This memo stated in effect that several engr units were being formed for the purpose of constructing and improving overseas installations such as docks and port facilities, railroads, roads and a variety of barracks, utilities ordnance shops engine assembly plants etc. Among these units were five engr special service regiments, of which the 333rd was one. According to the memo special service regiments were new units designed to meet special conclusions in the theater in which they were to operate, with specialists qualified to operate the equipment to be taken over from former constructors.
Colonel James B. Cress was assigned the task of orgn and comd’g the 333 Engr SS Regt. Colonel Cress was of the class of 1914, US Mil Academy at West Point. He had been aptd to the grade of Col. CE in the ORC in June 1923 and was recalled to activity duty with the Engr, South Army, on 14 Mar 1941.
Col. Cress personally carried on the recruiting of all his original officers, as well as a large number of his EM. He obtained the majority of his officers from civilian life, many from Borton, Mars. Among the men thus recruited were some of the outstanding engrs and constructors in the vicinity. The enlisted personnel were provided largely from selective service supplemented by voluntary enlistments.
The location for activation and training of the 333rd was Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. On 14 May 1942 a cadre from the 105th Engrs, Port Jackson, South Carolina, arrived. Basic training and some unit training was given all personnel. On 21 Aug 1942 the 333rd boarded trains and deported for Ohio.
Upon arrival in Ohio the Battalions were separated for the first time. The First Battalion with Regiment Headquarters was located at Toledo, and the Second Battalion at Marion, Ohio. The mission of both battalions were similar, however. The Rossford ordnance depot near Toledo required several miles of railroad ridings and in Marion the Engr Depot needed many miles of trackage as well as a small classification yard. By 15 Nov, the railroad jobs at the depots were nearing completion and two days a week were being spent at training in tactics. A short while later orders were received to move to Camp Sutton, North Carolina. However, on the day before entrainment the orders were changed and on the morning of the 28 Nov the Regiment departed for the Arizona desert.
On the 2nd December the Regimental trains pulled in at Yuma, Arizona where the Regt detrained for the Desert Training Center. Almost as soon as the troops unloaded, there began the first series of jobs which extended for eight months. The larger jobs were: Four 250 bed station hospitals, two 1000 bed general hospitals, and two semi-permanent divisional camps. Altogether, including some 47 lesser projects, the Regiment built and maintained 548 miles of roads and constructed the equivalent of six miles of buildings 20 feet wide. These operations required dispersions of the Regiment over a wide area, extending from the outskirts of Los Angeles to Hyder, Arizona and from Ibis, Cal. to Yuma, Arizona. Normally, the battalions were separated and frequently the companies were on their own.
Desert maneuvers were looming and on 19 June 1943, the Regiment was relieved of all communications zone assignments and attached to the IX Corps Blue Sorces, for duty as one of two corps engr regts. The task included maintenance and construction of 380 miles of road, operations of a corps engr. distribution point and a water point. A month later maneuvers ended and the Regt. returned to hospital construction. On 6 Aug. the Regt again entrained, this time for Camp Claiborne.
At Camp Claiborne the Regt. conditioned itself through training, exchange of personnel, and issue of supplies for overseas movement. The Regt. was brought up to strength and finally on 28 Sept. 1943 the Regt. entrained for Camp Shanks, New York Port of Embarkation.
The Regt spent six days at Camp Shanks and on the 6th and 7th of October boarded the US Army transport “James Parker” formerly the USS Panama. On the following day the convoy of which the ship was a part, set sail for England. The voyage was without incident and on the 18 Oct 1943 the “James Parker” docked in Liverpool.
The first and principal location of the Regt in England was at Perham Downs, Ludgershall, near Tidworth, in Wiltshire. A most immediately certain of the companies were sent out on jobs of their own. In general, the operations of the Regt. extended from the vicinity of Westburry on the West to Basingstoke on the East about 50 miles and from Salisbury and Winchester on the South to Tidworth on the North, about 15 miles. The jobs were mostly winter tented camps to house incoming American troop. Construction of roads, erection of Nissen huts, construction of tent floors and frames, and installing, plumbing and electrical facilities, messing and latrine facilities constituted the major portion of the work.
At the beginning of 1944, the Regt. was engaged in the construction of some 38 projects. Of these the major one was Baverstocke Div Base Depot, and others included ten summer tented camps to accomodate 20,000 men two winter tented camps to accomodate 5,250 men, and others.
The Baverstock Air Base Depot was begun on 18 Nov 1943 and completed on 15 April 1944. The following units were attached to the Regt for this Project: 416th, 433rd, and 434th Engr DT Cos, 500 men from the Ninth Air Force Casual Pool, Cos “A” and “C”, 204th Engr Combat Bn and one platoon of 834th Engr Avn Bn.
During the latter part of Febr 1944 the Regt received notification that its assigned mission in the coming invasion was utilities. Later however, this was changed to Port construction. About the first of March, the Regt’l codg Officer, Colonel Cress, assumed com’d of the 1056 Engr Port construction and Repair Group and was later relieved of comd of the 333rd. Colonel Guy S. Langstroth, then Lieutenant Colonel, commanding the first Bn, was named CO of the 333rd.
The 1056th Engr PC & R Group was located at Porthcawl, South Wales, and the Regt, about 2nd April, leaving completed its work in England, moved to Porthcawl for training in its new mission. Schools were held by the group in assembling Baily Bridges, U-trestling, and light steel tubular trestling. In addition to these schools, the Regt put in long hours studying land mines and booby traps, conducted overnight marches and bivanacs, and firing on the range. The Regt also assisted the Gp in the assembly of a fleet of barges at Port Talbot, South Wales. The barges, tools material, and equipment were utilized in the reconstruction of the Port of Cherbourg. Personnel of the 333rd manned the barges for the crossing of the channel, and they were later all awarded the Bronze Star Medal for their hazardous duties.
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