Back to the New 150th
Page [The following information was extracted from articles which appeared in The Meridian Star and the Clarion Ledger, both papers originate in Mississippi. 7he Star article was written by John Surratt.]
The 150th Engineer Combat Battalion, which was disbanded after World War
II, has been reactivated as a unit of the Mississippi National Guard. For
15 years the 150th Quartermaster Battalion existed at the Montgomery
Complex of the Army National Guard. With the order "Retire the Colors,"
that unit ceased to exist and the 150th Combat Engineers received life.
Approximately 100 people attended the ceremonies, including 12 members of
the old battalion. Congressman G. V. "Sonny" Montgomery, who was the 150th
Commander when it was a transportation unit, watched the changing of the
colors with mixed emotions.
"You're happy to see the unit continuing," he said after the ceremonies,
"but you're retiring a unit. I don't think there will ever be another
(quartermaster) unit with that number. It's like when we retired the 31st
Dixie Division colors (after the Korean War)."
Some members of the original force are on hand for the renaming
ceremony.
The Associated Press
MERIDIAN - Fifty years ago the 150th Engineer (Combat) Battalion
installed a pontoon bridge across the Rhine River, giving Gen. George S.
Patton's Third Army a jump in putting American soldiers into Germany.
After the war, the unit disbanded and the men went their separate ways,
meeting once a year in Cape Cod, Mass., as the 150th Engineer(Combat)
Battalion Association.
Last weekend, about 12 association members were in Meridian for a
resurrection. The 150th returned to life as a unit of the Mississippi
National Guard during activation ceremonies Sunday at the G.V. Montgomery
Reserve Complex at Key Field.
About 100 people attended the ceremony, including Montgomery, Meridian
Mayor John Robert Smith and the state's adjutant general,Maj. Gen. James
H. Garner.
"It was a great thrill to see this," association spokesman Bob Pearl said
after the ceremony. "It's good to seethe younger men take over. I'm glad
the guys were here to lend a historical background.
At the order "Retire the Colors" the Army National Guard unit that for 15
years occupied a portion of the Montgomery Complex as the 150th
Quartermaster Battalion ceased to exist and the 150th Combat Engineers
received life.
Meridian is the headquarters of the 464-member battalion, which includes
seven units and is attached to the 155th Separate Armored Brigade, which
is stationed in Tupelo.
"We were notified in 1993 that our mission was going to change," unit
commander Lt. Col. Michael D. Gilpin said. "We immediately underwent an
extensive program of training. The soldiers have paid a deep price and a
lot of hours."
Gilpin said the unit's mission involves removing obstacles, such as land
mines, making lanes for the armored units and preparing firing points for
tanks.
Montgomery, who commanded the 150th when it was a transportation unit,
watched the changing of colors with mixed emotions.
By John Surratt
The Meridian Star
In 1945, the 150th Engineer (Combat) Battalion installed a pontoon bridge
across the Rhine River south of the Ludendorff Bridge, enabling Gen.
George S. Patton's Third Army to be the first American soldiers to set
foot in Germany.
After the war, the unit disbanded and the men went about their separate
ways meeting once a year in Cape Cod: Mass., as the 150th Engineer
(Combat) Battalion Association.
Sunday afternoon, about 12 association members were in Meridian for a
resurrection. The 150th returned to life as a unit of the Mississippi
National Guard during activation ceremonies at the G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery
Reserve Complex at Key Field.
About 100 people attended the ceremony, including Montgomery, Meridian
Mayor John Robert Smith and the state's adjutant general,Maj. Gen. James
H. Garner.
"It was a great thrill to see this," association spokesman Bob Pearl said
after the ceremony. "It's good to see the younger men take over. I'm glad
the guys were here to lend a historical background."I learned that they
were going to activate the unit two years ago when I was passing through
Meridian and read about it in The Meridian Star. When I told the fellas
about it, they thought I was kidding. We've been working on this
(attending the ceremony) for a while."
At the order "Retire the Colors," the Army National Guard unit that for 15
years occupied a portion of the Montgomery Complex as the 150th
Quartermaster Battalion ceased to exist and the 150th Combat Engineers
received life.
Meridian is the headquarters of the 464-member battalion, which includes
seven units and is attached to the 155th Separate Armored Brigade, which
is stationed in Tupelo.
"We were notified in 1993 that our mission was going to change," unit
commander Lt. Col. Michael D. Gilpin said. 'We immediately underwent an
extensive program of training. The soldiers have paid a deep price and a
lot of hours."
Gilpin said the unit's mission involves removing obstacles, such as land
mines, making lanes for the armored units and preparing firing points for
tanks.
Preparation for the mission change took two years of training, he said It
was a task some said couldn't be accomplished.
"This was something that a lot of people said we couldn't do," Gilpin
said. "They said there was no way that we could complete the change and
get the training in two years. We did it in the two-year time frame and we
did it by July."
The unit's performance, he said, was a tribute to the unit's officers,
non-commissioned officers and soldiers.
Smith said the unit's ability to successfully change missions "is a
tribute to the creativity and flexibility of the men and women of the
150th."
Montgomery, who commanded the 150th when it was a
transportation unit, watched the changing of colors with mixed emotions.
"You're happy to see the unit continuing," he said after the ceremonies,
"but you're retiring a unit. I don't think their will ever-be another
(quartermaster) unit with that number. It's like when we retired the 31st
Dixie Division colors (after the Korean War)."
Montgomery credited Garner with making the mission change. Without that
decision, he said, the National Guard might have closed the 150th down.
"Gen. Garner did a very good job to keep this unit here," Montgomery said.
"The Army and the National Guard have been going through force reductions
and I don't think the unit would have survived if it hadn't been for him.
He did a lot of work to put this together."
Gilpin said the reorganization means that Meridian will have a Guard unit
here through the year 2000 and that will help the area's income.
But with the benefits comes a downside. As a combat engineer battalion,
the 150th has a higher priority within the military, meaning it could be
called to active duty whenever American forces are sent into military
action.
And wherever it goes, Pearl is confident that the new 150th will maintain
the standards set by its predecessor during World War II.
"I think they'll do fine," he said. "It's going to be great to see the
unit's numbers painted on the vehicles' bumpers again."
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