Nothing But Praise: A History of the 1321st Engineer General Service Regiment - African-American Unit Deployed to Europe in World War II, Role in Allied Victory, Bagnulo, NASA Apollo Facilities

Professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction, this Army Corps of Engineers publication chronicles the training and battlefield experiences of one unit that served in Europe during World War II. Yet, in many ways, the experiences of the 1321st mirrored those of other engineer units—both black and white—that served during the war: arduous training followed by prolonged deployments overseas. It is often said that Army engineers labored in the shadows of history, but if white general service regiments received little attention, the African American regiments often toiled in obscurity. This publication not only fills some of the gaps in engineer history, it attests to the crucial role engineers played in the Allied victory in Europe.

The officers and men of the 1321st Engineers learned their profession in the piney woods of the Carolinas and Tennessee. After completing basic training, they learned how to become engineers, acquiring the specialized skills that they would put to good use in Europe. The 1321st compiled an enviable record of accomplishment during World War II. In support of the Allied drive across France and into Germany, the 1321st repaired bridges and cleared roads. Later, when spring thaws and disintegrating roads threatened to disrupt the desperately needed flow of supplies to the front, the regiment repaired and maintained hundreds of miles of roads, highways, and bridges. The regiment's well-trained carpenters, electricians, welders, machinists, and heavy equipment operators also renovated buildings, constructed hospitals, and built sprawling supply depots. At the end of the war, the Army transferred the 1321st to Korea where it served with distinction until 1946.

Foreword * Preface * The Bagnulo Donations * Editorial Procedures * Acknowledgments * The History of the 1321st Engineers * Beginnings * Training in the Carolinas * Training in Tennessee * Return to North Carolina * Preparing to Deploy * From Boston to Britain * Across the Channel * Eastern France * German Advances * Work Near Epinal * Spring Offensive into Germany * Leaving France * To the Pacific * Okinawa, Korea, and the Last Days of the 1321st * The Diary of Col. Aldo H. Bagnulo * Footnotes

Although this history of the 1321st Engineers is largely the work of the unit's commander, Col. Aldo H. Bagnulo, and therefore reflects his perspective and interpretation of events, the regiment's record speaks for itself. This history of an accomplished unit also sheds new light on the role of African American engineers during World War II and in the process enriches the history of the entire Engineer Regiment.