4JAS WW2 RE-ENACTMENT AND
LIVING HISTORY ASSOCIATION

326th Airborne Engineer Battalion

The Regiment was divided into battalions on 31 March 1942. All The Battalions (except the 2nd Battalion) were allocated to the Army of the United States on 15 August 1942. The 2nd was redesignated as the 326th Airborne Engineer Battalion, and was activated at Camp Clairborne, Louisiana on the 31 March 1942. The 326th was made up primarily of men drawn from the 82nd Division's 307th AEB and the 327th GIR. These men formed the nucleus of the new unit.

The Battalion then moved to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with the 101st Airborne Division, on 29 Sep 1942. After extensive training the 326th AEB left Fort Bragg and deployed to England on 5 September 1943, from Pier 90 of the North River, New York.
The ship carrying them (294, HMS Samaria) landed at Liverpool and the battalion moved by train to Basildon Park, near Reading in Berkshire. Under the command of Lt Col Pappas, the Battalion's training focused on physical conditioning (including long and short marches), smallarms training, glider loading, glider flights, unit and divisional tactical exercises.

The 326th AEB participated in the airborne assault into Normandy where their C.O, Lt Col John Pappas was killed in action on 13 June 1944. With the loss of their C.O the next senior officer, Major Hugh A Mozley, assumed command. Mozley was well liked and respected by his troops. Born 29 June 1909, he began his military career in November 1940, as platoon leader and later company commander in the 106th Engineer Regiment. He volunteered for the Paratroopers in late 1942. The 31 year old Captain had previously served as an instructor at the Engineer School at Fort Belvoir, VA. With his past civilian experience in steel bridges and building construction, and a with a exemplary military engineer background, he was a logical choice for assignment to the newly activated 326th AEB.
Hugh Mozley attended The Parachute School in late 1942 and became C.O of C Company, the only Parachute company of the 326th AEB.
Mozley became Battalion Executive Officer in January 1944 and was promoted to Major on June 1st.

326th Airborne Engineer Bn : Lt Col John C Pappas (KIA 13 June) EO Major Hugh A Mozley
Hq & Service Co : Captain Walter W. Hogrefe (Glider)
A Co : Captain Jack L. Rogers (Glider)
B Co : Captain Donald H. Froemke (Glider)
C Co : Captain Francis Liberatori (Parachute)

D-Day June 6th 1944
MISSION NEPTUNE-BIGOT
The plan was for 3rd Battalion 506th PIR supported by two platoons of C Company 326th AEB to parachute into Normandy, landing at Drop Zone `D` which was to the south of VIERVILLE and east of ANGOVILLE AU PLAIN. From this DZ, the force was to strike southward as soon as possible and seize the two bridges near LE PORT at the mouth of the RIVER DOUVE. The bridges were to be expanded into a bridgehead as soon as possible. By seizing the high ground in the direction of BREVANDS, the 3/505th would be reaching toward the American forces that would be moving northward from OMAHA BEACH. (It was believed that all of these objectives could be accomplished on the first day)

Forty-five C-47s of the 44th TCG, code named Serial 10 left Exeter airfield around midnight on June 6th 1944 carrying 723 men of the 3/506th and 2 platoons of C/326th AEB. They parachuted in at around 01:43 GMT. Aircraft losses were much lighter than expected, less than 7%. Their intended drop zone was DZ D which out of the 3 drop zones put to use that night, was the largest and was also the default DZ for any lost aircraft of the 101st.
The 2 platoons from the 326th AEB were to supplement the two demolition trained sections drawn from 3/506th Regimental Head Quarters. Their specific tasks were to prepare the captured bridges for demolition. If it proved to be impossible to hold the bridges it was imperetive that these strategic crossing points should be denied to the enemy and they would be destroyed.

Before dawn two small seperate groups one led by Captain Charles G Shettle (Battalion S3 & CO of I Coy) and one by Lt Turner Chambliss (G Coy) reached the bridge area at roughly the same time. Some of the troops from C/326th had also arrived with a load of demolition equipment. On the way in they had blown up the main Carentan power line! It was this demo gear that the small team from C/326th and 3/506th RHQ used to wire the road bridge a little later on that morning. The bridges were successfully held though and proved invaluable to the advancing allied forces.

(C/326th AEB supplied another platoon to the 501st PIR. They embarked at Merryfield and had their own tasks within Serials 8 & 9)

The 326th later took part in Operation Market Garden with the 101st and during this campaign on 24th September, Major Hugh Mozley received promotion to Lt Col.

The 326th was also involved in the siege at Bastogne. Lt Col Mozley described their role thus:- "The 326th Engineer Battalion might as well have been among the missing. Its deployment around Bastogne was a classic case of misuse through ignorance. Although the men set up a few roadblocks and prepared several bridges for demolition, they were committed piecemeal as infantry early in the battle rather than in their engineer support role with the different regiments. When promised infantry protection to accomplish engineer tasks, the engineers frequently found themselves alone, unprotected, and exposed. Fighting as infantry, they had no responsive, designated artillery support. Strangely, no one used them in any way to prepare antitank obstacles."

Tired, underequipped and lacking vital supplies, just like the rest of the 101st, the Engineers stubbonly held their ground. They also had the honour of being the first US unit in Bastogne to meet up with General Patton`s 4th Armoured Division. On the 26th December 1944, at 4.45pm, Lt Webster met three light tanks from the 37th Tank Battalion. Contact had finally been made and the siege was soon to end.

On June 4, 1944 the unit had a strength of 35 officers and 498 enlisted. After Bastogne, their force strength was 36 officers and 378 enlisted including replacements. They experienced casualties of 64 KIA, 185 WIA and 59 MIA or captured prior to January 14, 1945. Total casualties were 308 out of the original 498.

For its outstanding accomplishments in Normandy and Bastogne, the 326th was twice awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation. For its contribution to the success of the European War, the 326th was also awarded the French Croix de Guerre (with Palm), the Netherlands Orange Lanyard, and the Belgian Fourragere. The Battalion was inactivated in Germany on 30 November 1945.

Hugh A Mozley valiantly led the 326th to the end of the war, winning among his other decorations, the Officer of the Order of the Crown, a prestigious Belgian distinction for leadership at Bastogne. After WW2, Mozley attained the rank of full Colonel and served as Airborne advisor to General MacArthur in Japan.