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The 2nd Aviation Engineer Battalion was activated at Camp Elliott, Calif., on 8 May 1942 under the command of Maj Chester Clark. Its sister lash-up, the 1st Aviation Battalion, was activated on 1 May 1942 at Camp Lejeune, NC under command of Maj Thomas Riley. Both battalions had the same organizational structure: three light engineer companies, and a headquarters company. Their mission was to be airlifted onto recently captured airfields for repair operations. The line companies were lettered alphabetically: Able, Baker, and Charlie. These were the only units of their type in the Marine Corps during World War II. Table of Organization Strength (1942) of the Aviation Engineer Battalions
On 10 October 1942, the forward echelon of the 1st Aviation Engineer Battalion arrived on Guadalcanal with the task of maintaining Henderson Field. This put the engineers right on the bulls-eye of the Japanese air and naval attacks against the airfield. The main body of the battalion arrived on Guadalcanal on 1 December 1942. On this date, the Marine engineers took over primary responsibility for runway repair from the 6th Naval Construction Battalion, which had been working on Guadalcanal since 1 September 1942. The engineers performed yeoman work to repair and expand runways, hardstands and dispersal areas for the Marine, Navy and AAF fliers who struggled against the enemy in aerial combat. Since it rained nearly every day on Guadalcanal, and major amount of labor had to be devoted to fighting the mud that sometimes threatened to shut down operations. The engineers laid down countless yards of pierced steel planking, better known as "Marsden matting," named for the town in North Carolina where it was first manufactured.
Meanwhile, the 2nd Aviation Engineer Battalion, including in its ranks, then-Cpl Jarvis, departed from San Diego in October 1942 bound for the Solomon Islands. Aboard ship, Jarvis was promoted to the rank of sergeant. After a sea voyage of nearly 6,000 miles, these engineers arrived in the waters off Guadalcanal in January 1943 and relieved their sister battalion effective 30 January. Sgt Jarvis was promoted to staff sergeant on 3 February 1943.
With an effective date of 1 May 1944, both aviation engineer battalions were reorganized and provided with heavy construction equipment. They were redesignated as separate engineer battalions and given expanded roles as general purpose corps-level engineer units. Although airfield repair and maintenance were still part of the battalions' missions, they were now equipped to build roads, run quarrying operations, and perform other complex engineering operations. In late 1944, each battalion was given a topographical mapping company, designated as Company D. These companies were withdrawn from the battalions in February 1945. Table of Organization Strength (1944) of the Separate Engineer Battalions
On 1 December 1943, SSgt Jarvis was promoted to the rank of supply sergeant and assigned as the battalion supply sergeant. The 2nd Separate Engineer Battalion remained as part of the garrison force at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal until mid-1944. During the preparation for Operation FORAGER, the capture of the Mariana Islands, the 1st Separate Engineer Battalion under command of LtCol Orin Bjornsrud was attached to the V Amphibious Corps for the Saipan operation. For the landing on Guam, the 2nd Separate Engineer Battalion, now commanded by LtCol Charles Clark, was attached to the III Amphibious Corps.
Assault forces loaded their transports at Guadalcanal early in June 1944, and the main convoy sailed on 4 June. In the official history of Marine air operation in the war, correspondent Robert Sherrod recorded conditions aboard ship:
On 21 July 1944 (W-Day), the assault on Guam began. This objective was important because of its status as American territory that had been conquered by Japan. But in the military sense, Guam, and the islands of Saipan and Tinian, were all critical locations for future heavy bomber bases in the aerial offensive against the Japanese home islands. The Third Marine Division was the primary assault force for the recapture of Guam. The division formed an Engineer Landing Group, consisted of the following organic and attached elements. Headquarters, 19th Marines, commanded by LtCol Robert Fojt, exercised tactical control of the following units: 19th Marines (minus 1st and 2nd Battalions) On W-Day the engineers performed a variety of missions in support of the assault. Some of them pulled security on landing boats, others acted as shore parties in the unloading of supplies and equipment. Still others carried out traditional engineer tasks in support of the infantry regiments. By the end of W-Day, the Third Marine Division beach head was only 1000 yards deep at its widest point, and less than 500 yards in others. Snipers, mortar and artillery fire were a constant hazard. As the assault continued on W+1, a steady barrage of mortar fire continued to fall across the Marine positions. Company A, 2nd Separate Engineer Battalion came under heavy fire, and Pfc Virgil Huddleston, an engineer in the company, stepped forward. His Navy Cross citation detailed his courage under fire:
Fortunately, this brave Marine lived to wear his hard-won Navy Cross. But the fighting on Guam was not without cost to his battalion. Between 21 July-15 August 1944, the battalion suffered 32 casualties; five killed in action, one died of wounds, and 26 wounded in action. Once Guam was secured, airfield repair and expansion, and road construction commenced at a breakneck pace. Every available engineering unit was employed in this gargantuan task. The 2nd Separate Engineer Battalion was attached to the 5th Naval Construction Brigade under the Guam Island Command. To handle the broad scope of this unit's work, it was given the following assets: 9 naval construction battalions These units constructed three major airfield complexes, hundreds of miles of road, major camp complexes, and many other installations. The work continued throughout the rest of the war, and engineering units rotated in and out as required. But for the 2nd Separate Engineers, the next destination was due north.
Attached to the V Amphibious Corps, the 2nd Separate Engineer Battalion was slated to take part in Operation DETACHMENT, the assault and capture of Iwo Jima. Just prior to the operation, the battalion underwent a reorganization as the topographic mapping company was detached and formed as a separate unit attached to V Amphibious Corps headquarters. Engineering assets were formed into the V Amphibious Corps Provisional Engineer Group. The group had the following assets: 2nd Separate Engineer Battalion (still under LtCol Charles Clark)
Top priority for the Engineer Group was improving beach access and clearing the wreckage off the shoreline. The 2nd Separate Engineers came ashore on D+1 (20 February 1945) Their first struggle was getting their equipment unloaded under a steady barrage of shellfire. But a few days later, the engineers went into action on their old familiar mission: airfield repair and improvement. Two Marine observation squadrons (VMO-4 and VMO-5) were assigned to the V Amphibious Corps, but Motoyama Airfield #1 was a wasteland of bomb craters, wrecked airplanes, and battle debris. On 24 February 1945, the 2nd Separate Engineers was tasked with clearing a 1,500 foot long section of the main north-south runway for the light aircraft. By 1600 the following day, the engineers had filled, bladed, scarified and rolled the strip and it was ready for use. On 26 February, the first U. S. aircraft touched down on the strip, two light observation planes of VMO-4. Once this initial work was completed, the 2nd Separate Engineers was assigned to renovation and improvement of the entire north-south airstrip, and the northwest-southeast strip of Motoyama #1. The 62nd Naval Construction Battalion was detailed to rebuild the long northeast-southwest runway. Bomb disposal Marines and Soldiers worked hand-in-hand with the engineers and Seabees. The entire area was covered with unexploded ordnance, and it was critical that all this ammunition be cleared or destroyed in place. By 4 March 1945, the short runways were both completely repaired. That same day, the first B 29 Superfortress made an emergency landing on Motoyama #1. Enemy action continued to plague the repair efforts, but the work never stopped. On 3 March 1945 the first casualties were airlifted off Iwo in AAF transports. In addition to the non-stop work on Motoyama #1, the 2nd Separate Engineers was also responsible for building and maintaining roads. As part of the Support Troops, V Amphibious Corps, the battalion had helped to earn a hard-won Navy Unit Commendation for service in the campaign.
After their mission was accomplished on Iwo Jima, the 2nd Separate Engineers sailed for Guam on 27 March 1945 to resume their duties there with the Island Command. The engineers remained on Guam until the end of the war. Their sister battalion, the 1st Separate Engineers went on to take part in the assault and capture of Okinawa. Doubtless, both battalions would have been deployed for the planned assault on Kyushu as part of Operation Olympic/Coronet, the invasion of Japan. But in August 1945, B29 Super fortresses flying out of the Marianas dropped atomic bombs on two Japanese cities, thereby bringing about the end of the war.
Both separate engineer battalions returned stateside in 1946. The 2nd Separate Engineers was deactivated at Camp Pendleton on 6 February 1946. Their sister battalion was deactivated on 20 August 1946. And so there two unique outfits marched into history. They were among the unsung, unknown heroes that helped pave the road to victory in World War II. On Guadalcanal, they helped hold the line against the might of the Japanese empire. The airfields that they constructed in the Marianas served as the launching bases for the strategic air war against Japan. And the air fields on Iwo Jima saved the lives of thousands of airmen in crippled Superfortresses, while preventing the loss of hundreds of aircraft. The airfields that the 1st Separate Engineers built on Okinawa also served as major bases in the campaign. But it wasn't just their engineering skills that the Marines of the separate engineer battalions put to use. When the call went out, as it did on Guam during the first days, the engineers jumped off their heavy equipment and picked up their weapons like Devil Dogs of every era. For them, the war wasn't just boredom and loneliness in forgotten back-water bases. They fought in the front lines, and in so doing validated the Marine Corps' timeless adage: "Every Marine a rifleman." QM Sgt Jarvis was recommended for promotion to warrant officer in April 1945. He was transferred stateside to Marine Corps base, Quantico, where he served until his discharge on 20 December 1945. After the war, he went back home to Massachusetts, where he raised a family, went to work for the US Postal Service, and volunteered in charitable causes. But he remained a proud Leatherneck until the day he died on 30 April 1999 at 85 years of age.
Sources used: Bartley, Whitman, Iwo Jima: Amphibious Epic, US Marine Corps Historical Branch, 1954. I am grateful to Kevin Jarvis, the son of QM Sgt Jarvis for the idea of constructing this page and for his assistance completing the work. Kevin is a former Marine himself. Unless otherwise credited, all photos are from the Jarvis family archives.
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