‘Let us try:’ 19th Engineer Battalion cases colors during Patton Museum ceremony

FORT KNOX, Ky. — In its zenith in 2014, 19th Engineer Battalion was considered the largest battalion in the U.S. Army, commanding about 1,000 troops based at Fort Knox.

At the deactivation ceremony in the General George Patton Museum of Leadership on Oct. 14, a little over 100 Soldiers remained, along with about a dozen alumni from as far back in the unit’s history as the Vietnam War. They stood together to sing the Engineer Regiment Song:

“Pin the castle on my collar, I’ve done my training for the team. You can call me an engineer Soldier; the warrior spirit has been my dream …”

“The 19th Engineer Battalion is among the most well-known stand-alone battalions in the world,” said Maj. Elizabeth Likins-Smith, commander of the battalion. “These colors have lived the engineer motto of Essayons – or “Let Us Try” – having met every mission asked of us, performing sometimes as infantrymen and logisticians for nearly a hundred years across this world.”

At the front of the auditorium stood a wooden red and white “Stand Tall” castle with crossed US and battalion colors hoisted behind it. On the left corner tower hung a bridle and reins – an artifact linked to the unit’s World War II “little seahorse” lore.

“Seven independently deployable companies [lived] inside one battalion – sappers, mappers, firefighters, construction assets, bridging,” said Likins-Smith. “No one had a broader task list in our regiment and in our Army than the 19th Engineer Battalion.”

Acutum Acumen – Sharp Ingenuity

The battalion became the last of Fort Knox’s major operational units after 3rd Battalion, 1st Infantry Division inactivated and cased its colors on May 21, 2014. A 19th Engineer Vietnam War alumnus at the ceremony noted the significance of the 19th deactivation, which typically carries more permanence than an inactivation.

Veterans of the unit lauded its unit motto Acutum Acumen as a fitting tribute to its legacy.

“It’s kind of sad seeing the unit deactivated,” said Tom Fox, who lives in North Carolina. “It was inactivated in ’70, which I never even knew about, so I figured I would show up to this one. We thought it was going to be another inactivation; turns out it was a deactivation.”

Fresh out of basic training, Fox was assigned to the unit during the Vietnam War and said he considers it one of the best in the Army.

“I could have been sent anywhere when I arrived in Vietnam, but I was sent to the 19th,” said Fox. “I stayed at the battalion headquarters and worked comms and operations. There were a lot of great people there.”

The 19th has inactivated and reactivated numerous times, according to its history. It originally stood up at Plattsburg Barracks in June 1941 as 3rd Battalion, 36th Engineer Combat Regiment.

The unit’s original mission was more amphibious. Engineer Soldiers conducted five amphibious landings across North Africa, Sicily, Italy and France during World War II and fought the German army in Germany and Austria, earning 10 campaign streamers, seven Silver Stars and 13 Bronze Stars.

The unit’s valorous history was read aloud during the ceremony.

“Continuously geographically separated from our headquarters and at times from our supporting companies,” Likins-Smith said, “the 19th has shown its sharp ingenuity time and time again under the harshest of conditions.”

In its most recent history, various companies of the unit have deployed in support of operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, Operation Faithful Patriot in 2018, Atlantic Resolve to Bulgaria in 2021, as well as two key training operations in Europe the same year.

‘Seahorse Battalion’ bridle and reins

The unit is not without its share of mystery and lore. Few stories are told more than that of its seahorse artifact that has been passed down from commander to commander over the decades.

As the story goes, from https://ww2combatengineers.com, a commander of the unit in World War II, Lt. Col. Larson – no first name given and who ironically doesn’t show up on the official list of unit commanders -- was leading a Ranger Task Force in a landing craft toward Anzio, Italy on Jan. 22, 1944, when he was blown off the craft and into the water.

While struggling to not drown, he grabbed hold of what he thought was a rope, only to find out later that it was a horse’s bridle, bit and reins. Legend says he thought it was from a seahorse and dockworkers later claimed they had never seen such a bridle before.

Likins-Smith said the bridle and reins, along with other artifacts will be donated to the Patton Museum.

Stand Tall

Fort Knox leaders acknowledge that the unit’s significance to the post over the past several years has been unmatched.

“The 19th has had a significant impact on Fort Knox,” said Fort Knox Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Alex Licea. “They’ve been involved in so many improvements, everything from range towers and steel and concrete bunkers to Castle Lake and its gazebo as kind of a farewell gift to us.

“It’s a bittersweet loss; it’ll be different around here without them, but we support them and their Families.”

Ken Boeglen, previously acting as Garrison deputy commander and now executive officer, said he agreed.

“Units come and go, but these folks have left gifts to the community, like Castle Lake, the gazebo and the demo range at Crum for others to use long after they’re gone,” said Boeglen. “They also have done work at the airfield for us. They’ve been a phenomenal support for the installation.”

Prior to the deactivation, the battalion lost companies to other locations and units over the past year or so, starting with 42nd Clearance Company casing its colors at Fort Knox and moving to Fort Campbell, Kentucky in July 2021. In the latest round of changes, 15th Engineer Construction Company and 502nd Multirole Bridge Company merged with 46th Engineer Battalion at Fort Polk, Louisiana.

“It’s a good thing that they’re keeping the company legacies intact,” said Licea. “Some of the Soldiers of 19th Engineer Battalion will move down there, some will naturally ETS or PCS from here, and some will stay on.”

At the ceremony, Col. Jefferson Burges, the unit’s higher headquarters commander of 20th Engineer Brigade out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, watched as Likins-Smith extended the colors and assisted Command Sgt. Dustin French in rolling them up. French slid the case over the colors and watched as a Soldier marched out of the auditorium.

“Today we case the colors of the Seahorse Battalion,” said Burges. “While the ceremony marks the conclusion of this chapter of service, let us be clear: we are not here to mourn the ending of this battalion’s history.

“We’re here to celebrate a legacy unmatched in excellence, a history of sacrifice, a reputation of solving the toughest problems in the most hostile environments.”

Burges suggested the unit might still have a future:

“I’m convinced that there will come a day when the Army and the Nation will call upon the Seahorse Battalion yet again.”

At the conclusion of the ceremony, halls of the museum echoed with the voices of the final 19th Engineer Soldiers who stood tall and sang the last lines of the Engineer Regiment Song one final time:

“Essayons, whether in war or peace, we will bear our red and white. Essayons. We serve America, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Essayons! Essayons!”

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