227191 Captain Glade Syphys "Whit" Wittwer United States Army 164th Engineer Combat Bn from:St. George, Utah My father, Glade S Wittwer, whom from now on I will refer to as "Pappy," joined the Utah National Guard in April of 1939 and was assigned to Company C 115th Engineer Combat Battalion. The unit was Federalized early in March, 1940, attached to the 40th (Sunshine) Division, and began training in Washington State and California.
While in California, he was stationed at Camp San Luis Obispo. After America entered WWII, Pappy's outfit built roads and fortifications in coastal areas, and camouflaged defense plants in California, particularly in Inglewood and Lompoc. In April of 1942 he went to OCS at Ft. Belvoir, where he was commissioned. Afterward he trained at such locations Camp Bowie, TX, Plattsburg Barracks, NY, Camp Van Dorn, MS, and back to Ft. Belvoir.
He departed for Europe in February 1944, and arrived in Painswick, England in early March of that year. In England, Pappy's unit trained for the invasion of Europe's northern coast. After landing in Europe soon after D-Day, Pappy served in northern Europe as part of the First US Army (164th Engineer Combat Battalion, as a company C.O.)and moved through France, Belgium, and Germany as far east as Eisenach, where he ended war in Neuweid, Germany. During the fight through northern Europe, Pappy was peripheral to the Battle of the Bulge, and helped support the troops that captured Remagen Bridge, Germany. His last station was in Stuttgart Germany.
Nine years after WWII ended, Pappy served in the American Occupation Forces in Germany as C.O. & Division Engineer 4th Combat Battalion, 4th Infantry Division.
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