battalion in the form of a Presidential Unit C i t a t i o n
In March, the battalion was once again at the center
of a critical operation. It was carrying out a routine
road maintenance mission, clearing mines, filling craters,
and moving debris, when it was relieved from direct
support of the 9th Infantry Division. The 51st moved to
Bad Neuenahr in preparation for constructing a heavy
ponton bridge across the Rhine River at Kripp in support
of the seizure of the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen. Late
at night on the 11th, the 51st completed a 969-foot 25-ton
ponton bridge. The bridge was constructed under harassing
enemy artillery fire and intermittent strafing by enemy
One man was killed and one wounded from Company
planes.
C , while two men were killed and one wounded from the
supporting 181st Heavy Ponton Battalion.
The bridge was
the second put across the Rhine by the Allies.
Then it was back to road maintenance and bridge
construction, including one extraordinary burst of energy.
On 25 March, Company C constructed a 50-foot double-single
Bailey bridge in the morning and built a 110-foot triple-
single Bailey in the afternoon. After nightfall, the unit
built yet a third bridge, a 50-foot double-single Bailey.
After that remarkable day's work for Company C, it was
back to fixing roads, removing obstacles, constructing
culverts, and posting signs for the advance across
Germany.
In April, the last month of the war, the 51st still
concentrated on road maintenance"
For a time, the
battalion supported the 9th Infantry Division.
Then it
was reassigned to the 86th.
The transfer involved more
than paperwork: the 86th was hundreds of miles away. To
get to its new assignment, the 51st made a forced motor
march of 255 miles in one day to its new command post in
Petersaurach.
Only one vehicle broke down during the
march, a tribute to the care which the battalion took of
its equipment.
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