“Engineers at War” book roll-out a success

FORT LEONARD WOOD, MISSOURI, UNITED STATES

04.07.2011

Courtesy Story

Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. – The U.S. Army Engineer Regiment hosted a book roll-out of “Engineers at War” with a presentation by Lt. Col. Adrian G. Traas from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., April 6, in Lincoln Hall Auditorium. In addition to being introduced by Dr. Larry Roberts, historian, U.S. Army Engineer School, Dr. Richard Stewart, chief historian for the U.S. Army Center for Military History, provided opening remarks for the audience of military engineer students from Fort Leonard Wood, along with a moderate contingent of retired military veterans and civilians.

The book, which describes the experiences of military engineers who supported the U.S. Army in combat operations and carried out construction in Vietnam, is the newest addition to the official U.S. history books.

According Roberts, “The last book of this size and significance came out in 1988 on the topic of WWII.”

Stewart stressed the importance of keeping history alive by allowing Veterans from previous war eras to pass on their story, just as today’s Veterans will want their story to be told and remembered.

Stewart said, “It’s important to remember these men and celebrate their personal victories in spite of politics.”

When describing the process of conducting research for the book, Traas revealed, “trip reports included thousands of slides.”

With all of the information contained in historical repositories, Traas commented that he wished he could have included more maps and details than the 600-page book would allow, but still the book is a step in the right direction.

Traas in his presentation said, “As engineers in Vietnam, we couldn’t live in the best, but we had to build the best.”

Following the presentation, military engineer students with the senior leader course concurred that no matter what the war era one thing seems to remain the same: regardless of their occupational specialty, engineers are called upon by senior leaders to solve problems of every variety.

Copies of the book were presented to engineer students and signed by the author at the conclusion of the event.

• Date Taken: 04.07.2011
• Date Posted: 04.07.2011 16:11
• Story ID: 68424
• Location: FORT LEONARD WOOD, MISSOURI, US