Engineers played a key role during the Korean War. From the very beginning they built, destroyed, and built again as circumstances in Korea changed. The rough terrain of the Korean Peninsula created a high demand for their skills, and they could be found performing a wide variety of missions during the entirety of the conflict. The photos in this slideshow encapsulate just a few of the missions performed by engineers during the course of the Korean War.
Engineers in the Korean War l Photos
The Korean War Anniversary Part 2
American Army engineers use a native two-wheeled cart to remove large boulders from a river bad as they clear a route for the advance of American vehicles, July 24, 1950. DoD photo
U.S. Army engineers place satchel charges and primer cord preparatory to blowing up a railway bridge in the path of invading North Korean forces, somewhere in Korea, July 30, 1950. DoD photo
U.S. Army engineers of the 2nd Infantry Division construct a bypass for heavy equipment to cross the Hwang-gang River, in order to give support to the infantry five miles on the other side of the tributary, Sept. 25, 1950. Only jeeps could cross on the damaged bridges at left. DoD photo
Officers and men of the 62nd Engineers stand in front of the first train to cross the new railroad bridge which they built across the Han River at Seoul, Korea, Oct. 19, 1950. DoD photo
Lt. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway, commander, U.S. 8th Army (front row, left), and Col. Emerson C. Itschner, Engineer, I Corps (front row, center), give the order to begin dismantling a pontoon bridge to prevent its use by the advancing Chinese and North Korean forces after the last of the UN Forces evacuated Seoul, Jan. 4, 1951. DoD photo
Men of the 185th Engineer Battalion, X Corps, attempt to free a dump truck that broke through a bridge weakened by floating ice and heavy rains, raising the Han river to flood level. A member of the group shoots ice cakes to break up a possible ice jam, Feb. 23, 1951. DoD photo
An anti-tank mine crew starts checking for other possible mines after an M-4 tank of the 32nd Regimental Combat Team, U.S. 7th Infantry Division (in background) was disabled by an anti-tank mine on this road in Korea, Feb. 28, 1951. DoD photo
Interrupted in their task of building a raft at the Han River by Chinese Communist fire, these men of the 14th Combat Engineer Battalion, I Corps, return fire from behind a protecting bulldozer, March 7, 1951. DoD photo
U.S. Army soldiers of the 77th Engineer Combat Company blast enemy troops taking cover in caves embedded along the steep banks of the Hantan River, April 11, 1951. DoD photo
A demolition squad of Company A, 65th Engineer Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, place dynamite beneath the tracks of a burned out tank under the supervision of the recovery platoon of C Company, 89th Tank Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, Oct. 14, 1951. DoD photo
A U.S. Army engineer cuts into the side of a cliff during the construction of a new road, Feb. 24, 1952. DoD photo
The Freedom Gate Bridge spanning the Imjin River, built by the 84th Engineer Construction Battalion, March 10, 1952. This bridge temporarily replaced the original structure, which was destroyed by bombs. DoD photo
A U.S. Army soldier with 20th Engineer Battalion, 45th Infantry Division, erects a camouflage net over a road exposed to the enemy in Korea, June 7, 1952. DoD photo
Members of the 1437th Treadway Bridge Co., U.S. 8th Army, erect a floating bridge on Route #3-D after the flooded roadbed washed out, July 8, 1952. DoD photo
A U.S. soldier from the 378th Engineer Utility Detachment controls the spray switch on a tar sprinkler while constructing a road, Oct. 27, 1952. DoD photo
U.S. Army engineers place satchel charges and primer cord preparatory to blowing up a railway bridge in the path of invading North Korean forces, somewhere in Korea, July 30, 1950. DoD photo
U.S. Army engineers of the 2nd Infantry Division construct a bypass for heavy equipment to cross the Hwang-gang River, in order to give support to the infantry five miles on the other side of the tributary, Sept. 25, 1950. Only jeeps could cross on the damaged bridges at left. DoD photo
Officers and men of the 62nd Engineers stand in front of the first train to cross the new railroad bridge which they built across the Han River at Seoul, Korea, Oct. 19, 1950. DoD photo
Lt. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway, commander, U.S. 8th Army (front row, left), and Col. Emerson C. Itschner, Engineer, I Corps (front row, center), give the order to begin dismantling a pontoon bridge to prevent its use by the advancing Chinese and North Korean forces after the last of the UN Forces evacuated Seoul, Jan. 4, 1951. DoD photo
Men of the 185th Engineer Battalion, X Corps, attempt to free a dump truck that broke through a bridge weakened by floating ice and heavy rains, raising the Han river to flood level. A member of the group shoots ice cakes to break up a possible ice jam, Feb. 23, 1951. DoD photo
An anti-tank mine crew starts checking for other possible mines after an M-4 tank of the 32nd Regimental Combat Team, U.S. 7th Infantry Division (in background) was disabled by an anti-tank mine on this road in Korea, Feb. 28, 1951. DoD photo
Interrupted in their task of building a raft at the Han River by Chinese Communist fire, these men of the 14th Combat Engineer Battalion, I Corps, return fire from behind a protecting bulldozer, March 7, 1951. DoD photo
U.S. Army soldiers of the 77th Engineer Combat Company blast enemy troops taking cover in caves embedded along the steep banks of the Hantan River, April 11, 1951. DoD photo
A demolition squad of Company A, 65th Engineer Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, place dynamite beneath the tracks of a burned out tank under the supervision of the recovery platoon of C Company, 89th Tank Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, Oct. 14, 1951. DoD photo
A U.S. Army engineer cuts into the side of a cliff during the construction of a new road, Feb. 24, 1952. DoD photo
The Freedom Gate Bridge spanning the Imjin River, built by the 84th Engineer Construction Battalion, March 10, 1952. This bridge temporarily replaced the original structure, which was destroyed by bombs. DoD photo
A U.S. Army soldier with 20th Engineer Battalion, 45th Infantry Division, erects a camouflage net over a road exposed to the enemy in Korea, June 7, 1952. DoD photo
Members of the 1437th Treadway Bridge Co., U.S. 8th Army, erect a floating bridge on Route #3-D after the flooded roadbed washed out, July 8, 1952. DoD photo
A U.S. soldier from the 378th Engineer Utility Detachment controls the spray switch on a tar sprinkler while constructing a road, Oct. 27, 1952. DoD photo
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