Foreword: This is the sixth publication in the Engineer Memoirs series of career interviews. The series contains the selected recollections of major figures in recent Corps history. These memoirs lend important perspective to decision making, now and in the future. By making these recollections available, the series preserves and shares the knowledge and experience of retired Corps officers and civilians.
With the publication of the William M. Hoge interview, we begin a series that contains interviews with distinguished World War II Corps of Engineer generals. These Engineer Memoirs are a part of the Army’s commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of that war.
General Hoge had a varied and distinguished career during World War II. He built the Alaska Highway in 1942; he commanded the Provisional Engineer Special Brigade Group during the initial landing of American troops on OMAHA Beach, Normandy, on 6 June 1944; he later commanded Combat Command B, 9th Armored Division, at St. Vith and elsewhere during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944; and with the same unit, captured the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen on 7 March 1945 to secure the first bridgehead over the Rhine.
I recommend this publication to all members of the engineer family and to all those interested in the history of the Corps of Engineers-particularly its role in World War II.
