Distinguished Service in World War II and the Korean War


4.2 mortar           Regimental Coat of Arms of the Chemical Corps           4.2 mortar


The insignia is the Regimental Coat of Arms of the Chemical Corps


This website is for and about four-deucers – the men who served in the U. S. Army's chemical mortar battalions in World War II and the Korean War. It is dedicated to every one of them, but especially to those who made the supreme sacrifice in defense of our beloved country. They have earned the respect and tribute of all freedom-loving Americans.

Browse through the menu below to read the history of the 4.2 inch mortar, review when and where the many battalions served, find out about contact persons and planned reunions, and more.

We've done everything we can to provide accurate and up to date information, but we're certainly not perfect and it's also obvious that we're missing a lot of desirable information. We badly need your help in maintaining and improving this Web site. We especially need missing information, corrections of errors, and updated information on contacts and reunions. Please send e-mail to the Webmaster, Bruce Elliott, or postal mail to him at P.O. Box 498, Henniker NH 03242.

On behalf of all four-deucers, thank you very much for your help.



Freedom Is Not Free


The Charters of Freedom


Gettysburg Address



Flag of the United States of America Flag of the United States of America

    Who

Denis Edward O'Brien

It is the soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us the freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us the freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier
Who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.



Call for writers!

The Chemical Corps Regimental Association is looking for articles and letters from veterans
of the Army's chemical mortar battalions. If you can help, contact the

Chemical Corps Regimental Association
PO Box 437
Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473

Phone: 573-329-6566
Email: ccrawebmaster@chemical-corps.org

Main Menu

U.S. Army Chemical Mortar Battalions

Key to abbreviations used in the unit pages
BPE - Boston Port of Embarkation
CCF - Chinese Communist Forces
ETO - European Theater of Operations
HRPE - Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation
LAPE - Los Angeles Port of Embarkation
NYPE - New York Port of Embarkation
SPE - Seattle Port of Embarkation
SFPE - San Francisco Port of Embarkation
UN - United Nations

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The CMB Archives

We invite all four-deucers to submit items, short or long, that may be of interest to other automatic artillerymen: articles, anecdotes, observations, partial or complete histories, and so on. If it's appropriate, we'll be glad to add it to this website. Send all material to the Webmaster (see bottom of this page), preferably by e-mail, otherwise on disk or printed on paper. For computer files, ASCII standard text format is preferred; other acceptable file formats are any version of WordPerfect or Microsoft Word and possibly other proprietary formats (contact the Webmaster for more information). All items are necessarily subject to editing for considerations of space and clarity.

General

Unit histories

Published articles, books and other items

Personal comment and stories

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Other military-related sites

Below are links to various military Web sites and other sites that may be of interest to Army veterans. If you know of any that are not listed but may be good additions, please send e-mail to the Webmaster, Bruce Elliott, or postal mail to him at P.O. Box 498, Henniker NH 03242.

United States Military

Military elements and services

Federal government

Government agencies and services

Military-related miscellaneous

Combat units supported by chemical mortar battalions
(More will be added as research continues)

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Acknowledgements and Sources

We gratefully acknowledge the valuable help of these veterans, relatives and friends:
2nd Cml Mortar Bn: Bruce Elliott, Bob Moyer, Walt Eldredge
3rd Cml Mortar Bn: Quent Unger
82nd Cml Mortar Bn: Jack Butler
84th Cml Mortar Bn: George (Aravich) Avery
86th Cml Mortar Bn: George Murray
87th Cml Mortar Bn: Keith Ostrum, John Sears, Julian & Glenn Brunt
90th Cml Mortar Bn: Marty & Perry Dominy
93rd Cml Mortar Bn: Joe Towell
95th Cml Mortar Bn: Alven Nixson
Shoulder patch images: David Kaufman and Howard Lanham

Military USA, a commercial website.

World War II Order of Battle, by Shelby L. Stanton, 1984, Galahad Books (division of LDAP, Inc), NY; Chapter 15, pages 274-275; and Appendix I, page 596. This thoroughly researched book is an excellent source of basic facts about chemical mortar battalions.

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NOTE: This is not an official website of the U.S. Army. It is a private site, created in December 1998 and maintained by Bruce Elliott, the site's Webmaster. Your comments are invited. Send email to the Webmaster or postal mail to Bruce Elliott, P.O. Box 498, Henniker NH 03242.

Who am I, Bruce Elliott? I'm an Army brat. In WWII, I served with two chemical mortar battalions: the 87th CMB in training and then the 97th CMB in training and in combat in Europe. Before and during the first year of the Korean War, I served with the 2nd CMB, the only such unit in Korea and the last one in the U.S. Army. After 23 years active duty in the Regular Army, I retired in 1965, taught at New England College for 20 years, and then retired again to the good life. One of my favorite passions now is the maintenance and improvement of this website for all chemical mortar battalions and the good men that served in them.