This Military Service Page was created/owned by
SP 4 Johnny Conroy
to remember
Eschenburg, Emil, BG USA(Ret).
If you knew or served with this Soldier and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Contact Info
Date of Passing Nov 25, 2004
Location of Interment Montana State Veterans Cemetery - Helena, Montana
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
During the invasion of southern France, Eschenburg became lead scout (through booby traps and land mines) for his 200 men in the middle of the night after the landing. Later he was attached to the 6th Army and participated in the liberation of the Gironde Estuary in western France and the opening of the Port of Bordeaux to Allied shipping. On VE Day, Eschenburg’s outfit took over the Dachau Concentration Camp in Munich.
Eschenburg returned for stateside duty after the war, and then, during the Korean War in 1952, he commanded the 35th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division.
Eschenburg’s outfit relieved the Marines who were holding the line next to the Panmunjom Corridor, and engaged in combat against the North Koreans and Chinese.
He served two tours in Vietnam as First Division’s assistant commander. While his superior was stateside, Eschenburg commanded the division during the intense combat of the Tet Offensive in 1968. Determined to continue to lead by example, he spent part of every day under fire with his men.
He also served as aqssistant commanndefr of the 101st Airborne Division in 1969.
Eschenburg retired from the Army in 1970 after 31 years of military duty, 23 years as a parachutist. He served in three wars, spent seven years in combat, fought in 16 battles and received 115 decorations — 77 of those for valor.
Other Comments:
this data about the number of awards is all over the internet. I suspect many of the valor awards are air medals. Still, I can't find anything showing he earned a one. Whatever the total, and I suspect this is true, Geneeral Eichelburg has to be one of the most decorated American warriors in our history. I found a lot of data during hours of research and am satisfied with the awards and information I posted for him. I would like to see his record from NPRC but am not going to start sending for those. I think this guy was a hell of a soldier and am glad I stumbled across his history during basic on-line research.
WWII - European-African-Middle Eastern Theater
From Month/Year
December / 1941
To Month/Year
September / 1945
Description The European-Mediterranean-Middle East Theater was a major theater of operations during the Second World War (between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946). The vast size of Europe, Mediterranean and Middle East theatre saw interconnected naval, land, and air campaigns fought for control of the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. The fighting in this theatre lasted from 10 June 1940, when Italy entered the war on the side of Germany, until 2 May 1945 when all Axis forces in Italy surrendered. However, fighting would continue in Greece – where British troops had been dispatched to aid the Greek government – during the early stages of the Greek Civil War.
The British referred to this theatre as the Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre (so called due to the location of the fighting and the name of the headquarters that controlled the initial fighting: Middle East Command) while the Americans called the theatre of operations the Mediterranean Theatre of War. The German official history of the fighting is dubbed 'The Mediterranean, South-East Europe, and North Africa 1939–1942'. Regardless of the size of the theatre, the various campaigns were not seen as neatly separated areas of operations but part of one vast theatre of war.
Fascist Italy aimed to carve out a new Roman Empire, while British forces aimed initially to retain the status quo. Italy launched various attacks around the Mediterranean, which were largely unsuccessful. With the introduction of German forces, Yugoslavia and Greece were overrun. Allied and Axis forces engaged in back and forth fighting across North Africa, with Axis interference in the Middle East causing fighting to spread there. With confidence high from early gains, German forces planned elaborate attacks to be launched to capture the Middle East and then to possibly attack the southern border of the Soviet Union. However, following three years of fighting, Axis forces were defeated in North Africa and their interference in the Middle East was halted. Allied forces then commenced an invasion of Southern Europe, resulting in the Italians switching sides and deposing Mussolini. A prolonged battle for Italy took place, and as the strategic situation changed in southeast Europe, British troops returned to Greece.
The theatre of war, the longest during the Second World War, resulted in the destruction of the Italian Empire and altered the strategic position of Germany resulting in numerous German divisions being deployed to Africa and Italy and total losses (including those captured upon final surrender) being over half a million. Italian losses, in the theatre, amount to around to 177,000 men with a further several hundred thousand captured during the process of the various campaigns. British losses amount to over 300,000 men killed, wounded, or captured, and total American losses in the region amounted to 130,000.
