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Some of the desired information for this battalion is still missing, though it is the most documented battalion at the Chemical Corps Museum. If you can help supply any information, please let me know. Send e-mail to the Webmaster, or postal mail to Rodney Young, 251 Pine Mdw, Spring Branch, TX 78070. Thank you very much.
"The 81st Battalion was the chemical unit most adequately prepared for the D-day operation."
Motto: Equal To The Task
Associations: 81st Chemical Veterans Assoc and 81st CM Mortar BN Association (Jackson, MS)
Contact: Rodney Young 251 Pine Mdw, Spring Branch, TX 78070; 210-310-9320
Reunions: 2008 and later: None planned
2007: October 2, Akron, OH
2006: September, Pittsburgh, PA
2005: October, Chattanooga, TN (Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel)
2004: June 6, Fort Leonard Wood, MO
2003: October, Raleigh, NC
2002: Aug 27-Sep 1, Carlisle, PA (Clarion Hotel & Convention Center)
2001: Oct 9-14, Richmond, VA (Sheraton Park South)
2000: Aug 29 to Sep 3, Charlotte, NC
1999: Wheeling, WV
1995: August
1994: Fort McClellan, AL (Ramada Inn)
1992: September, (location unknown) & Jackson, MS
1991: Toledo, OH & Jackson, MS
1990: Annapolis, MD & Jackson, MS
1989: Washington, DC
1988: September 23, 1988, Anniston, AL
1984: June 8-10, Jackson, MS
1983: July 7-10, Jackson, MS (29th Reunion of the 81st CBM Association)
1972: June, Jackson, MS (Holiday Inn, Pearl, MS)
1971: June, Columbus, OH
1969: June, Memphis, TN
1967: June 15, Saddle Brook, NJ (Saddle Brook Inn)
1948: New York, NY (Diplomat Hotel)
1947: May 17, New York, NY (Hotel Shelton)
Memorial: The Battalion placed a memorial monument to its men at Fort McClellan, Alabama on September 23, 1988. The Army closed that post on September 15, 1999, and all six (2nd, 3rd, 81st, 83rd, 86th, 91st) chemical mortar battalion monuments were moved to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, along with other Chemical Corps monuments including that of the 1st Gas Regiment. The monuments are now emplaced in a Memorial Park at Leonard Wood near the Chemical Corps Museum there. See photos of all memorial monuments at FLW.
Constituted: 12 Mar 1942 as Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 81st Chemical Bn
Activated: 25 Apr 1942 as 81st Chemical Bn Motorized at Fort D.A. Russell, TX
Training:
4 Apr 1943 - 4 May 1943 Louisiana Maneuver Area, Cp. Polk, LA
7 May 1943 - 10Jun 1943 Cp. Gordon Johnston, Carrabelle, FL
12 Jun 1943 - 31 Jul 1943 Cp. Pickett, Blackstone, VA
31 Jul 1943 - 9 Aug 1943 Cp. Bradford, (now JEB Little Creek), VA
9 Aug 1943 -13 Oct 1943 Cp. Pickett, Blackstone, VA
Redesignated: 22 Feb 1945 as 81st Chemical Mortar Bn
Inactivated: 7 Nov 1945 at Fort Leonard Wood, MO
Redesignated: 28 June 1951 as the 46th Chemical Smoke Generator Company and allotted to the Regular Army
Overseas: Arrived NYPE 21 Oct 1943, England 2 Nov 1943, France-ETO 6 Jun 1944, returned BPE 2 Sep 1945
Campaigns: Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland
Number of men killed in action: 41
Number of men wounded in action: 157
Number of days in combat: Co A - 313, Co B - 297, Co C - 318, Co D - 246
Number of rounds fired: 212,572
Histories
A Historical Note -
The company was reorganized and redesignated 20 October 1953 as the 46th Chemical Company and then inactivated 30 September 1956 in England. The 46th Chemical Company was (re)activated 7 January 1958 at Dugway Proving Ground, UT where it remained until inactivated 9 March 1963. The 46th was again activated 1 September 1981 at Fort Hood, TX where they served until inactivated 15 October 2010.
The 46th Chemical Company was activated 16 October 2012 at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.
81st Cml Mortar Btn plaque-Vierville-sur-Mer church