Brothers,
On 05 SEP 1969, the Guardsmen of the 116th Engineer Battalion (Combat) were released from active duty having just returned from their eleven-month tour of service in Vietnam. This marked the sixth time in 70 years that the battalion served on active duty. In fact, the 116th was the only Guard unit, Army or Air, to serve in theater during both the Korean and Vietnam wars.
How many SigEps served with this dedicated group of men? Nobody knows – not yet, for the SigEp Patriots Project (SSP) will continue to work to answer this and other questions pertaining to SigEps who serve, and we hope you can help us. Please write to sigepswhoserve@gmail.com if you are or know of a brother who served with the 116th.
05 SEP 1919
World War I Veteran and OH Gamma Brother Captain Robert Lester Tavenner, U.S. Army completed his service in Europe with the American Expeditionary Force on this date.
07 SEP 1956
On this date, Korean War Veteran and Ace, SigEp Citation Recipient and IN Alpha Brother Captain Iven Carl "Kinch" Kincheloe, Jr., U.S. Air Force piloted the Bell X-2 research rocket plane more than 2,000mph and to a world's record altitude of 126,200 feet – the first flight ever above 100,000 feet. For this he was nicknamed "America
06 SEP 2003
World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War Veteran, and PA Mu Brother Brigadier General William Robert Sarber, Jr., U.S. Army (Retired) died on this date in a nursing home in Yorktown, Virginia.
Born 21 FEB 1929, in Charleston, West Virginia, Brother Sarber graduated from Temple University with a bachelor's degree in Accounting, and began his 31-year military career in 1946. He also received a master's degree in Banking and Finance from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of the Armor School, Transportation School, Command and General Staff College, Armed Forces Staff College and the Industrial College of The Armed Forces. General Sarber's commands included the 7th Transportation Group, Fort Eustis, VA; Kaiserslautern Army Depot Complex, U.S. Army, Europe; and Eastern Area, Military Traffic Management Command, Bayonne, NJ.
Respect can be paid to Brother Sarber at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA. While William is gone, SPP pledges that his life and patriotic service will always be remembered.
