Emil Paul Eschenburg
Lieutenant Colonel
HQ Det FSSF
Born 26.12.1915 Mount Clemens,Michigan
son of Paul Fredrick and Ella Marie (nee Weise) Eschenburg
Graduated Mount Clemens High School
Graduated Michigan State University
Graduated National War College
Graduated Harvard University
Graduated George Washington University
Michigan National Guard (Artillery)
FSSF (HQ Det) 1942-44
Assistant Chief of Staff G-3,45th Infantry Division (LtCol) 25.12.1944-1945
35th Infantry Regiment (Colonel) in Korea (C.O. 25.4.1953-14.10.1953)
General staff,1st Corps
Assistant Commander 101st Airborne Division (Vietnam War)
Brigadier General
Deputy Commanding General,Capital Military Assistance Command,
Tan Son Nhut,Vietnam 1968
Retired 1970
115 military decorations (77 for valor)
Real estate business after army service
Married Dolly (4 children)
Died 17.12.2004 Helena,Montana
Thanks to John Robertson for use of picture and the
above info from www.specialforcesroh.com
Home Forum History FSSF FSSF Documentaries
Association Roster & Books and Pictures Collectibles Click here to add text.
Emil Eschenburg retired in Helena after 31 years of military duty
Emil Eschenburg was a 26-year-old Army major with the FSSF, and part of the retaking of Kiska, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, on Aug. 15, 1943. As the six GIs climbed into their five-man rubber raft, they were unaware that the Japanese had already evacuated only mere hours earlier.
Shortly after debarking into the black, icy waters of the Bering Sea, Emil’s overloaded boat was immediately swamped by a four-foot wave.
“From that point on the tide took us further and further from the shore,” Emil relates. After five hours of desperate bailing and paddling, someone spotted an object in the darkness. “I grabbed my whistle and started blowing. I blew and blew that whistle with all the adrenaline in my body.”
An American PT boat picked up the men and delivered them to a troopship.
“We thawed out and took part in the landing at 6:30 a.m.,” Emil said.
Eschenburg was born on a farm near Mount Clemens, Mich., in 1916. One of seven children, he attended a one-room grade school. After graduating high school, he enrolled at Michigan State.
“During my four years at Michigan State, I carried a full schedule, worked 40 hours a week, and lived on 1½ meals per day,” Eschenburg said.
The Canadian-Americans’ next mission after Alaska would be the assault on the impregnable Mount la Difensa in southern Italy.
General Frederick and Lt. Colonel Eschenburg reconnoitered the objective in an artillery observer plane — a two-seated Piper Cub. “While flying over this very high mountain, we observed that one side was a straight-up cliff. The Nazi anti-aircraft fire was like the Fourth-of-July fireworks.”
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.
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.
He returned to Helena in 1972 with his wife Dolly (the couple has four children), where he has made a second career in real estate. With indefatigable energy, he still works more than 40 hours per week at 84 years of age.
Referring to his generation, Emil said, “Next time you see a guy with white hair, in his 80s, go up and shake his hand. Chances are he was in the war.”
Taken from the Helena Independant Record http://www.helenair.com/articles/2002/08/17/stories/helena/6a1.txt
You may hear stories from Emil Eschenburg in the following documentaries.
