USMC
1st Engineer Battalion
Tientsin, China 1945 - 47
(35 slides)
About These Photographs
These photographs are from the album of Private Charles J. Mattoon, USMC who served with the 1st Engineer Battalion during WW2. The Battalion was part of the First Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force and was deployed to Tientsin, China after the War ended in the Pacific. When the photos were acquired there was very little information included with them other than the name of the unit, general location, and that they had belonged to Pvt. Mattoon. Because of the lack of detailed information and the relatively long period of time that the unit was stationed in China (approximately September 1945 to June 1947), it was not possible to arrange the photographs in chronological order. The only attempt at organization was to group them according to like backgrounds and common themes. Many of the photos include bulldozers, earth compactors, etc. in the background, so it is assumed that these Marines are from a heavy equipment/maintenance company.
It can be deduced that most of the photos were taken by Private Mattoon and that he appears in photos 7, 24, and 25. Though most of the Marines in the photos are not identified, many of them appear multiple times in the photos and apparently were members of Pvt. Mattoon's immediate unit. This collection is not a complete representation of Private Mattoon's photos as it was not possible to acquire the entire group due to the fact that most of the shots were sold off as individual lots. However, for the purposes of this website and its subject matter, the photos acquired, for the most part, were selected specifically for the interesting and eclectic mix of uniforms they contained. A number of the photos suffered from poor exposure and to some extent environmental damage over time and were touched up to make them as presentable as possible for this slide show. The result of this process did not, in any way, interfere with the proper interpretation of the overall subject matter.
The variety of clothing Pvt. Mattoon and his comrades wore in China is fairly typical of how the Marines were outfitted while overseas during WW2; with homegrown uniform designs being supplemented with Army and Navy types as needed. This practice can be seen here throughout the spectrum of uniform types: Service uniforms being supplemented with Chinese and Australian types; utility uniforms being supplemented with Army and Navy types; and winter clothing being supplemented with Army types. This should not be surprising though, as the Marine Corps' clothing development, procurement, and supply chain capabilities during WW2 were certainly not comparable with the Army or Navy's. Adding to the mix of clothing was the steady influx of new designs while older types remained in service - a phenomenon that became more acutely noticeable as the War neared its conclusion. These factors combined together to make the study of Marine Corps clothing in the final stages of WW2 a very interesting topic indeed.
For convenient reference, a short chronology of major movements and campaign credits for the 1st Engineer Battalion during WW2 is given below.
USMC 1st Egineer Battalion WWII Chronology:
24 February 1941 - Activated at Guantananmo Bay, Cuba as the 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Divsion, Fleet Marine Force.
April 1941 - Battalion relocated to Parris Island, South Carolina.
September 1941 - Battalion relocated to New River, North Carolina.
June 1942 - Deployed to Wellington, New Zealand.
12 January 1943 - Redesignated as the 1st Battalion, 17th Marines, 1st Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force.
30 June 1944 - Redesignated as the 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force.
September 1945 - Deployed to Tientsin, China.
June 1947 - Relocated to Camp Pendelton, California.
The Battalion participated in the following Campaigns:
Guadalcanal
Eastern New Guinea
New Britian
Peleliu
Marines. The Offical Website Of The United States Marine Corps. 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Lineage. https://www.1stmardiv.marines.mil/Units/1ST-CEB/History/Lineage/ (accessed 21 August 2018).