USMA Class of 1934, Corps of Engineers.
ROBERT ERLENKOTTER was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy from Massachusetts in 1930, following a year at the Stanton Preparatory Academy. In 1934 he graduated fifth in his class of 250 at West Point, and was presented with two sabers: one the Robert E. Lee Memorial Saber, awarded by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in recognition of his outstanding record in mathematics, and a second presented by the officers of the Class of 1909, his late father's class.
After his graduation and commissioning, Lt. Erlenkotter was involved in civil works in the Midwest with the 2nd Engineers. On 29 October 1935 he was assigned to Fort Logan, Colorado. Following a year's graduate work in civil engineering at Cornell University, he attended Engineer School at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia and then was posted for three years in the Canal Zone with the 11th Engineer Regiment. From there, he became Division Engineer of the Third Armored Division and Commanding Officer, 23rd Armored Engineer Battalion, and went with them to England.
In England he was sent to Gen. Bradley's 12th Army Group and then to Gen. Montgomery's 21st Army Group. He went into Normandy with the British and eventually took over the 1106th Engineer Combat Group from his West Point classmate Tom Rogers. One week later the Battle of the Bulge broke out. After much action, Col. Erlenkotter's combat group, which was part of VII Corps commanded by Gen J. Lawton Collins, ended up at Dessau near the confluence of the Mulde and Elbe Rivers. A major accomplishment was the construction of a 107 float, 1308 foot long treadway bridge across the Rhine River at Bonn on 21 March 1945. This bridge was known as "The Beer Bridge, Shortest Route to C.B.I." since Gen. "Lightning Joe" Collins promised a beer party if it was built in ten hours - and it was. ["C.B.I." is short for "China, Burma, and India."]
After World War II, Col. Erlenkotter had several assignments with XV Corps and the Third Army, including rehabilitating the Palace of Justice at Nuremberg for the War Crimes Trials. He then returned to the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island for a year-long course. After two years with Air Training Command as Staff Engineer, he became the District Engineer in Savannah, Georgia in 1949. During almost three and a half years there, he oversaw construction of a major dam on the Savannah River and much military construction in support of the Korean War.
In late 1952 he was transferred to France as North District Engineer in Paris for COM Z support construction. In 1954 he became commanding officer of the 39th Engineer Group at Ettlingen, Germany. The following year he returned to the United States, where his last major assignment was as Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel and Administration (G-1), Headquarters Sixth Army, at the Presidio of San Francisco. Col. Erlenkotter retired from active duty in 1960.
After his retirement, he and his wife lived in Kentfield, California before moving permanently to Mendocino, California. There he was an avid bowler, and served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Mendocino Art Center.
During his military career, Col. Erlenkotter received the Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters. His citation for an Oak Leaf Cluster to the Legion of Merit, dated 1 June 1946, reads in part:
"Colonel Erlenkotter distinguished himself by the skill and efficiency with which he directed his unit in support of the VII Corps during the Battle of the Ardennes, and the advance from the Roer River across the Rhine River to the Elbe and Mulde Rivers. Under extremely adverse weather conditions, in the face of enemy fire, he personally supervised the construction of a number of bridges of great tactical importance, completing the Rhine River bridge in the record time of ten hours. Colonel Erlenkotter's courage, sound judgment, great professional knowledge and devotion to duty reflect the highest credit upon him and the armed forces of the United States."
In General Marshall's Biennial Report as Chief of Staff of the Army, he quotes a letter from General Eisenhower that calls the construction of the Rhine River bridge "a brilliant performance."
USMA Class of 1934, Corps of Engineers.
ROBERT ERLENKOTTER was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy from Massachusetts in 1930, following a year at the Stanton Preparatory Academy. In 1934 he graduated fifth in his class of 250 at West Point, and was presented with two sabers: one the Robert E. Lee Memorial Saber, awarded by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in recognition of his outstanding record in mathematics, and a second presented by the officers of the Class of 1909, his late father's class.
After his graduation and commissioning, Lt. Erlenkotter was involved in civil works in the Midwest with the 2nd Engineers. On 29 October 1935 he was assigned to Fort Logan, Colorado. Following a year's graduate work in civil engineering at Cornell University, he attended Engineer School at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia and then was posted for three years in the Canal Zone with the 11th Engineer Regiment. From there, he became Division Engineer of the Third Armored Division and Commanding Officer, 23rd Armored Engineer Battalion, and went with them to England.
In England he was sent to Gen. Bradley's 12th Army Group and then to Gen. Montgomery's 21st Army Group. He went into Normandy with the British and eventually took over the 1106th Engineer Combat Group from his West Point classmate Tom Rogers. One week later the Battle of the Bulge broke out. After much action, Col. Erlenkotter's combat group, which was part of VII Corps commanded by Gen J. Lawton Collins, ended up at Dessau near the confluence of the Mulde and Elbe Rivers. A major accomplishment was the construction of a 107 float, 1308 foot long treadway bridge across the Rhine River at Bonn on 21 March 1945. This bridge was known as "The Beer Bridge, Shortest Route to C.B.I." since Gen. "Lightning Joe" Collins promised a beer party if it was built in ten hours - and it was. ["C.B.I." is short for "China, Burma, and India."]
After World War II, Col. Erlenkotter had several assignments with XV Corps and the Third Army, including rehabilitating the Palace of Justice at Nuremberg for the War Crimes Trials. He then returned to the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island for a year-long course. After two years with Air Training Command as Staff Engineer, he became the District Engineer in Savannah, Georgia in 1949. During almost three and a half years there, he oversaw construction of a major dam on the Savannah River and much military construction in support of the Korean War.
In late 1952 he was transferred to France as North District Engineer in Paris for COM Z support construction. In 1954 he became commanding officer of the 39th Engineer Group at Ettlingen, Germany. The following year he returned to the United States, where his last major assignment was as Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel and Administration (G-1), Headquarters Sixth Army, at the Presidio of San Francisco. Col. Erlenkotter retired from active duty in 1960.
After his retirement, he and his wife lived in Kentfield, California before moving permanently to Mendocino, California. There he was an avid bowler, and served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Mendocino Art Center.
During his military career, Col. Erlenkotter received the Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters. His citation for an Oak Leaf Cluster to the Legion of Merit, dated 1 June 1946, reads in part:
"Colonel Erlenkotter distinguished himself by the skill and efficiency with which he directed his unit in support of the VII Corps during the Battle of the Ardennes, and the advance from the Roer River across the Rhine River to the Elbe and Mulde Rivers. Under extremely adverse weather conditions, in the face of enemy fire, he personally supervised the construction of a number of bridges of great tactical importance, completing the Rhine River bridge in the record time of ten hours. Colonel Erlenkotter's courage, sound judgment, great professional knowledge and devotion to duty reflect the highest credit upon him and the armed forces of the United States."
In General Marshall's Biennial Report as Chief of Staff of the Army, he quotes a letter from General Eisenhower that calls the construction of the Rhine River bridge "a brilliant performance."
