2nd Engineer Battalion Patch

They are one of the most storied engineer units in American military history—a battalion whose courage spans continents, whose legacy was forged in fire, and whose motto still echoes from a night when the fate of an entire command hung in the balance. The 2nd Engineer Battalion has served the United States for more than a century, building, breaching, fighting, and sacrificing wherever the Army needed impossible things done under impossible conditions.

The battalion was formed in the early 20th century and served with distinction in World War I, helping American forces carve their way through trench lines, barbed wire, and shattered terrain. But it was during World War II—in the Pacific theater—that the 2nd Engineers proved their strength in some of the war’s most brutal conditions. From New Guinea to the Philippines, they built roads and bridges under fire, cleared minefields, and fought as infantry when the need arose. Their tools were shovels, explosives, and rifles—but their courage was pure steel.

Yet the event that defines the battalion’s legend came during the Korean War, at the desperate defense of Kunu-ri in November 1950. The 2nd Engineer Battalion was tasked with holding open a vital escape route for thousands of U.N. troops retreating south under overwhelming Chinese assault. Surrounded, freezing, and nearly out of ammunition, the battalion made a fateful decision: they destroyed their equipment and burned their colors to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. They then fought their way out through a gauntlet of fire, suffering devastating casualties but completing their mission—a display of loyalty and resolve rarely matched in U.S. history.

This act became the heart of the battalion’s identity. Every year at White Sands Missile Range, the 2nd Engineers hold a solemn ceremony recreating the burning of the colors—not as a celebration, but as a remembrance of those who refused to surrender even when surrounded and outnumbered. Their legacy became a living reminder that engineers are not only builders—they are fighters.

In every conflict since, from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, the 2nd Engineer Battalion has continued that tradition. They build fortifications, clear IEDs, breach obstacles under fire, and support combat operations with the same grit that carried their predecessors through Kunu-ri. Their missions are often thankless and always dangerous—but their accomplishments shape the battlefield in ways that save lives and secure victory.

The 2nd Engineer Battalion patch honors this lineage of toughness and sacrifice. It stands for the engineers who fought as infantry to save others, who built when the world was falling apart, and who upheld a legacy written in courage. To wear it is to remember a battalion that refused to break—no matter the cold, the odds, or the enemy.