Designated the 1st Engineer Special Brigade in May 1943, the brigade saw action in the Allied invasion of Italy in September '43 before returning to England in preparation for Operation Overlord, the Normandy landings.
They landed at this spot at La Madeleine, Utah Beach on D-Day June 6, 1944 and operated as Utah Beach Command until October.
They are remembered with this obelisk which stands on top of one of the Vf1a type shelters which was part of Widerstandsnest 05 - the German strongpoint located at this sector of the beach near Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.
The monument was inaugurated by their commander, Colonel Eugene M. Caffey, on June 6, 1945, making this one of the first monuments erected to remember those who took part in the liberation of Europe.