|
The 759th Military Police Battalion, "Lone Sentinel," was first constituted on 19 August 1942 in the Army of the United States as the 759th Military Police Battalion and activated on 15 September 1942 at Fort Ontario, New York. The cadre was comprised of 4 officers and 107 enlisted soldiers from the 712th Military Police Battalion and 3 officers from the Provost Marshal General School at Fort Ogelthorpe, Georgia. The Battalion remained at Fort Ontario undergoing training until March 1943 when it moved to New York City and was engaged in dock security.
In April 1943, the Battalion moved to Fort Dix, New Jersey, where it underwent intensive training and acted as escort for prisoners of war trains. The end of July found the Battalion enroute to Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia. There the battalion was organized into prisoner of war teams of one officer and 32 enlisted Soldiers, and by late August 1943, all were overseas in Oran, Algeria, except a skeleton headquarters of 5 officers and 16 enlisted Soldiers. In Algeria, Military Policemen were assigned to patrol Oran and the villages nearby, handle traffic control for trucks moving in and out of the port, and guarding supply facilities and POW collection points that were scattered all the way to Bizerte, Algeria. Late October 1943, 2 prisoner of war teams returned and the rear detachment moved to Fort Dix, New Jersey and prepared for the expected return of the rest of the prisoner of war teams. However, the remainder of the battalion deployed 15 December 1943 to Oran, Algeria.
|