During World War II, the 338th Engineer General Service Regiment rebuilt the vital port of Livorno (Leghorn), in Northern Italy, in advance of the Fifth United States Army's assault on the German positions in the Po Valley. The 338th was activated September 4, 1942 at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, and moved to Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, on November 15, 1942. The regiment departed New York on April 28, 1943 (likely on the SS Santa Rosa) and arrived at Oran, Algeria, on May 12, 1943. The 338th landed in Italy on February 8, 1944.