World War I

   The 212th MP Company of the Military Police Corps was established in France on 8 July 1918 as part of an expansion in military police assets for the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) operations. The company was attached to 3rd Army Headquarters and assigned to the 106th MP Battalion.

     Once operational, the unit was posted to the Advance Section at Treves, France, and delegated the mission of processing and guarding prisoners of war, capturing infiltrators and stragglers and returning AWOL and malingering soldiers to their units. In addition, the company provided the guards for military facilities and supply depots. At the end of the war, the company became part of the Service of Supply organization and was relocated to the post of Brest, where it assisted other military police units with controlling the thousands of AEF soldiers departing the country. There in March of 1919, the company was disbanded and its personnel shipped home.

World War II

     The 212th MP Company (Colored) was constituted on 1 January 1942 and assigned to the 3rd Army for activation. On 15 May  the company was activated as a line duty military police company at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, allotted five officers and 165 enlisted men and once staffed, trained at Huachuca through the remainder of the year.

     On 5 April 1943 the company was assigned to Camp Polk, Louisiana for participation in field maneuvers that ended in July. Instead of returning to Fort Huachuca it remained at Camp Polk, minus its 1st Platoon (that was separated on 14 July and shipped to Naples, Italy for service with the 5th Army where it was eventually re-flagged as the 816th MP Platoon), until the fall of 1943, and was then assigned to Fort Clark, Texas to provide security at the post POW internment camp. It was during this time the company was authorized to rebuild another 1st Platoon.

     On 21 January 1944 the company was assigned to the 4th Army and Camp Polk for a second session of field maneuvers that ended in April. The company was then assigned to Camp McCain, Mississippi for indoctrination and preparations for overseas movement.

    It moved to Seattle, and on 13 October 1944 sailed for Hawaii aboard the SS Imperial, arriving on 24 October and assigned to Fort Schafter, where it provided the post guard force.

     On 29 January 1945 the company was reassigned to the Western Pacific Base Command where it received orders to sail for Saipan (the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands in the western Pacific Ocean). It arrived on Saipan 16 April 1945 and six days later was reassigned to the island of Iwo Jima (Japanese Volcano Islands chain, 750 miles south of mainland Tokyo, Japan). The following week the company was returned to Saipan, where it served out the remaining days of World War II. At Saipan and Iwo Jima the company was assigned to port commands and required to provide the guards for ships, piers, warehouses, and to control stevedores.

     For service during the war, the company was awarded credit for participation in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Campaign with a Silver Band for service on Saipan.

     The company remained on duty at Saipan conducting port security until the spring of 1946. At that time it was ordered to downsize and prepare for demobilization, and was eventually reduced to a paper unit.

     On 12 April 1946, the company, less personnel and equipment, was assigned to the 8th Army and administratively transferred to Japan for occupation duty, arriving the following day at the port of Yokahama.

     During April and May, the 212th MP Company (Colored) was re-staffed at Yokohama utilizing in-country personnel. It was authorized four officers and eighty-five enlisted men, and once operational was assigned the dual mission of providing the guard force for 8th Army Headquarters at Yokahama and assisting the 519th MP Battalion with foot and motor patrols throughout the downtown area until the outbreak of the Korean War.

Korean War

     On 20 July 1950, the 212th MP Company (Colored) landed at Pusan and was assigned to Task Force Smith and ordered to Taegu tasked with keeping the Main supply Route (MSR) from Pusan open. The mission required that members control highway traffic, relocate stragglers and refugees and take custody of infiltrators and POW's. The assignment continued until the Inchon Landing when the company was attached to the 728th MP battalion, ordered north toward the invasion site and instructed to establish a base camp at nearby Yong Don Po. There the company posted perimeter guards around the city until the base area was secure.

     On 19 November 1951, the company was reorganized, allotted to the Regular Army and assigned as a subordinate element of the 728th MP Battalion. Along with the reorganization the term "colored" was eliminated from official designations

     On 15 June 1952 the company was redesignated as a corps unit and assigned directly to the IX Corps commanding general. The assignment required that the company move with Corps Headquarters throughout the country and provide the security guard functions for the command staff and their facilities. The unit moved frequently, but by August of 1953, was stationed Chong-Pyong-ni (near Hungnam), where it provided facility security until after the cease-fire.

     For service in Korea, the 212th MP Company was credited with participation in ten Korean War campaigns and awarded two Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citations. In addition, the company received a Meritorious Unit Commendation for supporting the Inchon invasion. Individually, nine officers and eight enlisted men received the Bronze Star Medal, and twenty-four other members received the Commendation Ribbon. (On 29 April 1948 the award ribbon was later assigned a medal and new ribbon, and on 1 June 1962 was officially designated as the Army Commendation Medal.)

Japan Occupation Forces

     On 18 October 1954, the company returned to Japan with the IX Corps Command Headquarters. Initially stationed at the Camp Sendi Far East Headquarters, in January of 1956 the company was relocated to Army Headquarters in Tokyo as part of the 1st Cavalry Division. At both locations the company provided the guard force for the command facilities.

     On 25 March, 1956, the company was reorganized as a separate (numbered) unit and delegated the task of providing law and order services throughout the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. The company remained in Tokyo until 24 June 1958, when during a force reduction, it was inactivated.

Italy

     On 15 April 1960, the 212th MP Company was activated at Camp Darby (Livorno), Italy, under a U.S. Army Europe plan to increase military police assets needed to support the expanding Southern European Task Force (SETAF) organization. The company was staffed utilizing personnel from the 3rd Platoon of the 68th MP Company as well as in-bound soldiers. At Camp Darby, the unit performed the same law and order mission previously performed by the 3rd Platoon of the 68th MP Company. Duties consisted of gate security, facility protection and town patrol in both Livorno and Pisa. Members also assumed assisted the 68th MP Company with providing guards aboard the SETAF "Sleeper" train to Salzburg and the "Milk Reefer" supply train to Austria.

     In October 1963, the company (as well as the 68th MP Company) was placed under the direct command of the SETAF organization. This realignment was essentially an administrative function and had no impact on the routine day-today operations.

     Then in the spring of 1965, Army commanders in Europe were notified to begin implementing a draw down of personnel for Vietnam and as a result, the 212th MP Company was notified that the unit would be reassigned to Southeast Asia. The company began downsizing and some soldiers were moved to the 68th MP Company, some stayed at Camp Darby to staff the incoming 230th MP Company, but veteran personnel were told to prepare to move to Vietnam. Then on 16 August 1965, the company was inactivated at Camp Darby. The unit number was returned to the Department of the Army and six months later it was reactivated in Vietnam.

Vietnam War

     The 212th MP Company inactivated in Germany on 16 August 1965 was reactivated in-country as a Sentry Dog unit and on 17 January 1966 the 88th MP Company (K9) was redesignated as the 212th MP Company (Sentry Dog), Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV), with headquarters at Pershing Field, Saigon, Capital Military District, Gia Dinh Province, III Corps Tactical Zone, Vietnam.

Book, American Military Police in Europe, 1945-1991: Unit Histories, by Robert L. Gunnarson, Sr. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2011.