Nine from Aberdeen

These aforementioned exploits are among the notable events contained in Nine from Aberdeen, the first academic history solely devoted to the US Army’s Ordnance Bomb Disposal Branch from World War II. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, nine US Army officers and sergeants were sent from Aberdeen Proving Ground to war-torn England in order to learn the invaluable technical skills pioneered by the British Royal Engineers. Led by the colorful Thomas J. Kane, these nine men inaugurated the new Ordnance Bomb Disposal School. Conceived initially for homeland defense, Col. Kane’s branch eventually fielded over two hundred Army and Air Force bomb squads for overseas service. These courageous officers and men were forerunners of today’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialists, responsible for supporting the US military during combat operations and for preserving the lives of noncombatants at all other times.

Using documents and photographs – many from personal collections – as well as oral interviews, this work presents a cross-section of US Army and Air Force operations spanning three major theaters: Mediterranean, European, and the Pacific. Special emphasis is given to the European Theater, where Col. Kane served as Gen. Eisenhower’s chief ETO bomb disposal officer. Nine from Aberdeen also contains charts detailing campaign participations, ordnance statistics, and other significant data. Command Sergeant Major James H. Clifford (Retired), military consultant for the award-winning film, The Hurt Locker, provides an afterword on the continuity of modern EOD.