Leland T. Otis served in the 502nd Engineer Company, US Army, in Darmstadt and Karlsruhe, Germany, from 1953 to 1959. The 502nd Engineer Company Assault Float Bridge was first constituted on March 19, 1942, and activated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in April 1942 as a Light Pontoon Bridge Company. During World War II, the 502nd participated in the Normandy (with arrowhead), Northern France, Rheinland, and Central Europe campaigns. The unit played a critical role in several assault river crossings, which were key to the Allied advance across France and into Germany. After the war, the company briefly became an Engineer Utilities Company before being reactivated as the 502nd Engineer Float Bridge Company in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 1955.