The 37th Engineer Battalion, known as the "Eagle Battalion," was first activated on January 16, 1918, as the 1st Battalion, 37th Engineer Regiment, specializing in electrical and mechanical engineering. During World War I, it participated in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive as part of the American Expeditionary Force. After the war, the battalion was inactivated in March 1919. Reactivated in January 1941, the unit underwent several reorganizations, eventually becoming the 37th Engineer Combat Battalion (Amphibious). It was assigned to the 5th Engineer Special Brigade and took part in Operation Overlord, landing with the initial waves on Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion. For its performance, the battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm.
Post-World War II, the 37th Engineer Battalion experienced periods of activation and inactivation. In 1987, it was reactivated as an airborne unit at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and assigned to the 20th Engineer Brigade under the XVIII Airborne Corps. The battalion participated in various operations, including Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2013, the battalion was reactivated within the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, at Fort Bragg as part of the Army's BCT 2020 concept. However, in October 2024, the 37th Engineer Battalion was deactivated as part of ongoing force restructuring efforts. The unit holds the distinction of being the only battalion in U.S. Army history to have entered combat as both an officially designated amphibious and airborne unit.