4th Battalion 42d Field Artillery

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4th Battalion 42d Field Artillery
42d Field Artillery Regiment coat of arms
Active	1918-1919 1933-1946 1959-1970 ?-present
Country	United States
Branch	U.S. Army
Part of	1st Brigade 4th Infantry Division
Garrison/HQ	Fort Hood
Nickname	Straight Arrows
Motto	Festina Lente ("hurry slowly")
Battles/wars	Vietnam War Iraq War
Decorations	Presidential Unit Citation Superior Unit Award Valorous Unit Award

42d Field Artillery Regiment DUI

The 4th Battalion 42d Field Artillery (4/42 FA) —nicknamed the Straight Arrows— is a field artillery battalion in the United States Army. Their motto is Festina Lente ("hurry slowly").

1 Unit assignment
2 Lineage
3 Decorations
4 Killed in action
- 4.1 Vietnam War
- 4.2 Iraq War 1st Tour 2003 to 2004
5 Second Tour 2005 to 2006
- 5.1 External links

[edit] Unit assignment

Based at Fort Hood, Texas the 4/42 FA is under the command of U.S. 1st Brigade 4th Infantry Division. Each of the three gun batteries (A, B, C) support a different battalion in the brigade. Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB) provides the necessary support components for the running of the battalion and is also the home to the Fire Support Specialists or "Fisters." The battalion was the first in the Army to transition to the new Conservative Heavy Division (CHD) design.

The battalion deployed to Iraq in late April 2003. Combat operations were conducted initially in the area of Taji Airfield, just outside of Baghdad. The battalion moved north to the Tikrit area, leaving Battery B at Taji in support of Task Force Gunner until approximately October 2004. The battalion (less B Btry until fall) was stationed at FOB Arrow near the village of Ad Dwar, slightly to the southeast of Tikrit along the Tigris River. During their time at FOB Arrow, the battalion functioned in their traditional role of providing fire support to the 1st Brigade and other units in the area, and also conducted infantry operations in their sector. Some of these operations included combat patrols, raids, and general patrolling and stability operations in and around Ad Dwar. The battalion also participated in Operation Red Dawn in December of 2003, and had unit members on the objective during the capture of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. 4/42 continued to conduct combat operations until their redeployment in March of 2004. During this first deployment to Iraq, the battalion was responsible for capturing several former regime members that were wanted by the coalition, capturing scores of weapons and explosives, and engaging in direct combat with insurgents and terrorists in their area. The battalion also helped to rebuild schools and provide security to the local poplulation and insured safe and secure access to public services such as power and water, and also provided security for food distribution and fuel/petroleum sales. The battalion was deployed again in December of 2005 And stationed at Camp Taji, 14 kilometers north of Baghdad. They returned December 2006, and are slated to redeploy in October 2007.

[edit] Lineage

Constituted 5 July 1918 in the National Army as Battery D, 42d Field Artillery, an element of the 14th Division
Organized 10 August 1918 at Camp Custer, Michigan
Demobilized 7 February 1919 at Camp Custer, Michigan
Reconstituted 1 October 1933 in the Regular Army as Battery D, 42d Field Artillery.
Absorbed 1 October 1940 by Battery A, 42d Field Artillery Battalion. (Battery A, 42d Field Artillery, redesignated 1 October 1940 as Battery A, 42d Field Artillery Battalion, and activated at Fort Benning, Georgia, as an element of the 4th Division — later redesignated as the 4th Infantry Division
Inactivated 16 February 1946 at Fort Ord, California
Consolidated 28 June 1950 with Battery A, 42d Coast Artillery [organized in 1907], and consolidated unit designated as Battery A, 42d Field Artillery Battalion
Former Battery D, 42d Field Artillery, reconstituted 1 April 1957 in the Regular Army and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 4th Howitzer Battalion, 42d Artillery, activated 6 May 1959 at Fort Lewis, Washington
Redesignated 1 October 1963 as the 4th Battalion, 42d Artillery
Inactivated 15 December 1970 at Fort Carson, Colorado
Redesignated 1 September 1971 as the 4th Battalion, 42d Field Artillery

[edit] Decorations

Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered LUXEMBOURG (42d Field Artillery Battalion cited; WD GO 30, 1946)
Belgian Fourragère 1940 (42d Field Artillery Battalion cited; DA GO 43, 1950)
Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in BELGIUM (42d Field Artillery Battalion cited; DA GO 43, 1950)
Army Superior Unit Award for successful participation in the Army's Advanced Warfighting Experiment; March 1997
Valorous Unit Award, for service in Iraq during Operation Red Dawn (Capture of Saddam Hussein)

[edit] Killed in action

[edit] Vietnam War

November 11, 1966 - Charles Edward Brown Jr. (Battery C)
December 11, 1966 - Dennis William Anderson (Battery B)
December 14, 1966 - Kim Sovereen Bird (Battery C)
May 29, 1967 - George Joseph Carr (Battery B)
July 12, 1967 - Fred Garland Bragg Jr. (Battery B)
July 12, 1967 - Le Roy Harland Charboneau (Battery B)
July 12, 1967 - James Michael Haider (Battery B)
November 9, 1967 - Robert E Scharon III (Battery B)
November 20, 1967 - Thelbert G Page (HHB)
November 26, 1967 - Jonathan Blue Jr. (HHB)
November 30, 1967 - Jack Rogers (Battery A)
February 2, 1968 - John Paul Culp (Battery B)
May 27, 1968 - Larry Anthony Carvetta (Battery B)
May 27, 1968 - Tom Galvez (Battery B)
May 27, 1968 - Frank William Garapolo (Battery B)
May 27, 1968 - John Richard Lindel (Battery B)
May 27, 1968 - James Daniel McKelvey (Battery B)
June 1, 1968 - Gary Koyle Darrah (Battery B)
June 1, 1968 - Robert Lee Graham (Battery B)
June 1, 1968 - Joseph Cephus King Jr. (Battery B)
August 28, 1968 - Marcelino Nieves-Colon Jr. (Battery C)
September 7, 1968 - Michael John Abruzzesa (Battery A)
September 7, 1968 - John Wayne Johnson (Battery A)
September 7, 1968 - George Dennis Taylor (Battery A)
November 11, 1968 - John Daniel Shermos (HHB)
March 3, 1969 - Jerry Glenn Ervin (Battery B)
February 21, 1970 - Jeffrey Thomas Beardsley (Battery C)
May 13, 1970 - Richard Alan Patterson (Battery C)
September 11, 1970 - James Leonard Knobles (HHB)

[edit] Iraq War 1st Tour 2003 to 2004

August 13, 2003 - Sgt. Steven W. White (HHB) - Killed when his armored personnel carrier hit an anti-tank mine.
September 18, 2003 - Spc. Richard Arriaga (HHB) - Killed when ambushed by small arms fire and a rocket propelled grenade near Tikrit Iraq.
September 18, 2003 - Sgt. Anthony O. Thompson (HHB) - Killed when ambushed by small arms fire and a rocket propelled grenade near Tikrit Iraq.
September 18, 2003 - Spc. James C. Wright (HHB) - Killed when ambushed by small arms fire and a rocket propelled grenade near Tikrit Iraq.

[edit] Second Tour 2005 to 2006

June 27, 2006- SFC Terry O.P. Wallace (HHB) - Killed when an IED hit his Humvee outside of Camp Taji
September 14, 2006 - CPL Russell M. Makowski (B) - Killed By an IED while on dismounted patrol outside the Taji Market.