14th Infantry Regiment (United States)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| 14th Light Infantry Regiment | |
|---|---|
 14th Infantry Regiment coat of arms |
|
| Active | Formed 1861- |
| Country | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Type | Light Infantry |
| Nickname | Golden Dragons |
| Motto | Right of the Line: Refers to place of Honor in Pass in Review |
| Engagements | Civil War: *Peninsula, *Manassas, *Antietam, *Fredericksburg, *Chancellorsville, *Gettysburg, *Wilderness, *Spotsylvania, *Cold Harbor, *Petersburg Indian Wars Spanish American War, Boxer Rebellion, Philippine-American War, Pancho Villa Expedition {Mexican Border Troubles 1916} World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Battle of Mogadishu, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Colonel Paul Octave Hebert {CSA}-served in 1847-1849 2nd formation} Lt Col. John F. Reynolds {USA} Charles Pomeroy Stone |
| Insignia | |
| Distinctive Unit Insignia |  |
The 14th Infantry Regiment is a United States Army light infantry regiment, known as the Golden Dragons. It has been active in every major conflict since the Civil War, except World War I, including the American Civil War, Boxer Rebellion, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. It has also conducted peacekeeping and humanitarian missions in the Sanai Peninsula, Guantánamo Bay Cuba, Bosnia and Kosovo. Two battalions of the 14th Infantry Regiment are currently active. The 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry is assigned to 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks Hawaii. 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry is assigned to 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York.
Contents |
[edit] Civil War
In May 1861, President Lincoln called for the creation of nine additional Regular Army infantry regiments in preparation the looming civil war. These regiments were designated the 11th through the 19th Infantry and organized as "three-battalion" regiments, each battalion containing eight companies of infantry, in contrast to the original ten regular regiments of infantry, which were organized on the traditional ten-company line.
The 14th Infantry Regiment was organized on 3 May 1861 at Fort Trumbull, Connecticut, in two battalions with the third added in April 1862. Part of the Army of the Potomac, the regiment saw its first combat action in the Peninsula Campaign 17 May 1862. The Regiment was assigned to 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 5th Corps, Army of the Potomac and fought at Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness and Petersburg.
In recognition of the regiment's heroic performance of duty during twelve of the bloodiest campaigns of the Civil War, General George Meade, awarded the 14th Infantry Regiment the place of honor at the "Right of the Line" in the Grand Review of the Army of the Potomac in Richmond, Virginia at the end of the war. This is where the regiment takes its motto "The Right of the Line".
Following the Civil War, the Army was reorganized by Congress in July 1866, and the 14th was divided into three regiments, each battalion receiving two additional companies and being organized along traditional lines. The 1st Battalion retained the designation of the 14th Infantry, while the 2nd Battalion became the 23rd Infantry and the 3rd Battalion the 32nd Infantry.
[edit] Indian Wars
[edit] Spanish American War
[edit] China Relief Expedition
During the early years of the 20th century, The 14th Infantry Regiment was deployed to China to help put down the Boxer Rebellion. At the Tung Pien Gate in Peking, the Regiment was taking heavy fire and was unable to effectively engage the enemy. To counteract, volunteers were called for to scale the wall and lay down suppressive fire from the better vantage point while the rest of the regiment followed. Corporal Calvin P. Titus, a band member and chaplains assistant from E Company, volunteered, and with rope slung over his shoulder scaled the wall and laid down the suppressive fire that allowed more and more soldiers behind him to follow.
For his actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor as well as receiving an appointment to West Point. For their conduct of the operation, the 14th Infantry Regiment was rewarded by the Chinese government a large amount of silver bullion which was later fashioned into an ornamented punchbowl with matching cups and other dinnerware that is still kept in 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment headquarters.
[edit] WWII
In June 1943 the Golden Dragons were ordered to Camp Carson Colorado where the Regiment was assigned to the 71st Light Division on 10 July 1943. The 14th along with the rest of the 71st Division underwent unit combat training at Camp Carson then at Camp Roberts, California and at Fort Benning Georgia. At Fort Benning the 71st was reorganized and redesignated as the 71st Infantry Division.
On 25 January the Golden Dragons sailed from New York, with the rest of the 71st Division arriving in Le Harve, France on 7 February 1945. The 14th then moved some 350 miles (560 km) across France. At Ratzwiller the 71st Division relieved the 100th Division. On 21 March 1945 the 14th took part in the 71st Division's breaching the Siegfried Line and the capture of Piermasens. On 30 March the 71st crossed the Rhine and went into reserve near Frankfurt.
The 14th Infantry then participated along with its sister regiment the 5th Infantry in the elimination of bypassed German forces north of Hanau, Germany on 2 April 45. On 13 April 45 the Golden Dragons cut the main Berlin to Munich autobahn. On 14-16 April 45 the 14th participated in its heaviest combat as the 71st Division seized the town of Bayreuth, Germany. Bypassing German strongpoints the 71st Division sped south with the 14th Infantry crossing the Danube and participating in the seizure of the city of Regansburg on 27 April 45. From there the 14th made an assault crossing of the Isar River under fire and entered Austria on 2 May 45. The 71st Division linked up with advancing Soviet Army units east of Linz, Austria on 8 May 45 and hostilities ceased on 9 May 45.
[edit] Korean War
In responding to the North Korean invasion of South Korea in June 1950 the U.S. Army found itself desperately short of units to halt the Communist advance. Continental U.S. (CONUS) units were stripped of personnel and equipment and sent to Korea on a priority basis. On 21 July 1950 the 3rd Battalion, 14th Infantry was reassigned to the Far East Command and then to the 1st Cavalry Division where it was redesignated as the 3rd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment. Unlike other units that had been cobbled together at the last minute, the 3rd Battalion, 14th Infantry was at full strength and due to its rigorous training in mountain warfare was in excellent shape to fight in the Korean mountains.
On 23 July 1951, the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry was transferred to Fort Benning where it was assigned to and redesignated as a battalion in one of the 3rd Infantry Division's regiments. The 3rd Division was initially sent to Japan then to Korea. The remaining personnel and equipment of the 14th Infantry at Camp Carson were reassigned to other CONUS units. On 1 August 1951 the 14th Infantry less personnel and equipment was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division then fighting in Korea. To man and equip the 14th Infantry the assets of the 34th Infantry Regiment of the 24th Division, then conducting infantry training in Japan, were used. The 14th Infantry moved to Korea where it replaced the 24th Infantry Regiment, which was being inactivated as part of the integration of the Army.
The next two years found the Regiment in almost constant combat along the 38th Parallel defending places like "The Punchbowl" and "Porkchop Hill". The 14th Infantry's service in Korea earned the Regiment five campaign streamers and a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for gallantry at Munsan-Ni.
[edit] Vietnam
1st Battalion, 14th Infantry: In the fall of 1965 the 25th Division received its expected orders to Vietnam. The initial brigade to go was the 3rd Brigade composed of the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry, the 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry, the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry and the 2nd Battalion, 9th Artillery. The urgency of getting the 3rd Brigade to the Central Highlands of Vietnam led to the Army and Air Force undertaking Operation Blue Light, a massive airlift of the entire 3rd Brigade from Hawaii to Pleiku. The airlift began on 28 December 1965 and was successfully concluded on 17 January 1966.
Commanded by LTC Gilbert Procter, Jr., the 1/14th spent most of 1966 operating along the Cambodian border as part of the 3rd Brigade's mission of preventing the North Vietnamese from cutting South Vietnam in half. In November 1966, elements of the 1st Battalion engaged two battalions of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. Among the numerous Golden Dragons performing heroically during these engagements, two members of the 1st Battalion - 1st Lt. Joseph Grant and Sgt. Ted Belcher were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Addenda: 1st Battalion Operations Vietnam, 1966-1967.
The 1st Battalion was reassigned to the 4th Infantry Division on 1 August 1967 as part of the exchange of 3rd Brigades between the 25th and 4th Infantry Divisions. The 1st Battalion participated in a total of 12 Vietnam campaigns, receiving the Navy Presidential Unit Citation for gallantry in action at Chu Lai. Company A received the Valorous Unit Award for action in Quang Ngai Province. In addition the 1st Battalion received four awards of the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm and one award of the Vietnam Civil Action Medal, First Class.
On 8 December 1970 the 1st Battalion was reduced to zero strength at An Khe, Vietnam with the exception of a battalion color guard which returned the battalion colors to Schofield Barracks. On 15 December 1970 the 1st Battalion was reassigned to the 25th Division and the 3rd Battalion, 14th Infantry was inactivated with its personnel and equipment reassigned to the 1st Battalion.
2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry: The 1st Brigade of the 25th Division to which the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry was assigned was scheduled to be the last of the three maneuver brigades to deploy to Vietnam. The Brigade was shy two of its three infantry battalions. When the 25th was reorganized from battle groups to battalions in 1963 two of the nine authorized infantry battalions were not activated as a cost saving measure. Initially the plan was to activate and train two new battalions for the 1st Brigade but the timetable was too short. Adding to the problem was the need to heavily levy the 2nd Battalion for fillers for infantry battalions of the 3rd Brigade, which left in December 1965 and of the 2nd Brigade, which departed Schofield in January 1966. To round out the 1st Brigade two battalions assigned to Alaska -- the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry and the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry -- were reassigned to the 1st Brigade on 14 January 1966.
By February 1966 the 2nd Battalion began receiving large numbers of replacements, most directly out of Advanced Individual Training. This resulted in an accelerated unit training program to ready the battalion for deployment. To enhance developing unit cohesiveness and to create espirit-de-corps the 2nd Battalion took the informal nickname of Battle Dragons. A "Battle Dragon Chant" was also written and used in battalion formations.
In early April the 1st Brigade was alerted for movement to Vietnam. On 16 April 1966 the USNS Nelson M. Walker sailed from Pearl Harbor with the entire 1st Brigade aboard. The ship arrived at Vung Tau near Saigon on 28 April. The 2nd Battalion left the ship on 30 April and was moved by truck and aircraft to Cu Chi.
In their first two years in Vietnam the Battle Dragons of the 2nd Battalion made it clear to the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese that they were prepared to meet and defeat any attack on their unit. And they would take the offensive to seek out and destroy the enemy wherever he could be found.
In 1967 the 2nd Battalion conducted a variety of missions that took the Battalion from the Mekong Delta at the beginning of the year to War Zone C at the close. The Battle Dragons shifted their base camp from Cu Chi to Tay Ninh in conjunction with stepped-up operations in War Zone C.
The operations of 1967 ranged in scope from security missions near Bien Hoa during Operation Uniontown and at Dau Tieng during Junction City to civil action east of Cu Chi on Barking Sands, and finally, during Operation Yellowstone, a large-scale offensive operations in War Zone C at Katum.
In its over four years of combat in Vietnam, the 2nd Battalion received participation credit for 12 of the campaigns of the Vietnam War. The battalion received two awards of the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm and one award of the Vietnam Civic Action Medal First Class. On 8 December 1970 the 2nd Battalion left Vietnam and returned to Schofield Barracks. The battalion was inactivated on 5 June 1972. Addenda: 2nd Battalion Operations Vietnam, 1966-1968.
3rd Battalion, 14th Infantry: To provide for a Pacific area strategic reserve for contingencies other than the on going Vietnam War, the Army activated the 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks on 6 December 1969. The 3rd Battalion, 14th Infantry was activated as one of the 4th Brigade's three infantry battalions.
The 3rd Battalion (descending from Company C) was initially activated under CARS as the 3rd Battle Group, 14th Infantry on 1 June 1959 and assigned to the 102nd Infantry Division, U.S. Army Reserve at Kansas City, Missouri. The 3rd Battle Group was reorganized and redesignated as the 3rd Battalion, 14th Infantry on 1 April 1963. On 31 December 1965 the 3rd Battalion was inactivated. It was allotted back to the Regular Army on 6 December1969 and activated at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii as a component of the 4th Brigade, 25th Division.
As the 25th Division returned to Schofield Barracks from Vietnam to resume its traditional mission of being the strategic reserve for the Pacific area the 4th Brigade along with the 3rd Battalion 14th Infantry was inactivated on 15 December 1970. The personnel and equipment of the 3rd Battalion was used to re-man and re-equip the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry.
Company E served in Vietnam from 30 June 1971 to 20 November 1972 as a separate rifle security company assigned to the U.S. Army Support Command with the mission of guarding the Long Binh support facility. Company E received campaign participation credit for the last four campaigns of the Vietnam War. In 1986 it was assigned to the 25th Division as Headquarters Company, 5th Battalion. (See below.)
[edit] Post Vietnam
As part of the overall post-Vietnam draw-down of the Army only the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division remained active. The 1st Battalion 14th Infantry was assigned to the 1st Brigade and the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry was inactivated but remained assigned to the Tropic Lightning.
[edit] Post 9/11 Era
In January 2004, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, as part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division(Light), deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where they served with distinction in the cities of Kirkuk, Tuz, An Najaf, Samarra, and Mosul. Upon redeployment to Schofield Barracks in February of 2005, the battalion was awarded with the Valorus Unit Award and the Meritorious Unit Commendation for its service in Iraq. Currently the 1st Battalion is deployed in support of OIF 07-09 in Tarmiyah, Iraq.
[edit] Lineage & Honors
[edit] 14th Infantry Regiment
- Reorganized and redesignated 21 September 1866 as the 14th Infantry
- Consolidated 26 July 1869 with the 45th Infantry, Veteran Reserve Corps (constituted 21 September 1866), and consolidated unit designated as the 14th Infantry
- Relieved 14 February 1919 from assignment to the 19th Division
- Inactivated 1 September 1946 in Germany
- Relieved 1 February 1957 from assignment to the 25th Infantry Division and reorganized as a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System
- Withdrawn 1 March 1986 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System
Campaign Participation Credit
Civil War
- Peninsula
- Manassas
- Antietam
- Fredericksburg
- Chancellorsville
- Gettysburg
- Wilderness
- Spotsylvania
- Cold Harbor
- Petersburg
- Virginia 1862
- Virginia 1863
Indian Wars
- Little Big Horn
- Bannocks
- Arizona 1866
- Wyoming 1874
Spanish-American War
- Manila
China Relief Expedition
- Yang-tsun
- Peking
Philippine Insurrection
- Manila
- Laguna de Bay
- Zapote River
- Cavite
- Luzon 1899
World War II
- Rhineland
- Central Europe
Korean War
- UN Summer-Fall Offensive
- Second Korean Winter
- Korea, Summer-Fall 1952
- Third Korean Winter
- Korea, Summer 1953
Vietnam
- Counteroffensive
- Counteroffensive, Phase II
- Counteroffensive, Phase III
- Tet Counteroffensive
- Counteroffensive, Phase IV
- Counteroffensive, Phase V
- Counteroffensive, Phase VI
- Tet 69/Counteroffensive
- Summer-Fall 1969
- Winter-Spring 1970
- Sanctuary Counteroffensive
- Counteroffensive, Phase VII
- Consolidation I
- Consolidation II
- Cease-Fire
Decorations
- Presidential Unit Citation (Navy), Streamer embroidered CHU LAI
- Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered MOGADISHU
- Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, Streamer embroidered MUNSAN-NI
[edit] 1st Battalion
Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as Company A, 2d Battalion, 14th Infantry
Organized 8 July 1861 at Fort Trumbull, Connecticut
Reorganized and redesignated 30 April 1862 as Company A, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry
Reorganized and redesignated 21 September 1866 as Company A, 14th Infantry
Consolidated 26 July 1869 with Company G, 45th Infantry, Veteran Reserve Corps (constituted 21 September 1866), and consolidated unit designated as Company A, 14th Infantry (14th Infantry assigned 27 July 1918 to the 19th Division; relieved 14 February 1919 from assignment to the 19th Division; assigned 10 July 1943 to the 71st Light Division [later redesignated as the 71st Infantry Division]; relieved 1 May 1946 from assignment to the 71st Infantry Division)
Inactivated 1 September 1946 in Germany
Activated 1 October 1948 at Camp Carson, Colorado (14th Infantry assigned 1 August 1951 to the 25th Infantry Division) Reorganized and redesignated 1 February 1957 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battle Group, 14th Infantry, and remained assigned to the 25th Infantry Division (organic elements concurrently constituted and activated)
Reorganized and redesignated 26 August 1963 as the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry
Relieved 1 August 1967 from assignment to the 25th Infantry Division and assigned to the 4th Infantry Division
Relieved 15 December 1970 from assignment to the 4th Infantry Division and assigned to the 25th Infantry Division
Campaign Participation Credit
Civil War
- Peninsula
- Manassas
- Antietam
- Fredericksburg
- Chancellorsville
- Gettysburg
- Wilderness
- Spotsylvania
- Cold Harbor
- Petersburg
- Virginia 1862
- Virginia 1863
Indian Wars Little Big Horn Bannocks Arizona 1866 Wyoming 1874
Spanish-American War
- Manila
China Relief Expedition Yang-tsun Peking
Philippine Insurrection
- Manila
- Laguna de Bay
- Zapote River
Cavite
- Luzon 1899
World War II
- Rhineland
- Central Europe
Korean War
- UN Summer-Fall Offensive
- Second Korean Winter
- Korea, Summer-Fall 1952
- Third Korean Winter
- Korea, Summer 1953
Vietnam
- Counteroffensive
- Counteroffensive, Phase II
- Counteroffensive, Phase III
- Tet Counteroffensive
- Counteroffensive, Phase IV
- Counteroffensive, Phase V
- Counteroffensive, Phase VI
- Tet 69/Counteroffensive
- Summer-Fall 1969
- Winter-Spring 1970
- Sanctuary Counteroffensive
- Counteroffensive, Phase VII
Decorations
- Presidential Unit Citation (Navy), Streamer embroidered CHU LAI
- Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, Streamer embroidered MUNSAN-NI
- Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1966-1967
- Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1967-1969
- Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1969-1970
- Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, First Class, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1967-1969
Company A additionally entitled to: Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered QUANG NGAI PROVINCE
[edit] 2nd Battalion
Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as Company B, 2d Battalion, 14th Infantry
Organized 8 July 1861 at Fort Trumbull, Connecticut
Reorganized and redesignated 30 April 1862 as Company B, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry
Reorganized and redesignated 21 September 1866 as Company B, 14th Infantry
Consolidated 26 July 1869 with Company A, 45th Infantry, Veteran Reserve Corps (constituted 21 September 1866), and consolidated unit designated as Company B, 14th Infantry (14th Infantry assigned 27 July 1918 to the 19th Division; relieved 14 February 1919 from assignment to the 19th Division; assigned 10 July 1943 to the 71st Light Division [later redesignated as the 71st Infantry Division]; relieved 1 May 1946 from assignment to the 71st Infantry Division)
Inactivated 1 September 1946 in Germany
Activated 1 October 1948 at Camp Carson, Colorado (14th Infantry assigned 1 August 1951 to the 25th Infantry Division)
Inactivated 1 February 1957 at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and relieved from assignment to the 25th Infantry Division
Redesignated 17 May 1957 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2d Battle Group, 14th Infantry (organic elements concurrently constituted)
Battle Group activated 25 May 1957 at Fort Benning, Georgia
Assigned 1 July 1958 to the 1st Infantry Brigade
Inactivated 16 May 1960 at Fort Benning, Georgia
Relieved 25 June 1960 from assignment to the 1st Infantry Brigade
- Redesignated 21 June 1963 as the 2d Battalion, 14th Infantry, and assigned to the 25th Infantry Division
Activated 26 August 1963 at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
Inactivated 5 June 1972 at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
Relieved 17 January 1986 from assignment to the 25th Infantry Division, assigned to the 10th Mountain Division, and activated at Fort Benning, Georgia
Campaign Participation Credit
Civil War
- Peninsula
- Manassas
- Antietam
- Fredericksburg
- Chancellorsville
- Gettysburg
- Wilderness
- Spotsylvania
- Cold Harbor
- Petersburg
- Virginia 1862
- Virginia 1863
Indian Wars
- Little Big Horn
Bannocks
- Arizona 1866 Wyoming 1874
Spanish-American War Manila
China Relief Expedition Yang-tsun Peking
Philippine Insurrection Manila
- Laguna de Bay
- Zapote River
Cavite
- Luzon 1899
World War II
- Rhineland
- Central Europe
Korean War
- UN Summer-Fall Offensive
- Second Korean Winter
- Korea, Summer-Fall 1952
- Third Korean Winter
- Korea, Summer 1953
Vietnam
- Counteroffensive
- Counteroffensive, Phase II
- Counteroffensive, Phase III
- Tet Counteroffensive
- Counteroffensive, Phase IV
- Counteroffensive, Phase V
- Counteroffensive, Phase VI
- Tet 69/Counteroffensive
- Summer-Fall 1969
- Winter-Spring 1970
- Sanctuary Counteroffensive
- Counteroffensive, Phase VII
Decorations
- Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered MOGADISHU
- Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, Streamer embroidered MUNSAN-NI
- Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1966-1968
- Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1968-1970
- Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, First Class, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1966-1970
