321st Field Artillery Regiment
| 321st Field Artillery Regiment | |
|---|---|
|
Coat of arms | |
| Active | 1917 |
| Country |
 United States |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Field artillery |
| Motto | "Noli Me Tangere" (Don’t Tread On Me) |
| Commanders | |
| Honorary Colonel of the Regiment | COL William Malouche |
| Insignia | |
| Distinctive unit insignia |
 |
The 321st Field Artillery Regiment (FAR) is a field artillery regiment of the United States Army. A parent regiment under the U.S. Army Regimental System, the 321st FAR currently has one active battalion, the 3rd Battalion, 321st FAR, assigned to the 18th Field Artillery Brigade at Fort Bragg, NC. The battalion is equipped with M142 HIMARS.
Lineage & Honors
Lineage
- Constituted 5 August 1917 in the National Army as the 321st Field Artillery, and assigned to the 82d Division
- Organized 2 September 1917 at Camp Gordon, Georgia
- Demobilized 26 May 1919 at Camp Dix, New Jersey
- Reconstituted 5 June 1930 in the Organized Reserves; concurrently, consolidated with 321st Field Artillery (active) (constituted in July 1923 in the Organized Reserves as the 452d Field Artillery and organized in Georgia; redesignated 5 October 1929 as the 321st Field Artillery, an element of the 82d Division), and consolidated unit designated as the 321st Field Artillery, an element of the 82d Division (later designated as the 82d Airborne Division)
- Reorganized and redesignated 30 January 1942 as the 321st Field Artillery Battalion
- Ordered into active military service 25 March 1942 and reorganized at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana
- Reorganized and redesignated 15 August 1942 as the 321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion; concurrently relieved from assignment to the 82d Airborne Division and assigned to the 101st Airborne Division
- Inactivated 30 November 1945 in Germany
- (Organized Reserves redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps)
- Redesignated 18 June 1948 as the 518th Airborne Field Artillery Battalion, an element of the 101st Airborne Division
- Withdrawn 25 June 1948 from the Organized Reserve Corps and allotted to the Regular Army
- Activated 6 July 1948 at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky
- Inactivated 1 April 1949 at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky
- Activated 25 August 1950 at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky
- Inactivated 1 December 1953 at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky
- Activated 15 May 1954 at Fort Jackson, South Carolina
- Redesignated 1 July 1956 as the 321st Airborne Field Artillery Battalion
- Relieved 25 April1957 from assignment to the 101st Airborne Division
- Reorganized and redesignated 31 July 1959 as the 321st Artillery, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System
- Redesignated 1 September 1971 as the 321st Field Artillery
- Withdrawn 28 February 1987 from the Combat Arms Regimental System, reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System, and transferred to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command
- Withdrawn 15 January 1996 from the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command
- Redesignated 1 October 2005 as the 321st Field Artillery Regiment
Campaign Participation Credit
World War I: St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne, Lorraine 1918
World War II: Normandy (with arrowhead); Rhineland (with arrowhead); Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe
Vietnam: 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
Armed Forces Expeditions: Dominican Republic
War on Terrorism: Iraq; Iraqi Governance
(Additional campaigns to be determined)
Decorations
- Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered BASTOGNE
- French Croix de Guerre with Palm, World War II, Streamer embroidered NORMANDY
- Netherlands Orange Lanyard
- Belgian Fourragere 1940
- Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in France and Belgium
- Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 with Palm, Streamer embroidered BASTOGNE; cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at Bastogne
- Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1968
- Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1968-1969
- Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1971
Heraldry
Distinctive unit insignia
- Description
A Gold color metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches (2.86 cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Gules, two lion’s paws issuing out of the dexter and sinister base points chevron-ways Or. Attached below and to the sides of the shield a Gold scroll inscribed “NOLI ME TANGERE” in Red letters.
- Symbolism
The shield is scarlet for Artillery. The lion’s paws are significant of Field Artillery, which may be likened to a mountain lion whose paw has great strength and power in felling and crushing a victim.
- Background
The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 452d Field Artillery Regiment on 1 February 1927. It was redesignated for the 321st Field Artillery Regiment on 21 November 1930. It was redesignated for the 321st Field Artillery Battalion on 15 April 1942. It was redesignated for the 321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion on 14 October 1942. It was redesignated for the 518th Airborne Field Artillery Battalion on 26 September 1951. The insignia was redesignated for the 321st Airborne Field Artillery Battalion on 31 July 1956. On 25 February 1958, it was redesignated for the 321st Artillery Regiment. The insignia was redesignated for the 321st Field Artillery Regiment effective 1 September 1971.
Coat of arms
Blazon
- Shield
Gules, two lion’s paws issuing out of the dexter and sinister base points chevron-ways Or.
- Crest
On a wreath Or and Gules, a cannon barrel palewise Sable winged Argent behind a lion sejant affronté with two heads addorsed of the first armed and langued Azure grasping in each forepaw a round of the third and surmounted by an escutcheon per pale Gules and of the fifth an annulet Argent, on a chief of the like three fleurs-de-lis Azure. Motto NOLI ME TANGERE (Don’t Tread On Me).
Symbolism
- Shield
The shield is scarlet for Artillery. The lion’s paws are significant of Field Artillery, which may be likened to a mountain lion whose paw has great strength and power in felling and crushing a victim.
- Crest
The lion with one head facing forward and the other backward, brandishing a round in both directions, refers to the organization’s claim to have been the unit of the 101st Airborne Division to fire the first and the last rounds on German soil. The winged cannon stands for the former designation of the organization as a Glider Field Artillery Battalion and its assignment during World War II to the 101st Airborne Division. The red and blue escutcheon is from the arms of Bastogne; the annulet represents the enemy encirclement of that objective and refers to the unit’s distinguished action in its defense during World War II. The three fleurs-de-lis stand for the organization’s first war service, i.e., participation in three campaigns in France during World War I.
Background
The coat of arms was originally approved for the 452d Field Artillery Regiment on 1 February 1927. It was redesignated for the 321st Field Artillery Regiment on 14 November 1930. It was redesignated for the 321st Field Artillery Battalion on 14 April 1942. It was redesignated for the 321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion on 14 October 1942. It was redesignated for the 518th Airborne Field Artillery Battalion and amended to delete the Organized Reserves crest on 26 September 1951. The insignia was redesignated for the 321st Airborne Field Artillery Battalion on 31 July 1956. On 25 February 1958, it was redesignated for the 321st Artillery Regiment. It was amended to add a crest on 22 April 1966. The insignia was redesignated for the 321st Field Artillery Regiment effective 1 September 1971.
Current Status of Regimental Elements
- 1st Bn (Abn), 321st FA Regiment: Inactive since 14 March 2014[1]
- 2d Bn (Abn), 321st FA Regiment: Inactive since 14 May 2014 [2]
- 3d Bn, 321st FA Regiment: Active, assigned to 18th Field Artillery Brigade at Fort Bragg, NC; converting from M777 howitzers to M142 HIMARS[3]
- Battery D, 321st FA Regiment: Inactive since 1 July 1958[4]
- Battery E, 321st FA Regiment: Inactive since 1 July 1958[5]
See also
- Field Artillery Branch (United States)
- U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps
- Coats of arms of U.S. Artillery Regiments
References
- ↑ http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/fa/0321fa01bn.htm
- ↑ http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/fa/0321fa02bn.htm
- ↑ http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/fa/0321fa03bn.htm
- ↑ McKenney, Janice E. (2010). "319th Field Artillery". Field Artillery Part 2. Army Lineage Series. United States Army Center of Military History. pp. 1341-1342.
- ↑ McKenney, Janice E. (2010). "319th Field Artillery". Field Artillery Part 2. Army Lineage Series. United States Army Center of Military History. pp. 1343-1344.
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Army Institute of Heraldry document "321st Field Artillery Regiment".