17th Infantry Regiment (United States)

17th Infantry Regiment

Coat of arms
Active 1861–present
Country  United States
Branch  United States Army
Type Infantry
Garrison/HQ Joint Base Lewis–McChord,
Fort Bliss
Nickname(s) "The Buffalos"
Motto Truth and Courage
Engagements American Civil War
Spanish–American War
World War II
Korean War
Vietnam War
Panama
Iraq
Afghanistan
Commanders
Notable
commanders
William Wilson Quinn
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia
U.S. Infantry Regiments
Previous Next
16th Infantry Regiment 18th Infantry Regiment

The 17th Infantry Regiment is a United States Army infantry regiment. An earlier regiment designated the 17th Infantry Regiment was organized on 11 January 1812, but it was consolidated with four other regiments as the 3rd Infantry in the post-war reorganization of the army following the War of 1812, due to the shattering losses it sustained at the River Raisin. The current 17th Infantry was constituted as the 17th Regiment of Infantry on 3 May 1861.

Civil War

The 17th Infantry Regiment served in the Army of the Potomac, in Sykes' Division of the 5th Army Corps. Its badge was a white cross patee.

During the Fredericksburg, the 17th Infantry suffered heavy losses in the assault on Robert E. Lee's Confederates entrenched behind a stone wall. "For one entire day, (December 14) the men of the 17th lay flat on their faces eighty yards in front of the famous stone wall, behind which the enemy was posted in large numbers and any movement on their part was sure to draw the fire of rebel sharpshooters."

A five-bastioned fort, shown on a blue shield above and to the right of a stone wall, was the badge of the 5th Army Corps in Cuba during the Spanish American War in 1898.[1]

Coat of arms

A buffalo, displayed on the a shield below the stone wall, represents the regiment's history in the Korean war. The "Buffalo" nickname was adopted at the suggestion of one of the 17th Regiment's commands in the Korean, Col. William W. "Buffalo Bill" Quinn.[2][1]

The shield is blue, as it is the color of the infantry.

The crest is a sea lion taken from the Spanish Arms of Manila to represent the fighting for that city in 1898.

The two arrows represent the Indian campaigns the 17th Regiment participated in.

Medal of Honor recipients

Spanish–American War
World War II
Korean War

Lineage

Campaign participation credit[1]

Unit awards

Ribbon Award Streamer embroidered
Presidential Unit Citation (Army) LEYTE[3]
Valorous Unit Award NINEVEH PROVINCE AND BAGHDAD[3]
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) AFGHANISTAN 2012-2013[3]
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation 17 OCTOBER 1944 TO 4 JULY 1945[3]
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation INCHON[3]
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation KOREA 1950-1953[3]
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation KOREA 1952-1953[3]
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation KOREA 1945-1948; 1953-1957[3]

A Company, 1-17 IN, received the Presidential Unit Citation (Navy) for actions in support of Operation Helmand Spider in Marjah during OEF 09-11.

See also

External links

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 17th Infantry Regiment (United States).
  1. 1 2 3 "17th Infantry Regimental History - HONORS AND LINEAGE". 17th Infantry Regiment Association. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
  2. Blair, Clay (1997). The Forgotten War:. Times Books. p. 616. ISBN 0812916700.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "17th Infantry Regiment". U.S. Army Center of Military History. 2014-06-13. Retrieved 2012-07-13.

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, February 13, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.