Armor

Note: Five armor battalions have been assigned to the 25th Division during the period 1949 through 1972. For an explanation of how Armor units are currently organized see our Regimental System page.

Distinctive Unit Insignia	Unit Designation Motto	First Assigned to	Unit History
	79th Tank Battalion “Duces Semper” (“Leaders Always”)	20 March 1949	Constituted 13 January 1941 in the Regular Army as the 75th Tank Battalion (Medium). Redesignated as the 755th Tank Battalion (Medium) on 8 May 1941 and activated on 1 June 1941 at Camp Bowie, Texas. Assigned to the 1st Tank Group, the 755th Tank Battalion entered combat on 15 December 1943 during the Naples-Foggia Campaign in support of the 45th Infantry Division near Venafro Italy. On 9 January 1944 the 755th was reassigned to the Fifth Army and attached to the French Expeditionary Corps. The battalion supported French infantry units in the breaking of the German Winter Line near Cassino. For its support of French forces during the Rome-Arno Campaign the 755th received two awards of the French Croix de Guerre. The 755th went on to participate in the North Apennines and Po Valley campaigns. The 755th was inactivated near Florence, Italy on 8 September 1945. It was redesignated the 79th Heavy Tank Battalion and assigned to the 25th Infantry Division on 20 March 1949. Only Company A was activated at Otsu, Japan and because of the fragile Japanese road and bridge network it was equipped with the M24 light tank. Company A entered combat in Korea facing superior North Korean T34 tanks. Company A saw its first combat in support of the 27th Infantry’s repulse of a major North Korean attack near Hamchang on 25 July 1950. Company A received a Presidential Unit Citation for gallantry in this action at Sangnyong-Ni. Re-equipped with M4 medium tanks, Company A received a second Presidential Unit Citation at Kumyangjang-Ni while supporting the Turkish Brigade on 25-27 January 1951. In addition, Company A received a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for its actions at Masan-Chinju in August 1950. Company A, 79th Tank battalion participated in six Korean campaigns with the 25th Division. On 5 August 1951 the battalion’s WW II designation was restored when it was redesignated the 755th Tank Battalion. Two months later it was inactivated on 14 November 1951.
Distinctive Unit Insignia	Unit Designation Motto	First Assigned to	Unit History
	89th Tank Battalion “Thrust”	14 November 1951	Constituted on 15 July 1940 as the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment. Assigned to the 1st Armored Division and activated at Fort Knox, Kentucky on 31 July 1940. Inactivated 10 January 1942. Reassigned to the 6th Armored Division and reactivated on 15 February 1942 at Fort Knox. On 20 September 1943 the 69th Armored Regiment was broken up with the 3rd Battalion being redesignated as the 708th Tank Battalion. On 27 October 1943 it was reorganized and redesignated as the 708th Amphibian Tank Battalion and assigned to the 4th Armored Group, U.S. Army Forces Pacific. The battalion was reorganized in Hawaii as an amphibian tractor battalion. From 1-22 February 1944 the 708th supported operations of the 7th Infantry Division and the 27th Infantry Division in the seizure of the Marshal Islands. Reorganized as an amphibian tank battalion in June 1944, the 708th participated in the invasion of Saipan and Tinian islands in support of the 4th Marine Division. For its gallantry the battalion was awarded the Navy Presidential Unit Citation. From 26 March to 30 June 1945 the battalion supported the 77th Infantry Division and the 6th Marine Division in the invasion of Okinawa receiving a second Navy Presidential Unit Citation. The 708th was inactivated in the Philippines on 25 January 1946. The battalion was redesignated as the 89th Medium Tank Battalion assigned to the Eighth Army and activated in Korea 7 August 1950. The battalion was equipped with refurbished WW II M4 Sherman tanks Attached to the 25th Division and only fifteen days after activation, the 89th saw it’s first combat defending the Pusan Perimeter near Masan in support of the 27th Infantry. The Sherman’s 76mm gun with its ability to knockout attacking T34 tanks was a significant contributor in turning back the major North Korean attack designed to break through to Pusan. Company A received a Presidential Unit Citation for its support of the 35th Infantry’s heroic stand at the Nam River on 1-4 September 1950. After the Inchon landings the 89th led one of the 25th Division’s breakout thrusts in late September from the Pusan perimeter to the Korean west coast. Company D received a Presidential Unit Citation at Kumyangjang-Ni while supporting the Turkish Brigade on 25-27 January 1951. The 89th Tank Battalion also received a Navy Presidential Unit Citation for gallantry at Wonju-Hwachon over several periods in 1951 and a Navy Unit Commendation for operations in the Panmunjom area in 1952-53. After being attached to the Tropic Lightning since August 1950, the 89th Tank Battalion was officially assigned to the 25th Division on 14 November 1951. In addition to its awards the 89th received campaign participation credit for all ten of the Korean campaigns. The 89th Tank Battalion was inactivated on 1 February 1957 at Schofield Barracks and was concurrently consolidated with the 69th Armor Regiment.
Distinctive Unit Insignia	Unit Designation Motto	First Assigned to	Unit History
	69th Armor Regiment (Black Panther) “Vitesse Et Puissance” (“Speed and Power”)	1 February 1957	Constituted on 15 July 1940 as the 69th Armored Regiment. Activated with the 1st Armored Division at Fort Knox on 31 July 1940 and inactivated 10 January 42. Reassigned to the 6th Armored Division and reactivated on 15 February 1942 at Fort Knox. On 20 September 1943 the 69th Armored Regiment less the 3rd Battalion (see 89th Tank Battalion above) was reorganized and redesignated as the 69th Tank Battalion. The 69th Tank Battalion entered combat with the 6th Armored Division in Normandy on 27 July 1944. The 6th Armored then fought across northern France with Patton’s Third Army. In the relief of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, the 69th participated in bitter fighting, with Company C receiving a Presidential Unit Citation. The 69th Tank Battalion entered Germany on 20 March 1945 and with the rest of the 6th Armored continued attacking east. The battalion ended the war near Leipzig having participated in a total of five European campaigns. On 11 July 1945 the 69th was relieved from assignment to the 6th Armored and reorganized as an amphibian tractor battalion in Germany then inactivated on 8 March 1946 at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. In 1950 it was redesignated the 69th Medium Tank Battalion and served with the 6th Armored from 1950-56 at Fort Leonard Wood as a basic training battalion. On 1 February 1957 the 69th and 89th Tank Battalions and the disbanded elements of the 69th Armored Regiment were reconstituted as the 69th Armor, a parent unit under the Regimental System. On 15 February 1957 Company C, 69th Armor was reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 3rd Medium Tank Battalion, 69th Armor assigned to the 25th Division and activated using personnel and equipment of the 89th Tank Battalion. Also on 15 February 1957 Company A, 69th Armor was redesignated as HHC, 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 69th Armor and assigned to the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley. On 1 July 1963 the 3rd Battalion was inactivated and replaced on that date at Schofield Barracks by the 1st Battalion, 69th Armor. On 13 March 1966 the 1st Battalion arrived in Vietnam. The battalion was initially based at Cu Chi less Company B supporting the 25th Division’s 3rd Brigade in the Central Highlands. In May 1966 the 1st Battalion was transferred to the Central Highlands arriving at Pleiku on 22 May 1966 and commencing operations in support of the 3rd Brigade with Company A being detached to support Army units operating on the Bong Son plain. On 1 August 1967 the 1/69th Armor was reassigned to the 4th Infantry Division. The 1/69th supported operations of the 4th Division, which included the only tank-to-tank battle of the Vietnam War on 3 March 69 at Ben Het when Company B destroyed two North Vietnamese light tanks. The 1/69th Armor participated in ten Vietnam campaigns, with Company B receiving a Presidential Unit Citation and Companies A and C receiving Valorous Unit Awards. The 1/69th Armor was inactivated at Fort Lewis on 10 April 1970. It was reassigned to the 25th Division and reactivated at Schofield Barracks on 15 December 1970. The battalion was inactivated on 5 June 1972 and relieved from assignment to the 25th Division. The 1st Battalion was again reactivated on 16 October 1987 and assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division in Germany then inactivated on 15 November 1991. The 3rd Battalion was reactivated on 15 August 1983 and assigned to the 3rd Division in Germany. Inactivated on 16 April 1986 it was reassigned to the 24th Infantry Division and activated at Fort Stewart, Georgia on 16 October 1987. The 3rd Battalion participated in Operation Desert Storm in 1990-91. The 1st Brigade, including the 3rd Battalion 69th Armor, led the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the drive to capture Baghdad. The 3rd Battalion returned to Iraq with the 1st Brigade Combat Team for a second tour in Iraq from January 2005 to January 2006. On 1 October 2005 the 69th Armor was redesignated as the 69th Armored Regiment, its original designation when first constituted in 1940. From February 2007 to April 2008 the 1st Brigade Combat Team including the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment served its third tour in Iraq. Read more about them
Distinctive Unit Insignia	Unit Designation Motto	First Assigned to	Unit History
	34th Armor Regiment (Centurions) “The Strong Arm for Victory”	1 August 1967	Constituted 28 August 1941 as the 34th Armored Regiment assigned to the 5th Armored Division and activated on 1 October 1941 at Fort Knox and selected as its regimental motto “The Strong Arm for Victory”. The regiment was broken up on 20 September 43 with the 2nd Battalion redesignated as the 34th Tank Battalion, the 3rd Battalion as the 10th Tank Battalion with both remaining assigned to the 5th Armored Division. The 1st Battalion was redesignated as the 772nd Tank Battalion and relieved from assignment to the 5th Armored Division. From 20 September 43 to 26 January 1945 the 772nd trained deploying infantry divisions in tank-infantry operations. The 772nd arrived in France on 8 February 1945 and was attached to the 44th Infantry Division on 24 March 1945. On 27 March 1945 the 44th Division crossed the Rhine into Germany. The next day the 772nd saw its first combat in supporting the 44th in a pitched battle for the city of Mannheim that lasted five days. The 772nd Tank accompanied the 44th as it then drove into southern Germany seizing Ulm and entering the Inn valley of Austria as hostilities ended. For WW II the battalion was credited with participation in the Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns. The 772nd returned to the United States and was inactivated at Camp Shelby, Mississippi on 14 November 1945 (The 34th and 10th Tank Battalions, 5th Armored Division participated in five European campaigns with the 10th Tank receiving a Presidential Unit Citation during the seizure of the Roer River dams.) On 16 January 1947 the 772nd was redesignated the 306th Tank Battalion allotted to the Organized Reserves and assigned to the Sixth Army. Activated in Seattle, Washington on 5 February 47 the 306th was inactivated 15 September 1950 and disbanded in 1952. On 27 March 1957 the 306th, 34th and 10th Tank Battalions and other disbanded elements of the 34th Armored Regiment were reconstituted, consolidated and designated as the 34th Armor, a parent regiment under the Regimental System. Former Company B, 34th Armored Regiment/772nd Tank Battalion/ 306th Tank Battalion was reconstituted as Company B, 34th Armor and activated at Fort Ord, California on 1 June 1957. It was inactivated on 25 April 1961. On 21 August 1963, Company B, 34th Armor was redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor. The 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division and activated on 1 October 1963 at Fort Irwin, California. Arriving in Vietnam on 15 September 1966 with the 4th Infantry Division, the battalion was attached to the II Field Force and operated in the III Corps Tactical Zone. Known as the “Dread Naughts” the 2/34th Armor was attached to the 25th Division at Cu Chi minus its Company B, initially attached to the 1st Infantry Division until April 1970, and Company C attached for the duration of the war to the I Corp Tactical Zone. On 1 August 1967 the battalion was reassigned from the 4th Division to the 25th Division. The 2/34th Armor participated in eleven Vietnam campaigns, receiving a Presidential Unit Citation for gallantry at the battle of Soui Tre and a Valorous Unit Award during the Cambodian incursion. On 15 December 1970 the 2/34th departed Vietnam and was reassigned to the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson. In 1979 the 34th Armor selected “Centurions” as the official nickname of the regiment. The 2nd Battalion was inactivated on 16 June 1987. On 16 August 1987 the 2nd Battalion was reactivated and assigned to the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley. The 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor participated in Desert Storm, leading the initial VII Corps attack destroying two battalions of Iraqi armor and receiving two Valorous Unit Awards. The 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor participated in the invasion of Iraq with the 1st Brigade,1st Infantry Division from March 2003 to December 2003. From January 2005 to January 2006, the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor was attached to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division and served a twelve month tour of duty in Iraq. On 1 October 2005 the 34th Armor was redesignated as the 34th Armored Regiment, its original designation when first constituted in 1941. The 2nd Battalion remains assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley Kansas. Read more about them