21ST INFANTRY REGIMENT
(GIMLET)
| [Introduction] | [History to 1941] | [World War II] | [Korean War] | |||
| [Vietnam] | [War on Terrorism] | [Coat of Arms and Insignia] | [Lineage and Honors] | |||
The 21st Infantry Regiment was constituted in the Regular Army as the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment on 3 May 1861. The battalion was organized at Fort Hamilton, NY on 20 May 1862. In 1866 the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry was reorganized and redesignated as the 21st Infantry Regiment. Known as the “Gimlet” regiment, the 21st Infantry has steadfastly and gallantly lived by its motto of “Duty” while serving the United States in the Civil War, the Indian Wars, the War with Spain, the Philippine Insurrection, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, the Panama Expedition and the War on Terrorism. In recognition of its accomplishments the 21st Infantry Regiment has earned two Presidential Unit Citations, two Valorous Unit Awards, a US Army Meritorious Unit Commendation, a US Navy Unit Commendation and 56 campaign streamers.
On 20 May 1862 Companies A, B, E and G were the first companies activated in the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry. Six days later they were sent to Harper’s Ferry where on 26 May 1862 they experienced light action in a skirmish with a Confederate brigade. On 9 August 1862 the four companies saw heavy action in the battle of Cedar Mountain near Culpepper, Virginia. Serving in a provisional battalion with several companies of the 8th US Infantry, the four 2nd Battalion companies served as lead skirmishers of the Union 2nd Division, II Corps of the Union Army of Virginia and contributed in initially breaking through the Confederate defenses. But the two-to-one advantage in manpower ultimately proved the decisive in favor of the Confederates. The 2nd Battalion companies incurred significant losses while covering the retreat of the 2nd Division.
The 2nd Battalion was present in a reserve position as Union forces engaged the Confederate forces at the battle of Manassas 29 August-2 September 1862 where again the battalion formed the rear guard for the retreating Union forces. Both battalions of the 12th Infantry were then assigned to the Army of the Potomac and served with the 2nd Division of the V Corps, known as “Sykes Regulars” as it was composed of nine Regular Army infantry regiments and commanded by Brigadier General George Sykes.
The lack of an effective system of replacing casualties especially in Regular Army infantry regiments resulted in the regiments becoming progressively smaller as the war continued. By March 1863 the casualties occurred by both battalions of the 12th Infantry while performing gallantly in the major battles of Manassas, Antietam and Fredericksburg, resulted in the need to disband three companies in each battalion for lack of replacements. At reduced strength, with its two battalions commanded by captains, the 12th Infantry participated in the battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863 with the Sykes Regulars Division. Then as part of the rear guard the 12th protected the withdrawal of the Union forces across the Rappahannock River. 2 July 1863 found the 12th Infantry at Gettysburg where it suffered heavy losses in three days of continuous combat in repulsing the Confederate attacks.
Following the retreating Confederate Army back to Virginia, the Union forces now led by General U.S. Grant, began a general offensive in May 1864 with campaigns in the Wilderness, at Spotsylvania and at Cold Harbor. These campaigns all of which were participated in with great gallantry by the 12th Infantry, led to the Union siege of Petersburg beginning on 4 June 1864.
In the combat actions around Petersburg in July 1864 the 12th Infantry casualty rate resulted in the 2nd Battalion becoming combat ineffective and the surviving personnel were assigned to the 1st Battalion. By 20 September the 1st Battalion was down to 48 men with a lieutenant in command. On 2 November 1864 the 12th Infantry was withdrawn from combat and was transferred back to its home station of Fort Hamilton, New York, ending its participation in the Civil War after twelve campaigns. By December, 1865 the 12th Infantry was back to full strength and returned to Virginia where it conducted post-war reconstruction duties.
By the Act of Congress of 30 July 1866 the War Department was directed to increase the number of Regular Army infantry regiments from nineteen to forty-five. As part of the expansion, the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment was to reorganize and be redesignated as the 21st Infantry Regiment. The 2nd Battalion, then stationed at Camp Winthrop near Richmond, Virginia officially became the 21st Infantry Regiment on 7 December 1866.
On 3 March 1869 the Congress directed the War Department to reduce the total infantry regiment to twenty-five. As part of the reduction the 32nd Infantry was to consolidate with the 21st Infantry. The 32nd was serving in the Arizona Territory where its companies were stationed at some twelve forts and camps located in the central and southeast of Arizona.
To effect the consolidation, the 21st was ordered to Arizona. The 21st departed Richmond on 12 April 1869 and became the first troops to deploy from the east coast to California over the just completed Omaha to San Francisco transcontinental rail line. During the period 9-31 August 1869 each company of the 21st moved into Arizona and consolidated with its corresponding company of the 32nd.
The soldiers of the 32nd Infantry had three years of experience in fighting the Apache Indians when they were consolidated with the incoming 21st Infantry. This experience, when combined with the 21st Infantry’s additional manpower, significantly contributed to the newly consolidated companies quickly achieving operational effectiveness. For the next three years the companies of the 21st Infantry, operating in the central and the southeast of Arizona, were active in protecting key transportation routes, escorting the US mail deliveries, scouting Indian movements, building new wagon routes and undertaking construction projects at military posts. Engagements with Apache Indians occurred frequently, especially during mail runs and during scouting expeditions. In these engagements the soldiers of the 21st acquitted themselves with distinction in close-range combat with the formidable Apache.
In 1872 the 21st Infantry was transferred to the Department of the Columbia. The regimental headquarters was located at Fort Vancouver Washington Territory, with companies scattered to posts in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Soon after arrival the 21st was called upon to furnish troops for an expedition to return a band of Modoc warriors to their reservation in Oregon. The 21st furnished a three company battalion to the expedition which began in January 1873 with intense fighting in the lava beds of northern California that lasted until April 1873.
In June 1877 the 21st Infantry with six of its companies was ordered to the field with other Army units in reaction to the massacres of settlers in Idaho by the Nez Perces tribe. The Nez Perces led by Chief Joseph, made a stand at the Clearwater River on 11 and 12 July, holding off the pursuing army forces in two days of bitter fighting before they were forced to abandon their camp and possessions and flee north. The pursuit of the Nez Perces led through Idaho into the Bitter Root valley of Montana and then across the Yellowstone River to Bear Mountain near the Canadian border where Chief Joseph surrendered to General Nelson Miles.
In this pursuit the 21st Infantry marched 1,632 miles over some of the most difficult terrain in North America, averaging over 17 miles a day for 75 consecutive days in all types of weather from 27 July to 10 October. Despite the tremendous hardships incurred, not one soldier deserted. Such speaks eloquently of the morale and discipline within the 21st Infantry at that time.
When the Bannocks tribe of southern Idaho left their reservations in June 1878 the 21st Infantry with nine of its ten companies, was sent in pursuit. After a forced march of 35 miles in one day, the 21st overtook the tribe on 13 August and scattered it so decisively that it no longer posed a significant threat and resulted in their return to the reservation.
In June 1884, the 21st Infantry was transferred to the Department of the Platte with stations in Nebraska, and Wyoming. From there the regiment went to southern Kansas to discourage a threatened outbreak of the Cheyenne. In the winter of 1890-91 the 21st Infantry sent four companies to the Rosebud Agency in South Dakota in response to Sioux unrest. This ended twenty-six years of campaigning by the 21st Infantry in the Indian Wars.
The United States went to war with Spain in June 1898. Almost every Regular Army regiment including the 21st Infantry participated in the invasion of Cuba which began on 22 June 1898. The major objective was to capture the city of Santiago, the port city of the Spanish fleet. On 1 July 1898, the 21st Infantry which was serving in the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division of the V Corps was positioned on the left flank of the attack on the San Juan heights which overlooked Santiago and was strongly defended by Spanish forces. The heights were captured after fierce fighting on 1 July. The next day the Spanish forces retreated back into Santiago and on 3 July, the US Navy engaged and sank the Spanish fleet as it left Santiago Bay. With the Spanish fleet destroyed and the U.S Army commanding the heights around Santiago, the Spanish surrendered on 16 July. Tropical diseases as well as dysentery caused many more casualties than did Spanish bullets. Consequently, once the Spanish surrendered, most of the U.S. forces were withdrawn as quickly as possible, with the 21st departing on 23 August 1898.
The 21st Infantry was sent to the Philippines on 18 April 1899 to reinforce Army units already there in fighting Filipino insurgents resisting the American takeover of the Islands. On 13 June 1899 the 21st Infantry was participating in the defense of the southern approach to the city of Manila. Insurgent forces were massed on the Zapote River which separated the two armies on the edge of Manila Bay. 3,000 Americans faced 5,000 Filipinos who were well dug in. The battle began when Companies F and I, 21st Infantry skirmished with insurgents at a bridge that crossed the river. The fighting soon escalated to include artillery duels. After hours of intense combat the superior American firepower forced the Filipino insurgents to retreat, preventing them from entering Manila. After a series of additional defeats occurring on the central plain of Luzon at the hands of the U.S. Army’s VIII Corps, the remnants of the Filipino insurgent army discarded conventional tactics and resorted to guerilla warfare beginning in November 1899.
The VIII Corps responded by turning itself into a counterinsurgency force with the mission of pacification. Each regiment of the VIII Corps including the 21st Infantry was assigned a geographical area to pacify. The objective of each unit was to locate and destroy Filipino guerrilla bands, while offering amnesty to those who surrendered. Civil action programs were initiated as well with the building of roads and schools, protecting the everyday commerce from guerrilla depredations, introducing health and sanitation projects and when deemed appropriate, to turn over an area to Filipino civilian control. These measures, so successfully carried out by the Soldiers of the 21st Infantry in the Philippines from 1899 until the 21st Infantry’s departure on 1 June 1902 were to be successfully replicated over a century later by the Soldiers of the 21st Infantry serving in Iraq.
The Philippine Insurrection was officially declared ended in 1902. However from 1905-1906 and from 1909-1912 the 21st Infantry returned to the Philippines for garrison and pacification duty. The 21st was garrisoned at Vancouver Barracks, Washington upon their return and remained there until the outbreak of World War I. Beginning in March 1916; the 21st protected the border of Arizona and California against Mexican insurgents. Then in April 1917 the 21st was transferred to Camp Kearny near San Diego, California where the regiment was assigned to the 31st Infantry Brigade, 16th Division and given the additional mission of training Army units for deployment to France. In March, 1919 the 21st was relieved from assignment to the 16th Division and returned to Vancouver Barracks.
On 22 October 1921 the 21st Infantry Regiment was assigned to the newly activated Hawaiian Division with station at Schofield Barracks, Territory of Hawaii. The mission of the division was to defend the island of Oahu especially the naval base at Pearl Harbor. It was organized under the square structure of the WWI divisions with two infantry brigades, the 21st and 22nd plus a field artillery brigade and service support regiments. The 21st Infantry was assigned to the 21st Infantry Brigade along with the 19th Infantry Regiment.
For the next twenty years the 21st Infantry served what must be considered a more pleasant garrison life than many of its past postings. Regimental athletics were a very large part of the garrison life at Schofield Barracks. In the 1920s the 21st Infantry teams dominated the inter-regimental sports leagues. The 21st adopted the nickname of “Gimlet”. A gimlet is a tool used to bore into rock to plant dynamite and the regiment believed that it was an appropriate nickname because their sports teams bored through their opponents. While the official motto of the 21st Infantry Regiment is “Duty”, the battle cry “Bore Brother Bore” is used in reference to the Gimlet and the fighting spirit of the Regiment.
As war clouds gathered the Army concluded that the square division of four infantry regiments was obsolete and replaced it with a triangular division of three infantry regiments. On 1 October 1941, the units of the Hawaiian Division formed two triangular divisions. The regiments of the 21st Infantry Brigade which included the 21st Infantry Regiment went to the 24th Infantry Division and the regiments of the 22nd Infantry Brigade went to the 25th Infantry Division.
Two months after activation on December 7th 1941, the 24th and 25th Infantry Divisions had the distinction of being the first U.S. Army divisions to see combat in World War II when Japanese aircraft, after bombing and strafing Wheeler Army Air Field, strafed Schofield Barracks causing minor casualties in both divisions. Soldiers answered the attack with small arms fire, downing one, possibly two, Japanese aircraft. After the attack the two divisions executed well rehearsed operational plans designed to repel an amphibious assault on Oahu. As part of that plan the 21st Infantry Regiment quickly moved to its pre-designated defensive positions on the north shore of Oahu. Here the regiment would remain for some six plus months on guard against a possible invasion.
In May 1943, replaced by units arriving from the mainland, the 24th Infantry Division underwent offensive combat training then departed for Australia, arriving on 8 September 1943 at Rockhampton on the Australian northwest coast. Here it undertook additional training in amphibious and jungle warfare. On 22 April 1944 the 21st Infantry and 19th Infantry Regiments made a surprise amphibious landing at Tanahmerah Bay, New Guinea. The 21st Infantry moving quickly despite marshy terrain and heavy rains to overrun the Hollandia airbase complex consisting of three airstrips, all lightly defended by Japanese service troops. Four days later the 21st Infantry linked up with the 41st Infantry Division which had landed twenty-five miles to the west in a pincer movement to trap the Japanese force at Hollandia. After its capture, the 21st Infantry remained as a defense force at Hollandia until the fall of 1944.
The American return to the Philippines began with the liberation of the island of Leyte located in the middle of the Philippine Archipelago. The 24th Infantry Division, now a component of the X Corps, Sixth Army, landed near the town of Palo on the northeast coast of Leyte on 20 October 1944 without the 21st Infantry. The Gimlets, organized as a separate regimental combat team, were given the mission of securing the Panaon Straits located at the extreme southern tip of Leyte, to facilitate the passage of U.S. Naval forces to the western side of the island. Battalions of the 21st seized without resistance, the northern shore of Panaon Island and the southern shore of Leyte one hour before the main landings further north. With the 24th Division meeting fierce resistance as it reached the north coast of Leyte and needing its third regiment, the Sixth Army returned the 21st RCT to the division on 30 October.
On 5 November the 21st Infantry relieved the 34th Infantry at Breakneck Ridge located west of Pinamopoan on the north coast of Leyte. Here the Japanese were well dug in and fiercely resisted the American advance. On 8 November in the midst of a raging typhoon, the Gimlets assaulted the ridge. But the typhoon hampered the attack and it was not until 12 November after bitter fighting and suffering heavy casualties that the Gimlets secured the ridge, ending significant Japanese resistance on Leyte.
On 30 December 1944 the 21st Infantry was attached to the Western Visayan Task Force and participated in the liberation of Mindoro Island. Located less than 100 air miles southwest of Manila, Mindoro was used as a base to launch air strikes in support of the invasion of Luzon. On 3 January 1945 Company K, 21st Infantry liberated Marinduque Island located twenty miles east of Mindoro and only eleven miles from Luzon in part to facilitate contacts and support of Filipino guerillas operating in southern Luzon. Cannon Company, 21st Infantry, serving on Luzon in support of the 11th Airborne Division’s drive to Manila, received a Presidential Unit Citation for the period 31 January- 5 February 1945 for its aggressive destruction of heavily dug-in enemy defensive positions. (Note: a one company PUC award does not accrue as a regimental PUC award) As the liberations of Mindoro and Marinduque islands were considered to be part of the operation to liberate Luzon, the entire 21st Infantry Regiment was awarded participation credit for the Luzon campaign.
The liberation of Mindanao, the second largest and most southern of the Philippine islands, began for the 21st Infantry with amphibious assaults on the island’s south-central coast on 17 April 1945. It was to be the 24th Division’s last and longest campaign of World War II. The 3rd Battalion landed at Malabang linking up with Filipino guerillas that had seized the airfield there from the Japanese. The rest of the regiment landed at Baras, thirty miles to the southeast. The 24th Division’s mission was to travel 100 miles across the island using both the highway and the Mindanao River and then attack from the rear the heavily dug in Japanese garrison occupying the island’s largest city of Davao.
While other division elements went by highway, the 21st Infantry boarded landing craft and proceeded up the two branches of the Mindanao River some thirty five miles to the town of Kabacan where it became the X Corps reserve. By 3 May Davao had been liberated and the Japanese had fallen back into the dense thick jungles around the Davao’s area. The 21st Infantry rejoined the 24th Division to reinforce what had become bitter close combat by small units.
On the left flank of the division, the Gimlets encountered strong resistance by elements of the Japanese 100th Division in clearing the village of Mintal and the Libby airdrome five miles west of Davao City. As they pushed their attack they were hit on three sides by a numerically larger Japanese force temporarily cutting off the 1st Battalion.
During the battle for Mintal on 14 May, Private First Class James Diamond, Company D, 21st Infantry, displayed exceptional bravery in turning back the Japanese counterattack. Under direct enemy fire, he personally killed several attackers while calling in supporting fires. While leading a patrol evacuating wounded from the 1st Battalion, the patrol was ambushed. Disregarding his personal safety he grabbed a machine gun and held off the attackers, drawing the enemy’s fire and allowing the wounded to reach safety. In doing so he was mortally wounded. For his heroic acts he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
On 17 May the 21st Infantry resumed the offensive to the west; slowly pushing the remnants of the 100th Division into the mountains. By 14 June, organized Japanese resistance had collapsed in front of the 24th Division. Breaking into small groups and moving deeper into the mountainous jungles, the Japanese continued to be pursued by U.S. units supported by Filipino guerrillas. On 19 June 1945 the 21st Infantry Regiment was withdrawn from combat after sixty-three continuous days of intense action on Mindanao; resulting in the regiment inflicting over 2,000 Japanese casualties.
In October 1945 the 21st Infantry along with the rest of the 24th Infantry Division arrived in Japan for occupation duties on Japan’s southernmost island of Kyushu. The 21st was stationed at Camp Wood in the city of Kumamoto. For the next five years, the 21st Infantry Regiment had the dual mission of fulfilling occupation duties as well as maintaining combat readiness. But as the focus of the Cold War intensified in Europe the US Army in Japan was reduced in strength and left with old, often unserviceable, World War II equipment. The 21st Infantry had only two under-strength battalions. Besides the lack of personnel, combat readiness was hampered by shortages of crew-served weapons, radios, field clothing and boots; shortages that were common throughout the combat units of the Eighth Army. It was with these limitations and serving primarily as an occupation force that the 21st Infantry Regiment was suddenly and unexpectedly selected to be the first American ground combat unit to enter the Korean War.
Nine days after the North Korean army invaded South Korea, the decision was made in Washington upon the recommendation of General MacArthur, to respond with American ground combat forces. It was considered to be a police action in that the presence of American combat forces would result in a quick halt and then a retreat by the North Korean forces. On 30 June 1950 the 24th Infantry Division located on Kyushu across the straits from the Korean port of Pusan was selected to deploy initially and within the division the 21st Infantry was to go first. Because of the shortage of airlift only a battalion minus could be airlifted to Pusan with the remainder of the 21st Infantry and the rest of the 24th Division to follow by sea lift.
The 1st Battalion (-) commanded by LTC Charles Smith was selected as the lead element. Called Task Force Smith, it consisted of Companies B and C, half of Headquarters Company, two 75mm recoilless rifles and four 4.2 inch mortars supported by a battery of 105mm howitzers. Airlifted to Pusan and then proceeding by rail and truck, TF Smith was dug in on high ground and prepared to engage the North Koreans on 4 July just north of the city of Osan, some 45 kilometers south of Seoul.
At 0816, 5 July the task force opened fire on a column of thirty-three North Korean tanks supported by a massive number of infantry. Due to a lack of modern anti-tank weapons the task force was able to knock out only four tanks as the tank column passed by its defensive position continuing south to Osan. This was followed by North Korean infantry columns attacking frontally and enveloping both flanks of TF Smith. Despite being badly outnumbered, the poorly equipped task force held off the North Koreans for over six hours before withdrawing under intense pressure and after suffering heavy casualties. The gallant stand by Task Force Smith was the first of many battles to come in Korea for the Gimlets of the 21st Infantry.
By 8 July, TF Smith took up defensive positions north of the Kum River at Chochiwon where it was joined by the 1st Battalion’s Companies A and D and the 3rd Battalion arriving from Japan. Here until 12 July, the 21st Infantry’s badly outnumbered 1st and 3rd Battalions fought against overwhelming odds and taking heavy casualties brought the North Korean advance temporally to a halt, buying time for other units coming from Japan to enter combat. Through the rest of the month of July and well into August, the two-battalion 21st fought multiple delaying actions until back across the Naktong River where the buildup of United Nations and South Korean forces were sufficient to bring a halt to the North Koreans attempts to drive them into the sea and seize the port of Pusan.
On 30 August the 21st Infantry added a third battalion when the 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry was redesignated the 2nd Battalion, 21st Infantry. Heavy fighting persisted along the Naktong River line for the 21st Infantry until mid-September. For its gallantry against overwhelming odds as the first American division to enter combat in Korea, the 24th Infantry Division including the 21st Infantry, was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for the period 2 July to 15 September 1950.
By then the superiority of the UN and South Korean forces within the Pusan Perimeter combined with MacArthur’s amphibious assault at Inchon on 15 September, forced the North Koreans into retreat. The 21st along with the rest of the 24th Division broke out in pursuit on 19 September liberating a series of South Korean towns and cities including Waegwan, Kumchon and Taejon against varying degrees of North Korean resistance. By mid October the 21st Infantry had crossed the 38th Parallel. And by 2 November was 17 miles south of the Chinese border.
On 3 November the Chinese forces entered the war, attacking in mass the UN and South Korean units forcing them into a series of delaying actions back south across the 38th Parallel to defensive positions south of the Han river by 3 January 1951. Throughout, the 21st Infantry’s delaying actions were well executed.
Beginning in January 1951 and extending through November 1951 three major campaigns were fought on the Korean Peninsula. The First UN Counteroffensive, followed by the CCF Spring Offensive and then the UN Summer-Fall Offensive, all of which ultimately resulted in bringing the war to a stalemate in the general vicinity of the 38th Parallel. The 21st participated in all of these campaigns with the 24th Division compiling a record of successful offensive and defensive operations that made it one of the better infantry regiments in the Eighth Army.
Three 21st Infantry companies were awarded Presidential Unit Citations for heroic actions during this period. The Regimental Headquarters and Headquarters Company and the Medical Company earned the regiment a Presidential Unit Citation on 27 May 1951 at Sanghongjong-ni when they repulsed repeated enemy attempts to overrun the regimental command post and aid station. Company G earned a Presidential Unit Citation on 14-18 October 1951 near Kumsong, when it seized and then held two heavily defended and fortified hills against fanatical enemy resistance. (Note: a one company PUC award does not accrue as a regimental PUC award) Two Gimlets were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor; SFC Ray Dukes, Company C, near Mugok on 26 April 1951 and PFC Mack Jordan, Company K, near Kumsong on 15 November 1951. Both were cited for extraordinary bravery and leadership in close combat with the enemy until mortally wounded.
In January 1952 the 24th Infantry Division was withdrawn to Japan to serve as part of the Far East strategic reserve. On 25 July 1953 just before the signing of the Armistice on 27 July, the 24th Division returned to Korea with the mission of policing the POW camps located on islands off the South Korean coast. The 21st Infantry was given the mission of restoring order and policing the POW camp on Koje-do Island which held the hard core communist Chinese and North Korean soldiers. In February 1954 the after restoring order and effecting the POW exchange the 21st Infantry with the rest of the 24th Division was moved into a reserve role if needed to reinforce units stationed on the Armistice Demarcation Line. In March, 1955 the 24th took up positions on the Demarcation Line in full combat readiness to deter the North Koreans from breaking the armistice. On 15 October 1957 the 24th Infantry Division was replaced by the 1st Cavalry Division. In 1958 the 24th Infantry Division replaced the 11th Airborne Division in Germany.
THE 21ST INFANTRY REORGANIZATION
In 1957 the Army decided that the infantry regiment was not the right organization for the expected nuclear battlefield and reorganized them as battle groups under the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS). A battle group consisted of four rifle companies, a mortar battery and a headquarters & service company. The 21st Infantry Regiment was selected to be a CARS parent regiment with two Regular Army active battle groups and one Army Reserve battle group.
The 1st Battle Group, 21st Infantry, which took its lineage from Company A, 21st Infantry, was assigned to the 24th Infantry Division on 1 July 1958 with station at Werner Barracks, Munich, West Germany. The 2nd Battle Group, 21st Infantry which took its lineage from Company B, 21st Infantry was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii on 1 February, 1957. The 3rd Battle Group, 21st Infantry which took its lineage from Company C, 21st Infantry was activated on 1 May 1959 at Santa Barbara, CA and assigned to the 63rd Infantry Division. It was inactivated on 1 April 1963.
In 1963 the Army decided that the battle group was not the answer and reorganized the infantry divisions into three brigades, each with three battalions. This resulted in both active battle groups being reorganized and redesignated as battalions, with the 2nd Battalion, 21st Infantry being reassigned from the 25th Division to the 24th Division and joining the 1st Battalion at Werner Barracks in Munich. Both battalions were inactivated on 15 April 1970 with the inactivation of the 24th Division.
Two battalions of the 21st Infantry saw considerable combat in Vietnam. The 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry was allotted to the Regular Army, assigned to the 196th Light Infantry Brigade and activated at Fort Devens, MA on 10 September 1965. It arrived in Vietnam on 26 August 1966. The 196th was attached to the 25th Infantry Division and based at Tay Ninh northwest of Saigon. The 3rd Battalion participated in some of the largest operations of the Vietnam War while attached to the Tropic Lightning including Operations Attleboro, Cedar Falls and Junction City. In April 1967 the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry with the 196th was transferred north to Chu Lai in Military Region 1 where it conducted extensive combat operations against North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces in Quang Tin, Quang Ngai and Quang Nam provinces both as a separate brigade and from 15 July 1969 to 1 November 1971 while assigned to the 23rd Infantry Division (Americal). In over twenty major operations the 196th Light Infantry Brigade and the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry successfully drove North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces west into the mountains precluding them from seizing the agriculturally rich and heavily populated coastal regions of these provinces.
In the six years the 3rd Battalion served in Vietnam it participated in fourteen of the seventeen Vietnam campaigns receiving a Valorous Unit Award, a Navy Unit Commendation and three awards of the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm. On 14 May 1969 in Quang Tri Province, PFC Daniel Shea earned the Medal of Honor for rescuing five wounded members of Company C caught in the open before he was mortally wounded. The 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry had the distinction of being the last US Army ground combat battalion to depart Vietnam when it left Danang on 23 August 1972. It was inactivated that same date in Oakland, CA.
When the 25th Infantry Division was ordered to Vietnam it was short two infantry battalions. In response, the Army activated the 4th and 5th Battalions, 21st Infantry at Schofield Barracks on 6 December 1965. However it was soon determined that the deployment schedule would not allow sufficient time for the two battalions to become combat ready. Consequently the two battalions were inactivated on 3 January 1966 and replaced with two battalions from Alaska.
On 1 November 1967 the 4th Battalion, 21st Infantry was again activated at Schofield Barracks to serve as the fourth maneuver battalion for the 11th Light Infantry Brigade already in Vietnam. The 4th Battalion arrived in Vietnam on 14 April 1968. Based at Duc Pho in Quang Ngai Province, the 4th Battalion operated primarily in that region during the three plus years it was in Vietnam. The Duc Pho area was known as a rice bowl and it was fiercely fought over, with the 4th Battalion conducting numerous operations that significantly contributed to preventing the 3rd North Vietnamese Division and local Viet Cong forces from seizing this vital area. The 4th Battalion also operated in Quang Tin Province west of Tam Ky and at Dong Ha. From 15 February 1969 to 28 June 1971 the 4th Battalion was assigned to the 23rd Infantry Division (Americal).
It was west of Tam Ky in Quang Tin Province on 26th August 1968 that Staff Sergeant Nicky Bacon of Company B, 4th Battalion, 21st Infantry earned the Medal of Honor. When two platoon leaders became casualties, SSG Bacon assumed command and led successful assaults against an enemy bunker and a machine gun nest, personally killing four Viet Cong at close range. He then climbed on the exposed deck of a tank and gave fire support to the rescue of trapped wounded and the elimination of the last enemy resistance.
The 4th Battalion, 21st Infantry departed Vietnam on 28 June 1971 having participated in eight Vietnam campaigns and earning two awards of the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm. The 4th Battalion was inactivated that same date at Fort Lewis WA.
Beginning in 1972 the battalions of the 21st Infantry Regiment underwent numerous changes in their status and locations. The 1st Battalion was reactivated on 5 June 1972 and assigned to the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. The 2nd Battalion was reactivated on 21 June 1975 at Fort Stewart, GA with the 24th Infantry Division; then inactivated on 16 December 1987. The 3rd Battalion was reactivated at Schofield Barracks and assigned to the 25th Infantry Division, then inactivated on15 July 1995; rejoining the 1st Brigade of the 25th at Fort Lewis on 16 March 2002. The 4th Battalion was reactivated on 16 January 1986 serving with the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Ord, CA until inactivated on 15 September 1993. The 5th Battalion was reactivated on 16 May 1985 at Fort Ord and assigned to the 7th Infantry Division. It participated in Operation Just Cause in Panama from 22 December 1989 to 31 January 1990; then was inactivated on 15 September 1993.
In January 2004 the 2nd Brigade including the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry, began a thirteen month tour of duty in Iraq attached to the 1st Infantry Division. The 2nd Brigade’s battalions were based in and around the city of Kirkuk. The 1st Battalion organized as a task force, had the multifaceted mission of neutralizing insurgent groups and restoring stability and security inside the city of Kirkuk itself. The combination of aggressive tactics against insurgent groups and civil affairs initiatives significantly weakened insurgent influence. This effort successfully prepared the way for Kirkuk’s citizens to vote in the Iraqi national elections of January 2005. In February, 1st Battalion returned to Schofield Barracks. For its service in Iraq the 1st Battalion was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation and participation credit for the Transition of Iraq and Iraqi Governance campaigns.
In the spring of 2002, the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis including the newly reactivated 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry was reorganized and equipped with the Stryker wheeled armored vehicles. In September 2004, the 1st Brigade Combat Team arrived in Iraq and was given the responsibility of the northern Iraq city of Mosul and its environs in Nineveh Province.
During its tour of duty in and around Mosul, the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry conducted the full spectrum of counter insurgency operations ranging from offensive combat operations which eliminated anti-Iraqi terrorist cells, through civil affairs initiatives that improved the daily life of the citizenry, to the training and equipping of Iraqi army and police units. During the period 2 January -15 February 2005 the 1st Brigade’s highly successful offensive actions against anti-Iraqi terrorist elements resulted in the 1st Brigade including the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry, receiving a Valorous Unit Award. The 1st Brigade Combat Team returned to Fort Lewis in September 2005 having received credit for participating in the Iraqi Governance campaign. The 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry, along with the rest of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, was inactivated on 1 June 2006 at Fort Lewis then reactivated at Fort Wainwright, AK on 16 December 2006.
Beginning in 2005 the 2nd Brigade including the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry underwent reorganization as a Stryker brigade combat team. The brigade arrived in Iraq for a fifteen month tour of duty in November 2007and was based at Camp Taji northwest of Baghdad. Serving with the Multi-National Division-Baghdad, the brigade was responsible for the rural areas northwest and west of Baghdad with the 1st Battalion operating near Abu Ghuraib. The 1st Battalion, working closely with their Iraqi counterparts, was especially successful in eliminating terrorist cells and uncovering and destroying multiple weapons caches. The 1st Battalion returned to Schofield Barracks in February 2009.
In September 2008 the 1st Brigade Combat Team including the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry returned to Iraq for its second tour of duty. The brigade was stationed in Diyala Province northeast of Baghdad serving in the Multi-National Division-North’s Task Force Lightning. The province harbors remnants of Al Qaida in Iraq and other insurgent elements necessitating the 3rd Battalion to conduct combat operations alongside civil action projects, the training of Iraqi forces and the turnover of operating bases to the Iraqi army. The 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry returned to Fort Wainwright in September 2009.
In the 21st Infantry Regiment’s illustrious years of service to the United States, the Gimlets have never failed to live up to their regimental motto of Duty; performing it with great courage and effectiveness since 1861 through nine of the Nation’s conflicts and will continue to do so when called upon in the future.
 |
 |
|
| DISTINCTIVE UNIT INSIGNIA | COAT OF ARMS |
Organized in 1862 as the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment; the battalion served in twelve Civil War campaigns. The cedar tree commemorates the 2nd Battalion’s first major battle at Cedar Mountain in Virginia. Redesignated in 1866 as the 21st Infantry Regiment, the arrows and the rattlesnake allude to eight campaigns during the Indian Wars. In the War with Spain the 21st served at Santiago in the V Corps, the corps insignia being a five-bastioned fort. The eight-rayed sun, a symbol of the Philippine Katipunan independence movement, alludes to participation in five campaigns during the Philippine Insurrection. Blue supplemented with white were the colors used by the Infantry until the early 20th Century. The coat of arms was approved in 1921 and the distinctive unit insignia was approved in 1923.
21ST INFANTRY REGIMENT LINEAGE AND HONORS
Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as the 2d Battalion, 12th Infantry
Organized 20 May 1862 at Fort Hamilton, New York
Reorganized and redesignated 7 December 1866 as the 21st Infantry
Consolidated 9-31 August 1869 with the 32d Infantry (see ANNEX) and consolidated unit designated as the 21st Infantry
Assigned 29 July 1918 to the 16th Division
Relieved 8 March 1919 from assignment to the 16th Division
Assigned 22 October 1921 to the Hawaiian Division (later redesignated as the 24th Infantry Division)
Relieved 5 June 1958 from assignment to the 24th Infantry Division and reorganized as a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System
Withdrawn 16 January 1986 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System
ANNEX
Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as the 3d Battalion, 14th Infantry
Organized 27 July 1865 at Fort Trumbull, Connecticut
Reorganized and redesignated 21 September 1866 as the 32d Infantry
Consolidated 9-31 August 1869 with the 21st Infantry and consolidated unit designated as the 21st Infantry
CAMPAIGN PARTICIPATION CREDIT
Civil War
Peninsula
Manassas
Antietam
Fredericksburg
Chancellorsville
Gettysburg
Wilderness
Spotsylvania
Cold Harbor
Petersburg
Virginia 1862
Virginia 1863
Indian Wars
Modocs
Nez Perces
Bannocks
Arizona 1866
Arizona 1867
Arizona 1868
Arizona 1869
Arizona 1870
War with Spain
Santiago
Philippine Insurrection
Zapote River
Luzon 1899
Luzon 1900
Luzon 1901
Luzon 1902
World War II
Central Pacific
New Guinea (with arrowhead)
Leyte
Luzon
Southern Philippines (with arrowhead)
Korean War
UN Defensive
UN Offensive
CCF Intervention
First UN Counteroffensive
CCF Spring Offensive
UN Summer-Fall Offensive
Second Korean Winter
Korea, Summer 1953
Vietnam
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
Armed Forces Expeditions
Panama
War on Terrorism
Campaigns to be determined
DECORATIONS
Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for DEFENSE OF KOREA
Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for SANGHONGJONG-NI
Valorous Unit Award for TAM KY – TIEN PHUOC
Valorous Unit Award for NINEVEH PROVINCE 2005
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for IRAQ 2004-2005
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for 17 OCTOBER 1944 TO 4 JULY 1945
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for PYONGTAEK
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for KOREA
1ST BATTALION, 21ST INFANTRY REGIMENT LINEAGE AND HONORS
Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as Company A, 2d Battalion, 12th Infantry
Organized 20 May 1862 at Fort Hamilton, New York
Reorganized and redesignated 7 December 1866 as Company A, 21st Infantry
Consolidated 20 August 1869 with Company A, 32d Infantry (see ANNEX), and consolidated unit designated as Company A, 21st Infantry
(21st Infantry assigned 29 July 1918 to the 16th Division; relieved 8 March 1919 from assignment to the 16th Division; assigned 22 October 1921 to the Hawaiian Division (later redesignated as the 24th Infantry Division)
Redesignated 5 June 1958 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battle Group, 21st Infantry, and remained assigned to the 24th Infantry Division (organic elements concurrently constituted and activated 1 July 1958 in Germany)
Reorganized and redesignated 1 February 1963 as the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry
Inactivated 15 April 1970 in Germany
Relieved 5 June 1972 from assignment to the 24th Infantry Division, assigned to the 25th Infantry Division, and activated at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
ANNEX
Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as Company A, 3d Battalion, 14th Infantry
Organized in August 1865 at Fort Trumbull, Connecticut
Reorganized and redesignated 21 September 1866 as Company A, 32d Infantry
Consolidated 20 August 1869 with Company A, 21st Infantry, and consolidated unit designated as Company A, 21st Infantry
CAMPAIGN PARTICIPATION CREDIT
Civil War
* Peninsula
* Manassas
* Antietam
* Fredericksburg
* Chancellorsville
* Gettysburg
* Wilderness
* Spotsylvania
* Cold Harbor
* Petersburg
* Virginia 1862
* Virginia 1863
Indian Wars
Modocs
Nez Perces
Bannocks
Arizona 1866
Arizona 1867
* Arizona 1868
* Arizona 1869
* Arizona 1870
War with Spain
* Santiago
Philippine Insurrection
* Zapote River
* Luzon 1899
* Luzon 1900
* Luzon 1901
* Luzon 1902
World War II
* Central Pacific
* New Guinea (with arrowhead)
* Leyte
* Luzon
* Southern Philippines (with arrowhead)
Korean War
* UN Defensive
* UN Offensive
* CCF Intervention
* First UN Counteroffensive
* CCF Spring Offensive
* UN Summer-Fall Offensive
* Second Korean Winter
* Korea, Summer 1953
War on Terrorism
Campaigns to be determined
DECORATIONS
* Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for DEFENSE OF KOREA
Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for SANGHONGJONG-NI
* Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for IRAQ 2004-2005
* Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for 17 OCTOBER 1944 TO 4 JULY 1945
* Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for PYONGTAEK
* Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for KOREA
2ND BATTALION, 21ST INFANTRY REGIMENT LINEAGE AND HONORS
Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as Company B, 2d Battalion, 12th Infantry
Organized 20 May 1862 at Fort Hamilton, New York
Reorganized and redesignated 7 December 1866 as Company B, 21st Infantry
Consolidated 26 August 1869 with Company B, 32d Infantry (see ANNEX), and consolidated unit designated as Company B, 21st Infantry
(21st Infantry assigned 29 July 1918 to the 16th Division; relieved 8 March 1919 from assignment to the 16th Division; assigned 22 October 1921 to the Hawaiian Division (later redesignated as the 24th Infantry Division)
Reorganized and redesignated 1 February 1957 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2d Battle Group, 21st Infantry, relieved from assignment to the 24th Infantry Division, ans assigned to the 25th Infantry Division (organic elements concurrently constituted and activated)
Reorganized and redesignated 1 February 1963 as the 2d Battalion, 21st Infantry; concurrently relieved from assignment to the 25th Infantry Division and assigned to the 24th Infantry Division
Inactivated 15 April 1970 at Fort Riley, Kansas
Activated 21 June 1975 at Fort Stewart, Georgia
Inactivated 16 December 1987 at Fort Stewart, Georgia and relieved from assignment to the 24th Infantry Division
ANNEX
Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as Company B, 3d Battalion, 14th Infantry
Organized in August 1865 at Fort Trumbull, Connecticut
Reorganized and redesignated 21 September 1866 as Company B, 32d Infantry
Consolidated 26 August 1869 with Company B, 21st Infantry, and consolidated unit designated as Company B, 21st Infantry
CAMPAIGN PARTICIPATION CREDIT
Civil War
Peninsula
* Manassas
* Antietam
* Fredericksburg
Chancellorsville
Gettysburg
Wilderness
Spotsylvania
Cold Harbor
Petersburg
Virginia 1862
Virginia 1863
Indian Wars
* Modocs
* Nez Perces
* Bannocks
* Arizona 1866
Arizona 1867
Arizona 1868
Arizona 1869
Arizona 1870
War with Spain
* Santiago
Philippine Insurrection
* Zapote River
* Luzon 1899
* Luzon 1900
* Luzon 1901
* Luzon 1902
World War II
* Central Pacific
* New Guinea (with arrowhead)
* Leyte
* Luzon
* Southern Philippines (with arrowhead)
Korean War
* UN Defensive
* UN Offensive
* CCF Intervention
* First UN Counteroffensive
* CCF Spring Offensive
* UN Summer-Fall Offensive
* Second Korean Winter
* Korea, Summer 1953
DECORATIONS
* Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for DEFENSE OF KOREA
Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for SANGHONGJONG-NI
* Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for 17 OCTOBER 1944 TO 4 JULY 1945
* Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for PYONGTAEK
* Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for KOREA
3RD BATTALION, 21ST INFANTRY REGIMENT LINEAGE AND HONORS
Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as Company C, 2d Battalion, 12th Infantry
Organized 28 May 1862 at Fort Hamilton, New York
Reorganized and redesignated 7 December 1866 as Company C, 21st Infantry
Consolidated 27 August 1869 with Company C, 32d Infantry (see ANNEX), and consolidated unit designated as Company C, 21st Infantry
(21st Infantry assigned 29 July 1918 to the 16th Division; relieved 8 March 1919 from assignment to the 16th Division; assigned 22 October 1921 to the Hawaiian Division (later redesignated as the 24th Infantry Division)
Inactivated 5 June 1958 and relieved from assignment to the 24th Infantry Division
Redesignated 31 March 1959 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3d Battle Group, 21st Infantry, withdrawn from the Regular Army, allotted to the Army Reserve, and assigned to the 63d Infantry Division (organic elements concurrently constituted)
Battle Group activated 1 May 1959 with Headquarters at Santa Barbara, California
Inactivated 1 April 1963 at Santa Barbara, California, and relieved from assignment to the 63d Infantry Division
Redesignated 10 September 1965 as the 3d Battalion, 21st Infantry; concurrently withdrawn from the Army Reserve, allotted to the Regular Army, and assigned to the 196th Infantry Brigade
Activated 15 September 1965 at Fort Devens, Massachusetts
Relieved 15 February 1969 from assignment to the 196th Infantry Brigade and assigned to the 23d Infantry Division
Relieved 1 November 1971 from assignment to the 23d Infantry Division and assigned to the 196th Infantry Brigade
Inactivated 23 August 1972 at Oakland, California
Relieved 16 January 1986 from assignment to the 196th Infantry Brigade, assigned to the 25th Infantry Division, and activated at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
Inactivated 15 July 1995 at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and relieved from assignment to the 25th Infantry Division
Assigned 16 March 2002 to the 25th Infantry Division and activated at Fort Lewis, Washington
Redesignated 1 October 2005 as the 3d Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment
Inactivated 1 June 2006 at Fort Lewis, Washington, and relieved from assignment to the 25th Infantry Division
Assigned 16 December 2006 to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, and activated at Fort Wainwright, Alaska
ANNEX
Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as Company C, 3d Battalion, 14th Infantry
Organized in September 1865 at Hart Island, New York
Reorganized and redesignated 21 September 1866 as Company C, 32d Infantry
Consolidated 27 August 1869 with Company C, 21st Infantry, and consolidated unit designated as Company C, 21st Infantry
CAMPAIGN PARTICIPATION CREDIT
Civil War
Peninsula
Manassas
* Antietam
* Fredericksburg
* Chancellorsville
* Gettysburg
* Wilderness
* Spotsylvania
* Cold Harbor
* Petersburg
Virginia 1862
* Virginia 1863
Indian Wars
* Modocs
* Nez Perces
Bannocks
Arizona 1866
Arizona 1867
* Arizona 1868
* Arizona 1869
* Arizona 1870
War with Spain
* Santiago
Philippine Insurrection
* Zapote River
* Luzon 1899
* Luzon 1900
* Luzon 1901
* Luzon 1902
World War II
* Central Pacific
* New Guinea (with arrowhead)
* Leyte
* Luzon
* Southern Philippines (with arrowhead)
Korean War
* UN Defensive
* UN Offensive
* CCF Intervention
* First UN Counteroffensive
* CCF Spring Offensive
* UN Summer-Fall Offensive
* Second Korean Winter
* Korea, Summer 1953
Vietnam
* 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
War on Terrorism
Campaigns to be determined
DECORATIONS
* Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for DEFENSE OF KOREA
Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for SANGHONGJONG-NI
* Valorous Unit Award for TAM KY – TIEN PHUOC
* Valorous Unit Award for NINEVEH PROVINCE 2005
* Navy Unit Commendation for CAM LO
* Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for 17 OCTOBER 1944 TO 4 JULY 1945
* Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for PYONGTAEK
* Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for KOREA 1953
* Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm for VIETNAM 1969
* Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm for VIETNAM 1969-1970
* Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm for VIETNAM 1971
4TH BATTALION, 21ST INFANTRY REGIMENT LINEAGE AND HONORS
Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as Company D, 2d Battalion, 12th Infantry
Organized 20 August 1862 at Fort Hamilton, New York
Reorganized and redesignated 7 December 1866 as Company D, 21st Infantry
Consolidated 21 August 1869 with Company D, 32d Infantry (see ANNEX), and consolidated unit designated as Company D, 21st Infantry
(21st Infantry assigned 29 July 1918 to the 16th Division; relieved 8 March 1919 from assignment to the 16th Division; assigned 22 October 1921 to the Hawaiian Division; relieved 26 August 1941 from assignment to the Hawaiian Division (later redesignated as the 24th Infantry Division)
Inactivated 5 June 1958 and relieved from assignment to the 24th Infantry Division; concurrently, redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Battle Group, 21st Infantry
Redesignated 11 October 1965 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Battalion, 21st Infantry, and assigned to the 25th Infantry Division (organic elements concurrently constituted)
Battalion activated 6 September 1965 in Hawaii
Inactivated 3 January 1966 in Hawaii and relieved from assignment to the 25th Infantry Division
Assigned 1 November 1967 to the 11th Infantry Brigade and activated in Hawaii
Relieved 15 February 1969 from assignment to the 11th Infantry Brigade and assigned to the 23d Infantry Division
Inactivated 29 June 1971 at Fort Lewis, Washington
Relieved 16 January 1986 from assignment to the 23d Infantry Division, assigned to the 7th Infantry Division, and activated at Fort Ord, California
Inactivated 15 September 1993 at Fort Ord, California, and relieved from assignment to the 7th Infantry Division
ANNEX
Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as Company D, 3d Battalion, 14th Infantry
Organized in September 1865 at Hart Island, New York
Reorganized and redesignated 21 September 1866 as Company D, 32d Infantry
Consolidated 27 August 1869 with Company D, 21st Infantry, and consolidated unit designated as Company D, 21st Infantry
CAMPAIGN PARTICIPATION CREDIT
Civil War
Peninsula
Manassas
* Antietam
* Fredericksburg
* Chancellorsville
* Gettysburg
* Wilderness
* Spotsylvania
* Cold Harbor
* Petersburg
Virginia 1862
* Virginia 1863
Indian Wars
Modocs
* Nez Perces
* Bannocks
Arizona 1866
Arizona 1867
Arizona 1868
Arizona 1869
Arizona 1870
War with Spain
* Santiago
Philippine Insurrection
* Zapote River
* Luzon 1899
* Luzon 1900
* Luzon 1901
* Luzon 1902
World War II
* Central Pacific
* New Guinea (with arrowhead)
* Leyte
* Luzon
* Southern Philippines (with arrowhead)
Korean War
* UN Defensive
* UN Offensive
* CCF Intervention
* First UN Counteroffensive
* CCF Spring Offensive
* UN Summer-Fall Offensive
* Second Korean Winter
* Korea, Summer 1953
Vietnam
* 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 (Army) for DEFENSE OF KOREA
Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for SANGHONGJONG-NI
* Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for 17 OCTOBER 1944 TO 4 JULY 1945
* Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for PYONGTAEK
* Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for KOREA
* Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm for VIETNAM 1968-1969
* Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm for VIETNAM 1969-1970
5TH BATTALION, 21ST INFANTRY REGIMENT LINEAGE AND HONORS
Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as Company E, 2d Battalion, 12th Infantry
Organized 20 May 1862 at Fort Hamilton, New York
Reorganized and redesignated 7 December 1866 as Company E, 21st Infantry
Consolidated 19 August 1869 with Company E, 32d Infantry (see ANNEX), and consolidated unit designated as Company E, 21st Infantry
(21st Infantry assigned 29 July 1918 to the 16th Division; relieved 8 March 1919 from assignment to the 16th Division; assigned 22 October 1921 to the Hawaiian Division (later redesignated as the 24th Infantry Division)
Inactivated 5 June 1958 and relieved from assignment to the 24th Infantry Division; concurrently redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 5th Battle Group, 21st Infantry
Redesignated 11 October 1965 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 5th Battalion, 21st Infantry, and assigned to the 25th Infantry Division (organic elements concurrently constituted)
Battalion activated 6 September 1965 in Hawaii
Inactivated 3 January 1966 in Hawaii and relieved from assignment to the 25th Infantry Division
Assigned 16 May 1985 to the 7th Infantry Division and activated at Fort Ord, California
Inactivated 15 September 1993 at Fort Ord, California, and relieved from assignment to the 7th Infantry Division
ANNEX
Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as Company E, 3d Battalion, 14th Infantry
Organized in September 1865 at Hart Island, New York
Reorganized and redesignated 21 September 1866 as Company E, 32d Infantry
Consolidated 19 August 1869 with Company E, 21st Infantry, and consolidated unit designated as Company E, 21st Infantry
CAMPAIGN PARTICIPATION CREDIT
Civil War
Peninsula
* Manassas
* Antietam
* Fredericksburg
Chancellorsville
Gettysburg
Wilderness
Spotsylvania
Cold Harbor
Petersburg
Virginia 1862
Virginia 1863
Indian Wars
Modocs
* Nez Perces
* Bannocks
Arizona 1866
Arizona 1867
Arizona 1868
Arizona 1869
Arizona 1870
War with Spain
* Santiago
Philippine Insurrection
* Zapote River
* Luzon 1899
* Luzon 1900
* Luzon 1901
* Luzon 1902
World War II
* Central Pacific
* New Guinea (with arrowhead)
* Leyte
* Luzon
* Southern Philippines (with arrowhead)
Korean War
* UN Defensive
* UN Offensive
* CCF Intervention
* First UN Counteroffensive
* CCF Spring Offensive
* UN Summer-Fall Offensive
* Second Korean Winter
* Korea, Summer 1953
Armed Forces Expeditions
* Panama
DECORATIONS
* Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for DEFENSE OF KOREA
Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for SANGHONGJONG-NI
* Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for 17 OCTOBER 1944 TO 4 JULY 1945
* Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for PYONGTAEK
* Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for KOREA 1953