17th Infantry Regiment (United States)

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17th Infantry Regiment
17 INF COA.png
Coat of arms
Active1861–present
CountryFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
BranchFlag of the United States Army.svg  United States Army
Type Infantry
Garrison/HQ Joint Base Lewis–McChord,
Fort Bliss
Nickname(s)"The Buffalos"
Motto(s)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
Clement A. Trott
James Durrell Greene
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia 17 INF DUI.png

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.

Contents

History

Civil War

The 17th U.S. 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 Battle of Fredericksburg, the 17th U.S. 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."

On the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the 17th U.S. Infantry Regiment, commanded by Colonel James Durrell Greene, fought in tough hand-to-hand combat in the "Wheatfield." The 17th US Infantry lost 24 men killed and 125 wounded or missing in this engagement.

Interwar period

The 17th Infantry was stationed at Camp Meade, Maryland as of July 1919 as a separate regiment. It was transferred on 8 October 1920 to Fort McIntosh, Texas. It was designated as a training center regiment on 27 July 1921 and was assigned to the Eighth Corps Area Training Center; the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were inactivated on 1 October 1921 at Fort McIntosh. The regiment was transferred on 5 November 1921 to Fort Sam Houston, Texas. When Corps Area Training Center activities began to end in mid-1922, the regiment, minus the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, was transferred on 20 June 1922 to Fort Crook, Nebraska; the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were reactivated on 24 June 1922 at Fort Crook when the regiment was relieved of training center duties and reorganized into a combat regiment. The 17th Infantry was assigned to the 7th Division on 24 March 1923. The 2nd Battalion was transferred on 23 June 1926 to Fort Des Moines, Iowa. It was relieved from the 7th Division on 15 August 1927 and assigned to the 6th Division. The 2nd Battalion was inactivated on 31 October 1929 at Fort Des Moines. The 3rd Battalion was transferred on 10 September 1931 to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In April 1933, the regiment assumed command and control of the Nebraska and Arkansas Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Districts and portions of the South Dakota CCC District in February 1936. The regiment was relieved from the 6th Division on 1 October 1933 and reassigned to the 7th Division. The 2nd Battalion was reactivated 1 July 1940 at Camp Ord, California, and the regiment, less the 2nd Battalion, was transferred on 10 September 1940 to Camp Ord. Assigned Reserve officers conducted summer training with active elements of the regiment at Fort Crook. [1]

Afghanistan

The 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment (1-17th) suffered the highest casualty rate of any US infantry battalion in the War in Afghanistan. The battalion took over the Arghandab and Lower Shah Wali Kot districts from one company of Canadian troops who had not had the manpower to take the fight to the Taliban. The battalion was very successful regaining control over the area despite losing Alpha Company for part of the deployment to help the Marines in the Helmand Province.

Coat of arms

A buffalo, displayed on a shield below the stone wall, represents the regiment's history in the Korean war. The "Buffalo" nickname was adopted at the suggestion of the 17th Regiment's commander in the Korean War, Col. William W. "Buffalo Bill" Quinn. [2] [3]

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 five-bastioned fort, shown on the blue shield above and to the right of the stone wall, was the badge of the 5th Army Corps in Cuba in 1898.

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

The 17th Infantry Regiment was in the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War in Sykes' Division of the 5th Army Corps, the badge of which was a white Cross pattée, which is embodied in the coat of arms and shown on the blue field above and to the left of the stone wall.

At Fredericksburg the 17th suffered heavy losses in the assault on the famous 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.

Medal of Honor recipients

Spanish–American War
World War II
Korean War

Lineage

Campaign participation credit

[3]

Unit awards

RibbonAwardStreamer embroidered
U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg Presidential Unit Citation (Army)LEYTE [4]
Valorous Unit Award ribbon.svg Valorous Unit Award NINEVEH PROVINCE AND BAGHDAD [4]
Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon.svg Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army)AFGHANISTAN 2012-2013 [4]
Philippines Presidential Unit Citation.png Philippine Presidential Unit Citation 17 OCTOBER 1944 TO 4 JULY 1945 [4]
Korean Presidential Unit Citation.png Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation INCHON [4]
Korean Presidential Unit Citation.png Republic of Korea Presidential Unit CitationKOREA 1950-1953 [4]
Korean Presidential Unit Citation.png Republic of Korea Presidential Unit CitationKOREA 1952-1953 [4]
Korean Presidential Unit Citation.png Republic of Korea Presidential Unit CitationKOREA 1945-1948; 1953-1957 [4]

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

See also

References

  1. Clay, Steven E. (2010). U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941, Volume 1. The Arms: Major Commands and Infantry Organizations, 1919-41. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press. p. 372-373.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  2. Blair, Clay (1997). The Forgotten War. Times Books. p. 616. ISBN   0812916700.
  3. 1 2 "17th Infantry Regimental History - HONORS AND LINEAGE". 17th Infantry Regiment Association. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "17th Infantry Regiment". U.S. Army Center of Military History. 13 June 2014. Archived from the original on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History . Strykers in Afghanistan: 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment in Kandahar Province 2009 by Combat Studies Institute Press (Author)