38th Infantry Regiment (United States)

38th Infantry Regiment
38th Infantry Regiment
	Coat of arms of the 38th Infantry Regiment
Active	1917-present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Infantry
Nickname(s)	Rock of the Marne (special designation)
Engagements	World War I; World War II; Korean War; Iraq War; War in Afghanistan
Commanders
Battalion Commander	LTC Timothy W. Chess
Command Sergeant Major	CSM Tyler V. Arnold
Notable; commanders	Henry C. Merriam ; Ulysses G. McAlexander; Olinto M. Barsanti
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

The 38th Infantry Regiment ("Rock of the Marne")^[1] is a United States Army infantry regiment.

First & Second 38th Infantry Regiments

The first 38th United States Colored Infantry Regiment served from January 23, 1864, to January 25, 1867.

The second 38th Infantry was first established on 28 July 1866, as part of the Regular Army, one of six segregated, all-black regiments created following the Civil War. It was organized on 1 October of that year at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, and was stationed in New Mexico Territory and along the transcontinental railroads then under construction. Cathay Williams, the first recorded African American female to serve in the U.S. Army, served with the 38th during this time, disguised as a male. On 15 March 1869, the 38th was consolidated with the 41st Infantry Regiment and redesignated as the 24th Infantry Regiment.

Current 38th Infantry Regiment

World War I

The current 38th Infantry Regiment was constituted in the Regular Army on 15 May 1917, and was organized on 1 June 1917 at Syracuse, New York. It was assigned 1 October 1917 to the 3rd Infantry Division. It saw service in France during the Second Battle of the Marne (Battle of Château-Thierry); 15 July 1918, its first day of participation in the battle, was later chosen as the regiment's "organization day."

Interwar period

The regiment arrived at the port of New York on 20 August 1919 on the troopship USS Matsonia and was transferred the same day to Camp Merritt, New Jersey, where emergency period personnel were discharged from the service. It was transferred on 23 August 1919 to Camp Pike, Arkansas, and was transferred on 16 September 1921 to Camp Lewis, Washington. The regiment, less the 1st Battalion, was transferred on 6 June 1922 to Fort Douglas, Utah. Concurrently, the 1st Battalion was transferred to Fort Logan, Colorado. The 1st Battalion was transferred in June 1927 to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In April 1933, the regiment assumed command and control of the Fort Douglas Civilian Conservation Corps District. The 1st Battalion was inactivated on 1 October 1933 at Fort Sill, with the personnel and equipment transferred to the 3rd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment. The 1st Battalion was reactivated on 1 May 1939 at Fort Sill. The regiment was relieved from the 3rd Division on 12 October 1939 and assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division, being transferred on 9 November 1939 to Camp Bullis, Texas, and to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, on 24 February 1941.^[2]

Korean War

Five members of the 38th Infantry were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions in the Korean War:

First Lieutenant Frederick F. Henry, Company F, for actions on 1 September 1950
Sergeant First Class Tony K. Burris, Company L, for actions on 8–9 October 1951
Sergeant Charles R. Long, Company M, for actions on 12 February 1951
Corporal Ronald E. Rosser, Heavy Mortar Company, for actions on 12 January 1952
Private Miguel Vera, Company F, for actions on 21 September 1952

Cold War

Redesignated 8 November 1957 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battle Group, 38th Infantry, and relieved from assignment to the 2d Infantry Division
Inactivated 4 March 1958
Organic elements constituted 26 January 1962
Battle Group assigned 19 February 1962 to the 2d Infantry Division and activated at Fort Benning, Georgia
Reorganized and redesigned 10 May 1963 as the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry
By 1972, the 1st Battalion was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade at Camp Hovey, South Korea.
Inactivated 16 December 1986 in South Korea and relieved from assignment to the 2d Infantry Division
Headquarters transferred 28 August 1987 to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command and activated at Fort Moore, Georgia

Modern

Battalion redesignated 1 October 2005 as the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment
Headquarters inactivated 27 April 2006 at Fort Benning, Georgia, and withdrawn from the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command
Battalion assigned 1 June 2006 to the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 2d Infantry Division, and activated at Fort Lewis, Washington and Battalion inactivated 16 March 2014
Battalion assigned 17 March 2014 to the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, and activated at Fort Carson, Colorado

Campaign participation credit

World War I : Aisne; Champagne-Marne; Aisne-Marne; St. Mihiel; Meuse-Argonne; Champagne 1918
World War II: Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe
Korean War: UN Defensive; UN Offensive; CCF Intervention; First UN Counteroffensive; CCF Spring Offensive; UN Summer-Fall Offensive; Second Korean Winter; Korea, Summer-Fall 1952; Third Korean Winter; Korea, Summer 1953
Operation Iraqi Freedom : OIF V, Served in Baghdad and Baqouba
Operation Iraqi Freedom : OIF VII, Abu Ghraib
Operation Enduring Freedom: OEF '12-'13, Panjwai Valley
Operation Freedom Sentinel:OFS 2018-2019
Operation Inherent Resolve:OIR 2021-2022

Decorations

French Croix de Guerre with Palm, World War I for MARNE RIVER
French Croix de Guerre with Silver-Gilt Star, World War II for BREST
Belgian Fourragere 1940
Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes
Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at Elsenborn Crest

Unit Decorations

Award	Year	Notes
Presidential Unit Citation (United States) (Army)	08/22/1944–08/23/1944	for service for HILL 154, BREST
Presidential Unit Citation (United States) (Army)	12/10/1944–12/20/1944	for service for KRINKELT
Presidential Unit Citation (United States) (Army)	05/16/1951–06/02/1951	for service for HONGCHON
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation (Army)	1950	for service for NAKTON RIVER LINE
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation (Army)	1950–1952	for service in Korea
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation (Army)	1950–1953	for service in Korea
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army)	4/2007–6/2008	for service in Operation Iraqi Freedom
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army)	09/2009–09/2010	for service in Operation Iraqi Freedom
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army)	11/24/2012–07/25/2013	for service in Operation Enduring Freedom
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army)	04/2018–02/2019	For Service in Operation Freedom Sentinel

References

This article incorporates public domain material from 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Lineage and Honors. United States Army Center of Military History.

^ ^a ^b "Special Unit Designations". United States Army Center of Military History. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 9 June 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
^ 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. 388. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.