351st Infantry Regiment (United States)


The 351st Infantry Regiment was a National Army Infantry Regiment first organized for service in World War I as part of the 88th Infantry Division in Europe. It later served in the Mediterranean Theater during World War II. Since then it has served as a training Regiment, training Army Reserve and Army National Guard Soldiers for service in support of the Global War on Terror.

Service history

World War Ihttp://freepages.military.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~worldwarone/WWI/TheGeographyOfTheGreatWar/images/Figure24-Page26-27.jpg Military [Map of the United States in 1918]

The Regiment was constituted 5 August 1917 in the National Army as the 351st Infantry and assigned to the 176th Infantry Brigade of the 88th Division. It was organized at Camp Dodge, Iowa on 30 August 1917, and Herbert B. Crosby was named to command it. In August 1917, the Regiment was organized with 3,755 Officers and enlisted men:
The Doughboys of the Regiment deployed to France as part of the American Expeditionary Forces. After completing its war service in France it demobilized at Camp Dodge on 7 June 1919.

Between the Wars

The Regiment was reconstituted in the Organized Reserves as the 351st Infantry on 24 June 1921 and reassigned to the 88th Division in the Sixth Corps Area.

World War IIStanton, Shelby L. (1984). World War II Order of Battle. New York, New York: Galahad Books.

The Regiment was ordered into active military service 15 July 1942 and reorganized at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma using a cadre provided by the 9th Infantry Division. The Regiment participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers in June through August 1943. The Regiment departed Camp Patrick Henry on 4 November 1943 through the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation as Shipment 8629-H.
In July 1943, the Regiment was organized with 3,256 Officers and enlisted men:
The 351st Infantry was relieved from assignment to the division on 1 May 1947 and served as temporary military Government of the Free Territory of Trieste, securing the new independent State between Italy and Yugoslavia on behalf of the United Nations Security Council. Designated TRUST, the command served as the front line in the Cold War from 1947 to 1954, including confrontations with Yugoslavian forces. In October 1954 the mission ended upon the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding of London establishing a temporary civil administration in the Anglo-American Zone of the Free Territory of Trieste, entrusted to the responsibility of the Italian Government. TRUST units, which included a number of 88th divisional support units, all bore a unit patch which was the coat of arms of the Free Territory of Trieste superimposed over the divisional quatrefoil, over which was a blue scroll containing the designation "TRUST" in white. The 1948 organization of the Regiment called for a strength of 3,774 Officers and enlisted men organized as below:
The Regiment departed Leghorn, Italy on November 30, 1954 aboard the Military Sea Transportation Service USNS General Sturgis as shipment #19069-A. Returning to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, the Regiment inactivated at Fort Rucker, Alabama on September 30, 1956. Personnel and equipment were used to reactivate the 99th Infantry Battalion of World War II fame. This unit was in turn inactivated on 24 March 1958 when the U.S. Army adopted the Pentomic force organization and the infantry unit at Fort Rucker was reorganized and reflagged as the 2d Battle Group, 31st Infantry, a unit organized for Aviation Center training support. When the U.S. Army reorganized into brigades and battalions in the early 1960s, the designation of 2-31st Infantry was reassigned to the 7th Infantry Division in Korea and the unit at Fort Rucker was reflagged as the 5th Battle Group, 31st Infantry. The 5-31st Infantry lineage, less personnel and equipment, was later reassigned to the 197th Infantry Brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia, effective 23 June 1967 as the 5th Battalion, 31st Infantry; however, an infantry presence remained at Fort Rucker in the form of Company E, 30th Infantry, activated on 25 August 1966 and later inactivated on 1 July 1978. Additionally, the Pathfinder Team, HHC, 2d Battle Group, 31st Infantry, formed in 1960, was reflagged as 5th Infantry Detachment effective 24 June 1963, and later expanded and reflagged as Company C, 509th Infantry, activated effective 1 July 1975. C-509th was inactivated on 31 May 1993 and its personnel and equipment were reflagged as Company A, 511th Infantry, and activated on 1 June 1993. A-511th was inactivated due to lowered budget ceilings on 31 October 1995, ending the post-war infantry presence at Fort Rucker that had begun with the 351st Infantry Regiment.

Under the 84th Training Divisionhttp://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/regt/0351rgt.htm Regimental Lineage and Honors

The 351st Infantry was redesignated as the 351st Regiment, and reorganized to consist of the 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions, elements of the 84th Division on 31 January 1968. On 16 September 1995, the Regimental Headquarters and the 3rd Battalion were inactivated.

Current Assignment

The 1st Battalion is a Regular Army Logistics unit assigned to the 181st Infantry Brigade at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin with a mission to train echelon above brigade Combat Sustainment Support Battalions and a Medical brigade.
The 2nd Battalion is a Regular Army Infantry unit assigned to the 177th Armored Brigade at Camp Shelby, Mississippi with a mission to train infantry units of the National Guard.
The 3rd Battalion is a Regular Army Aviation unit assigned to the 166th Aviation Brigade at Fort Hood, Texas with a mission to train Aviation Battalions.

Campaign streamersWar Department General Order #24 Listing Campaigns">United States Department of War">War Department General Order #24 Listing Campaigns

Decorationshttp://www.hrc.army.mil/site/assets/directorate/TAGD/Campaign%20Register%20Prior%20to%201962%20pages%20214%20-%20321.pdf

Shoulder sleeve insignia

  1. The red and white of the background are the colors used in flags for Armies.
  2. The letter "A" represents "Army" and is also the first letter of the alphabet suggesting "First Army."
  1. A black letter "A" was approved as the authorized insignia by the Commanding General, American Expeditionary Force, on 16 November 1918 and approved by the War Department on 5 May 1922.
  2. The background was added on 17 November 1950.

    Distinctive Unit Insignia