The 86th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the United States Army. The 86th Infantry was briefly activated during World War I but never sent overseas, then reactivated during World War II at

Camp Hale Camp Hale was a U.S. Army training facility in the western United States, constructed in 1942 for what became the 10th Mountain Division. Located in central Colorado between Red Cliff and Leadville in the Eagle River valley, it was named fo ...

in 1942, with 3 Battalions, and attached to the

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in the US military to rec ...

. The regiment served with the 10th Mountain in Italy and was inactivated postwar. In 1948 it was reactivated and saw duty in Germany before inactivating in 1957.

History

The regiment was constituted on 31 July 1918 in the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...

as the 86th Infantry and assigned to the 18th Infantry Division. It was organized in September 1918 at Camp Travis, Texas from personnel of the 35th Infantry. The 86th was relieved from the 18th Division and demobilized on 13 February 1919 at Camp Travis. The regiment was constituted on 25 November 1942 in the

Army of the United States The Army of the United States is one of the four major service components of the United States Army (the others being the Regular Army, the United States Army Reserve and the Army National Guard of the United States), but it has been inactive ...

as the 86th Infantry. It was activated between 12 December 1942 and 1 May 1943 at

, Colorado, and assigned to the

on 15 July 1943. The regiment was redesignated the 86th Mountain Infantry and assigned to the 10th Mountain Division on 6 November 1944. It was inactivated on 27 November 1945 at

Camp Carson Fort Carson is a United States Army post located directly south of Colorado Springs in El Paso, Pueblo, Fremont, and Huerfano counties, Colorado, United States. The developed portion of Fort Carson is located near the City of Colorado Spri ...

, Colorado. The regiment was redesignated the 86th Infantry and assigned to 10th Infantry Division on 18 June 1948. It was allotted to the regular Army on 25 June 1948, and activated on 1 July 1948 at

Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...

, Kansas. The 86th was inactivated for the last time on 1 July 1957 in Germany.

Campaign streamers

World War II * North Apennines * Po Valley

Distinctive unit insignia

* Description A Silver color metal and enamel device in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Argent, a fess dancetté the points to chief fleury Azure. Attached below and to the sides of the shield is a Blue scroll inscribed "COURAGE AND DEPENDABILITY" in Silver letters. * Symbolism The shield is in the colors of the Infantry. The ordinary, dancetté partition lines, and the fleury peaks are symbolic of the mountains in which the organization fought in Italy in World War II. The two campaigns in which the Regiment participated are North Apennines and Po Valley. * Background The distinctive unit insignia was approved on 6 September 1951. It was amended to correct the symbolism on 4 March 1955.

Coat of arms

Blazon * Shield- Argent, a fess dancetté the points to chief fleury Azure. * Crest- None. * Motto- COURAGE AND DEPENDABILITY. Symbolism * Shield- The shield is in the colors of the Infantry. The ordinary, dancetté partition lines, and the fleury peaks are symbolic of the mountains in which the organization fought in Italy in World War II. The two campaigns in which the Regiment participated are North Apennines and

Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...

. * Crest- None. Background- The coat of arms was approved on 6 September 1951. It was amended to correct the symbolism on 4 March 1955.

References

* * {{Cite book, url=http://10thmtndivassoc.org/86th/, title=History of the 86th Mountain Infantry in Italy, last=Wellborn, first=Charles, publisher=Bradford-Robinson Printing Company, year=1945, location=Denver, Colorado
Chronology of the 10th Mountain Division in World War II
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