The 48th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

first formed in 1917.

History

World War I and interwar period

The 48th Infantry Regiment was constituted on 15 May 1917 in the Regular Army, and organized on 1 June 1917 at Syracuse, New York. It was assigned on 31 July 1918 to the 20th Division, but the

Armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed in a railroad car, in the Compiègne Forest near the town of Compiègne, that ended fighting on land, at sea, and in the air in World War I between the Entente and their las ...

ended the war before the division could deploy overseas and it was demobilized on 28 February 1919. The 48th Infantry Regiment was concurrently relieved from the 20th Division, and was stationed at Camp Jackson,

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, as of June 1919 as a separate regiment. It was transferred in 1920 to Camp Harry J. Jones,

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, and concurrently, the 1st Battalion was transferred to

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. The entire regiment was transferred in September 1921 to Camp Travis,

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, and was inactivated there on 14 October 1921 with personnel transferred to units of the 2nd Division. The regiment was demobilized and removed from the troop list on 31 July 1922.

Cold War

The 23rd, 38th, and 48th Armored Infantry Battalions were relieved on 15 February 1957 from assignment to the 7th Armored Division and were consolidated to form the 48th Infantry, a parent regiment under the United States Army

Combat Arms Regimental System The Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS), was the method of assigning unit designations to units of some of the combat arms branches of the United States Army, including Infantry, Special Forces, Field Artillery, and Armor, from 1957 to 1981. A ...

. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 48th Infantry were mechanized infantry units assigned to the

3rd Armored Division (United States) The 3rd Armored Division (also known as "Spearhead", 3rd Armored, and 3AD) was an armored division of the United States Army. Unofficially nicknamed the "Third Herd", the division was first activated in 1941 and was active in the European Th ...

(3AD) in West Germany during the Cold War. The battalions had overlapping assignments in the 3AD within the time frame 1957 to 1983 (joining the 2d of the 48th, the 1st of the 48th relocated to the 3AD at Gelnhausen in 1963 as part of the ROAD reorganization, from a prior assignment to 7th Army at Worms, Germany. In the 1963 ROAD reorganization 3d Armored Division Combat Command B at Gelnhausen was redesignated as the Second Brigade). 2lt

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...

served in 2nd Bn 48th at Gelnhausen c. 1959.

James S. Voss James Shelton Voss (born March 3, 1949) is a retired United States Army colonel and NASA astronaut. During his time with NASA, Voss flew in space five times on board the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. He also served as deputy of F ...

served as a platoon leader, intelligence officer, and C company commander from 1975 to 1978. Following the 1963 ROAD reorganization, and along with the 1st Battalion,

33rd Armor Regiment (United States) The 33rd Armor Regiment was an armored regiment in the United States Army first formed in 1941. In 2005, the 33rd Armor was redesignated 33rd Cavalry Regiment. The 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, a part of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st A ...

which had been at Gelnhausen since the Spring of 1956, they comprised (1963 to 1983) the maneuver elements of the Division's 2d Brigade, stationed at Coleman Kaserne, in the city of

Gelnhausen Gelnhausen () is a town, and the capital of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approximately 40 kilometers east of Frankfurt am Main, between the Vogelsberg mountains and the Spessart range at the river Kinzig (Main), Kinzig. ...

, Federal Republic of Germany. The Battalions served as part of NATO forces guarding the Inner-German Border against the Warsaw Pact. The unit crest of the 48th Infantry designated the unit as Dragoons. They are descended from National Guard units which trained for the First World War, and armored infantry battalions which served with the U.S. 7th Armored Division during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The 48th Armored Infantry Battalion, along with 1st Battalion, 40th Armor, in particular, fought a tough battle in

Vielsalm Vielsalm (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Luxembourg (Belgium), province of Luxembourg, Belgium. The town is part of the Arrondissement of Bastogne. It is the place of origin of the Salm (state), House o ...

, Belgium, holding off the German V Panzer Corps for three days at the crossing of the Salm River, during the German Ardennes Offensive (also known as

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

). The 2d Battalion, 48th Infantry was inactivated at Gelnhausen on 15 October 1991 (and approximately two years later the 3d Bn, 33d Armor from 3d Armored Division's 1st Brigade at Kirch Goens was transferred to Gelnhausen and took up some of the vacated space). On 16 June 1989 the 1st Battalion, 48th Infantry was inactivated at Gelnhausen and its personnel were re-designated and continued there as 4th Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment. On June 16, 2017, the 48th Infantry's 2nd Battalion was reactivated in a ceremony at

Fort Leonard Wood Fort Leonard Wood is a United States Army, U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri The Ozarks, Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of the city of St. Robert, Missouri, St. Robert. The post was created in De ...

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, joining the 15 April 2017 reactivated 48th Infantry's 1st Battalion, to train

Basic Combat Training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique dema ...

. The reactivated 48th Infantry's 2nd Battalion initially consisted solely of United States Army Reserves Drill Sergeants.

Lineage

Constituted 15 May 1917 in the Regular Army as the 48th Infantry Organized 1 June 1917 at Syracuse, New York Assigned 31 July 1918 to the 20th Infantry Division (United States) Relieved 28 February 1919 from assignment to the 20th Division Inactivated 14 October 1921 at

Camp Travis Camp may refer to: Areas of confinement, imprisonment, or for execution * Concentration camp, an internment camp for political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or minority ethnic groups * Extermination ...

, Texas Demobilized 31 July 1922 Reconstituted 27 February 1942 in the Regular Army as the 48th Armored Infantry and assigned to the

7th Armored Division (United States) The 7th Armored Division ("Lucky Seventh") was an armored division of the United States Army that saw distinguished service on the Western Front, from August 1944 until May 1945, during World War II. They also performed occupation duties in ...

Activated 2 March 1942 at Camp Polk, Louisiana Regiment broken up 20 September 1943 and its elements reorganized and redesignated as elements of the 7th Armored Division as follows: *48th Armored Infantry (less 1st and 2d Battalions) as the 48th Armored Infantry Battalion **1st Battalion as the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion **2d Battalion as the 23d Armored Infantry Battalion After 20 September 1943 the above units underwent changes as follows: *48th Armored Infantry Battalion inactivated 8 October 1945 at

Camp Myles Standish Camp Myles Standish was a U.S. Army camp located in Taunton, Massachusetts, during World War II. It was the main staging area for the Boston Port of Embarkation, with about a million U.S. and Allied soldiers passing through the camp on their ...

, Massachusetts **Activated 24 November 1950 at

Camp Roberts, California Camp Roberts is a California National Guard post in central California, located on both sides of the Salinas River in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, now run by the California Army National Guard. It was opened in 1941 and is named afte ...

**Inactivated 15 November 1953 at Camp Roberts, California *38th Armored Infantry Battalion inactivated 11 October 1945 at

Camp Shanks Camp Shanks was a United States Army installation in the Orangeburg, New York area. Named after Major General David C. Shanks, it was situated near the juncture of the Erie Railroad and the Hudson River. The camp was the largest U.S. Army embark ...

, New York **Activated 24 November 1950 at Camp Roberts, California **Inactivated 15 November 1953 at Camp Roberts, California *23d Armored Infantry Battalion inactivated 11 October 1945 at

Camp Kilmer Camp Kilmer is a former United States Army camp in Central New Jersey that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Tra ...

, New Jersey **Activated 24 November 1950 at Camp Roberts, California **Inactivated 15 November 1953 at Camp Roberts, California 48th, 38th, and 23d Armored Infantry Battalions relieved 15 February 1957 from assignment to the 7th Armored Division and consolidated to form the 48th Infantry, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System Withdrawn 16 June 1989 from the

, reorganized under the

United States Army Regimental System The United States Army Regimental System (USARS) is an organizational and classification system used by the United States Army. It was established in 1981 to replace the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) to provide each soldier with contin ...

, and transferred to the United States Army

Training and Doctrine Command The United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) is a major command of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Eustis, Virginia. It is charged with overseeing training of Army forces and the development of operational doctrine. ...

Distinctive unit insignia

* Description A Gold color metal and enamel device in height consisting of a shield blazoned: Per pale Azure and Sable a lion rampant Or, on a canton Argent a chevron wavy of the first. Attached below the shield a Gold scroll inscribed "DRAGOONS" in Black letters. * Symbolism The colors blue and white are used for Infantry. Black and gold are the colors of the Belgian coat of arms from which the Belgian lion is adapted. The wavy chevron on the canton is for descent from the 9th Infantry. The Belgian lion represents the organization's action at Ardennes and St. Vith, for which it was awarded two unit decorations by the Belgian government. * Background The distinctive unit insignia was approved on 14 October 1958.

Coat of arms

*Blazon **Shield- Per pale Azure and Sable a lion rampant Or, on a canton Argent a chevron wavy of the first. **Crest- On a wreath Or and Azure two hunting horns in saltire Or, inserts Argent, mouthpieces Gules and straps interlaced Sable buckled of the first. Motto: DRAGOONS. * Symbolism ** Shield- The colors blue and white are used for Infantry. Black and gold are the colors of the Belgian coat of arms from which the Belgian lion is adapted. The wavy chevron on the canton is for descent from the 9th Infantry. The Belgian lion represents the organization's action at Ardennes and St. Vith, for which it was awarded two unit decorations by the Belgian government. **Crest- The crest, consisting of Teutonic hunting horns, alludes to the German battle honors of World War II. * Background- The coat of arms was originally approved for the 48th Infantry Regiment on 3 February 1921. It was redesignated for the 48th Armored Infantry Regiment on 19 May 1942. The insignia was redesignated for the 48th Armored Infantry Battalion on 30 November 1943. It was redesignated for the 48th Infantry Regiment and amended by the addition of a charge to and modification of the shield and a crest on 14 October 1958.

Campaign credit

;World War II *Northern France *Rhineland *Ardennes-Alsace *Central Europe

Decorations

* Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for ST. VITH *

Belgian Fourragere Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

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 ST. VITH

References

* {{ACMH, url = http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/inf/0048in.htm, title = 48th Infantry Lineage and Honors * https://web.archive.org/web/20110724204917/http://www.3ad.org/48in/coat_of_arms.htm 048 Military units and formations established in 1917