49th Armored Division (United States)
| 49th Armored Division | |
|---|---|
|
49th Armored Division shoulder sleeve insignia | |
| Active | 1947–2004 |
| Country |
 United States |
| Branch |
 United States Army |
| Type | Armor |
| Role | Armored warfare |
| Size | Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Camp Mabry |
| Nickname(s) | "Lone Star" |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Clayton P. Kerr |
| U.S. Armored Divisions | |
|---|---|
| Previous | Next |
| 48th Armored Division (Inactive) | 50th Armored Division (Inactive) |
The 49th Armored Division —nicknamed the "Lone Star"— was one of two armored divisions of the United States Army National Guard, redesignated from the 36th Infantry Division (the "T-Patchers") after World War II, and organized and federally recognized on 24 February 1947.
History
A number of the original divisional units received federal recognition from the National Guard Bureau on February 27, 1947, a date used thereafter as the formation's "birthday". Beginning in the northern and northeastern areas of the State, there were 111 units in 56 Texas cities by 1952.[1]
In September 1961, an executive order alerted the division for mobilization at Dallas due to the 1961 Berlin Crisis.[1] On October 15, 1961, the division entered federal service, and it subsequently deployed to Fort Polk, LA. The division was to stay there ten months. In May 1962, the division staged the large-scale Exercise Iron Dragoon, still remembered among National Guard armor exercises. Also while at Fort Polk the division's missile unit became the first Army National Guard unit to fire the Honest John nuclear-tipped surface-to-surface missile. The 49th Armored Division reverted to Texas State control in August 1962.
The 49th was deactivated in 1968 and re-organized into three separate brigades, the 36th, 71st and 72nd. The division was reactivated on 1 November 1973, with its headquarters at Camp Mabry, Austin, Texas.
On 18 July 2004 the division was re-flagged and again designated as the 36th Infantry Division. Prior to its redesignation, the 49th was capstoned to the U.S. Army III Corps and stood as the only fully functional, reserve component, armored division in the United States Army. (The 50th Armored Division in the north eastern states had been eliminated by consolidation with the 42nd Infantry Division in the early 1990s.)
Commanders
| Start Date | End Date | Commander |
|---|---|---|
| 1946-07-02 | 1947-06-05 | MG Richard B. Dunbar |
| 1947-06-06 | 1958-10-31 | MG Albert S. Johnson |
| 1958-11-01 | 1959-10-13 | MG Clayton P. Kerr |
| 1959-10-14 | 1961-06-30 | MG John L. Thompson Jr. |
| 1961-07-01 | 1964-03-31 | MG Harley B. West |
| 1964-04-01 | 1967-05-31 | MG Luther E. Orrick |
| 1967-06-01 | 1968-01-14 | MG James D. Scott |
| 1973-11-01 | 1976-10-31 | MG James L. Moreland |
| 1976-11-01 | 1979-11-02 | MG Delmer L. Nichols |
| 1979-11-03 | 1982-10-31 | MG John B. Garrett |
| 1982-11-01 | 1984-11-01 | MG Elmer L. Stephens |
| 1984-11-02 | 1985-02-20 | MG James T. Dennis |
| 1985-02-21 | 1987-11-12 | MG James B. McGoodwin |
| 1987-11-13 | 1989-05-22 | MG Charles H. Kone |
| 1989-05-23 | 1992-08-23 | MG Don O. Daniel |
| 1992-08-24 | 1995-09-25 | MG Wm. Edgar Murphy |
| 1995-09-26 | 1998-09-30 | MG Federico Lopez III |
| 1998-09-30 | 2002-03-23 | MG Robert L. Halverson |
| 2002-03-23 | 2004-05-01 | MG Michael Taylor |
- division deactivated and replaced by the 36th Inf. Div.
Command Sergeants Major
- CSM Wilfred Martin
- CSM Jim Merritt
- CSM Mikeal Graham
- CSM Don Steelhammer
- CSM Donnie Strickland
- CSM Bobby Adams
- CSM Roger Brownlee
References
- 1 2 Brian Schenk, An Introduction to the 49th (Lone Star) Armored Division (1947-), Texas Military Forces Museum, Camp Mabry, Texas. Note that Globalsecurity.org appears to have infringed the Texas Military Forces' Museum's copyright in not acknowledging the sources of their data.
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