79th Field Artillery Regiment

79th Field Artillery Regiment

Coat of arms
Active 1916
Country  United States
Branch Army
Type Field artillery
Motto "Our Country – Our Regiment"
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Charles D. Rhodes
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia
U.S. Field Artillery Regiments
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78th Field Artillery 80th Field Artillery

The 79th Field Artillery Regiment is a field artillery regiment of the United States Army. First constituted 1916 in the Regular Army.

History

Pershing

2nd Missile Battalion, 79th Artillery

The 2nd Missile Battalion, 79th Artillery was organized at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in February of 1964. The battalion was to be equipped with the Pershing missile and deployed to South Korea.[1]

The battalion underwent operational testing at Fort Wingate, New Mexico and fired missiles on January 28, 1965 and February 3, 1965. The 251st Ordnance Detachment was activated in November 1964 under the Ordnance Guided Missile School at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama and commanded by 2nd Lt. David M. McClellan. The 251st transferred to Fort Sill, Oklahoma in January 1966 to support the 2/79th.

The Korean deployment was placed on hold and the battalion supported missile shoots from the 56th Artillery Group and the two German Air Force squadrons at Black Mesa Test Range, Blanding and Green River Launch Complex in Utah. The 2/79th was then scheduled for deployment in September 1968 but transport was retasked to provide troop shipments to Vietnam. The war in Vietnam escalated, the deployment was canceled and the 2/79th Artillery and 251st Ordnance were deactivated in 1968.

Commanders

Lineage

Constituted 1 July 1916 in the Regular Army as the 21st Cavalry

Organized 1 June 1917 at Fort Riley, Kansas

Converted and redesignated 1 November 1917 as the 79th Field Artillery

Assigned 6 December 1917 to the 7th Division

Inactivated 14 September 1921 at Camp Meade, Maryland, and relieved from assignment to the 7th Division

Assigned 1 January 1930 to the 7th Division

Relieved 16 October 1939 from assignment to the 7th Division

(1st Battalion activated 1 June 1940 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina)

Regiment (less 1st Battalion) activated 1 June 1941 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Regiment broken up 23 February 1943 and its elements reorganized and redesignated as follows:

Headquarters and Headquarters Battery as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 79th Field Artillery Group

1st Battalion as the 697th Field Artillery Battalion

2d Battalion as the 698th Field Artillery Battalion

After 23 February 1943 the above units underwent changes as follows:

Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 79th Field Artillery Group, inactivated 30 June 1946 in Germany

697th Field Artillery Battalion inactivated 12 February 1946 at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey Redesignated 5 February 1947 as the 555th Field Artillery Battalion Activated 1 January 1949 in Korea Assigned 10 October 1954 to the 71st Infantry Division Inactivated 15 September 1956 at Fort Lewis, Washington Relieved 16 July 1957 from assignment to the 71st Infantry Division

698th Field Artillery Battalion inactivated 14 February 1946 at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey Redesignated 5 February 1947 as the 567th Field Artillery Battalion Activated 20 March 1951 at Camp Polk, Louisiana Inactivated 16 January 1956 in Germany

Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 79th Field Artillery Group, and the 555th and 567th Field Artillery Battalions consolidated, reorganized, and redesignated 16 July 1957 as the 79th Artillery, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System

Redesignated 1 September 1971 as the 79th Field Artillery

Withdrawn 16 August 1995 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System; concurrently assigned to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command

Distinctive unit insignia

A gold color metal and enamel device 1 5/32 inches (2.94 cm) in height overall consisting of the shield and crest of the coat of arms.

The 21st Cavalry was organized in June 1917 from the 13th Cavalry, and converted into Field Artillery as the 79th, in November of the same year. Its original Cavalry character is shown by the color of the field, its Field Artillery service by the red bend. The canton shows a device from the badge of the 13th Cavalry, the parent organization. The regiment insignia in base is the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 7th Division with colors reversed, surrounded by a green band.

The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 79th Field Artillery Regiment on 22 December 1928. It was redesignated for the 79th Artillery Regiment on 14 April 1958. The insignia was redesignated effective 1 September 1971, for the 79th Field Artillery Regiment.

Coat of arms

Blazon

Or, a bend Gules, on a sinister canton of the like a sun in splendor of the field charged with the numeral “13” Sable (for the 13th Cavalry), in base the insignia of the regiment Proper (a Red hour-glass on a Black circle surrounded by a Green band).

On a wreath of the colors Or and Gules, a horse’s head armored Proper. Motto OUR COUNTRY – OUR REGIMENT.

Symbolism

The 21st Cavalry was organized in June 1917 from the 13th Cavalry, and converted into Field Artillery as the 79th, in November of the same year. Its original Cavalry character is shown by the color of the field, its Field Artillery service by the red bend. The canton shows a device from the badge of the 13th Cavalry, the parent organization. The regiment insignia in base is the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 7th Division with colors reversed, surrounded by a green band. Crest The armored horse’s head represents Cavalry and Armor, respectively.

Background

The coat of arms was originally approved for the 79th Field Artillery Regiment on 1 September 1920. It was redesignated for the 79th Artillery Regiment on 14 April 1958. The insignia was redesignated effective 1 September 1971, for the 79th Field Artillery Regiment

Current configuration

Campaign participation credit

Decorations

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Army Institute of Heraldry document "79th Field Artillery Regiment".

  1. Burns, Steven T. (2014). History of the Pershing Missile Systems. ISBN 978-1-63318-129-8.

External links

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