116th Infantry Regiment (United States)
It was formed under the designation of the 116th during World War I, when previously existing Virginia National Guard units were consolidated in federal service.It served continuously with the 29th Infantry Division in its eastward advance until reaching the Elbe at the end of World War II in Europe.Organized between 11 and 25 August 1755, companies of the regiment led by William Preston, David Lewis, and John Smith became part of the Rangers.Parts of the 32nd and 160th were called up during the Mexican–American War on 6 January 1847 as the Light Infantry Company of the 1st Regiment of the Virginia (alternately the Augusta) Volunteers at Richmond.At the end of the thirty days the regiment's companies were assembled and mustered out at home stations between 13 and 20 December of that year, with a strength of 46 officers and 1,146 enlisted men.[5] On 10 January 1917, the regiment became part of the 2nd Separate Brigade after the command structure of National Guard units in the Brownsville District was reorganized.The German troops were repulsed after two hours of fighting, most of which was conducted by Company F.[16] In early September, the regiment moved to Offemont, near Belfort, and then to Hargeville and Souhesmele-Grande.[20] Headquarters Company Sergeant Earle Gregory received the Medal of Honor for his actions in singlehandedly capturing 19 German soldiers on 8 October.[28] The regiment was reviewed as part of a ceremony where American personnel were decorated by Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), on 4 April 1919 at Chaumont.Hill the 116th and the rest of the division moved south by road to participate in the Carolina Maneuvers near Fort Bragg, reaching camp sites on 27 September.Most of Company G reached the shingle intact ten to fifteen minutes after landing, but other boats suffered heavy casualties farther to the east.F Company mostly landed in its assigned sector, Dog Red, directly in front of the strongly fortified German positions at Les Moulins, and was disorganized due to losses of officers.111th Field Artillery's guns were lost in the surf and its artillerymen ended up pinned down in front of Les Moulins like 2nd Battalion after landing between 07:30 and 08:30.Around 08:30 he and 50 to 60 men moved up a hill to the right of Hamel; this group later joined up with an element of Company B led by Lieutenant Walter Taylor in the attack on the fortified Chateau at Vierville.[55] On 6 June, the regiment suffered 341 casualties,[56] including soldiers from Bedford-based Company A, a community which proportionally had the highest D-Day losses in America.During a move from Les Moulins, 2nd Battalion broke loose from the beach and fought their way to a farmhouse to establish the first command post in France.[58] Towards the end of 8 June, Company K advanced on Grandcamp, during which Technical Sergeant Frank Peregory killed numerous German soldiers and forced others to surrender.The regiment began crossing the river at 20:15, encountering heavy small arms fire which died down, allowing the 116th to reach the opposite bank by midnight.Following the capture of Vire, the division was pulled back to receive replacements, and the regiment conducted battle drill and small unit training between 16 and 21 August.The regiment's 3rd Battalion was assigned to Task Force Sugar alongside the 5th Rangers and a tank unit, attacking Hill 53 and helping to cut the coastal highway.Advancing behind flamethrowing Churchill tanks, Company B mopped up German resistance, enabling the 1st Battalion to surround the fort by the end of the day.The attack was resumed the next day, and 2nd Battalion commander Major Charles Cawthon was wounded; he was replaced by Colonel Sidney Bingham.In early November the division returned to the front, taking positions on the line of Schaufebberg, Oidtweiler, and Baesweiler against Jülich.For the next few days the regiment helped organize Displaced persons camps before moving back into action to mop up the Ruhr Pocket between 18 and 19 April.[34] On 1 November 2002, the 2nd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment was mobilized for deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to take part in Operation Enduring Freedom.[80] The 3rd Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Kurt Kobernik, deployed to Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar as Task Force Normandy from September 2015 to July 2016.[84] In November 2021, 1st Battalion, under command of LTC James Tierney, was called to active duty for a deployment in support of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.[85] In August 2006, the 1st Battalion mobilized in support of KFOR as part of the 29th Infantry Division to provide stability operations in the Serbian province of Kosovo with NATO.As of 2018, the following units of the parent regiment were active in the Virginia Army National Guard, assigned as components of the 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.Its crest is that of the Virginia Army National Guard, including on a wreath of the colors Argent and Gules "Virtus, the genius of the Commonwealth, dressed as an Amazon, resting on a spear with one hand and holding a sword in the other, and treading on Tyranny, represented by a man prostrate, a crown falling from his head, a broken chain in his left hand and a scourge in his right" all Proper.
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