The 24th Field Artillery Regiment (Philippine Scouts) (24th FA (PS)) was a

Philippine Scouts The Philippine Scouts (Filipino: ''Maghahanap ng Pilipinas'' or ''Hukbong Maghahanap ng Pilipinas'') was a military organization of the United States Army from 1901 until after the end of World War II. These troops were generally Filipinos an ...

unit, part of the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Philippine Division Philippine Division, or from 1946–1947 the 12th Infantry Division, was the core U.S. infantry division of the United States Army's Philippine Department during World War II. On 31 July 1941, the division consisted of 10,473 troops, mostly enl ...

, formed in 1922 and active until April 1942. Antecedent units dated back to 1899.

History

The 24th Field Artillery Regiment (Philippine Scouts) was constituted as a Regular Army unit on 22 December 1920, part of the Philippine Department. It was organized at Fort Stotsenburg on 15 May 1921 from the 1st Philippine Field Artillery Regiment (Provisional) (Mountain) and the 11th and 12th Infantry Battalions (Philippine Scouts) with the Philippine Division. Initially equipped with the 2.95-inch Mountain Gun, it converted to the truck-drawn 75 mm M1917 guns on 2 September 1931. During 1924 and 1925 it helped build a bridge over the Pinatubo River, and in the 1920s and 1930s also participated in the construction of an artillery trail from Fort Stotsenburg to the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

via the

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...

Pass. The 1st Philippine Artillery Regiment had been provisionally formed, in 1917, at Fort Stotsenburg, from the 11th and 12th Philippine Scout Battalions, by the United States 2nd Field Artillery Regiment (Mountain). The 11th and 12th Philippine Scout Battalions (12th PS) had been formed in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in 1901. They were primarily composed of men from various provisional

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

companies, of

, formed in 1899. Both battalions were involved in combat at

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

, and Jolo. By July 1941 the regiment, with two battalions of the now

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

-vintage 75 mm guns, along with the one battalion- 23rd Field Artillery, formed the entire artillery support of the Philippine Division. On the last day of the month it had a strength of 843 – 904 Philippine Scouts enlisted men and 39 officers, five of whom were Philippine Scouts. During the Battle of the Philippines against the Japanese, the 24th FA participated in the withdrawal, on

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, to the

Bataan Peninsula Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...

and the

Battle of Bataan The Battle of Bataan ( tl, Labanan sa Bataan; January 7 – April 9, 1942) was fought by the United States and the Philippine Commonwealth against Japan during World War II. The battle represented the most intense phase of the Japanese invas ...

. In the Bataan defensive line set up in January 1942, the regiment's 1st Battalion provided direct artillery support to the 57th Infantry (Philippine Scouts), holding positions on the coastal road and the beach on

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phili ...

on the right flank of the position. Two batteries of the battalion were emplaced near Abucay while the remaining battery was on the main defensive line. The regiment's 2nd Battalion, southeast of Abucay, provided additional artillery support to

II Philippine Corps II is the Roman numeral for 2. II may also refer to: Biology and medicine *Image intensifier, medical imaging equipment *Invariant chain, a polypeptide involved in the formation and transport of MHC class II protein *Optic nerve, the second c ...

and the 41st Division. On the night of 11 January the regiment's guns replied to a Japanese artillery barrage that preceded an attack on the 57th Infantry's main line of resistance. The 24th surrendered in April 1942. The regiment was awarded the Philippines Islands Campaign Streamer. It was officially disbanded on 25 March 1952. Members of the 24th Field Artillery Regiment included Juan Reyes Fabia,

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Edward H. Brooks Lieutenant General Edward Hale Brooks (April 25, 1893 – October 10, 1978) was a senior officer of the United States Army, a veteran of both World War I and World War II, who commanded the U.S. Second Army during the Korean War. He received the ...

, and Elias Coloma.

Distinctive unit insignia

* Description A Gold color metal and enamel device in height consisting of a shield blazoned: Parti per chevron couped and concave Argent and Gules in chief a sun in splendor between three six-pointed mullets one and two all of the second, on a canton of the like a mule with mountain artillery pack Or (for the Second Field Artillery). * Symbolism The white portion of the shield is symbolic of the old Infantry alluding to the fighting of the scouts. The red charges refer to Artillery. The base is the outline of Mt. Arayat and the red six-pointed stars and sun are from the flag of the Philippine Insurrection. The canton with the yellow pack mule and mountain gun is from the arms of the Second Field Artillery. * Background The distinctive unit insignia was approved on 12 September 1923. It was rescinded on 21 April 1959.

Coat of arms

*Blazon ** Shield- Parti per chevron couped and concave Argent and Gules in chief a sun between three six pointed mullets one and two all of the second, on a canton of the like a mule with mountain artillery pack Or (for the Second Field Artillery). ** Crest- None. ** Motto- CRESCIT SUB PONDERE VIRTUS (Virtue Increases Under A Load). * Symbolism **Shield- The white portion of the shield is symbolic of the old Infantry alluding to the fighting of the scouts. The red charges refer to Artillery. The base is the outline of Mount Arayat and the red six-pointed stars and sun are from the flag of the Philippine Insurrection. The canton with the yellow pack mule and mountain gun is from the arms of the Second Field Artillery. ** Crest- None. * Background- The coat of arms was approved on 27 July 1922. It was rescinded on 21 April 1959.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

24th Fd Arty Regt within Philippine Division 8 December 1941
{{Artillery Regiments (United States) Military units and formations established in 1922 Military history of the Philippines 024, Field Artillery 024 Military units and formations disestablished in 1942