The 26th Field Artillery Regiment is a

field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20t ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

of the

United States 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 ...

first constituted 5 July 1918 in the

National Army (USA) The history of the United States Army began in 1775. From its formation, the United States Army has been the primary land based part of the United States Armed Forces. The Army's main responsibility has been in fighting land battles and military ...

Lineage

Constituted 5 July 1918 in the National Army as the 26th Field Artillery and assigned to the 9th Division Organized 2 August 1918 at Camp McClellan, Alabama Demobilized 9 February 1919 at Camp McClellan, Alabama Reconstituted 24 March 1923 in the Regular Army as the 26th Field Artillery Assigned 22 July 1929 to the 5th Division Relieved 1 January 1930 from assignment to the 5th Division and assigned to the 9th Division (later redesignated as the 9th Infantry Division) Activated 1 August 1940 at

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

, North Carolina Reorganized and redesignated 1 October 1940 as the 26th Field Artillery Battalion Inactivated 20 November 1946 in Germany Activated 15 July 1947 at Fort Dix, New Jersey Relieved 1 December 1957 from assignment to the 9th Infantry Division; concurrently, reorganized and redesignated as the 26th Artillery, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System Redesignated 1 September 1971 as the 26th Field Artillery Withdrawn 16 June 1988 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System Redesignated 1 October 2005 as the 26th Field Artillery Regiment

Distinctive unit insignia

*Description A Gold color metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches (2.86 cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Gules, in front of a horseshoe Proper, a 75mm projectile Or. Attached below the shield a Red scroll inscribed “COURAGE AND ACTION” in Gold letters. *Symbolism The shield is red for Artillery. The horseshoe and the projectile suggest the character of the Regiment. *Background The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 26th Field Artillery Regiment on 21 October 1938. It was amended to revise the description on 22 March 1939. The insignia was redesignated for the 26th Field Artillery Battalion on 30 November 1940. It was redesignated for the 26th Artillery Regiment on 14 April 1958. It was redesignated for the 26th Field Artillery Regiment effective 1 September 1971.

Coat of arms

*Blazon *Shield Gules, in front of a horseshoe Proper, a 75mm projectile Or. *Crest On a wreath of the colors Or and Gules, issuing from an open wreath of two rushes of the first a lion rampant of the like crowned, armed and langued Sable surmounted in base by two mounts Vert, that on the dexter bearing a crescent of the first and that on the sinister a mullet interlaced of the like. Motto COURAGE AND ACTION. *Symbolism *Shield The shield is red for Artillery. The horseshoe and the projectile suggest the character of the Regiment. *Crest The lion with rushes is taken from the arms of the city of Dinant on the bank of the Meuse River. It refers to the unit’s World War II action in that area for which it was cited by the Belgian Army. Dinant is the bitterly contested point at which the 9th Division finally crossed the Meuse in force and established a secure bridgehead from which the enemy was pursued into Germany. The two hills bearing the crescent and the star for Algeria and French Morocco, refer to the unit’s initial combat experience, i.e., the assault landings in North Africa. *Background The coat of arms was originally approved for the 26th Field Artillery Regiment on 22 October 1938. It was amended to revise the blazon of the shield on 22 March 1939. The insignia was redesignated for the 26th Field Artillery Battalion on 30 November 1940. It was redesignated for the 26th Artillery Regiment on 14 April 1958. It was amended to add a crest on 2 September 1964. It was redesignated for the 26th Field Artillery Regiment effective 1 September 1971.

Current configuration

* Battery A, 26th Field Artillery Regiment ( 41st Fires Brigade,

Fort Hood Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarters ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

) * Battery B, 26th Field Artillery Regiment ( 212th Fires Brigade,

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...

) * Battery C, 26th Field Artillery Regiment ( 75th Fires Brigade,

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

) Inactivated at Fort Sill * Battery D, 26th Field Artillery Regiment ( 18th Fires Brigade,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

) * Battery F, 26th Field Artillery Regiment ( 17th Fires Brigade, Fort Lewis,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

) * Battery H, 26th Field Artillery Regiment ( 214th Fires Brigade,

) Inactivated at Fort Sill 2015 Although not currently active, Battery E was part of the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) at Fort Benning, GA, from 1963 to 1965.

Campaign participation credit

World War II: Algeria-French Morocco (with arrowhead), Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Central Europe Vietnam: Counteroffensive, Phase II; Counteroffensive, Phase III; Tet Counteroffensive; Counteroffensive, Phase IV; Counteroffensive, Phase V; Counteroffensive, Phase VI; Tet 69/ Counteroffensive; Summer-Fall 1969; Winter-Spring 1970; Sanctuary Counteroffensive; Counteroffensive, Phase VII, Consolidation I

Decorations

Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered BINH THUAN PROVINCE Presidential Unit Citation (Navy), Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1967 Meritorious Unit Commendation (Navy), Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1968 Belgian Fourragere 1940 Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action along the Meuse River Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20120716225715/http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Heraldry/ArmyDUISSICOA/ArmyHeraldryUnit.aspx?u=3429

External links

* http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/fa/default.htm
26th Field Artillery Battalion in WWII
{{Artillery Regiments (United States) 026 Military units and formations established in 1918