The 318th Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry unit 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 ...

during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

. The unit was activated as an Illinois

Organized Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...

unit during the interwar period. It was converted into a signal aircraft warning regiment after the United States entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

History

The regiment was constituted on 15 October 1921 in the Organized Reserves, part of the 65th Cavalry Division's 159th Cavalry Brigade in the

Sixth Corps Area Sixth Corps Area was a Corps area, effectively a military district, of the United States Army from 1921 to the 1940s. The headquarters was established at Sheridan Reserve Center, Fort Sheridan, Illinois, in August 1920, from portions of the former C ...

. It was initiated (activated) on 6 June 1922 with the entire regiment in Chicago. The regimental band was initiated in 1923 at Chicago. On 2 June 1925, the 318th's headquarters relocated to La Grange, the 1st Squadron to Hinsdale, and the 2nd Squadron to Elgin. In July 1929, a new 3rd Squadron was initiated at Chicago. On 27 September 1932, the 1st Squadron was moved to Lemont, the 2nd Squadron to Oak Park, and the 3rd Squadron to

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

. In 1935, the regiment participated in a 33rd Division staff exercise at Camp Grant, which was planned and supervised by Colonel

George C. Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the US Army under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry ...

, then the senior instructor to the Illinois National Guard. The entire regiment moved back to Chicago on 28 July 1937. The 318th usually held its inactive training period meetings at Chicago's Post Office Building. It conducted regular equestrian training at Fort Sheridan on the horses of the 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, and in Chicago on the horses of the 106th Cavalry Regiment. The regiment conducted summer training at Fort Sheridan with the 14th Cavalry and some years at Fort Des Moines. As an alternate form of training, the 318th provided cavalry training to civilians at Fort Sheridan under the Citizens' Military Training Camp program. Its primary

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

feeder school was the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

and its designated mobilization training station was Camp Grant. After the United States entered

, the regiment was converted into the 546th Signal Aircraft Warning Regiment on 30 January 1942. The regiment was disbanded on 11 November 1944.

Commanders

The 318th was commanded by the following officers: * Colonel Harvey L. Jones (6 June 1922 – 1 August 1925) * Lieutenant Colonel Charles Powers (1 August 1925 – 12 May 1926) * Lieutenant Colonel William A. Peterson (12 May 1926 – July 1940)

Heraldry

The regimental distinctive trimming was approved on 1 April 1924 and its coat of arms was approved on 30 March 1932. The distinctive trimming was a vertical representation of the original

Flag of Chicago The flag of Chicago consists of two light blue horizontal bars, or stripes, on a field of white, each bar one-sixth the height of the full flag, and placed slightly less than one-sixth of the way from the top and bottom. Four bright red stars, ...

, where the unit was based. The coat of arms consisted of a yellow shield with two blue bars in the center. A red dragon was superimposed over the bars. The shield's color represented the Cavalry, the bars were from the Flag of Chicago, and the dragon symbolized great bravery and mobility, traits that a Cavalry unit was supposed to exemplify. The coat of arms included the Organized Reserve's

Minuteman Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

crest above the shield. The regimental motto was "Fide Et Animis" (By Faith and Courage).

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{Cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wI8xAQAAIAAJ&dq=%2265th+tank+destroyer+battalion%22&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22307th+cavalry%22, title=Cavalry regiments of the US Army, last=Sawicki, first=James A., publisher=Wyvern Publications, year=1985, isbn=9780960240463, location=Dumfries, Virginia Cavalry regiments of the United States Army Military units and formations established in 1922 Military units and formations disestablished in 1942 Military units and formations in Illinois 1922 establishments in Illinois 1942 disestablishments in Illinois