The 53rd Infantry Regiment was an

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 ...

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

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. It served as a part of the 7th Infantry Division for most of its history.

History

World War I

The 53rd Infantry Regiment, together with the 54th Infantry Regiment, served from November 1917 with the 12th Infantry Brigade,

6th Infantry Division 6th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions * 6th Division (Australia) * 6th Division (Austria) *6th (United Kingdom) Division * Finnish 6th Division (Winter War) *Finnish 6th Division (Continuation War) * 6th Division (Reichswehr) * 6th Divisi ...

World War II

On 1 July 1940, Regiment was reactivated and assigned to the 7th Infantry Division) at

Camp Ord Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay of the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, m ...

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, under the command of Major General

Joseph W. Stilwell Joseph Warren "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell (March 19, 1883 – October 12, 1946) was a United States Army general who served in the China Burma India Theater during World War II. An early American popular hero of the war for leading a column walking o ...

. The 12th and 13th Brigades did not reactivate as part of an army-wide elimination of brigade commands within its divisions. The division was instead centered on three infantry regiments; the 17th Infantry Regiment, the 32nd Infantry Regiment, and the 53rd Infantry Regiment. Most of the soldiers in the division were

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soldiers, chosen as a part of the US Army's first peacetime

military draft Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

The 7th Infantry Division was assigned to III Corps of the

Fourth United States Army Fourth United States Army was a field army of the United States Army between 1932 and 1991. History In 1922, Fourth Army was organized as a unit of the Organized Reserves in New York City. It was allotted to the Regular Army as an inactive unit ...

, and that year it was sent to

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for tactical maneuvers. Division units also practiced boat loading at the Monterey Wharf and

amphibious assault Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted ...

techniques at the Salinas River in California. With the

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ese

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, the division was sent to

Camp San Luis Obispo Camp San Luis Obispo is the original home of the California Army National Guard. It served as an Infantry Division Camp and Cantonment Area for the United States Army during World War II. History Camp San Luis Obispo, formerly called Camp Merri ...

to continue its training. The 53rd Infantry Regiment was removed from the 7th Division and replaced with the 159th Infantry Regiment, newly deployed from the

California Army National Guard The California Army National Guard (CA ARNG) is one of three components of the California National Guard, a reserve of the United States Army, and part of the National Guard of the United States. The California Army National Guard is composed o ...

. The 53rd followed the 7th Division to Alaska and garrisoned

Adak Island Adak Island ( ale, Adaax, russian: Адак) or Father Island is an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Alaska's southernmost town, Adak, Alaska, Adak, is located on the island. The isl ...

. The regiment's distinctive unit insignia (DUI) was redesignated for the 53d Infantry Battalion on 3 February 1947. According to Sawiecki's ''Infantry Regiments of the US Army,'' it was redesignated the 53rd Airborne Infantry Regiment and attached to the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

on 15 Sep 1950. It was activated at

Camp Breckinridge Morganfield is a home rule-class city in Union County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 3,285 as of the year 2010 U.S. census. Name The city was named for Revolutionary War General Daniel Morga ...

, Kentucky on 29 September 1950 and inactivated at Camp Breckinridge on 1 December 1953. The DUI was redesignated for the 53d Infantry Regiment on 24 March 1955.

References

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053 53 may refer to: * 53 (number) * one of the years 53 BC, AD 53, 1953, 2053 * FiftyThree, an American privately held technology company that specializes in tools for mobile creation and visual thinking * 53rd Regiment Alabama Cavalry * 53rd Regiment ...

Military units and formations established in 1917