The 12th Infantry Regiment is a 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, ...

. The 12th Infantry has fought in seven wars from the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

to the

Global War on Terrorism The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

and has been awarded 19 Presidential Unit Citations, five

Valorous Unit Award The Valorous Unit Award (VUA) is the second highest United States Army unit decoration which may be bestowed upon an Army unit after the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC). The VUA is awarded by the United States Army to units of the United State ...

s, a

Joint Meritorious Unit Award The Joint Meritorious Unit Award (JMUA) is a US military award that was established on June 4, 1981, by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and was implemented by Department of Defense Directive 1348.27 dated July 22, 1982. The Joint Meritor ...

, two citations in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army, Nine Republic of Vietnam Crosses of Gallantry, the

Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal The Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Medal ( vi, Dân-Vụ Bội-Tinh) also known as the Vietnam Civil Actions Medal or Civil Actions Medal, is a military decoration of the former South Vietnamese government (1955–75). The medal was create ...

Third Class, a

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...

, and the

Belgian Fourragere Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct langua ...

History

Civil War

Less than a month after the first shots of the

were fired at

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battle ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, the 12th Infantry Regiment was constituted 3 May 1861 in the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...

as the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry. It was organized 20 October 1861 at

Fort Hamilton Fort Hamilton is a United States Army installation in the southwestern corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, surrounded by the communities of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights. It is one of several posts that are part of the region which i ...

in New York. The battalion saw extensive combat during the Civil War, participating in twelve campaigns with the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...

. During the Peninsula Campaign, the 12th Infantry distinguished itself in its first combat action at the Battle of Gaines' Mill in June 1862, while sustaining fifty percent casualties. The regiment also participated in such historic battles as

Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and six additional campaigns culminating with the

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a cla ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

, from late summer 1864 through April 1865 and the war's end. During the war it suffered a total of 319 fatalities; 8 officers and 118 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, and another 3 officers and 190 enlisted men who died from accident or disease.

Indian Wars

The battalion was reorganized and redesignated as the 12th Infantry Regiment on 7 December 1866. In April 1869, having been ordered to the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part ...

, California, the regiment entrained at

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...

, Nebraska, on the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

portion the not yet finished

transcontinental railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...

; rode to

Corinne, Utah Corinne ( ) is a town in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 685 at the 2010 census. Geography Corinne is located in southeastern Box Elder County, on the west side of the Bear River. It is the last town on the river bef ...

; detrained and marched to the Central Pacific railhead; and re-entrained to complete the journey to

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, California. In the 1870s, the regiment took part in three campaigns of the Indian Wars; against the Modoc tribe in California during 1872–1873, against the Bannocks in the Northwest in 1878, and against the

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota: /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations peoples in North America. The modern Sioux consist of two major divisions based on language divisions: the Dakota and ...

Pine Ridge, South Dakota Pine Ridge (Lakota: ''wazíbló'') is a census-designated place (CDP) and the most populous community in Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 3,138 at the 2020 census. It is the tribal headquarters of the Oglala ...

from 1890–91. During these campaigns, six soldiers performed acts deemed worthy of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...

Spanish–American War and Philippine–American War

During the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, the 12th Infantry was sent to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

, in June 1898, and participated in the storming of the Spanish fortress in the

Battle of El Caney The Battle of El Caney was fought on July 1, 1898, during the Spanish-American War. 600 Spanish soldiers held for twelve hours, until they ran out of ammunition, against Henry W. Lawton's 5th US Division, made up of 6,899 men. This action tempor ...

, where the 12th had the distinction of capturing the Spanish colors. At the conclusion of the War with Spain, the regiment was immediately deployed in February 1899 to the

Philippine Islands 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 ...

to reinforce other Army units fighting elements of the Filipino Army that resisted the United States after they defeated the Spanish at the Battle of Manila. There, the regiment participated in three campaigns (Malolos, Tarlac, and Luzon 1899) of what was to be known as the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

and then served as garrison troops, not returning to the United States until 1912.

Garrison duty

Deployed along the Mexican border, the regiment repulsed Villista harassing attacks during the Battle of Nogales in 1915. On 17 December 1917 the 12th Infantry was assigned to the 8th Division at

Camp Fremont Camp Fremont was a World War I-era military base located near Palo Alto, California. Construction started in July 1917 and the post closed in September, 1919. The post was named for John C. Frémont, a US Army officer and government official who was ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, but was not sent overseas in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. In August 1918 most of the regiment volunteered for duty in

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...

and the regiment was skeletonized until replacements were received and trained. As part of the 15th Infantry Brigade, the regiment moved to its pre-embarkation staging location at

Camp Mills Camp Albert L. Mills (Camp Mills) was a military installation on Long Island, New York. It was located about ten miles from the eastern boundary of New York City on the Hempstead Plains within what is now the village of Garden City. In September ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, between 23 October and 31 October 1918, but entrained while quarantined at Camp Fremont for

Spanish influenza The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

. After its arrival, the regiment remained in strict quarantine until after its convoy had sailed, and was not released until 11 November, the day the armistice ended the war. The regiment remained assigned to the 8th Division until 15 August 1927 when it was reassigned to the 4th Division. During May–July 1932, 12th IR and 3rd Cavalry Regiment participated in the ejection of the

Bonus Army The Bonus Army was a group of 43,000 demonstrators – 17,000 veterans of U.S. involvement in World War I, their families, and affiliated groups – who gathered in Washington, D.C., in mid-1932 to demand early cash redemption of their servi ...

marchers from Washington, D.C. The 12th was once again reassigned to the 8th Division on 1 October 1933 and stationed at Fort Howard, Maryland under the command of Colonels Walter L. Reed (January 1933 – October 1934) and

James Garesche Ord Major General James Garesche Ord (October 18, 1886 – April 17, 1960) was a United States Army officer who briefly commanded the 28th Infantry Division and was Chairman of the Joint Brazil–U.S. Defense Commission during World War II. Early ...

(October 1934 – 1936). On 10 October 1941 the regiment was transferred to

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama– Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employee ...

, Georgia, and assigned to the 4th Motorized Division.

World War II

The 12th Infantry Regiment was reorganized as a motorized infantry regiment on 29 September 1942. Less than a year later, on 1 August 1943, the 12th was reorganized as a standard infantry regiment when the 4th Division was converted from motorized to dismounted infantry. The regiment along with the rest of the 4th Infantry Division arrived in England on 29 January 1944. On

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

, 6 June 1944, the 12th Infantry saw its first action of the war when, as part of the 4th Infantry Division, it spearheaded the assault landing on

Utah Beach Utah, commonly known as Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. The westernmost of the five code-named la ...

under the command of Colonel Russell "Red" Reeder. Between 9 and 12 August 1944, the regiment helped defeat the Germans in Operation Lüttich. The regiment fought in five European campaigns through France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. The 12th Infantry was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for valor in action at

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

during the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

. The regiment was also awarded the

. After Germany's surrender, the 12th Infantry, along with the 4th Infantry Division, returned to the United States on 12 July 1945 and was inactivated 27 February 1946 at Camp Butner, North Carolina. During this time famed author J. D. Salinger served with the unit.

Cold War

On 15 July 1947, the 12th Infantry Regiment was reactivated as a training regiment when 4th Infantry Division was given the mission of basic training at

Fort 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, ...

, California. In July 1951, the 4th Division was returned to line status and rotated to Germany as part of Operation Gyroscope. In 1956, the Division returned to the United States and was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. In 1957, the Army decided that in the era of battlefield atomic weapons, tactical infantry regiments were obsolete. To preserve the historic infantry regiments the Army set up the

Combat Arms Regimental System The Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS), was the method of assigning unit designations to units of some of the combat arms branches of the United States Army, including Infantry, Special Forces, Field Artillery, and Armor, from 1957 to 19 ...

(CARS) whereby the line companies of a regiment would form new elements of the regiment. The 12th Infantry was selected as one of the historic regiments to be preserved. On 1 August 1957, Company A was redesignated and activated as Headquarters Company, 1st Battle Group, 12th Infantry (with organic companies of the battle group constituted and activated) and assigned to the 4th Infantry Division. Company B formed the 2nd Battle Group, 12th Infantry assigned in Germany to the 8th Infantry Division until 1959 when it was reassigned to the 1st Infantry Division also in Germany. Company C was allocated to the Army Reserves and formed the 3rd Battle Group, 12th Infantry assigned to the 79th Infantry Division. By the time the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the gover ...

went up in August 1961, the 2nd Battle Group, 12th Infantry along with the rest of the 1st Infantry Division had been transferred back to

Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...

, Kansas. To reinforce NATO, the 1st Division was directed to begin Operation Long Trust whereby the individual battle groups were rotated on temporary duty to West Germany. In July 1962, the 2nd Battle Group, 12th Infantry was airlifted to West Germany where it undertook several months of tactical training and testing at Wildflecken, West Germany. It was then ordered to proceed to Berlin overland through East Germany using the

Helmstedt Helmstedt (; Eastphalian: ''Helmstidde'') is a town on the eastern edge of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is the capital of the District of Helmstedt. The historic university and Hanseatic city conserves an important monumental heritage o ...

-Berlin

autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track' ...

to test the Warsaw Pact's willingness to allow NATO forces to continue to use it. Arriving without incident in Berlin to reinforce the U.S. Army's Berlin Brigade, the 2nd Battle Group was quartered at Andrews and

McNair Barracks The McNair Barracks was a US Army installation in Lichterfelde, a locality in southwest Berlin, Germany. The barracks were named after Lieutenant General Lesley J. McNair, an American Army officer who served in World War I and World War II an ...

. Because of the ongoing

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

, the battle group was almost on constant alert in October 1962. In 1963, the Army concluded that the battle group was not the answer and reorganized the infantry and airborne divisions into a quasi-regimental structure of three brigades of three infantry battalions each. Consequently, on 1 October 1963, the 2nd Battle Group, 12th Infantry was reorganized and redesignated as the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry and reassigned to the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado where it joined the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 12th Infantry.

Vietnam

Three 12th Infantry battalions deployed to South Vietnam with the 4th Division from August through October 1966. The 3rd Brigade, 4th Division, to which the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry was assigned, set up base camp at Dầu Tiếng in

III Corps 3rd Corps, Third Corps, III Corps, or 3rd Army Corps may refer to: France * 3rd Army Corps (France) * III Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * III Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of t ...

while the rest of the 4th Division was assigned to the Central Highlands in

II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to: France * 2nd Army Corps (France) * II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...

alongside the 3rd Brigade of the 25th Division which had arrived in December 1965. On 1 August 1967, the two divisions swapped 3rd Brigades. Subsequently, the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry served with the 25th through 10 of the Battalion's 11 Vietnam campaigns and received the Presidential Unit Citation for gallantry in action at Suoi Tre. As part of the U.S. draw-down, the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry was returned to Fort Lewis, WA, and inactivated on 17 April 1971. NARA photo 111-CCV-605C-CC51629

The 4th Battalion, 12th Infantry was activated and assigned to the

199th Light Infantry Brigade The 199th Infantry Brigade (Light) is a unit of the United States Army which served in the Army Reserve from 1921 to 1940, in the active army from 1966 to 1970 (serving in the Vietnam War), briefly in 1991–1992 at Fort Lewis, and from 2007 as a ...

in June 1966 and went with the Brigade to Vietnam in December, 1966, where it was based at Long Binh near

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

. In November 1967, the 5th Battalion, 12th Infantry was activated at Fort Lewis, WA and sent to Vietnam to join the 199th Brigade. This made the 12th Infantry unique in that the regiment had more battalions deployed in Vietnam than any other infantry regiment. In October 1970, the 4th and 5th Battalions returned to

, Georgia and were inactivated. The 1st and 3rd Battalions returned in December 1970 with the 4th Division to Fort Carson, CO. Three soldiers from the 1st Battalion, one from the 2nd Battalion, two soldiers from the 4th Battalion, and one soldier from the 5th Battalion, were awarded the Medal of Honor.

Post-Vietnam

The CARS system was replaced by the US Army Regimental System in 1985 when the army contemplated shifting to a unit replacement system. Under the new system four battalions of the 12th Infantry were activated. The 1st and 2nd Battalions were assigned to the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson and the 3rd and 4th Battalions were assigned to the 8th Infantry Division in Germany. The concept was for members of the regiment to spend the majority of their army careers rotating between assignments with regimental battalions at Fort Carson and in Germany. By the early 1990s, the Army draw-down and its expanding worldwide peace-keeping commitments led to a decision to scrap the unit replacement concept before it was fully implemented. The 3rd and 4th Battalions were transferred to the 1st Armored Division and served in Bosnia before being inactivated in Germany in 1997.

Operation Sea Signal

The 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment "Warriors" of the 4th Infantry Division deployed from 29 August 1994 – 25 February 1995 to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in support of Joint Task Force 160 to provide refugee camp security at Camp Alpha, Camp Bravo, Camp Golf, Camp Mike, Camp Quebec, Camp Romeo, Camp Sierra, and Camp X-Ray. The unit also served as a quick reaction force to quell any refugee uprisings, built refugee housing camp facilities, escorting refugees for medical treatment, repatriation of Haitian refugees, distribution of food and supplies, and main base security. The battalion was housed in a tent city located on the football field of the base high school with the exception of Charlie Company who was housed in tents in the nursery. Awards for participation in Joint Task Force 160 include the Humanitarian Service Medal, and the Joint Meritorious Unit Award. The 1st Battalion was inactivated at Fort Carson in September 1995, after returning from deployment to Guantanamo Bay as a part of

Operation Sea Signal Operation Sea Signal was a United States Department of Defense operation in the Caribbean in response to an influx of Cuban and Haitian migrants attempting to gain asylum in the United States. As a result, the migrants became refugees at Guantana ...

. The 2d Battalion was then reflagged as the 1st Battalion in 1996 after having soldiers from the inactivated 1st Battalion added to the ranks.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

The 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment was formerly assigned to the 3d Brigade Combat Team of the

U.S. 4th Infantry Division The 4th Infantry Division is a division of the United States Army based at Fort Carson, Colorado. It is composed of a division headquarters battalion, three brigade combat teams (two Stryker and one armor), a combat aviation brigade, a divis ...

at Fort Carson and deployed with the 3rd BCT in March 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom I. From May 2003 to February 2004, the battalion and elements of 1-68 Armor and 4th Engineers was attached to 173rd Airborne Infantry Brigade while B/1-12 remained with 1-68 Armor under 3rd Brigade/4th Infantry Division. The battalion redeployed back to Fort Carson in March 2004. As a result of the transformation of the brigade to the modular concept, elements of the battalion were changed to a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...

squadron, the 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment in November 2004. 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment was reactivated at

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 headquarter ...

as part of the 4th BCT, 4th Infantry Division and deployed to

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, in fall of 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was replaced in the fall of 2006 by the 2nd BCT, 2nd Infantry Division from Fort Carson. This unit was temporarily assigned to 1st Cavalry Division to which the 2d Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment was attached until February 2007 when the 4th BCT, 1st Infantry Division was assigned tactical control of

. On 6 April 2015 the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 12th Infantry Regiment were re-flagged under the 2nd IBCT, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado.

Operation Enduring Freedom

In December 2001, Companies B and C of the 1st Battalion deployed to Kuwait in support of Intrinsic Action 01-02 and later in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Elements of other units from within the 3d BCT, 4th Infantry Division made up the remainder of Task Force 1-12. The task force redeployed to Fort Carson in May 2002. In May 2009, 1st and 2nd Battalions, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4BCT, 4th Infantry Division, deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

in support of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 a ...

X. 1st Battalion was based in the Arghandab River Valley, west of

Kandahar City Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the ca ...

, for the latter eight months of the deployment. Task Force 1-12's area of responsibility was referred to as the "Heart of Darkness" due to its significance as the birthplace of the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

, and also due to the inherent complexity of their mission. Much of their fighting was conducted in notoriously dense grape fields, which provided excellent concealment for insurgent forces. The 2nd Battalion was based in the Pech River Valley, Kunar Province, home to the

Korengal ''Korengal'' is a 2014 documentary about the War in Afghanistan directed by Sebastian Junger. It picks up where the film '' Restrepo'' (2010) left off, taking the viewer deeper into the experiences of the soldiers of Second Platoon, Battle Company ...

, Waygal, Shuriak, and Wata Pour Valleys. During its time in the Pech Valley, the 2nd Battalion saw heavy fighting throughout their area of responsibility at the foothills of the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Province ...

mountains. In June 2010, Task Force 1-12 and Lethal Warrior (2-12), 4th BCT, 4 ID redeployed to Fort Carson, Colorado, after 12 months in Afghanistan. In March 2012, 1st and 2nd Battalions, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4BCT, 4 ID, again deployed to

in support of

. This time, both battalions were based out of

Regional Command East In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. Both battalions returned by December 2012, after nine months in Afghanistan. It was deployed to Afghanistan in February 2014 to assist in efforts to withdraw the last troops and equipment from this theater. The elements of the unit began to return to Ft Carson in September with the last unit arriving in December 2014.

Lineage

Lineage of the 12th Infantry Regiment: *Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry *Organized 20 October 1861 at

, New York *Reorganized and redesignated 7 December 1866 as the 12th Infantry *Abandoned (closed)

Fort Abraham Lincoln Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is a North Dakota state park located south of Mandan, North Dakota, United States. The park is home to the replica Mandan On-A-Slant Indian Village and reconstructed military buildings including the Custer House. ...

, North Dakota; assigned to Fort Yates, North Dakota, July 1891, Company F *Abandoned (closed) Fort Bennett, South Dakota; assigned to Fort Yates, North Dakota, October 1891, Company A *Assigned 17 December 1917 to the 8th Division *Relieved 15 August 1927 from assignment to the 8th Division and assigned to the 4th Division *Relieved 1 October 1933 from assignment to the 4th Division and assigned to the 8th Division *Relieved 10 October 1941 from assignment to the 8th Division and assigned to the 4th Division (later redesignated as the 4th Infantry Division) *Inactivated 27 February 1946 at Camp Butner, North Carolina *Activated 15 July 1947 at

, California *Relieved 1 April 1957 from assignment to the 4th Infantry Division and reorganized as a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) *Withdrawn 16 June 1989 from the CARS and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System *Reflagged 16 April 2015 from 4th IBCT to 2nd IBCT, "War Horse" Brigade - 4th IBCT "Warriors" colors were cased and inactivated as part of the U.S. Army's downsizing efforts. 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado

Honors

Campaign participation credit

*Civil War: # Peninsula Manassas # Antietam # Fredericksburg # Chancellorsville # Gettysburg # Wilderness # Spotsylvania # Cold Harbor # Petersburg # Virginia 1862 # Virginia 1863 *Indian Wars: # Modocs # Bannocks # Pine Ridge *Spanish–American War: # Santiago *Philippine–American War: # Malolos # Tarlac # Luzon 1899 *World War II: # Normandy (with arrowhead) # Northern France # Rhineland # Ardennes-Alsace # 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 *War on Terrorism: #Iraq - National Resolution - Operation Iraqi Freedom #Iraq - Iraqi Surge - Operation Iraqi Freedom #Afghanistan - Consolidation II - Operation Enduring Freedom #Afghanistan - Consolidation III - Operation Freedom's Sentinel

Decorations

# Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for LUXEMBOURG (12th Infantry) # Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for SUOI TRE, VIETNAM (2nd Battalion) # Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for PLEIKU PROVINCE, VIETNAM (3rd Battalion) # Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for DAK TO DISTRICT, VIETNAM (3rd Battalion) #

for PLEIKU PROVINCE, VIETNAM (1st Battalion) #

for CENTRAL HIGHLANDS, VIETNAM (1st Battalion) #

for SAIGON – LONG BINH, VIETNAM (4th Battalion) #

for FISH HOOK, VIETNAM (5th Battalion) #

for IRAQ 2003-2004 (1st Battalion) #

for IRAQ KUNAR PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN 2009 (2nd Battalion) #

for IRAQ 2003 (1st Battalion) #

for IRAQ 2005-2006 (1st Battalion) #

for IRAQ 2006-2008 (2nd Battalion) #

for AFGHANISTAN 2009-2010 (1st & 2nd Battalion) #

for AFGHANISTAN 2012 (1st & 2nd Battalion) #

for AFGHANISTAN 2014 (1st & 2nd Battalion) #

for AFGHANISTAN 2016 (1st Battalion) #

for AFGHANISTAN 2018 (1st & 2nd Battalion) #

for Operation Sea Signal (JTF-160) in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba #

1940 #Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in BELGIUM (12th Infantry) #Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the ARDENNES (12th Infantry) #

Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross also known as the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross or Vietnam Cross of Gallantry ( vi, Anh-Dũng Bội-Tinh) is a military decoration of the former Government of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam). The medal w ...

with Palm, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1966-1967 #

with Palm, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1967-1968 #

with Palm, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1968-1970 #

, First Class, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1967-1970 # Presidential Unit Citation (Army) FOR Iraq 2003-2004 (Not confirmed by DOA, Lineage and Honors as of 2/3/2019)

Legacy

Several photographers and journalists were embedded with the 1st Battalion 12th Infantry Regiment during their 2009–2010 tour to

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...

. A series of articles published by

David Philipps David Nathaniel Philipps (born 1977) is an American journalist and author who has been awarded The Pulitzer Prize twice, most recently in 2022. His work has largely focused on the human impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a nationa ...

in the Colorado Springs Gazette chronicles the 2nd Battalion of the 12th Infantry Regiment. The series inspired the book '' Lethal Warriors - When the New Band of Brothers Came Home''. which follows the lives of Lethal Warriors members after returning to the United States.

Notes

References

External links

The Hell of War Comes Home: Newspaper Series Documents Murder, Suicide, Kidnappings by 12th Infantry Regiment
- video by ''Democracy Now!'' {{DEFAULTSORT:012 1861 establishments in the United States 0012 Military units and formations established in 1861 012th Infantry Regiment 012th Infantry Regiment 012th Infantry Regiment Military units and formations of the United States in the Indian Wars Infantry regiments of the United States Army in World War II 12th Infantry Regiment