Infantry, Part I: Regular Army /Preface

by John K. Mahon and Romana Danysh

• 
  Preface
  

• Infantry are those troops that fight on foot and that rely chiefly upon the small arms carried by individuals. This volume on infantry in the United States Army deals with the organization of foot units at the level of regiments and below. Infantry brigades and divisions will be covered in a subsequent volume in the Army Lineage Series.

• Although the narrative portion discusses infantry in the reserve components as well as in the Regular Army, this volume (Part I) includes lineages only for Regular Army parent regiments organized under the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) and for those of their elements that have been active since the establishment of CARS. Army National Guard and Army Reserve infantry lineages will be published in the near future in a separate volume (Part II) , because infantry units of all three components are far too numerous to be included in one book. Lineages for Army Reserve elements of Regular Army parent regiments which appear in this volume will be reprinted in the second part, so that a complete set of reserve infantry lineages will be available in that volume.

• In the first edition of this book, published in 1953, the narrative ended with World War II and most of the lineages were carried only to the outbreak of the Korean War. Since that time several major reorganizations and the adoption of CARS have significantly changed infantry organization, while many infantry units have earned additional honors in Korea and Vietnam. In the present volume, the narrative has been brought up to date through 31 December 1969 and the lineages through 31 December 1970. Only those Vietnam campaign participation credits that have been confirmed in Department of the Army General Orders are listed, but all unit decorations reported up to the time the book went to the printer are included.

• The 1953 edition was prepared by Dr. Mahon, and his narrative from the American Revolution through World War II is reprinted in this volume with only minor changes. Miss Danysh wrote the narrative from 1945 to the end and selected the illustrations to accompany the text. The Organizational History Branch (OHB) of the Office of the Chief of Military History (OCMH) is responsible for the determination of official unit lineages and honors. The lineages which appear in this volume are the result of research done by many members of OHB, past and present. Miss Danysh brought all the lineages up to date and added the Vietnam honors.

• Descriptions of coats of arms, historic badges, distinctive insignia, and other heraldic items approved for infantry regiments are included with the lineages. These descriptions as well as the color illustrations of the heraldic items were furnished by the Institute of Heraldry, U.S. Army. The authors are particularly grateful to Dr. Opal V. Landrum, Miss Ellen Bantz, and Mr. Charles A. Reynolds.

• Miss Janice E. McKenney of OHB compiled the unit bibliographies with .the assistance of Mr. Charles E. Dornbusch's comprehensive bibliography entitled Histories, Personal Narratives, United States Army (Cornwallville, New York: Hope Farm Press, 1967) . Most of the unit histories cited are unofficial works that were prepared outside the Department of the Army. They are, nevertheless, valuable sources of additional information about the units.

• The authors want to thank Brig. Gen. Hal C. Pattison, who as Chief of Military History took a personal interest in the publication of this volume and generously shared his broad professional knowledge and experience. All members of the OCMH review panel for the revised edition (Dr. Stetson Conn, then Chief Historian, chairman; Mr. Joseph R. Friedman, Editor in Chief; Col. Robert H. Fechtman, Chief, Historical Services Division; Mr. John W. Wike, Deputy Chief, Historical Services Division; Mrs. Mary Lee Stubbs, Chief, OHB; Mr. Stanley Russell Connor, Deputy Chief, OHB; and Dr. Ernest F. Fisher, Jr., General History Branch) were most helpful, and their constructive criticism of the draft improved the final product considerably.

• Special thanks are given to Dr. Conn, who took time from a very busy schedule to make valuable oral and written comments, and to Mrs. Stubbs and Mr. Connor, coauthors of the Armor Cavalry volume, published in 1969 in the Army Lineage Series. In addition to reviewing the narrative, Mrs. Stubbs provided guidance and inspiration for the entire revision project, while Mr. Connor carefully read draft after draft and made numerous excellent suggestions.

• Helpful comments and suggestions were also made by Col. Wolfred K. White, formerly Chief, Histories Division; Mr. Charles B. MacDonald, Chief, Current History Branch; Mr. John B. Wilson, OHB; Col. S. B. Sightler, Jr., USA, Retired; and the United States Army Infantry School. The manuscript was edited by Mr. David Jaffe, Chief of the Editorial Branch, assisted by Mr. Bernard F. Halloran and Miss Christine A. Otten. We owe our thanks, too, to Mrs. Corinna L. Swan and Miss Maxine L. Pressley for expertly typing and retyping countless pages without losing their sense of humor.

• Many others contributed to the completion of this volume by their knowledge, advice, co-operation, and encouragement-and to all of them we are sincerely grateful. For any and all errors in the narrative and in the lineages the authors alone are responsible.

• Washington, D.C.
• 15 April 1971

• JOHN K. MAHON
• ROMANA DANYSH