1-15th Field Artillery
First Battalion, Fifteenth Field Artillery stands ready, as the most forward deployed Direct Support Cannon Battalion in the United States Army, to conduct counter fire and deep operations in defense of the Republic of Korea. In order to execute that mission, the "First to Fire" Battalion employs three 155mm Paladin Batteries, a Service Battery, and a Headquarters Battery. These units are manned by highly trained and focused U.S. and Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army (KATUSA) soldiers who support the Warrior Division.
The 1-15th Field Artillery stands ready at all times to defend the Republic of Korea with deadly rains of 155mm steel on target should the communist North attempt to strike South. The 1-15th Field Artillery trains on the land it will fight on, and is always prepared to put our training to use. The 1-15th Field Artillery is the Guns Battalion, and its mark on any battle will be made with accurate and rapid strikes of massive volleys of deadly munitions.
The 15th Artillery Regiment was constituted on 3 June 1916 in the Regular Army. It was first organized by the transfer of personnel from the 4th Field Artillery on 1 June 1917 at Syracuse, New York. This is indicated by the flash in the upper left corner on the unit crest. It was assigned to the 2d Infantry Division on 21 September 1917 and sailed for France on 11 December 1917 to took part in the heaviest fighting of World War I. The extent of this service is indicated by the five wavy bars on the shield representing the five historic French rivers that the regiment crossed: the Aisne, Marne, Meuse, Moselle, and Rhine. By 1 June 1918, the regiment held positions northwest of Chateau Thierry until relieved by the 26th Division in order to prepare for the July Soissons Counteroffensive. During July, August, September, and October, the regiment not only supported the 2d Division in operations at Soissons, Margache, and Champagen, but also fired for the French 78th Division and the American 36th Division. On 10 November 1918, the 15th fired in support of the Meuse River crossing and three days later crossed the Rhine at Remagen for occupation duty. At the end of the war, the 15th Artillery Regiment had won six campaign streamers, two French Croix de Guerre, and the French Fourragere.
The 15th Artillery began its participation in World War II on 7 June 1944, when it hit Omaha Beach to encounter 71 consecutive days of combat on the Normandy beachhead. The unit fired its way through France by way of Brest and Paris, and entered Germany on 4 October 1944 to support the 2d Division on a 27 mile sector of the Siegfried Line. The 15th Field Artillery supported the fires of the division all the way across Germany. During the 336 days of fighting, the Regiment could be proud of its record of 151,000 rounds fired during such famous campaigns as Normandy, Brest, "Heartbreak Crossroads," the Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe, culminating in the battle of Leipzig. The unit was awarded the Belgian Fourragere and two citations from the government of Belgium for heroic action in the Ardennes and on the Elsenborn Crest.
After returning to Ft. Lewis, Washington following World War II, the battalion was alerted for duty in Korea on 31 July 1950. It landed at Pusan and fired the first artillery round in support of the 2d Infantry Division in August 1950. The unit participated in all major battles of the Korean War and was instrumental in helping protect the division as it withdrew through the Kunu-Ri Pass, which has been described as one of the bloodiest battles of all time. In supporting the 23rd Infantry as a rear guard, the artillerymen of the 15th Field Artillery helped stem the tide against the Chinese that were threatening the division. In the Bloody Ridge Campaign, August 1951, the unit set a new record for light battalions, firing 14,425 rounds in a 24 hour period. From 30 November 1950 to 27 July 1953, the battalion was in continuous combat. For its actions it received the Presidential Unit Citation and two Republic of Korea Presidential Citations. Individual honors included a Medal of Honor and a Distinguished Service Cross.
After the Korean War, the unit returned to Ft. Lewis and later moved to Ft. Richardson, Alaska, where it was inactivated in June 1957. The 15th Field Artillery Regiment was reconstituted and the Regiment's Alpha Battery was redesignated the 1st Battalion 15th Field Artillery at Ft. Benning, Georgia in March 1958 and returned to Korea on 14 December 1968. The battalion was stationed at Camp Pelham with the 2d Infantry Division in defensive positions. With a change of mission for the 2d Infantry Division, the battalion moved to Camp Stanley in February 1971. In 1988 the battalion moved to Camp Casey where it performs in its current mission in Direct Support of the 1st Brigade (Iron Brigade), 2nd Infantry Division. 1-15th Field Artillery is proud to be the oldest serving Battalion in the 2nd Infantry Division.
