1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment
The mission of the 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment is to transition to war rapidly and provide theater aviation General Support to the Commander-in- Chief (CINC),Combined Forces Command (CFC), United States Forces Korea (USFK), and Eighth United States Army (EUSA).
To accomplish this mission, 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment is comprised of six companies with a total of about 40 UH-60(A) and C-12(F) aircraft. Although the battalion's primary focus is General Support, each company additionally specializes in other areas. Headquarters and Headquarters Company (Crusaders) provides the headquarters, administration, and logistics base for the battalion as well as the CINC's Flight Platoon (CINCHAWK). A Company (Dragons) serves as a Combat Support Aviation Company with the ability to provide Command and Control (C2), air assault, and aerial logistics supply. B Company (Red Barons) has the additional mission to provide split base operations at K-16 as well as Taegu in support of the 19th TAACOM Commander as well as supporting the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commision. C Company (Tomahawks) provide the primary support for VIP missions and the EUSA Commander. D Company (White Horse) is the battalion's Aviation Unit Maintenance (AVUM) company responsible for the operational readiness of the battalion's UH-60s. A company, 6th Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment is the attached fixed wing company with assetts both in Korea and in Japan.
The 52nd Aviation Battalion (Combat) was constituted 1 June 1940 in the Regular Army as Headquarters Detachment, 204th Quartermaster Battalion (gas supply), and activated on 10 June 1942 at Compton, California. The Battalion received credit for participating in four campaigns on the Italian peninsula during World War II. On 16 May 1949, the battalion was reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 52nd Transportation Truck Battalion. The Battalion participated in nine campaigns during the Korean War. On 11 December 1950, the Battalion Commander, LTC John U.D. Page was killed while fighting with the battalion on the Manchurian border. LTC Page was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously and the present day Camp Page in Chun Chon, bears his name. The Battalion colors display the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for its actions during the Korean War.
On 22 December 1962, the unit was converted and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 52nd Aviation Battalion at Ft Bragg, North Carolina. From 1963 thru 1972, the Battalion served in the Republic of Vietnam and participated in 17 campaigns, earning the Presidential Unit Citation, two Valorous Unit Awards and eight Vietnamese Unit Citations. The 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment was inactivated 16 October 1988 in Korea and redesignated as 1st Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment, a parent regiment under the United States Army Regimental System, with its Headquarters at Camp Coiner and subordinate units at K-16, Camp Page and Camp Humphreys. The 501st conducted many diverse missions, including Special Operations, Air Assault and General Support throughout the theater.
In 1991 and 1994, the 1-501st received the theater's AAAA Outstanding Aviation Unit of the Year. On 16 February 1996, as part of the Aviation Restructuring Initiative, the 1-501st was inactivated and the 1-52nd was reactivated at K-16. The 1-52nd consolidated at K-16 in March of 1996. In 1997, the 1-52nd received the theater AAAA Outstanding Aviation Unit of the Year Award.
