2nd Battalion / 72nd Armor Regiment
"Second Tank, Second to None"
This unit was born on a cold winter morning in January 1943 as Company B, 5th Armored Regiment, and immediately activated for battle on 15 July, 1943 at Camp Chafee, Arkansas. Assigned to the 16th Armored Division, It was re-designated as Company B, 717th Tank Battalion. In 1944 this unit deployed to Europe and raced across the fields of France in the last Great Crusade across Europe pursuing the Nazi foe. During the Battle of the Bulge and the assault into the heart of Germany, it fought and bled as an element of the 79th Infantry Division, in the steel, dust and smoke of the Rhineland and Central European Campaigns. Following a long year overseas this unit stood down, and its soldiers returned home to enjoy the hard won peace.
On April 6, 1948, the unit reactivated at Fort Lewis, Washington as a heavy tank battalion, and in October the unit was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division. In 1950, as Company B, 72nd Tank Battalion, the unit once again entered battle and was forged in fire during the Korean War. For the units actions at the Naktong river line, it earned the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, and added to its colors a streamer for overall superior performance.
In October, 1950, while MacArthur landed at Inchon, the unit led the breakout from the Pusan perimeter, driving the enemy north. It distinguished itself at the battles of Hongchon, Yongsan, and Kapyong, earning four distinguished unit citations. After bloody retrograde battles the unit fought to a stalemate with the Chinese Army. Names such as Punch Bowl, Old Baldy, and Heartbreak Ridge still echo in its turrets.
In October, 1954, the unit returned to Fort Lewis, Washington with the 2nd Infantry Division, and shortly thereafter moved to Camp Irwin, California. Battle weary but proud, the unit was deactivated in 1958. On January 25, 1963 the unit was again called to service at Fort Stewart, Georgia and rejoined the 2nd Infantry Division. In July, 1965 the unit returned to Korea, where only fifteen years before its guns blazed in anger.
In 1974 the units colors were again cased and its tanks were idle until 1978 when the units colors were again unfurled in the Republic of Korea. The unit has since continually prepared and trained for war in the Land of Morning Calm.
Along with 1st Tank, the unit was a proud link in their regimental history. Tough and prepared, 2-72 AR stood silent and ready as one of the most forward deployed armor battalion in the Army. 2-72 AR was a vital link in deterring Communist Aggression in this part of the world.
US Army Capt. Chris Plekenpol, commander, A Troop, 2nd Battalion, 72nd Armor Regiment and his men deployed from Korea to Iraq to support the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force last September and participated in securing Fallujah in November. They continued the dangerous work of security in their sector in preparation for the January 30th election. In February 2005 Eighty-eight U.S. Army soldiers stationed outside of Fallujah, Iraq, recently received hundreds of soccer balls to ‘help win the hearts and minds of Iraqi children’, thanks to Virginia Cook, Realtors’ “Hearts United Campaign.” Virginia Cook, Realtors sent A Hearts United shipment of new and used soccer balls decorated with heart stickers directly to Capt. Chris Plekenpol.
