2nd Battalion / 9th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized)
Manchu
The 9th Infantry Regiment was first created in January 1799 in response to the building tension between the United States and France. Since its reactivation in 1855, the Ninth Infantry Regiment has fought the nation's wars across countless continents and has served longer than most active units in the Army.
The Ninth Infantry Regiment has the distinction of being authorized a unique belt buckle as well as a distinctive insignia (DI) pin. Manchus must earn the right to wear the buckle. To earn this right a Manchu must complete the Manchu Mile, an overnight 25 mile tactical march, with full gear and weapon. This Manchu Mile commemorates the 85 mile march the 9th regiment completed in early July 1900, from Taku Bar to Tientsin for their assault on Tientsin on July 13, 1900.
While its history during the Civil War remains vague, the Ninth Infantry Regiment fought gallantly during the Indian Wars along the Western Frontier. From 1865 to the early 1870's, the Regiment fought in over 400 skirmishes across 11 states and against great Indian warriors such as Geronimo and Crazy Horse.
In 1892, after 37 years of service in the Civil War and Indian Wars, the Regiment was transferred to routine garrison duty in Madison Barracks, NY. The rest did not last long, however, as the Regiment was ordered to duty in 1898 in the war with Spain. In Cuba, the Regiment saw action at the battles of San Juan Hill and Santiago. At the conclusion of the war, the 9th Infantry Regiment returned to Madison Barracks, only to be recalled for duty in quelling the Philippine Insurrection.
In 1900, the Regiment deployed to China as the Boxer Rebellion threatened American lives and interests. Within a month of its arrival, the 9th Infantry Regiment found itself in combat in Manchuria. As a result of the actions in China, the 9th Infantry Regiment acquired its nickname as the "Manchu Regiment," earned its motto, "Keep Up The Fire," and claimed its foremost trophy, the Liscum Bowl, which was crafted from a large mass of molten silver. Shortly after the 9th Infantry landed in China with the American Relief Expedition to China in 1900, the regiment engaged in the relief of Tientsin. While assaulting the fortress walls, the regimental commander, COL Emerson H. Liscum was mortally wounded while in possession of the regiment's colors. While falling, COL Liscum passed the colors to another soldier and directed his regiment to: "KEEP UP THE FIRE!" on the seemingly impregnable walls. Tientsin did fall, and two days later the regiment discovered a storehouse of silver bars. The silver was put under guard and turned over to the Chinese government. As a token of their appreciation, the Chinese government gave the regiment the silver which was later used to fabricate the Liscum Bowl, named in honor of their fallen commander.
In October 1917, the Regiment arrived in France and became part of the newly organized 2nd Infantry Division. In World War I, the Manchu Regiment met and defeated the elite German army in the Battle of Lorraine, Aisne Marne, St. Mihiel, and Meuse Argonne. As a result of its actions in the war, the Manchus received the fourragere in the colors of the Croix de Guerre.
After 23 years of garrison duty, the Manchus moved to Ireland for extensive training for the D-Day landings on the coast of France. The Regiment entered the war on 7 June 1944. They landed on Omaha Beach and marched with the 2nd Infantry Division across France, Belgium, Germany and into Czechoslovakia, where they were located at the end of World War II. For their actions, the Regiment earned five more battle streamers and the Belgian courage for actions at the Battle of the Bulge.
The 9th Infantry Regiment deployed to the Korean peninsula on 31 July 1950 as the United States entered the Korean War. As the first element of the 2nd Infantry Division, the Manchus fought out of the Pusan Perimeter and north almost to the Yalu River. The Manchu Regiment fought with distinction throughout Korea in battles such as Heartbreak Ridge, Bloody Ridge, Old Baldy, T-Bone, and Pork Chop Hill.
After four years and countless campaigns in Korea, the Regiment returned to Fort Lewis with the 2nd Infantry Division, and in 1959, it rotated to Alaska.
On 14 January 1966, the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry was relieved from assignment to the 171st Infantry Brigade and assigned to the 25th Infantry (Tropic Lightning) Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. A month earlier these Manchus had been in Alaska preparing for annual winter maneuvers to be conducted in temperatures of 50 below zero. Eight weeks later the battalion was preparing for deployment to the heat and humidity of Vietnam. April 29th saw the battalion disembark the ship General Walker at Vung Tau, Vietnam. Within hours of their arrival, the Manchus found themselves under fire as their convoy made its way to the 25th Division base camp at Cu Chi. The next day, a little more than 24 hours after arriving in country, Alpha company engaged the enemy in a firefight - setting the tone of regular contact that would characterize the Manchu experience for the next four and a half years.
Many operations were conducted by company sized or smaller units but there were also notable larger scale operations in which the entire battalion took part. They included Asheville, Wahiawa, Joliet I and II, Helemano, and Kahana I and II. The following accounts are by no means definitive but illustrate the nature of the battalion's service.
On August 30, 1967, Alpha, Bravo and Delta companies were airlifted into position along a bend of the Saigon River an area that came to be known as the Horseshoe. The mission was battle damage assessment and little activity was expected but the Manchus found themselves in a fierce battle with a much larger force. It was not the first time nor was it the last for the 4th of the 9th. Three undersize rifle companies were dropped into open rice paddies in the midst of a much larger enemy force of experienced VC fighters known as the Go Mon Battalion. What had been expected to be a one or two hour minor operation turned into an all-out day-long battle.
In mid-December of 1967, 25th Division intelligence indicated that search and destroy operations out of the Katum base had been so effective in disrupting enemy activity the NVA had decided to try to skirt the area controlled by the Manchus. Battalion Commander, Lt. Col. John Henchman was given the order to cut them off. He ordered all four line companies of the Manchus into the abandoned village of Bo Tuc to confront the large force that was trying to infiltrate the area. This force was later determined to be part of the major buildup of the Tet offensive that was to come in January. On the afternoon of December 18th the Manchus arrived at Bo Tuc and immediately began taking fire. At around 2 o'clock the next morning a regimental sized force attacked. The intense fight that ensued lasted throughout the night. Ten Manchus were killed and 35 wounded at Bo Tuc. Enemy dead were put at between 50 and 70.
On February 22, 1968, the Manchus closed the base at Katum which had served as the large forward base for the 1st BDE near the Cambodian border. After a day at Tay Ninh to prepare, the Manchus moved out to Cu Chi and eventually arrived north of Tan Son Nhut on February 25. The mission was to find and destroy rocket sites that had been used to fire on Tan Son Nhut Air Base since the Tet Offensive began nearly a month earlier. At 9:00 a.m., on March 2, 1968, the Manchus walked into what was to become one of the worst single encounter loss of life incidents in the history of the Vietnam war. Forty nine members of Charlie company were killed and 24 wounded in an ambush by a large communist force on Route 248 north and east of Tan Son Nhut near the small village of Quoi Xuan. In addition, C company suffered 24 wounded while D company suffered casualties in the fighting to reach Charlie company. Manchu Alpha, Bravo, and Delta continued operations in this area and took many more casualties until finally leaving on March 11, 1968. Rocket sites had been destroyed, and a formidable communist force had been weakened, if not destroyed. But, it had come at a great cost to the Manchus and particularly the men of Charlie Company.
On December 18, 1968, the men of the 4th Battalion Manchus constructed a patrol base camp, nine and a half miles south of Tay Ninh City. It was a well fortified position so well dug in that it earned the nickname from the Manchus as Mole City. The base camp was located in an area that had been untouched by allied ground forces for over a year -- one of the most used infiltration routes in the III Corps. During the early morning hours of December 22, 1968, Mole City came under a massive ground assault by the 272d Regiment of the 9th NVA Division. The attack began shortly after midnight with a fierce mortar, 75mm recoilless rifle and RPG attack which was followed immediately by a heavy concentration of small arms and automatic weapons fire. The enemy managed to breach the defensive perimeter once, and got into one bunker before they were stopped. Several Manchu's from Charlie comp were in that bunker all night with several NVA. The only Manchu to live was John Senka who wrote a book [Manchus at Mole City] on how that night has effected his live. The Manchu defenders held their ground and repulsed the attack inflicting serious damage to the enemy forces.
Through the actions of the Manchus and others, the concept of a patrol base on the border had been proven. It was at once an agonizing temptation to the 271st and 272nd NVA regiments on the border and a completely effective deterrent to their infiltration. On the 24th of April 1969 the Manchus established a new patrol base one and one half miles north of the "Angle's Wing" along the Cambodian border. In that flat open area, Charlie Company, with Alpha Company supporting, built a tiny new patrol base to be named "Frontier City." Shortly after midnight enemy mortars and rockets began raining down on the two companies of Manchus followed by a ground attack so heavy that the two 105mm howitzers deployed there were fired point blank into the charging NVA. The attack was repulsed. In the morning more than 200 enemy had been killed in the unsuccessful human wave attack. One Manchu had been wounded.
In the four years and six months of Service in Vietnam with the 25th Division, the 4th Battalion of the Manchus received two Presidential Citations and added 12 campaign streamers to the Regimental Colors for Combat Operations in the Republic of South Vietnam. It is estimated that 450 4th Battalion Manchus were killed in the Vietnam War. Three Manchus were posthumous recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor.
After a period of years where battalions within the Regiment were farmed out to various divisions from California to Alaska, the 9th Infantry Regiment was consolidated under the 7th Infantry Division flag at Fort Ord, CA.
As part of the 7th Infantry Division (Light), the Manchus once again answered the nation's call to battle. In December 1989, the Regiment landed on Panamanian soil with a mission to clear Panama City of all Panamanian Defense Forces and Liberty Battalion members. Again, the Manchu Regiment executed its duties as no other could and eventually returned to Fort Ord to prepare for the next call to duty.
In September 1995, the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry reflagged to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry (Mechanized). Once again, the Manchus were reunited with the 2nd Infantry Division, and once again found itself in the Republic of Korea.
