203rd Forward Support Battalion
The mission of the 203rd Forward Support Battalion is to deploy by air, land, and sea to a contingency area to provide combat service support to the 3rd Brigade's combat team during mobile, combined arms offensive, and defensive operations worldwide.
The 203rd Support Battalion was originally constituted on 12 November 1917, in the regular Army as the Sanitary Train, 3rd Division. The battalion was organized at Fort Clark, TX, in December 1917. One company, Charlie Company, predates the Division and participated in the Mexican Expedition of 1916-1917. The battalion accompanied the 3rd Infantry Division to France in April 1918. Baptized under fire at the Second Battle Of The Marne in June 1918, the battalion participated in the great Offensive Of Saint Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne in the fall Of 1918. The battalion returned to the United States in August 1919.
The battalion was reorganized and redesignated as the 3rd Medical Regiment On 19 February 1921. On 31 October 1922, the unit was inactivated at Camp Lewis, WA. The unit was reactivated in February 1939, and was reorganized and redesignated as the 3rd Medical Battalion on 13 October 1939.
The battalion accompanied the Marne Division in the first amphibious assault of World War II in North Africa, during the European Theater Of Operations in October 1942. The aattalion also earned hard fought arrow heads on its battle streamers for its participation in the landings at Sicily, Anzio, and Southern France. The battalion participated in a total of nine major campaigns during World War II. For its action in the Colmar Pocket during the Central European Campaign, the battalion earned the Presidential Unit Citation and the French Croix De Guerre with Palm.
When conflict arose in Korea, the battalion once again moved overseas in support of the 3rd Infantry Division and took part in the first U.N. counteroffensive. During the spring and summer-fall offensive of 1951 and 1952, the battalion provided quality and continuous combat service support through three bitter Korean winters. For the exceptional heroism and dedication of its members, the battalion was awarded two Republic Of Korea Presidential Unit Citations for action in the Uijongbu Corridor and the Iron Triangle. The battalion also earned the Chryssoun Aristion Andrrias Bravery Gold Medal for its participation in the Korean Conflict.
In 1954, the battalion was moved yet again to Fort Benning, GA. The stay in the United States was brief as the battalion journeyed to Europe, in the spring of 1958, to support the 3rd Division in the forward defense of Western Europe.
The battalion was reorganized and redesignated in October 1983 under the Forward Support Concept as the Second Support Battalion (Forward). The battalion was redesignated on 1 May 1987 as the 203rd Support Battalion. It gained the Distinctive Unit Crest of the 3rd Medical Battalion. The three white stripes designate the three Major Operations the Division participated in World War I. The blue field symbolizes the loyalty of those who gave their lives in defense of liberty and freedom. The staff of Aesculapius represents the military nature of the battalion.
