1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment
"Wolfhounds"
The 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry, "Wolfhounds," was first constituted on 2 February 1901 in the Regular Army as Company E, 26th Infantry. The unit was organized on 6 March 1901 at Fort McPherson, Georgia and redesignated on 29 May 1901 as Company A, 27th Infantry.
In December 1901, the 27th Infantry Regiment as a whole deployed to the Philippines to defeat Moro insurgents on the island of Mindanao. After the Moro's defeat, the 27th Infantry deployed to Camp Sheridan, Illinois in 1904.
After additional service in Cuba, Texas, and again in the Philippines, the 27th Infantry sailed to Vladivostok, Siberia in 1918 as part of the Allied Expeditionary Force. One of their missions was to guard the Trans-Siberian Railroad, which often resulted in combat with communist Bolsheviks. While in Russia, the 27th Infantry earned its nickname, "The Wolfhounds," because of its aggressive pursuit of retreating Bolshevik forces.
In 1921, after brief stays in Japan and the Philippines, the Wolfhounds made their home at Schofield Barracks, Territory of Hawaii, where they were assigned on 1 March 1921 to the Hawaiian Division (later redesignated as the 24th Infantry Division).
The 27th Infantry was relieved on 1 October 1941 from assignment to the Hawaiian Division and reassigned to the 25th Infantry Division. On 7 December 1941, the Wolfhounds fought back against Japanese aircraft from its D-Quad rooftops. As part of the Tropic Lightning Division, the Wolfhounds fought through the Southwest Pacific at Guadalcanal, the Northern Solomons, and finally, the island of Luzon in the Philippines, where the 27th Infantry earned a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.
After World War II, the 27th Infantry served as occupational forces in Japan. There they earned their nickname the "Gentle Wolfhounds," for their loving support of the Holy Family Orphanage in Osaka, which continued well after they had departed Japan.
In July 1950, the 27th Infantry, as part of the 25th Infantry division, deployed to South Korea to defeat the North Korean invasion. Their actions near Sangyong-Ni earned the first Presidential Unit Citation of the war. During the defense of the Pusan Perimeter, the Wolfhounds became known as the Eighth Army's "Fire Brigade" for their rapid and violent counter-attacks. For the defense of Taegu, they earned a second Presidential Unit Citation. After the Chinese entered the war in late 1950, the 27th Infantry earned is third Presidential Unit Citation for assaulting across the Han River, which culminated in the recapture of Seoul in April 1951. The Battalion redeployed to the Territory of Hawaii in 1954.
Company A, 27th Infantry was reorganized and redesignated on 1 February 1957 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battle Group, 27th Infantry, and remained assigned to the 25th Infantry Division with its organic elements concurrently constituted and activated. It was reorganized and redesignated on 26 August 1963 as the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry.
The Battalion arrived in South Vietnam in January 1966. During their 5-year stay in Vietnam, the Wolfhounds were considered one of 25th Infantry Division's most effective units, earning a Valorous Unit Citation in 1967. Primarily operating from Chu Chi in the Tay Ninh Province, the Battalion participated in Operation Attleboro, Cedar Falls, Junction City, the '68 and '69 Tet Counter-Offensives, and the 1970 invasion of Cambodia. One of last of the 25th Infantry Division's units to depart Vietnam, the Wolfhounds arrived home in Hawaii in April 1971.
After their return to Oahu, the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry deployed to Tinian, Guam, Korea, Thailand, Australia and Japan, as well as the Training Centers in the continental United States. The Wolfhounds spearheaded relief operations on hurricane-ravaged Kauai in September 1992. The Wolfhounds deployed to Guam for Operation Pacific Haven, where they provided security for Kurdish refugees from October to December 1996.
Almost a mile above sea level and about 300 miles away from Mount Everest lies the small Nepalese town of Panchkhal and a large United Nations training base that was the stage for Exercise Shanti Prayas, which when translated means "to keep peace." US soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry scout platoon, as well as soldiers from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and observers from 19 other countries participated in the peacekeeping training that occured between 16 and 30 January 2000. During the exercise, the soldiers had to complete 32 peacekeeping tasks split up over 6 lanes, 2 of them taught by the Americans, 2 by the Nepalese, one by Sri Lanka and one by Bangladesh.
Soldiers rolled into Aibano Training Area, Japan, as 502 Wolfhounds from 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry, arrived on 2 November 2000 for Operation Keen Sword 2001, a 3-week, joint training exercise. The annual exercise was designed to refine and improve bilateral operations between the US Army and the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force at the regimental, battalion and company levels. Along with the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry, nearly 100 additional US Army, Japan, troops including active duty, Reserve and National Guard Soldiers were attached to the task force for the exercise. The combined exercise included 595 personnel from the 15th Regiment, 2nd Combined Brigade, Middle Army, Japanese Ground Self Defense Force. The training included squad maneuver live-fire training, anti-tank firing, military operations, medical evacuation training, field training exercises, convoy operations, containerized delivery system airdrops, and combat search and rescue missions.
In 2006, as part of the transformation of 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry was reorganized and reassigned to the reorganized and redesignated 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
