30th Armored Division (United States) explained

Unit Name:	30th Armored Division
Dates:	1954–73
Country:	United States
Branch:	United States Army
Type:	Armored
Notable Commanders:	MG Hugh Mott
Nickname:	Volunteers

The 30th Armored Division was a Tennessee-based unit of the Army National Guard from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Activation and service

In 1954 the 30th Infantry Division was reorganized, with units in North Carolina and South Carolina constituting the 30th Infantry Division, and units in Tennessee forming the nucleus of the new 30th Armored Division.^[1]

Though never federalized during wartime, the 30th Armored Division (called "Volunteers," for Tennessee's "Volunteer State" nickname) was activated for support to law enforcement, including responses to civil disturbances in Memphis and Nashville after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.^[2]

In 1968 the headquarters of the Mississippi Army National Guard's 108th Armored Cavalry Regiment was reorganized as 1st Brigade, 30th Armored Division. (The brigade was subsequently designated the 155th Separate Armored Brigade.)^[3] In addition, in 1968 units from the Florida Army National Guard and Alabama Army National Guard also became part of the 30th Armored Division.^[4]

The 30th Armored Division was inactivated in December, 1973.^[5]

Commanders

The following officers served as commander of the 30th Armored Division:

• MG Paul H. Jordan, 1954-1957^{[6] [7]}
• MG Robert E. Frankland, 1957-1959^[8]
• MG Warren C. Giles, 1959-1962^[9]
• MG Clarence B. Johnson, 1962-1963^[10]
• MG William R. Douglas, 1963-1966^[11]
• MG Thomas G. Wells Jr., 1966-1968^{[12] [13] [14]}
• MG Hugh B. Mott, 1968-1969^[15]
• MG Glynn C. Ellison, 1969-1971^[16]
• MG Carl M. Lay, 1971-1973^[17]
• MG John M. Calhoun, 1973^[18]

Lineage

During its existence the 30th Armored Division was never deployed as an organization, and received no combat honors. Several members volunteered individually to join regular Army units during the Vietnam War.^[19]

The 30th Armored Division's lineage was carried by the Tennessee Army National Guard's 30th Armored Brigade until the brigade's inactivation in 1996.^{[20] [21]}

Notes and References

1. John B. Wilson, Center of Military History, Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades, 1988, page 604
2. News: Richard . Lentz . Memphis Commercial Appeal . Dr. King Is Slain By Sniper: Looting, Arson Touched Off By Death . 6 April 1968.
3. Global Security, 155th Armored Brigade (Separate) (Heavy), 2011
4. Jeffrey Lynn Pope, Leonid E. Kondratiuk, editors, Armor-Cavalry Regiments: Army National Guard Lineage, 1995, pages 41, 48
5. Tennessee Secretary of State, Blue Book, 1980, page 312
6. News: Waverly News-Democrat . Guardsmen to Enter Camp on Sunday, June 18 . 10 June 1955.
7. Kingsport Times, Gen Paul Jordan to Speak Here, 10 February 1956
8. Kingsport News, Change of Command, 11 December 1959
9. Tennessee Secretary of State, Tennessee Blue Book, 1961, page 130
10. National Guard Association of the United States, The National Guardsman, Volume 16, 1962, page 67
11. National Guard Association of the United States, The National Guardsman, Volume 18, 1964, page 30
12. U.S. Army, General Orders Number 44, 22 August 1968, page 11
13. National Guard Association of the United States, The National Guardsman, Volume 21, 1967, page 38
14. News: NDC Blog, National Archives and Records Administration . Letter to Major General Thomas G. Wells, Jr. Commanding General, 30th Armored Division . 8 April 1968 . 1.
15. News: United Press International . Middleboro Daily News . Tennessee Adjutant General Will Resign . 11 November 1968.
16. News: Associated Press . Florence Times . Guard May Get New Boss . 29 July 1971.
17. News: Associated Press . Tuscaloosa News . Tennessean to Head Guard Unit . 4 August 1971.
18. News: Associated Press . Gadsden Times . Guard Gets New Division Commander . 1 June 1973.
19. Tennessee National Guard, History, Tennessee National Guard, 2012
20. Web site: 30th Armored Division . Listman . John . National Guard Education Foundation . https://archive.today/20130415103203/http://www.ngef.org/index.asp?bid=100 . 15 April 2013 . 20 December 2016 . dead .
21. Timothy S Aumiller, United States Army Infantry, Artillery, Armor/Cavalry Battalions 1957-2011, 2007, page 25