| Unit Name: | 351st Infantry Regiment |
| Dates: | 1917–1919 1921–1945 1946–present |
| Branch: | U.S. Army |
| Role: | Infantry |
| Size: | Regiment |
| Command Structure: | First Army |
| Motto: | TOUJOURS PRÊT (Always Ready) |
| Colors: | Blue and Silver |
| Anniversaries: | Constituted 5 August 1917 in the National Army |
| Decorations: | Croix de Guerre, Army Superior Unit Award |
| Battle Honours: | World War I World War II |
| Notable Commanders: | William W. Eagles Arthur S. Champeny |
The 351st Infantry Regiment is a United States Army infantry regiment first organized in the National Army for service in World War I as part of the 88th Division in Europe. During the interwar period, it was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve with the 88th Division and later served in the Mediterranean Theater during World War II. Since then, it has served as a training regiment, training Army Reserve and Army National Guard soldiers for service overseas after the September 11 terrorist attacks.[1] [2]
The regiment was constituted 5 August 1917 in the National Army as the 351st Infantry and assigned to the 176th Infantry Brigade of the 88th Division. It was organized at Camp Dodge, Iowa on 30 August 1917, and Herbert B. Crosby was named to command it. In August 1917, the regiment was organized with 3,755 officers and enlisted men:
The doughboys of the regiment deployed to France as part of the American Expeditionary Forces .[4] [5] [6] After completing its war service in France it demobilized at Camp Dodge on 7 June 1919.[7]
The 351st Infantry was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921, assigned to the 88th Division, and allotted to the Seventh Corps Area. The regiment was initiated on 12 October 1921 with regimental headquarters at St. Paul, Minnesota. Subordinate battalion headquarters were concurrently organized as follows: 1st Battalion at St. Paul; 2nd Battalion at Austin, Minnesota; and the 3rd Battalion at Willmar, Minnesota. The regiment typically conducted inactive training period meetings at the National Guard armory in St. Paul and at the American Legion Club in Austin. Summer training was held most years with the 7th Division's 3rd Infantry Regiment at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Infantry Citizens Military Training Camps were also supervised some years at Fort Snelling as an alternate form of summer training. The primary ROTC "feeder" school for new Reserve lieutenants for the regiment was the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The regiment was inactivated on 22 January 1942 by relief of remaining Reserve personnel.[8] [9]
The regiment was ordered into active military service 15 July 1942 and reorganized at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma using a cadre provided by the 9th Infantry Division.[10] [11] The regiment participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers in June through August 1943. The regiment departed Camp Patrick Henry on 4 November 1943 through the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation as Shipment 8629-H.In July 1943, the regiment was organized with 3,256 officers and enlisted men:[12]
The 351st Infantry was relieved from assignment to the 88th Infantry Division on 1 May 1947 and served as temporary military Government of the Free Territory of Trieste, securing the new independent State[13] between Italy and Yugoslavia on behalf of the United Nations Security Council.[14] Designated TRUST (Trieste United States Troops), the command served as the front line in the Cold War from 1947 to 1954, including confrontations with Yugoslavian forces. In October 1954 the mission ended upon the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding of London [15] establishing a temporary civil administration in the Anglo-American Zone of the Free Territory of Trieste, entrusted to the responsibility of the Italian Government.[16] TRUST units, which included a number of 88th divisional support units, all bore a unit patch which was the coat of arms of the Free Territory of Trieste superimposed over the divisional quatrefoil, over which was a blue scroll containing the designation "TRUST" in white. The 1948 organization of the regiment called for a strength of 3,774 officers and enlisted men organized as below:
The regiment departed Leghorn, Italy on 30 November 1954 aboard the Military Sea Transportation Service USNS General Sturgis as shipment #19069-A. Returning to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, the regiment inactivated at Fort Rucker, Alabama on 30 September 1956. Personnel and equipment were used to reactivate the 99th Infantry Battalion of World War II fame. This unit was in turn inactivated on 24 March 1958 when the U.S. Army adopted the Pentomic force organization and the infantry unit at Fort Rucker was reorganized and reflagged as the 2nd Battle Group, 31st Infantry, a unit organized for Aviation Center training support. When the U.S. Army reorganized into brigades and battalions in the early 1960s, the designation of 2-31st Infantry was reassigned to the 7th Infantry Division in Korea and the unit at Fort Rucker was reflagged as the 5th Battle Group, 31st Infantry. The 5-31st Infantry lineage, less personnel and equipment, was later reassigned to the 197th Infantry Brigade (Separate) at Fort Benning, Georgia, effective 23 June 1967 as the 5th Battalion, 31st Infantry; however, an infantry presence remained at Fort Rucker in the form of Company E (Ranger), 30th Infantry, activated on 25 August 1966 and later inactivated on 1 July 1978. Additionally, the Pathfinder Team, HHC, 2d Battle Group, 31st Infantry, formed in 1960, was reflagged as 5th Infantry Detachment (Pathfinder) effective 24 June 1963, and later expanded and reflagged as Company C (Pathfinder), 509th Infantry, activated effective 1 July 1975. C-509th was inactivated on 31 May 1993 and its personnel and equipment were reflagged as Company A (Pathfinder), 511th Infantry, and activated on 1 June 1993. A-511th was inactivated due to lowered budget ceilings on 31 October 1995, ending the post-war infantry presence at Fort Rucker that had begun with the 351st Infantry Regiment.
The 351st Infantry was redesignated as the 351st Regiment, and reorganized to consist of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions, elements of the 84th Division (Training) on 31 January 1968. On 16 September 1995, the regimental headquarters and the 3rd Battalion were inactivated.[17]
The 1st Battalion is a Regular Army Logistics unit assigned to the 181st Infantry Brigade at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin with a mission to train echelon above brigade Combat Sustainment Support Battalions and a Medical brigade.[18] The 2nd Battalion is a Regular Army Infantry unit assigned to the 177th Armored Brigade at Camp Shelby, Mississippi with a mission to train infantry units of the National Guard.
The 3rd Battalion is a Regular Army Aviation unit assigned to the 166th Aviation Brigade at Fort Hood, Texas with a mission to train Aviation Battalions.[19]
| Conflict | Streamer | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| World War I | Alsace | 1918 |
| World War II | Rome-Arno[20] | 1944 |
| North Apennines[21] | 1944-1945 | |
| Po Valley[22] | 1945 |
| Ribbon | Award | Embroidered | Year | Earned by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presidential Unit Citation | MT. CAPELLO, ITALY | 1944 | 2nd Battalion | ||
| Presidential Unit Citation | LAIATICO, ITALY | 1944 | 3rd Battalion | ||
| Meritorious Unit Commendation | Afghanistan Retrograde 2021-2022 | 2021-2022 | 1st Battalion | ||
| Army Superior Unit Award | 2007-2008 | 2007-2008 | 1st Battalion | ||
| Army Superior Unit Award | 2008-2011 | 2008-20011 | 1st and 2nd Battalions | ||
| Croix de Guerre | Central Italy | 1944-1945 | Entire Regiment | ||
| None | None | 1962 | Headquarters Company of 2nd Battalion |