| Unit Name: | 51st Coast Artillery Regiment |
| Branch: | Army |
| Dates: | 1917 – 1944 |
| Specialization: | Tractor drawn |
| Size: | Regiment |
| Motto: | "En Avant" (Forward) |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Distinctive unit insignia |
The 51st Coast Artillery Regiment was a Coast Artillery regiment in the United States Army.
The 51st Coast Artillery Regiment was a United States Army regiment that was activated in 1917 during World War I. The regiment was primarily responsible for defending the coast of the United States against enemy attacks, and it served in this role until the end of the war.
After the war, the 51st Coast Artillery Regiment was stationed at various locations in the United States, including Fort MacArthur in California and Fort Sheridan in Illinois. In 1941, the regiment was stationed at Fort Mills in the Philippines, where it played a critical role in the defense of the islands against the Japanese during World War II.
During the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in December 1941, the 51st Coast Artillery Regiment provided crucial support to the defenders of the islands. The regiment's soldiers manned coastal defense guns, anti-aircraft guns, and other weapons, and they played a key role in repelling the initial Japanese attacks. However, as the Japanese continued to advance, the regiment was forced to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula, where it continued to fight alongside other American and Filipino units.
In April 1942, after months of fierce fighting, the 51st Coast Artillery Regiment and the other defenders of Bataan were forced to surrender to the Japanese. The soldiers of the regiment were taken prisoner and sent to various prison camps throughout the Philippines and Japan. Many of these soldiers endured brutal treatment at the hands of their captors, including forced labor and starvation.
After the war, the surviving members of the 51st Coast Artillery Regiment returned home and were honored for their service. Today, the regiment is remembered as one of the units that fought bravely during the defense of the Philippines, and its legacy lives on in the soldiers who continue to serve in the United States Army today.
Constituted in July 1917 under the designation of the 6th Provisional Regiment, Coast Artillery Corps at Fort Adams, RI from the following companies-
arrived in France 11 September 1917 and redesignated 51st Artillery (Coast Artillery Corps) on 5 February 1918.
(In August 1918 the Railway Artillery Reserve was reconstructed and Coast Artillery Regiments reorganized to conform to standardized Field Artillery configurations)
The 51st had a mixed armament in France: the 1st Battalion with six French-made tractor-drawn 240 mm howitzers, the 2nd Battalion with eight French-made 270 mm mortars (on fixed mounts, moved on narrow-gauge railways), and the 3rd Battalion with eight British-made tractor-drawn 8-inch howitzers. After the Armistice the regiment turned in its heavy equipment and was moved back to the United States, where it was rearmed with 24 8-inch howitzers.[1]
51st Coast Artillery arrived New York City 3 February 1919 and moved to Camp Mills then reassigned to Fort Hamilton, then reassigned on 15 October 1919 to Camp Jackson, SC.
On 22 October 1921 51st Artillery reassigned to Camp Eustis, VA.
51st Coast Artillery reassigned to Fort Monroe on 8 May 1931.
51st Coast Artillery Regiment Redesignated 51st Coast artillery (155mm Gun)(Semi-Mobile) Regiment on 8 March 1942, and 2nd Battalion authorized.
HHB 1st Battalion, Battery B and Battery G reassigned to Port of Spain, Trinidad on 8 December 1943 followed by 2nd Battalion HHB, and Batteries A, C, and D.
On 1 June 1944 the regiment is broken up into Battalions as Follows-
On 28 February 1946 51st and 52nd Coast artillery Battalions deactivated and disbanded.
A Gold color metal and enamel device NaNinches in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Gules on a bend Or a caterpillar passant Vert.
The field of the shield is red, the Artillery color. Service in Lorraine is shown by the bend, a distinctive feature of the Lorraine arms, “Or, a bend Gules,” reversing the tinctures. The caterpillar on the bend symbolizes the tractor.
The distinctive unit insignia was approved on 16 March 1922.
Gules, on a bend Or a caterpillar passant Vert.
On a wreath of the colors Or and Gules, a lion's face Gules jessant-de-lis Or. Motto "En Avant" (Forward).
The field of the shield is red, the Artillery color. Service in Lorraine is shown by the bend, a distinctive feature of the Lorraine arms, “Or, a bend Gules,” reversing the tinctures. The caterpillar on the bend symbolizes the tractor.
The lion's face of the crest commemorates the initial war service of Battery “A” (formerly Battery “A,” 1st Artillery) which took part in the War of 1812, and the fleur-de-lis symbolizes the organization of the Regiment for service in France.
The coat of arms was approved on 5 February 1920.
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