| Unit Name: | 79th Field Artillery Regiment |
| Dates: | 1916 |
| Branch: | Army |
| Garrison Label: | Home station |
| Motto: | "Our Country – Our Regiment" |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Distinctive unit insignia |
The 79th Field Artillery Regiment is a field artillery regiment of the United States Army. First constituted 1916 in the Regular Army.
The 2nd Missile Battalion, 79th Artillery was organized at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in February 1964. The battalion was to be equipped with the Pershing missile and deployed to South Korea.[1]
The battalion underwent operational testing at Fort Wingate, New Mexico and fired missiles on 28 January 1965 and 3 February 1965. The 251st Ordnance Detachment was activated in November 1964 under the Ordnance Guided Missile School at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama and commanded by 2nd Lt. David M. McClellan. The 251st transferred to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in January 1966 to support the 2/79th.
The Korean deployment was placed on hold and the battalion supported missile shoots from the 56th Artillery Group and the two German Air Force squadrons at Black Mesa Test Range, Blanding and Green River Launch Complex in Utah. The 2/79th was then scheduled for deployment in September 1968 but transport was retasked to provide troop shipments to Vietnam. The war in Vietnam escalated, the deployment was canceled and the 2/79th Artillery and 251st Ordnance were inactivated in 1968.
Description: A gold color metal and enamel device NaNinches in height overall consisting of the shield and crest of the coat of arms.
Symbolism: The 21st Cavalry was organized in June 1917 from the 13th Cavalry, and converted into Field Artillery as the 79th, in November of the same year. Its original Cavalry character is shown by the color of the field, its Field Artillery service by the red bend. The canton shows a device from the badge of the 13th Cavalry, the parent organization. The regiment insignia in base is the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 7th Division with colors reversed, surrounded by a green band.
Background: The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 79th Field Artillery Regiment on 22 December 1928. It was redesignated for the 79th Artillery Regiment on 14 April 1958. The insignia was redesignated effective 1 September 1971, for the 79th Field Artillery Regiment.
Blazon
Shield: Or, a bend Gules, on a sinister canton of the like a sun in splendor of the field charged with the numeral “13” Sable (for the 13th Cavalry), in base the insignia of the regiment Proper (a Red hour-glass on a Black circle surrounded by a Green band).
Crest: On a wreath of the colors Or and Gules, a horse's head armored Proper.
Motto: "Our Country – Our Regiment."
Symbolism
Shield: The 21st Cavalry was organized in June 1917 from the 13th Cavalry, and converted into Field Artillery as the 79th, in November of the same year. Its original Cavalry character is shown by the color of the field, its Field Artillery service by the red bend. The canton shows a device from the badge of the 13th Cavalry, the parent organization. The regiment insignia in base is the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 7th Division with colors reversed, surrounded by a green band.
Crest: The armored horse's head represents Cavalry and Armor, respectively.
Background: The coat of arms was originally approved for the 79th Field Artillery Regiment on 1 September 1920. It was redesignated for the 79th Artillery Regiment on 14 April 1958. The insignia was redesignated effective 1 September 1971, for the 79th Field Artillery Regiment