69th Infantry Division "Fighting 69th" The division insignia is a red block "6" and a blue block "9" which interlock. Bradley Fighting Vehicles attached to 369 AR were the first regular army elements to cross the berm into Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom I.
Nearly 200 of the enemy were killed during this two day action with no U.S. KIA. By January 1943 or earlier, the widening WWII and its troop demands brought these plans out again. The insignia was amended to revise the symbolism of the crest on 29 October 1965. The unit and its component line companies were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the Valorous Unit Award, the Meritorious Award, the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm and the Vietnam Civic Action Award First Class. Crest: On a wreath of the colors Argent and Vert between two ruined towers Sable, the dexter charged with a fleur-de-lis Or and the sinister with an anchor of the like, a cubit arm in armor, the hand in a gauntlet Proper grasping two lightning flashes fesswise Gules. During this period Alpha Company supported the three Sky Trooper brigades in heavy combat operations along the South China Sea coast, distinguishing itself in savage fighting against Main Force Viet Cong, for countless fortified village complexes in Binh Dinh province and the Bong Son plain area. [2], The 1st Battalion was again reactivated and assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division in Germany in 1975. Thanks for making it possible!" Are you looking for someone who is or was in 69TH ARMORED DIVISION? A large group of infantry and some supporting unit officers were called from the 96th Infantry . The Regimental Headquarters and 1st Battalion remained with the 6th Armor Division as the 69th Tank Battalion; the 3rd Battalion was redesignated as the 708th Amphibian Tank Battalion and participated in most of the key amphibious assault campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations. It distinguished itself on Okinawa where it was awarded the Navy Presidential Unit Citation. [2], LTC (Lieutenant General, Retired) Paul S. Williams, Jr. took command of 1/69 Armor in March 1967 and continued operations in support of the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. It is one of only three in the U.S. and painted as B11, is a lasting memorial to the tankers of 1/69 Armor in Vietnam. [2], The Battalion continued operations west of Pleiku and along the coastal plain during 1969 with both the 4th Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. Two days later, Division patrols in the area between the Elbe and the Mulde Rivers contacted Russian troops in the vicinity of Riesa and again at Torgau. The battalion then redeployed to Fort Benning, Georgia in October 2010 and was awarded the Meritorious Unit Award. In March 2003 the battalion, under the command of LTC Ernest P. "Rock" Marcone, deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom I, where it served as the "Point of the Spear" for the 3rd Infantry Division, participating in many 1BCT battles, to include the seizure of Baghdad International Airport. The 52 ton M48A3 performed well during this initial two-week fight and the unit set an example for future tactical employment of armor in Vietnam. Throughout Operation Iraqi Freedom 3-69 AR was featured several times on CNN, ABC News, and the PBS . The 1st Battalion was again reactivated and assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division in Germany in 1975. We were stationed in Germany in 1975 through 1978. This fifteen-month deployment was part of the General Petraeus "surge" of force. This chart is available for purchase at HistoryShots.com. The 6th Armored Division ("Super Sixth") was an armored division of the United States Army during World War II. Following a successful transition into Operation New Dawn, Task Force 369 redeployed in December 2010. Some 16,500,000 were registered by October 1940, and the first group of conscripts, called selectees, was called in the next month. At a glance. The unit spearheaded no fewer than ten campaigns, from 1951 through the Armistice in 1953 with the 25th Division and earned the Presidential Unit Citation and the Navy Unit Commendation. Contrasting with the old Battalion M48A2 vehicles, the new A3 models still featured the 90mm cannon, a M2HB cupola mounted .50 caliber machinegun and a 7.62mm, M72 coaxial machinegun. Regtl. The Battalion displaced its forward headquarters in March, from Hwy 14S to Camp Radcliff in An Khe, under the operational control of the 173rd Airborne Brigade and was again involved in fighting along the coastal plain near Bong Son. The 69th Tank Battalion, as part of the 6th Armored Division, was included in various European campaigns including Normandy, the Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe. We will miss him. Do you have 69TH ARMORED DIVISION Reunion information you'd like to share, "When I Joined VetFriends, I read about the email locator service, and sent an email to my old friend. It was redesignated for the 69th Amphibian Tractor Battalion on 8 January 1946. The first address you sent me is my buddy. 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, was originally constituted on 15 July 1940 in the Regular Army as Company C, 69th Armored Regiment, an element of the 1st Armored Division. In March 2007, 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor was deployed as part of the Baghdad "surge." [2], A Company completed its mission with the 1st Cavalry in October, 1967 and returned to Camp Enari with Battalion HQ. Activated 15 May 1943 Entered Combat 11 Feb 1945 Days of Combat 86 Casualties 1,506, Maj. Gen. Charles L. Bolte (May 43 - Sep 44)Maj. Gen. Emil F. Reinhardt (Sep 44 - Aug 45)Brig. They suffered three casualties that year.[4]. The 69th Armored Regiment's history began on 15 July 1940 when it was formed and assigned to the 1st Armored Division. Both Battalions have had subsequent deployments to the Kuwait desert in support of Coalition forces. FG35039 | 1:35 . Col. Ethan J. Diven, commander of the "Spartan Brigade," 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, passes the unit colors to new brigade senior enlisted advisor, Command Sgt. The bumper number reads "B31", as in Bravo Company, 3rd Platoon, 1 track (platoon leader's tank). Throughout the 1990s, the battalion deployed in support of numerous war-time missions including Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Iraq. The unit, along with many others, was deactivated in 1946 following the end of the Second World War. [2] The bulk of the battalion was moved in May 1966 to Qui Nhon via LST, then overland along the infamous QL (Highway) 19 to join B Company at Camp Enari near Pleiku, the home of the 4th Infantry Division. B Company elements engaged units of the 18th and 22nd NVA Regiments, as well as the 2nd VC Main Force Regiment in heavy combat between 10 and 25 April in the area of Ky Son, inflicting over 100 enemy KIA. The 69th was originally nicknamed "Boltes Bitching Bivouacking Bastards" or "The Four Bs" because of the troops hatred for the many bivouacs in DeSoto National Forest south of Camp Shelby ordered by its original Division Commander, Charles L. Bolte. 69TH ARMORED DIVISION. 1st Platoon, B Company earned a special Presidential Unit Citation in August, 1966 for their actions at LZ 27 Victor, a small Korean enclave in the triple canopy jungles of the Ia Drang-Chu Pong mountain area, where nine months earlier, the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) fought savage battles with infiltrating North Vietnamese units. [2], LTC James L. Marini took command in December 1969 and continued operations until the battalion stood down with the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division and returned to the U.S. in mid-1970. Online Archives of 69th Bulletins & Newsletters Needs Your Help. What a conversation we had. We wonder about the rest that served with us in the artillery unit we served in. It was formed with a cadre from the 2nd Armored Division. It was reassigned to the 6th Armor Division in February, 1942, where it remained until September of 1943 when elements of the Regiment were broken up and reassigned. Also during this period, a provisional detachment of tanks taken from each line company, was detailed to support elements of the 101st Airborne Division and the 44th ARVN Regiment in the Phan Thiet-Song Mao area. [5] This time the battalion served as the 1st Brigade Combat Team's and 42nd Infantry Division's main effort in Samarra, Iraq. Shield: Per bend Argent and Vert on the first a panther passant on division line, head to chief sable. Meanwhile, B and C Companies were placed OPCON to the Republic of Korea's 'Tiger' Division, headquartered near Qui Nhon at Camp Townes to support Operation Maeng Ho 11. 1968 TET offensive. Unit troops discovered Leipzig-Thekla concentration camp, a subcamp of Buchenwald. ". Attached below and to the sides of the shield a Silver scroll inscribed VITESSE ET PUISSANCE in Black letters. Following the outbreak of hostilities on the Korean peninsula, the 708th Tank Battalion was subsequently restructured and re-designated the 89th Medium Tank Battalion. The unit, along with many others, was deactivated in 1946 following the end of the Second World War. The 52 ton M48A3 more than earned its stripes during this initial two week blooding and the unit set the example for future tactical employment of Armor in Vietnam. This web site strives to tell the wartime story of our great Divisionfrom its formation to its meeting Soviet soldiers at The Elbe River on April 25, 1945 as seasoned veteransa critical event that hastened the end of the war in Europe two weeks later on May 9, 1945 (Victory in Europe or V-E Day). 31 December 1944 The Battalion redeployed in May 2008 to Fort Benning, Georgia and awarded the Valorous Unit Award. Thanks for making it possible, Thanks so much VetFriends.com for your help and genuine concern for locating this long lost buddy of mine, Please Enter a Valid email address with no spaces, VetFriends Members:
Anne & Sherry Lipsius' address: 6314 Deerings Hollow, Norcross, GA 30092-1800, annejoelip@bellsouth.net. Our prayers and sympathies go out to the Lipsius family. Div. This original assignment did not last for long. [2], Similarly, B Company's actions along the Plei Me/Duc Co corridor, paralleling the Cambodian border set the tone for future savage fighting Battalion elements would encounter in this critical Central Highlands area of enemy infiltration. KIA. This deactivation came to an end when the unit was re-designated as the 69th Medium Tank Battalion in August 1950. B/2-69 AR and E/2-69 AR were awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation.