1281

34TH ARMOR REGIMENT, 1ST BATTALION, COMPANY "D"

Currency:USD Category:Firearms & Military Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 300.00 USD
34TH ARMOR REGIMENT, 1ST BATTALION, COMPANY  D
GUIDON. 19" x 28" double applique green lettering & tank superposed over crossed sabers insignia on yellow field, gold fringe. The colors are yellow retaining the color of the predecessor cavalry branch. Flag is not depot made and most likely made overseas with 2-sided gold/yellow panels on cotton core, elastic tabs in sleeve instead of leather. The 34th Armor Regiment was first formed in 1941. Each of its three battalions has a parallel and separate history. The 1st Battalion, 34th Armor was constituted in the Regular Army in August 1941 as Company A, 34th Armor Regiment and was activated in October 1941 at Fort Knox, Kentucky, as an element of the 5th Armored Division. The regiment became part of the 5th Armored Division but as World War Two began the battalion was relieved from that division in September 1943 and then reorganized and re-designated as the 772nd Tank Battalion before being sent to Europe. Simultaneously, 2nd Battalion was reformed as the new 34th Armor Regiment, and 3rd Battalion became the 10th Armored Regiment. After significant training with several U.S. infantry divisions in several camps across the U.S., they shipped off to France arriving at Le Havre in February 1945. It was then the practice by the Army to attach tank battalions to each infantry division as armored support which gave these divisions incredible firepower. Initially they were part of the 70th Infantry Division but soon transferred to the 44th Infantry Division for the drive into Germany in March 1945. They spearheaded the 44th Divisions attack on the city of Mannheim and as the war wound down, they moved into Austria until Germany's surrender. The battalion's men earned three Silver Stars and nearly 50 Bronze Stars. The unit remained on occupation duty and was transferred to the 103rd Infantry Division in June 1945. Later that month the unit set sail for the United States. After the end of World War II, the Battalion was inactivated in November 1945 in Mississippi. Unit reconstituted and redesignated as Company A, 34th Armor in March 1957 and was withdrawn from the Army Reserve and placed back in the Regular Army. In April, the unit was redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 34th Armor and assigned to the 4th Infantry Division being reactivated at Fort Lewis in Washington. The battalion was once again reorganized and redesignated in October 1963 as the 1st Battalion, 34th Armor and again inactivated later that month at Fort Lewis and relieved from assignment to the 4th Infantry Division. The 1st Battalion, 34th Armor was reactivated at Fort Riley, Kansas in 1979 and assigned to the 1st Infantry Division. The battalion participated in numerous field-training exercises to include four REFORGER exercises to Germany, and four deployments to the National Training Center in California. In December 1990, the battalion deployed to Operation Desert Shield in Saudi Arabia. During Operation Desert Storm, the battalion was the Brigade Assault Force for the breach of Iraqi defenses, and led the 1st Brigade in the night attack against the Tawakalna Division of the Republican Guard, and was the first unit in the Devil Brigade to enter Kuwait. The battalion deployed to Kuwait in 2003 in as part of the next Iraq war as the first unit from 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized) to enter that theater of operations. On 7 September 2003, Task Force 1-34th Armor was assigned to the Multi-National Force Iraq and assigned to the Multi-National Division Central. Elements of 1-34th Armor served in other parts of Iraq supporting other divisions. In Iraq, Task Force 1-34th encountered the beginning of the insurgency in Al Anbar Province. Besides security operations, the task force's missions included renovating schools, helping build a local political structure, and simultaneously closing with and destroying the enemy. 1st/34th Armor returned from Iraq in 2004. It subsequently participated in a mission readiness exercise at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, LA for a possible redeployment to Iraq. However, in 2006 the mission of the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division changed to training units for deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as providing small security forces elements. While it is not known when this guidon was issued the battalion remains active duty today. CONDITION: fine overall. (02-19473-49/JS). $200-300.