1st Battalion, 120th Field Artillery Regiment
1st Battalion, 120th Field Artillery Regiment | |
---|---|
Active | 1917–present |
Country | United States |
Allegiance | Wisconsin |
Branch | Army National Guard |
Type | Field artillery |
Nickname(s) | "Red Fox Regiment" |
Motto(s) | Eager to Assist |
Equipment | M119A3 towed howitzer and M777A2 towed howitzer |
Engagements | World War I
World War II
|
Decorations | |
Commanders | |
Current commander | LTC Nathan A. Bennington |
Insignia | |
Distinctive unit insignia |
The 1st Battalion, 120th Field Artillery Regiment, also known as the "Red Fox" Battalion came into being on 22 September 1917 at
Today, the 1–120th FAB (1-120th Field Artillery Battalion) is part of the
History
World War I
The 1–120th FA, as part of the
In France the 120th trained at Camp De Coëtquidan, an old French artillery camp. It was here that it was equipped with French 75's and horses. Shortly before the 57th Brigade was ordered to the front in Alsace, the 2nd Battalion of the 120th was sent to Saumur, France with its batteries acting as training batteries for the Saumur Artillery School. The balance of the battalion arrived in Belfort with the 57th Brigade on 8 June and marched to the front as a part of the 32nd Division, for the first time since leaving Camp MacArthur.
The 120th Field Artillery went into action in the Château-Thierry sector on 1 August 1918 near Rancheros in support of the 32d Division. After the 32nd Division had taken Juivgay, the 32nd Division was relieved by the 2nd Moroccan Division, which included the famous "French Foreign Legion". The 120th FA remained in the line in support of the Foreign Legion and helped blast a path for the charge of the Foreign Legion. The 120th, along with the 57th Brigade, was congratulated for the part they played in this action by the commanding general of the 1st Moroccan Infantry Division, General Panot, and by French corps commander, General Charles Mangin.[1]
World War II
On 15 October 1940, the 32d Division "The Red Arrows" was called into federal service. The units left for
In November 1942 Battery A, 129th FA was sent into New Guinea while the other batteries remained at Camp Cable, Australia. The four gun sections of Battery A were the first howitzers flown into a combat area, which landed at Port Moresby. One-half of Battery A flew over the Owen-Stanley Mountains to Buna. Battery A became the first United States Army artillery to be flown into combat in the Pacific during World War II.[citation needed]
After the Buna Campaign, A Battery returned to Camp Cable with the 32d Division. The 129th took part in the
Post World War II
Berlin Crisis
Exactly twenty one years to the day after the World War II activation, the 120th was again called to federal service and was sent to Fort Lewis, WA, for training. The call to federal service was a result of the "Berlin Crisis of 1961". While stationed at Fort Lewis the units were assigned along with the 32nd Division to the Strategic Army Command (STRAC). On 10 August 1962 the entire 32nd Division was released from federal service and returned to Wisconsin where they once again reverted to the Wisconsin Army National Guard.
On 30 December 1967 the 32nd Division was reorganized and redesignated as the 32nd Infantry Brigade, a non-divisional separate brigade. The 120th Field Artillery again lost the 2nd Battalion through inactivation. The 1st Battalion, 120th Field Artillery became the direct support artillery battalion for the 32nd Brigade, which is its present configuration.[2]
State activations
- July 1967 at Milwaukee (race riot)
- October 1969 at Madison (welfare marchers)
- May 1970 at Madison (Sterling Hall bombing)
- January 1975 at Gresham (occupation of the Novitiate)
- July 1977 at the Fox Lake Correctional Institute (state employee strike).
- August 1992 at Wautoma (Tornado [3])
- August 1994 at Big Flats (Tornado[4])
- March 1996 at Weyauwega (hazardous material train derailment[5])[2]
- April 2020 at Madison and Milwaukee (Civil Disturbance Support)
- April, May, August, and November 2020 throughout the state (Wisconsin Elections Commission Support)
- April–December 2020 throughout the state (COVID-19 Support)
Operation Iraqi Freedom
1st Tour
On 13 May 2005, the 1–120th Field Artillery received its alert notification. Upon receiving notification every soldier was called and informed of an impending deployment. In June the unit received its mobilization order to report for active duty on 10 August 2005. In late June the battalion was reorganized both due to receiving a non-artillery mission and a lack of soldiers. Soldiers from Alpha and Charlie Battery of the 1–126th Field Artillery, from Whitewater and Racine, WI respectively, formed Charlie Battery in the 1–120th. On 13 August the 1–120th departed
On 28 August 2005 training was suspended because of the approach of Hurricane Katrina. At 1030 hours on August 29 soldiers were restricted to their barracks, to reduce the chance of injury from flying debris, falling trees and downed power lines. The battalion endured the storm without injury however; the base was shut down for several days due to the damage caused. The 1–120th assisted with the post-Katrina cleanup effort, for this each soldier received the Humanitarian Service Medal.
The battalion arrived in Kuwait on 4 November 2005 and were transported to
During the mobilization the 1–120th did not suffer any combat casualties; however one soldier, SPC Jason Greeno, was killed in a traffic accident during his mid-tour leave.
After almost 12 months in country on October 26, 2006, the 1–120th FA BN transferred authority over to the 2–142nd Field Artillery BN. The 1–120th returned to
2nd Tour
On 1 February 2009, the entire 32nd IBCT was mobilized again in support of
In January 2010 the 32nd IBCT returned to Volk Field, WI from Iraq. They conducted demobilization throughout January and were released from active duty.[6]
"Red Fox" nickname
In the heat of summer in 1971, the 1–120 FA BN was conducting its annual training on Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. As rumor has it, a red fox was either run over or found on the side of the road by some soldiers. As a prank, those soldiers threw the carcass in the tent of LTC Owen P. Rexford. After the situation was defused, the tail of the fox was cut off and used as an antenna flag for LTC Rexford's jeep. His radio name was "Red Fox 1" from that point on. Later, the entire battalion adopted the name of "Red Fox". On January 17, 1985, the Secretary of the Army signed an order awarding the 120th Field Artillery Regiment the special designation of the "Red Fox Regiment".
Heraldry
The shield is red for Artillery. The colors of the chevron and the chevronel – yellow and blue – are the colors of the arms of service from which the organization was developed. The combination of the colors, red, blue and yellow, form the colors of the Puerto Rican Occupation medal ribbon indicating the service of Battery A in Puerto Rico. The five fleurs-de-lis symbolize the five major engagements of the organization in France during World War I.
Commanders
LTC Robert Wildish | 01 JUN 62 – 15 DEC 70 (2–120th) |
1–120th effective 30 DEC 67 | |
LTC James R. Bowersox | 16 DEC 70 – 25 MAR 71 |
LTC Owen P. Rexford | 26 MAR 71 – 1 OCT 72 |
LTC Robert J. Dehlinger | 02 OCT 72 – 30 NOV 77 |
LTC Norman E. Thusius | 01 DEC 77 – 18 MAR 78 |
LTC George W. Peterson | 19 MAR 78 – 17 JUL 82 |
LTC Ellis J. Langjahr | 18 JUL 82 – 09 JUL 84 |
LTC Ernest Woorster | 10 JUL 84 – 20 SEP 87 |
LTC Thomas J. Kester | 21 SEP 87 – 19 MAY 89 |
LTC Robert J. Kilcoyne | 20 MAY 89 – 17 MAY 92 |
LTC John T. Schwenner | 18 MAY 92 – 30 SEP 95 |
LTC Gregory R. Disher | 01 OCT 95 – 26 APR 98 |
LTC Mark E. Anderson | 27 APR 98 – 14 JUL 00 |
LTC Mark W. Mathwig | 15 JUL 00 – 30 JUN 02 |
LTC Peter E. Seaholm | 01 JUL 02 – 31 MAR 05 |
LTC Gary M. Skon | 01 APR 05 – 1 Jul 10 |
LTC Ryan C. Brown | 2 Jul 10 – 13 OCT 12 |
LTC Jeffrey T. Kurka | 14 OCT 12 – 06 NOV 15 |
LTC Brian J. Leahy | 07 NOV 15 – 02 MAR 19 |
LTC Nathan A. Bennington | 03 MAR 19 – Present |
References
- ^ a b c "32ND INFANTRY DIVISION, I CORPS, US ARMY "THE RED ARROWS" IN AUSTRALIA DURING WW2". Archived from the original on 2009-10-05. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
- ^ a b 1st Battalion 120th Field Artillery "Supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF IV)" p27.
- ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times. 31 August 1992. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
- ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times. 29 August 1994. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
- ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times. 11 March 1996. Archived from the original on 2022-09-13. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
- ^ a b "History of the 32D 'Red Arrow' Infantry Brigade during the War on Terrorism". Archived from the original on 2010-10-06. Retrieved 2010-06-09.