Our Story
The 61st Regiment was constituted in the Regular Army on May 15, 1917, as Company A, 61st Infantry, and organized at Gettysburg National Park, Pa., on June 10, 1917. On Nov. 17, 1917, the 61st Infantry was assigned to the 5th Division. With the 5th Division, the unit received its first taste of combat.
The regiment deployed to Europe during World War I, where it was awarded four battle streamers for its gallant participation in the bloody campaigns of Saint Mihiel, Meuse- Argonne, Alsace and Lorraine in 1918.
After the war, the 61st returned to Camp Jackson, S.C., where it was inactivated on Sept. 2, 1921. The unit was relieved from assignment with the 5th Division and assigned to the 8th Division on Aug. 15, 1927. On Oct. 1, 1933, the 61st Infantry was relieved from assignment to the 8th Division and again assigned to the 5th Division.
The unit was disbanded Nov. 11, 1944. On Aug. 10, 1950, the 61st Infantry was reconstituted in the Regular Army as Company A, 61st Infantry, an element of the 8th Infantry Division. It was activated on Aug. 17, 1950, at Fort Jackson.
After a period of activation, inactivation and reassignments spanning over a period of 18 years, the unit was once again inactivated in September 1956 at Fort Carson, Colo., and was concurrently relieved from assignment to the 8th Infantry Division. On Jan. 17, 1962, Company A, 61st Infantry was redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment. HHC 1-61 Infantry was assigned to the 5th Infantry Division and activated at Fort Carson, Colo., (organic elements constituted and activated) on Feb. 19, 1962. The unit was reassigned to the 4th Infantry on Aug. 2, 1971, and assigned back to the 5th Division Aug. 21, 1974. HHC 1-61 was inactivated on June 19, 1989, at Fort Polk, La., and relieved from assignment to the 5th Infantry Division.
