Our Battalion and Infantry Regiment have an impressive lineage and impressive record of service to our nation. Both 2nd and 3rd Battalions remain in active service today and are both stationed at Fort Benning.
2nd Battalion’s motto dates back to service in Vietnam. Below are some of the other details of the service and sacrifice our Veteran’s of the unit did in the service of our country. The Dep
artment of the Army organized the 47th Infantry Regiment on 1 June 1917 at Syracuse, New York and assigned the regiment to the 4th Infantry Division. The 47th Infantry deployed to France in June 1918 to support the Allies’ efforts in World War I. The regiment saw its first combat at Sergy, France on the Ourcq River in late July. It went on to serve and fight gallantly in the campaigns of Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne, Champagne and Lorraine. At the war’s end the regiment served as an occupation force at Coblenz, Austria. The Army inactivated the regiment on 22 September 1921 at Camp Lewis, Washington. The 47th Infantry Regiment was activated on 10 August 1940 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and assigned to the 9th Infantry Division. They deployed to the European Theater of Operations and participated in all the major campaigns of World War II. They conducted an amphibious landing at Safi, Morocco in November 1942 and fought Rommel’s Afrika Corps through the desserts of Algeria and Tunisia. They took part in the Battle of El Guettar, one of the fiercest engagements of that campaign. The regiment participated in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943 and fought at Randazzo and Troina. On 11 June 1944 the 47th Infantry Regiment landed at Utah beach as part of the Normandy Invasion. They were awarded two Presidential Unit Citations and the Croix de Guerre for their actions in the breakout at St. Lo and the capture of the critical port of Cherbourg. The regiment fought across northern France and was the first American unit to breach the Siegfried Line and enter Germany at Roetgen. It was awarded its third Presidential Unit Citation. The 47th Infantry continued to fight in the Ardennes and Hertgen Forest the fall of 1944 and winter of 1945, seeing some of the most savage battles of the war. The regiment was awarded three more Presidential Unit Citations. In the spring the regiment continued its advance through Germany. The 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry seized the bridgehead across the Rhine River at Remagen and became the first American unit to cross into the heart of Germany. It was awarded its seventh Presidential Unit Citation. The war ended for the 47th Infantry with the historic meeting of the Russians at the Mulde River. The regiment then took over Dachau concentration camp and served as an occupation force until its deactivation on 31 December 1946 in Germany. Activated again in 1947, the 47th regiment returned to Germany to serve with NATO forces. They returned stateside in 1956. The 47th Infantry deployed to the Republic of Vietnam as part of the 9th Infantry Division in January 1967 and conducted numerous combat operations in the Mekong Delta. The regiment developed the tactics for riverrine warfare. The 2nd Battalion was instrumental in three of the 9th Division’s biggest achievements. During Operation AKRON in October 1967, the battalion captured the largest enemy arms cache of the war. During the Tet Offensive in January 1968, though greatly outnumbered, the battalion defeated enemy attacks against Long Binh, the Bien Hoa Airfield and the second wave invasion in southern Saigon. In May of 1970 the battalion was the first unit to enter Cambodia during the Cambodian Invasion. The 2nd Battalion 47th Infantry Regiment is assigned to the 192nd Infantry Brigade at Fort Benning, GA and carries on the proud lineage of the 47th Infantry Regiment. It is committed to excellence and producing the world’s greatest Soldiers with tough, arduous training. With a total of 24 Campaign Streamers, 8 Presidential Unit Citations, 3 Valorous Unit Citations, 1 Meritorious Unit Commendation and 8 Foreign Citations of Honor for Gallantry, the 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment is one of the most decorated units in the United States Army.
