1st Brigade, 7th Infantry Division (United States)

1st Brigade, 7th Infantry Division
7th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia
Active	6 December 1917 – 22 September 1921 1963 – 2 April 1971 21 October 1974 – 16 June 1994
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Light Infantry
Part of	7th Infantry Division
Nickname(s)	Hourglass; Bayonet
March	Arirang
Engagements	World War I United States invasion of Panama, 1989

The 1st Brigade, 7th Infantry Division was an infantry brigade of the United States Army, and a part of the 7th Infantry Division. The brigade was based at Fort Ord, California for most of its history. After the Korean War, it was activated as a brigade in 1963, and was returned to the United States where it saw action in Operation Just Cause and Operation Golden Pheasant before being finally deactivated in 1995.

History

World War I

The 1st Brigade, 7th Infantry Division was first constituted and activated in the Regular Army as the Headquarters Company, 7th Division on 6 December 1917 at Camp Wheeler, Georgia. One month later it organized and prepared for deployment to Europe to participate in World War I as a part of the American Expeditionary Force, along with the rest of the division. Two subordinate brigades were assigned to the headquarters, the 13th Infantry Brigade and the 14th Infantry Brigade. Most of the division sailed to Europe aboard the SS Leviathan.

During its time in France, the headquarters company did not participate as a whole in any engagements, though its infantry and reconnaissance elements did engage German forces. On 22 September 1921, the Headquarters Company, 7th Division was inactivated.

On 1 July 1940, the 7th Infantry Division was reactivated at Camp Ord, California Under the command of Major General Joseph W. Stilwell. The infantry brigade headquarters remained inactive during this period, until the division was reorganized under the Reorganization Objective Army Divisions plan.

Post Korean War history

In the wake of the Korean War, between 1953 and 1971, the 7th Infantry Division defended the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Its main garrison was Camp Casey, South Korea. During this period, the division was restructured in compliance with the Reorganization Objective Army Divisions tables of organization. In 1963, the division's former headquarters company grew into the 1st Brigade, 7th Infantry Division. On 2 April 1971, the division and its brigades returned to the United States and inactivated at Fort Lewis, Washington.

Tactical map of Operation Just Cause.

In October 1974 the 7th and two brigades reactivated at their former garrison, Fort Ord (a National Guard "roundout" brigade, the 41st, would periodically train with the division as its third brigade). The unit did not see any action in Vietnam or during the post war era, but was tasked to keep a close watch on South American developments. It trained at Fort Ord, Camp Roberts, and Fort Hunter Liggett. On 1 October 1985 the division redesignated as the 7th Infantry Division (Light), organized again as a light infantry division. The various battalions of the 17th, 31st, and 32nd Regiments moved from the division, replaced by battalions from other regiments, including battalions from the 21st Infantry Regiment, the 27th Infantry Regiment, and the 9th Infantry Regiment. The 27th Infantry and the 9th Infantry Regiment participated in Operation Golden Pheasant in Honduras. In 1989 the 1st Brigade (or 9th Infantry Regiment as it was more commonly known), 7th Infantry Division participated in Operation Just Cause in Panama.

In 1991 the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended the closing of Fort Ord due to the escalating cost of living on the Central California coastline. By 1994, the garrison was to be closed and the Division was to relocate to Fort Lewis, Washington. Elements of the division (the 2nd Brigade, to include its Headquarters and Headquarters Company, the 3rd Brigade's 3rd Battalion 17th Infantry Regiment and other assigned military police companies) participated in one final mission in the United States before inactivation; quelling the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, called Operation Garden Plot. In 1993 the division was slated to move to Fort Lewis, WA and inactivate as part of the post-Cold War drawdown of the US Army, but the 2nd and 3rd Brigades of the 7th inactivated at Ft. Ord in 1993. The 1st Brigade relocated to Ft. Lewis and was later reflagged as the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division while the division headquarters formally inactivated on 16 June 1994 at Fort Lewis.

Honors

Unit decorations

Ribbon	Award	Year	Notes
	Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army)	1953	for service in Korea
	Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation	1950	for the Inchon Landings
	Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation	1950–1953	for service in Korea
	Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation	1945–1948; 1953–1971	for service in Korea
	Philippine Presidential Unit Citation	1944–1945	for service in the Philippines during World War II

Campaign streamers

Conflict	Streamer	Year(s)
World War I	Lorraine	1918
World War II	Aleutian Islands	1943
World War II	Eastern Mandates	1944
World War II	Leyte	1945
World War II	Ryukyus	1945
Korean War	UN Defensive	1950
Korean War	UN Offensive	1950
Korean War	CCF Intervention	1950
Korean War	First UN Counteroffensive	1950
Korean War	CCF Spring Offensive	1951
Korean War	UN Summer-Fall Offensive	1951
Korean War	Second Korean Winter	1951–1952
Korean War	Korea, Summer-Fall 1952	1952
Korean War	Third Korean Winter	1952–1953
Korean War	Korea, Summer 1953	1953

Sources

• McGrath, John J. (2004). The Brigade: A History: Its Organization and Employment in the US Army. Combat Studies Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-4404-4915-4. 
• Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States. United States Government Printing Office. 1959. ASIN B0006D8NKK. 

External links

• 7th Infantry Division Home Page