The second 38th Infantry was first established on 28 July 1866, as part of the Regular Army, one of six segregated, all-black regiments created following the Civil War. It was organized on 1 October of that year at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, and was stationed in New Mexico Territory and along the transcontinental railroads then under construction. Cathay Williams, the first recorded African American female to serve in the U.S. Army, served with the 38th during this time, disguised as a male. On 15 March 1869, the 38th was consolidated with the 41st Infantry Regiment and redesignated as the 24th Infantry Regiment.
Current 38th Infantry Regiment
World War I
The current 38th Infantry Regiment was constituted in the Regular Army on 15 May 1917, and was organized on 1 June 1917 at Syracuse, New York. It was assigned 1 October 1917 to the 3rd Infantry Division. It saw service in France during the Second Battle of the Marne (Battle of Château-Thierry); 15 July 1918, its first day of participation in the battle, was later chosen as the regiment's "organization day."
Interwar period
The regiment arrived at the port of New York on 20 August 1919 on the troopship USS Matsonia and was transferred the same day to Camp Merritt, New Jersey, where emergency period personnel were discharged from the service. It was transferred on 23 August 1919 to Camp Pike, Arkansas, and was transferred on 16 September 1921 to Camp Lewis, Washington. The regiment, less the 1st Battalion, was transferred on 6 June 1922 to Fort Douglas, Utah. Concurrently, the 1st Battalion was transferred to Fort Logan, Colorado. The 1st Battalion was transferred in June 1927 to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In April 1933, the regiment assumed command and control of the Fort Douglas Civilian Conservation Corps District. The 1st Battalion was inactivated on 1 October 1933 at Fort Sill, with the personnel and equipment transferred to the 3rd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment. The 1st Battalion was reactivated on 1 May 1939 at Fort Sill. The regiment was relieved from the 3rd Division on 12 October 1939 and assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division, being transferred on 9 November 1939 to Camp Bullis, Texas, and to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, on 24 February 1941.[2]
Korean War
Five members of the 38th Infantry were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions in the Korean War:
First Lieutenant Frederick F. Henry, Company F, for actions on 1 September 1950
Sergeant First Class Tony K. Burris, Company L, for actions on 8–9 October 1951
Sergeant Charles R. Long, Company M, for actions on 12 February 1951
Corporal Ronald E. Rosser, Heavy Mortar Company, for actions on 12 January 1952
Private Miguel Vera, Company F, for actions on 21 September 1952
Cold War
Redesignated 8 November 1957 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battle Group, 38th Infantry, and relieved from assignment to the 2d Infantry Division
Inactivated 4 March 1958
Organic elements constituted 26 January 1962
Battle Group assigned 19 February 1962 to the 2d Infantry Division and activated at Fort Benning, Georgia
Reorganized and redesigned 10 May 1963 as the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry
By 1972, the 1st Battalion was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade at Camp Hovey, South Korea.
Inactivated 16 December 1986 in South Korea and relieved from assignment to the 2d Infantry Division
Battalion redesignated 1 October 2005 as the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment
Headquarters inactivated 27 April 2006 at Fort Benning, Georgia, and withdrawn from the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command
Battalion assigned 1 June 2006 to the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 2d Infantry Division, and activated at Fort Lewis, Washington and Battalion inactivated 16 March 2014
Battalion assigned 17 March 2014 to the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, and activated at Fort Carson, Colorado
Campaign participation credit
During Second Battle of the Marne, 38th Infantry Regiment repelled the German attack near Mézy, France, across the Marne River in July 1918. This defense checked the Germans' assault and made an Allied offensive possible, thus earning 3rd Infantry Division's nickname "Rock of the Marne".
World War I : Aisne; Champagne-Marne; Aisne-Marne; St. Mihiel; Meuse-Argonne; Champagne 1918
World War II: Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe
Korean War: UN Defensive; UN Offensive; CCF Intervention; First UN Counteroffensive; CCF Spring Offensive; UN Summer-Fall Offensive; Second Korean Winter; Korea, Summer-Fall 1952; Third Korean Winter; Korea, Summer 1953
Operation Iraqi Freedom : OIF V, Served in Baghdad and Baqouba
Operation Iraqi Freedom : OIF VII, Abu Ghraib
Operation Enduring Freedom: OEF '12-'13, Panjwai Valley
Operation Freedom Sentinel:OFS 2018-2019
Operation Inherent Resolve:OIR 2021-2022
Decorations
General Joseph Dickman pins the french Croix de Guerre to the 38th flag in 1919
French Croix de Guerre with Palm, World War I for MARNE RIVER
French Croix de Guerre with Silver-Gilt Star, World War II for BREST
Belgian Fourragere 1940
Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes
Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at Elsenborn Crest
^Clay, Steven E. (2010). U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941, Volume 1. The Arms: Major Commands and Infantry Organizations, 1919-41. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press. p. 388. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
4. Co. A 2/38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Inf. Division was located at Camp BLV AND CAMP WALLY during the years of at least 1968-1970.
This article incorporates public domain material from 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Lineage and Honors. United States Army Center of Military History.