Factoids About The 16th Infantry Regiment
Date of organization: 3 May 1861 as the 1st Battalion, 11th Infantry by decree of President Abraham Lincoln
Date of organization: July 1861-May 1862 at Fort Independence, Massachusetts.
Regimental motto: “Semper Paratus” (literally “Always Prepared” but, more properly, “Always Ready”)– Adopted in 1907. The officers and men who adopted the motto when stationed at Fort Crook rendered the translation as “Always Ready.”
Regimental nickname 1922-40: “New York’s Own.” Prior to World War II, the regiment was known as “New York’s Own” when it was stationed at Fort Jay, Governors Island, New York. It was adopted due to the regiment’s close association with New York City in the 1920s and 30s.
Regimental nickname 1948-Present: “Rangers.” Adopted in November 1948. The nickname was chosen to signify the vigilance, prowess, and spirit of the regiment. It was selected as the name for the regimental sports teams. Organization Day: 4 October. On 4 October 1918, 16th Infantry was the only regiment in the entire First Army to take its regimental objectives in the U. S. Army’s opening attacks of the Meuse-Argonne campaign. In the assault it took the town of Fléville and then withstood the furious counterattacks of crack German divisions for six days. Battalion nicknames: 1st Battalion: “Iron Rangers” Adopted 21 October 1968 in Vietnam when the battalion was reflagged from the 5th Battalion, 60th Infantry, a mechanized Infantry battalion. 2nd Battalion: “Rangers” The traditional nickname of the 16th Infantry. 3rd Battalion: “Maine Rangers” Adopted due to the location of that battalion in Maine when active there as an Army Reserve unit. 4th Battalion: “Blue Devils” Adopted in 1983 in honor of the 47th French Division (Chasseurs Alpines) which trained the 16th Infantry in World War I and used the same nickname. The battalion changed the nickname to “Ranger Forward” in November 1986. 5th Battalion: “Devil Rangers” Adopted in 1983 to indicate that the battalion was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, which uses the tactical callsign “Devil”. Regimental callsign in World War II: “DAGWOOD” Nickname of the 16th Infantry unit insignia: “Checkerboards” Coined by soldiers in the regiment when it was stationed in Germany in the 1950s. Regimental Song: “Sidewalks of New York.” Adopted in the 1920s when the regiment was stationed at Fort Jay, Governor’s Island, New York. The regiment also used “Rosamunde” (more commonly referred to as the “Beer barrel Polka”) as a marching tune and sports team fight song between 1946 and 1955.
[wpcol_1third id=”” class=”” style=””]Capt. Henry C. Woods Capt. James M. Cutts 1st Lt. John H. Patterson Sgt. Henry F. Schroeder 1st Lt. Jimmie W. Monteith, Jr.
Tech. 5 John J. Pinder, Jr.
Tech. Sgt. Jake W. Lindsey
Pvt. Robert T. Henry SGT James W. Robinson
PSG Matthew Leonard
Wilson’s Creek, Missouri The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Petersburg
The Wilderness Carig, Philippine Islands
Colleville-sur-Mer, France
Colleville-sur-Mer, France Hamich, Germany Luchem, Germany Near Courtenay Plantation, South Vietnam
Suoi Da, South Vietnam
10 August 1861
May-Oct 1864 5 May 1864 14 September 1900
6 June 1944 6 June 1944 16 November 1944
3 December 1944 11 April 1966 28 February 1968
Number of campaign streamers awarded to the regiment: 46 (not including those pending for Iraq and Afghanistan) Number of Presidential Unit Citations: 5 Mateur, Tunisia Sicily Normandy, France Hürtgen Forest, Germany Hamich, Germany Number of countries where units of the regiment have fought or been stationed for significant periods: 19
[wpcol_1third id=”” class=”” style=””]Cuba
Philippines (twice)
Mexico
France (twice)
Morocco
Algeria
Tunisia
Sicily
England
Luxembourg
Belgium
Germany
Czechoslovakia
Austria
South Viet Nam
Saudi Arabia
Bosnia Iraq
Afghanistan
Number of times the French Croix de Guerre awarded to the regiment: 4—twice in World War I, and twice in World War II. World War I: Aisne-Marne Meuse-Argonne World War II: Kasserine Normandy The regiment is authorized to wear the French Medaille Militaire Fourragere, the highest award France presents to foreign military units. The 16th Infantry is one of only 3 U.S. Infantry regiments authorized to wear it. Data compiled by: Steven E. Clay Regimental Historian 16th Infantry Regiment Association Data as of: 20 February 2013