324th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 324th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, that was part of the 44th Infantry Division, a unit which fought as part of the 7th Army in France and Germany during World War II. The 324th was originally organized in 1917 for service in World War 1 as a component of the 81st division, one of the new divisions of that war. As a member of the division, the Regiment sailed for France in August 1918. There it participated in the defense of the St. Die sector in Lorraine, a few kilometers south of where a new 324th was to be locked in mortal combat 26 years later.[1]
| 324th Infantry Regiment | |
|---|---|
_crest.jpg.webp) Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 324th Infantry Regiment | |
| Active | 1917-1919 1921-1945 |
| Country |  United States |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Infantry |
| Size | Regiment |
| Motto(s) | "Let's Go" |
| Engagements | World War II |
History
The 324th Infantry was constituted in the National Army on 5 August 1917, assigned to the 81st Division, made up predominantly of draftees from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and was organized in September 1917 at Camp Jackson, South Carolina. After seeing action in France, the 324th Infantry returned to the United States on the USS Martha Washington and was demobilized on 17 June 1919 at Camp Devens, Massachusetts. The regiment was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921, assigned to the 81st Division, and allotted to the Fourth Corps Area. The regimental headquarters was initiated on 7 December 1921 at Memphis, Tennessee, with the three battalion headquarters initiated in January 1922 at Memphis, Jackson, and Nashville, Tennessee, respectively. The personnel of the regiment conducted annual training most years with the 22nd Infantry Regiment at Fort Oglethorpe or Fort McPherson, Georgia, or with the 8th Infantry Regiment at Camp McClellan, Alabama. An alternate form of annual training was administering the Citizens' Military Training Camps at Camp McClellan or Camp Beauregard, Louisiana. The primary Reserve Officers' Training Corps "feeder school" for the regiment was the program at the University of Tennessee.[2]
The 324th Infantry Regiment was inactivated and relieved from assignment to the 81st Division on 30 January 1942 when the division was "triangularized" before being placed on active duty. On 1 February 1943, the regiment was withdrawn from the Organized Reserve, allotted to the Army of the United States, assigned as an element of the 44th Infantry Division, and reactivated at Fort Lewis, Washington. The 324th Infantry served in France and Germany, and returned to the United States on 20 July 1945. It moved to Camp Chaffee, Arkansas on 24 July 1945 where it was inactivated on 1 November 1945. While inactive, the regiment was consolidated with the 113th Infantry Regiment, and the consolidated unit designated the 113th Infantry.
References
- Combat History of the 324th Infantry Division
- Clay, Steven (2010). U.S. Army Order of Battle 1919-1941 Volume 1. The Arms: Major Commands and Infantry Organizations. Fort Leavenworth: Combat Studies Institute Press. p. 463.