History History of the "2-12th Warriors" Opening Comments Lineage 1861 - Present
History of the "2/12th Warriors"
Decorations:

• Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for LUXEMBOURG
• Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for SUOI TRE, VIETNAM
• Valorous Unit Citation for KUNAR PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN 2009
• Meritorious Unit Citation for IRAQ 2006-2008
• Meritorious Unit Citation for AFGHANISTAN 2009-2010
• Meritorious Unit Citation for AFGHANISTAN 2012
• Meritorious Unit Citation for AFGHANISTAN 2014
• Belgian Fourragere 1940
   Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in Belgium
   Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes
• Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm for VIETNAM 1966-1967
• Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm for VIETNAM 1967-1968
• Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm for VIETNAM 1968-1970
• Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, First Class for VIETNAM 1967-1970

                                                            Regiment Flag                                          Distinctive Unit Insignia

                                                   (Move mouse pointer over image to enlarge)   

 

Unit Symbolism: The chief is for the War with Spain and the Philippine Insurrection, yellow and red being the Spanish colors, red and blue the Katipunan colors; the embattled partition line is for the capture of the blockhouse at El Caney, Cuba, and the sea lion is from the arms of the Philippine Islands.  The white moline crosses represent the iron fastening of a millstone and recall the crushing losses sustained during the regiment’s first great achievement in the battle of Gaines Mill, VA in the Civil War (27-28 June 1862)  The Blue Field for Infantry  The wigwam stands for the Indian campaigns in which the regiment took part. There are 5 poles representing all 5 campaigns the 12th participated in.

 

Background: The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved on 20 Jun 1923. It was amended to change the blazon of the shield on 12 Oct 1965.

 

Regimental Motto

“Ducti Amore Patriae”

Having Been Led by Love of Country

 

History

 

Note: The three previous 12th Infantry Regiments established between 1793 and 1848 were all mustered out of the service. By that definition, according to the guidelines for lineage, they basically never existed, therefore, our history begins in 1861 and not 1798. - For more detail of our "earlier history, use the MENU TAB "REGIMENTAL HISTORY for that era. - Sarge

 

Lineage of the unit as it was established into the U.S. REGULAR ARMY (updated 6/1/2015)

 

· Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as Company B, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry

· Organized 20 October 1861 at Fort Hamilton, New York

· During the Civil War, participated in twelve campaigns of the Army of the Potomac including Antietam and Gettysburg.

· Reorganized and redesignated 7 December 1866 as Company B, 12th Infantry

· During this period, the unit participated in three campaigns in the Indian Wars in the northwest from 1872-1891. In the War with Spain, the unit saw action in Cuba participating in the capture of the Spanish Fortress of El Caney. The regiment was then ordered to the Philippines to help put down the Philippine Insurrection.

· 12th Infantry assigned 17 December 1917 to the 8th Division; relieved 15 August 1927 from assignment to the 8th Division and assigned to the 4th Division; relieved 1 October 1933 from assignment to the 4th Division and assigned to the 8th Division; relieved 10 October 1941 from assignment to the 8th Division and assigned to the 4th Division [later redesignated as the 4th Infantry Division]. In WW II, on D-Day 6 June 1944 the 12th landed on Utah Beach. In heavy fighting through the Normandy hedgerows the 12th Infantry led the assault on the port city of Cherbourg which fell on 25 June 1944. During the Battle of the Bulge the 12th Infantry was instrumental in stopping the German advance into Luxembourg receiving a Presidential Unit Citation and the Belgian Fourragere. The 12th resumed the offensive into Germany crossing the Rhine and capturing the city of Rothenberg as the war ended.

· Inactivated 27 February 1946 at Camp Butner, North Carolina

· Activated 15 July 1947 at Fort Ord, California

· Inactivated 1 April 1957 at Fort Lewis, Washington, and relieved from assignment to the 4th Infantry Division

· Redesignated 1 August 1957 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2d Battle Group, 12th Infantry, assigned to the 8th Infantry Division, and activated in Germany (organic elements concurrently constituted and activated)

· Relieved 24 March 1959 from assignment to the 8th Infantry Division and assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, the 2nd Battle Group,12th Infantry reinforced the Berlin Brigade during the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.

· Reorganized and redesignated 1 October 1963 as the 2d Battalion, 12th Infantry; concurrently relieved from assignment to the 1st Infantry Division and assigned to the 4th Infantry Division

· Relieved 1 August 1967 from assignment to the 4th Infantry Division and assigned to the 25th Infantry Division, the unit participated in eleven campaigns during the Vietnam War receiving a Presidential Unit Citation.

· Inactivated 17 April 1971 at Fort Lewis, Washington

· Relieved 1 April 1976 from assignment to the 25th Infantry Division, assigned to the 4th Infantry Division, and activated at Fort Carson, Colorado

· Inactivated 21 September 1976 at Fort Carson, Colorado

· Activated 16 June 1989 at Fort Carson, Colorado

· Inactivated 15 September 1995 at Fort Carson, Colorado, and relieved from assignment to the 4th Infantry Division.

· Activated 29 September 2005 at Fort Carson, Colorado, as an element of the 2d Infantry Division.

· Redesignated 1 October 2005 as the 2d Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment

· Relieved 16 November 2005 from assignment to the 2d Infantry Division and assigned to the 2d Brigade Combat Team, 2d Infantry Division. The 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry served a tour of duty in Iraq with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team from October 2006-January 2008.

· Relieved 4 April 2008 from assignment to the 2nd Infantry Division. reassigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Ft Carson, Co. and is reunited with the 1/12th for the first time since 1995.

• Reflagged April 16, 2015 as 2nd IBCT, "War Horse" Brigade - 4th IBCT "Warriors" colors were cased and inactivated. 1/41st Inf. was reorganized and reactivated on April 1, 2015 and added to the 2nd IBCT at the same time.

 

Currently stationed at Ft Carson, Colorado (updated 6/24/2023)

2nd IBCT, Infantry Brigade " Warhorse " Combat Team - Commander, COL Keith Benedict and CSM Michael Eiermann;

2-12th BN Commander, LTC Travis Stellfox and CSM Willie Woods

 

Campaign Participation Credit

 

• Civil War: *Peninsula; *Manassas; *Antietam; *Fredericksburg; *Chancellorsville; *Gettysburg; *Wilderness; *Spotsylvania; *Cold          Harbor; *Petersburg; *Virginia 1862; *Virginia 1863

• Indian Wars: Modocs; Bannocks; Pine Ridge

• War with Spain : *Santiago

• Philippine Insurrection: *Malolos; *Tarlac; *Luzon 1899

• World War II: *Normandy (with arrowhead); *Northern France; *Rhineland; *Ardennes-Alsace; *Central Europe

• Vietnam: *Counteroffensive, Phase II; *Counteroffensive, Phase III; *Tet Counteroffensive; *Counteroffensive, Phase IV;     Counteroffensive, Phase V; *Counteroffensive, Phase VI; *Tet 69/Counteroffensive; *Summer-Fall 1969; *Winter-Spring 1970;

Sanctuary, *Counteroffensive; *Counteroffensive, Phase VII

 

• IRAQ *Operation Iraqi Freedom - 2006-07

• AFGHANISTAN *Operation Enduring Freedom - 2009, 2012 & Feb to Nov, 2014

• AFGHANISTAN - Operation Freedom's Sentinel - Feb to Nov,2016

• GERMANY, EDRE (Emergency Deployment Readiness Execise, May to June, 2017

• AFGHANISTAN - Operation Freedom's Sentinel - Apr to Nov 2017

• AFGHANISTAN - Operation Freedom's Sentinel - Feb to Nov, 2018   

• KOREA - Camp Casey - May 2023 to Feb 2024

Link to official U.S. Army Lineage and Honors Information
First of all, for the reader, the history presented in this website is focused on the events leading up to the start and end of the Vietnam War and that involved the 2-12th Infantry from 1966 to their return home in 1971. You can follow what each company was doing daily by exploring and accessing each year listed on the menu bar to your left. Many people have spent countless hours researching, interviewing and writing about the history of the war in Vietnam. Many claim that we "lost" this war, but for those of us who participated in any capacity, we would debate that very statement.

In my personal opinion, we failed from a political platform, not from a military one. Certainly, we could have made better choices in how we conducted military operations, or perhaps, if we had taken this war to the North, rather than attempting to fight our battles in the South, the outcome may have been different for the Republic of  Vietnam.

As it were, we departed via a negotiated (face savings) peace agreement which had us far removed from the country for two years before the ARVN's fell to the North and only after we withdrew from providing any aid to their cause.

So in that regard, it was the ARVN's that were defeated, not the U.S. In fact, we never lost a major engagement against any of our foes during our time in country.

It is still unclear to me where we got our original name that was used in Vietnam, the "White Warriors". Around October of 1969, articles on the unit had reduced the name from "White Warriors" to "Warriors." Somewhere along the line after the war, political correctness arrived and the Warriors name was again changed to "Lethal Warriors", and remains the current nickname for the 2-12th. Ironic as all this is, the 1-12th remains the "Red Warriors."

Also included, outside the main storyline of the Vietnam War, are pieces of history of the regiment that you might find of interest and are listed under "REGIMENTAL HISTORY". Some of this historical accounting is shared from Alpha Associations website, courtesy of William Comeau (http://alphaassociation.homestead.com).

Arnold "Sarge" Krause