2nd Battalion,12th Infantry
Regiment (Viet Nam era)
ABOUT THE LISTS
. The Rosters are not a complete listing of the
men who served with the 2-12th in Vietnam.
If your name is missing and you want to be
included or you know men who served with
the Second of the Twelfth, please send
updates to me via email at:
Names have been extracted from NARA,
from memories, orders, all types of records
including rosters copied from official records
from St Louis personnel center and from the
internet.
THE BATTALION IN VIETNAM
In 1966 the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 12th Infantry Regiment were in the 4th Infantry Division
stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington state. Each battalion served with different brigades within the
division - the 2-12th with the 3rd Bde. We also had the 4th and 5th battalions serving serving with the
199th Light Infantry Brigade. This made the 12th INF Regiment unique in having 5 battalions in
Vietnam, more than any other Army combat regiment unit.
The 4th Division's 1st and 2nd Brigades were deployed to the Central Highlands of Vietnam and the 3rd
Brigade (including the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment) was sent to the III Corps operational area
near Saigon. Upon arrival - via ship - the 2-12th was initially stationed at Bear Cat, then Phouc Vinh and
eventually Dau Tieng.
The 3rd Brigade, 4th Division, was placed under the operational control (OPCON) of the 25th Infantry
Division. On 1 August 1967 the 3d Brigades of the 4th and 25th Divisions swapped and the 2-12th
became a unit in the 25th Infantry Division - serving with them until the end of active combat and their
Vietnam Stand Down on 21 March 1971.
At various times during the war the regiment served with all three brigades of the 25th - 1st, 2nd and 3rd
and was one of the last units of the division to serve in Vietnam and was especially true during 1968.
From December 1970 to March 1971 the 2-12th Infantry was under operational control (OPCON) to the
Second Field Force, Vietnam (IIFFV) along with other elements of the 25th Div.'s 2nd Brigade. The
brigade was known as 2d BDE (Separate), 25th Div - the 25th Division's 1st and 3rd Brigades having
returned to Hawaii in December 1970.
The battalion in Vietnam had one Medal of Honor awarded, Spc4 Donald W. Evans Jr. (Co. A medic), and
one MIA, Spc4 Eugene A. Handrahan (Co. A, October, 1968 ).
