History...New and Old

Some of you who have been following my blog for sometime may have noticed that I’ve finally decided on a look and a banner for the site. The name of my site, “Courage Without Fear” is our regimental motto. The symbol on the left side of the banner is the 126^th Armor regimental crest. The background for the banner is the new camouflage pattern that the Army has adopted for the new Army Combat Uniform. My banner represents the old and the new of the 1^st Battalion 126^th Armor Regiment.

I though it only fitting to post the lineage and history of the 126^th Armor since we are adding to that history by being here in Iraq. This is the first combat action that the 126^th has seen since World War II in the Pacific.

Shortly before deploying, CPT Mann and I had the opportunity to tour the historical archive of the Grand Rapids Guard Association. The archives are really a museum unto themselves. There are photos, uniforms and memorabilia from the 125th Regiment dating back to the Civil War. As I write this, we are adding to the history of the Regiment and will someday be in those archives as another important part of the history of the 126th and the Grand Rapids Guard..

The unit we are attached to here in Iraq also has a long history. The 504^th Military Police Battalion was founded in 1922 in the ‘Organized Reserves of Tennessee’ as the 304^th MP BN. The unit was re-designated the 504^th MP BN at the beginning of WWII. During WWII the 504th served in the European Theater. The 504^th also served in Korea and Vietnam.

Here are the “official” histories and lineages of the 126^th Armor and the 504^th MP Battalions.

126th Armor Lineage

History of the 126th Infantry and Armor

504th MP BN History and Lineage

Micah

Comments

[SSG G]

LT Bell,
How's it going? I was just surfing the net and I found your site. I really liked the pictures. Mike who is on the committee for Heroes and Veterans Day liked them so much he is going to have Sid add some of the pictures to a video loop that they are making . It will be shown during the event on the 22nd of July at the Ionia Free Fare.

We will be honoring all Soldiers past & present, there will be a ceremony honoring the fallen Soldiers of the State this past year. Another honoring 50 Korean Veterans and we will be presenting them with the Korean Defense Medal.
If you can make it, the parade starts at 1100hrs in down town Ionia. Bring the family.

Hope to see you there,
SSG G

PS We will be providing lunch