66th Armor - the Oldest Armor Unit of the United States Army

 

[66th Armor Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia]                   [66th Armor Regiment Coat of Arms]

 

​Unit Insignia (Crest)                                                                     Coat of Arms 

KNIGHTS OF THE ARMOR FORCE

“We Forge the Thunderbolt”

Motto: Semper in hostes (always into the enemy).

Symbolism:   The insignia was originally approved for the 15th Tank Battalion, part of which was in the old 304th Tank Brigade.  Therefore, the shield and crest of the 304th Tank Brigade were used with the label added for difference.  The shield is of the colors of the Tank Corps shoulder sleeve insignia.  The Brigade was organized at Langres, France, in 1918, so the arms of that place are shown on an in escutcheon differenced by a gold border and by changing the cross from red to gold.   
 

Background:   The distinctive unit insignia (crest) was originally approved for the 15th Tank Battalion on 11 October 1923.  It was reassigned to the 1st Tank Regiment on 11 July 1930 and further reassigned to the 66th Infantry (Light Tanks) on 16 November 1932.  The insignia was redesignated for the 66th Armored Regiment on 25 April 1942.  It was redesignated for the 66th Medium Tank Battalion of 27 December 1950.  The insignia was redesignated for the 66th Armor Regiment on 26 September 1958.  

History of the 66th Armor
World War I

What would become the 66th Armored Regiment was originally organized as the 1st and 2d Provisional Brigades, United States Tank Corps. The regiment participated in the battle of St. Mihiel, France, where it received its baptism of fire while attached to the 1st Infantry Division in the Meuse-Argonne, and the Somme Offensives.

The casualties among the officers and men were heavy during the short period the regiment participated in World War I and their valor was recognized by General John J. Pershing in the following words: "The percentage of casualties among the officers and men tells the tale of splendid morale and gallantry in action and their unselfish devotion to duty".

Between the World Wars

The numerical designation of the regiment was changed several times in the period between the world wars. The National Defense Act of 1920 had a flawed and short-sighted part of the legislation that abolished the Tank Corps. This led to tanks units being given infantry designations. The unit was therefore designated the 66th Infantry (Light Tanks). On 15 July 1940, the unit was redesignated as the 66th Armored Regiment and assigned as part of the newly-formed 2nd Armored Division, whose staging area was temporarily located at Fort Benning, Georgia.

World War II

In December 1942, the regiment participated in the amphibious invasion of French Morocco in North Africa and led the division's entry into Casablanca. The regiment participated in the invasion of Sicily and through fierce fighting earned the unit six battle streamers during the war.

In 1944, the regiment went into action on the European Continent, landing on Omaha Beach on D+3 (June 9, 1944.) Four days later the regiment (as part of Combat Command A of the 2nd Armored Division) decisively defeated the German 6th Fallschirmjager Regiment and elements of the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division southwest of Carentan, France at the Battle of Bloody Gulch. The regiment rolled across France to the German border with the rest of the division and the U.S. Third Army, but was diverted north to counter the German advance during the Battle of the Bulge, assisting in the destruction of the 2nd Panzer Division and capturing Houffalize, Belgium.

During WWII tank crews of the 66th Armored Regiment were primarily equipped with the M4 Sherman medium tank and the M5 Stuart light tank.

As a result of its exemplary conduct in the liberation of Belgium, the regiment was twice cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army. Captain James M. Burt, the commander of B Company, 66th Armored Regiment, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism during the Battle of Aachen in October 1944. Captain Burt later served as Honorary Colonel of the Regiment.

Cold War

Following the war, elements of the 66th and other units of the 2nd Armored Division were selected to occupy the American sector of Berlin and serve as the first American troops to enter the fallen German capital.

During the Korean War, an offspring of the 66th fought under the designation "6th Tank Battalion". During the war, the sixth won seven battle streamers and the Korean Presidential Unit Citation. These honors were awarded to the 66th Armored Regiment when the 6th Tank Battalion was deactivated after the conflict.

Throughout the Cold War the four battalions of the regiment served in the 2nd Armored Division at Ft. Hood, Texas, and as part of the 2nd Armored Division (Forward) in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Desert Storm

In 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, the regiment again proved its worth by assisting in the liberation of Kuwait and the defeat of the Iraqi army. The 2nd and 3rd battalions of the regiment, stationed in Germany as part of the 2nd Armored Division (Forward), deployed and fought under the operational control of the 1st Infantry Division. The 4th battalion, along with the 3d (Phantom) Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, was attached to the 1st Armored Division. The Phantom Brigade became the 1st Armor's lead brigade for VII Corps' "left hook" to smash the Iraqi Republican Guard divisions.  Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment conduct a cordon and search operation in Sheik Hamid, Iraq.

In the spring of 1995, the 1st Battalion of the 66th was assigned to assist over 5,000 Cuban and Haitian refugees interned at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Global War on Terror

The battalions of the 66th Armor deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.