5th Cavalry Regiment (United States) - 20th Century

20th Century

The 5th Cavalry returned to the United States in 1900. The regiment served in the Philippine Islands from 1901 to 1903 and in Hawaii from 1909 to 1913. In March 1916, the regiment deployed to Columbus, New Mexico, to participate in the Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa's forces, entering Mexico on 30 March 1916, and returning to the U.S. in February 1917. In October 1917, the regiment moved to Fort Bliss, Texas. They patrolled the Mexican border throughout World War I, where they frequently engaged Mexican revolutionaries, raiders, and smugglers. On 18 December 1922, the 5th Cavalry Regiment became part of the 1st Cavalry Division and has served with this division ever since.

Having exchanged horses for vehicles in 1943, the men of the 5th Cavalry Regiment spent World War II in the jungles of the South Pacific. After the war, the regiment was garrisoned in Japan. In July 1950, the regiment was sent to South Korea to serve with other United Nations forces. After one and a half years of combat, the regiment returned to Japan in 1951, but not before 3 members of the regiment had earned the nation's highest award, the Medal of Honor* (Lloyd L. Burke (28 October 1951), Samuel S. Coursen (12 December 1950), and Robert M. McGovern (30 January 1951)).

The regiment was reorganized in August 1963 as the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 5th Cavalry Regiment and later as the 3rd Squadron, 5th Armored Cavalry. The units arrived at Fort Benning in 1965, and then proceeded to the Republic of Vietnam as air and armored cavalry. In Vietnam the 2/5th Cavalry participated in twelve campaigns. In May 1971, the units moved to Fort Hood, where they were reorganized as mechanized infantry.

On 12 August 1990, both the 1st and 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, were alerted for duty in Southwest Asia. They deployed with the 1st Cavalry Division to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield / Operation Desert Storm. They were followed by 3rd and 5th Battalions, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade (Ready First), 3rd Armored Division (Spearhead) Ayers Kaserne (The Rock), Kirchgoens, West Germany (redesignated from 2/36 INF and 3/36 INF) on 1 January 1991 to June 1991.

The 3rd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Brigade (Ready First), 1st Armored Division was deployed to Bosnia Herzegovina in December 1995. The Battalion operated out of Camp McGovern near Brcko, BiH. Attached to the battalion was Special Operation Detachment Gypsy. Gypsy Team was the Civil Military Operations (CMO) direct support team in Brcko. The team deployed in January 1996 and left the theatre in July 1996.

In 1992, Delta Co. 2/5th was deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for guard duty on Haitian Immigrants camps setup on the Naval Base.

The battalion was deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina in September 1998.

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