, Germany, 26 August 2015.
Formation Major General Lucian Truscott,
U.S. Army, in liaison with the
British General Staff, submitted proposals to
General George Marshall that
"we undertake immediately an American unit along the lines of the British Commandos" in 1942. A subsequent cable from the
U.S. Department of War authorized the activation of the 1st U.S. Army Ranger
Battalion. On 19 June 1942, Company A, 1st Ranger Battalion, was officially activated in
Carrickfergus,
Northern Ireland. A select team of four officers toured the existing
commando training camps and selected the center at
Achnacarry, Scotland for the Rangers. Here they underwent intense training. Coached by the battle-seasoned commando instructors (commanded by
Lt. Col. Charles Vaughan), the Rangers learned the basics of commando warfare. Five hundred of the 600 volunteers (83.33%) that Darby brought with him to Achnacarry completed the commando training. Many could not endure the exercises; one Ranger was killed, while several others were wounded in realistic training executed under live fire.
World War II 1st Battalion goes active The first Americans to see active combat in the
European theater of World War II were forty-four enlisted men and five officers from the 1st Ranger Battalion. Dispersed among the Canadians and the British commandos, these men were the first American ground soldiers to see action against the Germans in the disastrous
Dieppe Raid, officially known as Operation Jubilee. Three Rangers were killed, including
Lieutenant E. V. Loustalot (the first American soldier killed in Europe in World War II), and several captured. During the mission, the British Captain leading the assault was killed. Loustalot took command and, with his men, attacked a clifftop
machine gun nest. Scaling the steep cliff, Loustalot was wounded three times before being killed by enemy crossfire. As a result of budgetary considerations, the US Army spent much of the 1950s and 1960s consolidating and redesignating units that were on inactive status. Elements of the unit was redesignated 15 April 1960 in the Regular Army; concurrently consolidated with Company B, 1st Ranger Infantry Battalion (activated 19 June 1942), and consolidated unit redesignated as
Headquarters and Headquarters Company,
1st Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces. On 24 November 1952 as Company A, 1st Ranger Infantry Battalion, in inactive status and was consolidated on 15 April 1960 with the A Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment,
1st Special Service Force, and the consolidated unit was redesignated as
Headquarters and Headquarters Company,
7th Special Forces Group(SFG), 1st Special Forces. The unit was further consolidated 6 June 1960 with
Headquarters and Headquarters Company,
7th Special Forces Group, and the consolidated unit was designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 7th SFG, 1st SF (organic elements constituted 20 May 1960 and activated 6 June 1960).
Vietnam On 1 January 1969, under the new U.S. Army
Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS), U.S. Army Rangers were re-formed in South Vietnam as the
75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger). Fifteen companies of Rangers, two of which (A-75 & B-75) were based in the US, were raised from units that had been performing missions in Europe since the late 1950s and in Vietnam since 1966 as
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol and Long Range Patrol companies.
Post-Vietnam After the Vietnam War, division and brigade commanders determined that the U.S. Army needed an elite, rapid deployment, light infantry, so in 1974 General
Creighton Abrams charged General
Kenneth C. Leuer with the task of activating, organizing, training, and leading the first battalion sized Ranger unit since
World War II. The 1st Battalion was activated under the
75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger) on 31 January 1974. It received its colors and lineage from the Vietnam War Company C, 75th Infantry, which traced back through Company C, 475th back to the
5307th Composite unit, also known as Merrill's Marauders. Because of its success the 2nd Battalion was constituted eight months later. In 1984 the 3rd Battalion and their regimental headquarters were created. On 3 February 1986, the 1st Battalion, 75th Infantry was consolidated with the former Company A, 1st Ranger Battalion (which had been consolidated as the HHC of 7th SFG since 1960) thus gaining the lineage of the World War II era 1st Battalion. As a result, the unit was redesignated the 1st Battalion. Concurrently, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were also consolidated with other past Ranger battalions and the regiment as a whole was redesignated the 75th Ranger Regiment.
War on terror In December 2001, following the events of
9/11, elements of Headquarters Company and Company A deployed in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom in
Afghanistan. In 2002, the entire battalion returned to Afghanistan to support the continuing global
war on terrorism. In March 2002, during
Operation Anaconda, 35 Rangers from the battalion had been assigned as
QRF for all
Task Force 11 operations, but only half of the platoon was available for the
Battle of Takur Ghar. , the battalion has made 22 deployments during the Global War on Terrorism. During one deployment to Afghanistan in 2018, the battalion took part in 198 combat operations in which 1,900 terrorists were killed or captured, with 14 rangers being awarded for valor, including
SFC Christopher Celiz who was awarded the
Medal of Honor. == Honors ==