World War I The
325th Infantry Regiment was activated in the
National Army on 25 August 1917, almost five months after the
American entry into World War I. The regiment was part of the
82nd Division. Under the command of
Colonel Walter M. Whitman, a professional
Regular Army officer, the regiment, which was composed of large numbers of wartime volunteers and
conscripts, also known as draftees, trained at
Camp Gordon,
Georgia as part of the
164th Infantry Brigade of the 82nd Division. However, only a small
cadre of professional Regular Army soldiers were originally assigned to the 325th. The cadre was intended to train the many hundreds of new conscripts, most of whom recently called up and were very young and had had no prior
military service, who would soon be entering the camp. ,
Ardennes, France, October 1918. The 325th, along with the
326th Infantry Regiment, which also formed part of the 164th Infantry Brigade, was composed of men from the "
Deep South". Soon after, the 82nd Division was instructed by the
War Department to send its men to other camps in order to help create other units. This left the regiment with only a small training cadre of just under 800 officers and men. They were replaced by conscripts from all 48 states, giving rise to the 82nd Division's nickname of the "All Americans". After further training in France, the regiment was committed to
Toul sector from 18 June - 10 August 1918. After a brief rest, the regiment returned to the line to participate in the offensive to reduce the
St. Mihiel salient, securing the southern shoulder of the breach. From 26 September - 9 October 1918, the regiment waited to be committed to the
Meuse–Argonne offensive. At 07:00 on 10 October, the regiment attacked to seize the Cornay Ridge, then continued the attack across the
Aire River. Following the
Armistice of 11 November 1918, the regiment returned to the United States aboard the
USS Alaskan and was demobilized on 18 May 1919 at
Camp Upton,
New York.
Interwar period The 325th Infantry Regiment was reconstituted in the
Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921, assigned to the 82nd Division, and allotted to the Fourth
Corps Area. The regiment was initiated on 14 December 1921 with regimental headquarters at
Albany, Georgia. Subordinate battalion headquarters were concurrently organized as follows: 1st Battalion at
Columbus, Georgia; 2nd Battalion at
Waycross, Georgia; and the 3rd Battalion at
Savannah, Georgia. The regiment conducted summer training most years with the
8th Infantry Regiment at
Fort Screven, Georgia, and some years with the
22nd Infantry Regiment at
Camp McClellan,
Alabama, or
Fort McPherson, Georgia. Also conducted infantry
Citizens Military Training Camps some years at Camp McClellan, Fort Screven,
Fort Moultrie,
South Carolina, or
Camp Beauregard,
Louisiana, as an alternate form of summer training. The primary
ROTC feeder school for new Reserve lieutenants for the regiment was the
University of Georgia, in Albany.
World War II The 325th Infantry was ordered into active military service during
World War II on 25 March 1942, forming under the command of
Colonel Claudius M. Easley at
Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. After initial training, the regiment was reorganized as a
glider infantry unit when the 82nd Infantry Division was reorganized as the
82nd Airborne Division in August 1942, and the 325th was redesignated the
325th Glider Infantry Regiment. After further training, the regiment deployed to North Africa under the command of Colonel
Harry L. Lewis. The regiment was not committed to combat until they conducted a
landing at Salerno, Italy, on 15 September 1943. It was not, however, by
glider but by
landing craft After service in the
Italian campaign, the regiment deployed to England and conducted further training in preparation for
Operation Overlord. Conducting a glider-borne assault on 7 June 1944, the day after the initial
Normandy landings, the regiment fought in Normandy for over a month, sustaining heavy casualties before being withdrawn to England. On 9 June 1944 the 325th earned its first and only
Medal of Honor of the war, belonging to
Private First Class Charles N. DeGlopper. and attached elements of the
XVIII Airborne Corps along with soldiers of the French
6th Light Armored Brigade began their drive into Iraq and were responsible for the destruction of massive amounts of enemy weapons, equipment, and ammunition. The 1-325 and 4-325, as trailing elements, were responsible for the capture of several thousand Iraqi soldiers. The division is credited with playing a major role in the highly successful 100-hour ground war. The first division elements began redeploying to Fort Bragg on 7 March, and by early April the redeployment of the division was complete.
Operation Provide Comfort On 19 April 1991, the 3-325 ABCT, stationed in
Caserma Ederle,
Vicenza, Italy and attached to the
Southern European Task Force (SETAF), commanded by Lt. Col. (later General)
John P. Abizaid, deployed to Northern Iraq as part of
Operation Provide Comfort to secure from the 36th parallel to the northern border of Iraq and protect the
Kurdish population from
Saddam Hussein's brutality. Saddam Hussein's regime had previously murdered Kurds by using chemical gas and other means, causing the Kurds to retreat to the mountains of Northern Iraq and Turkey and to assist U.S. forces during the Gulf War. The U.S. and its allies were worried that Hussein's regime would seek revenge on the Kurds for assisting the Americans. The 3-325's effort to secure the Kurds over a large expanse of territory during Operation Provide Comfort earned the battalion a Joint Meritorious Unit Award. The unit only lost one soldier in
Provide Comfort, Specialist Lars Chew, attached to the recon squad, who was killed in a landmine incident.
Kosovo Humanitarian Mission The 3-325th infantrymen began arriving in Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina on 18 December 1995, to set up perimeter security, which completed the first in a series of steps paving the way for the arrival of thousands of NATO troops. 3-325th ABCT was the lead element for Task Force Eagle, part of Operation Joint Endeavor. After serving as the primary protection force for Eagle Base, Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina since mid-December 1995, members of the 3rd Battalion, 325th Infantry (Airborne Combat Team), began to return to their home base of Vicenza, Italy. The first contingent of about 80 soldiers, began leaving 31 January 1996. They included soldiers in D Battery, Airborne Field Artillery. More than 800 members of the 3-325th ABCT landed on Bosnian soil, bringing with them artillery, engineers, transportation and cooks that all helped prepare Eagle Base, Tuzla, for the onslaught of soldiers moving through the base and into the US sector. During its stay, A Company temporarily operated an observation point in the Serbian sector on the zone of separation. From here the unit kept watch, monitoring for possible illegal troop movement in the zone. 3-325 ABCT Stationed in Vicenza, Italy with SETAF" Campaign: Operation Provide Comfort, deployed 19 April 1991, a Humanitarian mission in Northern Iraq to secure the 36 parallel to the north border of Iraq. In the northern area Saddam Hussein's regime brutally murdered the Kurds using chemical weapons after the Kurds and PKK tried to help the United States overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime during the Gulf War. The unit earned a Humanitarian Ribbon and Congressional Medal of Honor for its service in Operation Provide Comfort.
Kosovo campaign The 3-325th Infantry began arriving in
Tuzla,
Bosnia-Herzegovina on 18 December 1995, to set up perimeter security, which completed the first in a series of steps paving the way for the arrival of thousands of NATO troops. 3-325th ABCT was the lead element for
Task Force Eagle, part of
Operation Joint Endeavor. After serving as the primary protection force for Eagle Base, Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina since mid-December 1995, members of the 3rd Battalion, 325th Infantry (Airborne Combat Team), began to return to their home base of
Vicenza,
Italy. The first contingent of about 80 soldiers, began leaving 31 January 1996. They included soldiers in D Battery,
319th Airborne Field Artillery. More than 800 members of the 3-325th ABCT landed on Bosnian soil, bringing with them artillery, engineers, transportation and cooks that all helped prepare Eagle Base, Tuzla, for the onslaught of soldiers moving through the base and into the US sector. During its stay, Company A temporarily operated an observation point in the Russian sector on the zone of separation. From here the unit kept watch, monitoring for possible illegal troop movement in the zone.
Iraq and Afghanistan , as part of their mission there searching for suspected militants, 2005 Preparations to invade Iraq, in the face of the threat of
Weapons of Mass Destruction, went on from 2002. The Brigade would have a lead role. On 14 February 2003 the regiment began to deploy to Kuwait as part of
Operation Enduring Freedom. On 28 March 2003, the regiment was called on to spearhead the 82nd's assault into
Iraq in support of the
Iraq War. During the initial invasion, the regiment was ordered to attack into the town of
Samawah to seize four critical bridges over the
Euphrates River. For its actions, the regiment was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. In April 2003, according to
Human Rights Watch, soldiers from the regiment fired indiscriminately into a crowd of Iraqi civilians protesting their presence in the city of
Fallujah,
killing and wounding many protesters. The battalion suffered no casualties. The regiment also fought at
Al Diwaniyah,
Ramadi,
Habbaniyah and
Baghdad. After the
Iraqi Army capitulated in May 2003, the 325th AIR remained in Baghdad to conduct combat and support and stability operations. Missions continued until February 2004, when, after almost a year of sustained combat operations, the regiment returned home to Fort Bragg. In December 2004, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions of the 325th deployed to Iraq to provide security for the country's first-ever free national elections. that will return them to their home base at the end of a five-day mission in
Mianashin,
Afghanistan, 2005 In July 2005, the 1st Battalion deployed to
Afghanistan in support of the Afghanistan national parliamentary elections. In September 2005, 1st Battalion soldiers were recalled while home on leave from their previous deployment. Six months after the end of their last deployment to Iraq, the Battalions returned to Iraq once more to provide contingency support in
Tal Afar during the Iraqi national elections. Their successes during the five-month deployment were commended by the President. In January 2006, the 325th AIR underwent one of the largest restructurings in its history. As part of the army-wide transformation program, the regiment was reorganized into a modular structure to become the 2nd Brigade Combat Team. As part of the restructuring, the brigade lost one infantry battalion – the 3/325 – but gained an artillery battalion, a mounted reconnaissance and surveillance squadron, a support battalion, and a special troops battalion containing signal, military intelligence, military police and engineer companies. A year later, in January 2007, the 325th was tasked with spearheading the
surge of U.S. forces into Iraq to restore security to the capital of Baghdad. With violence in Iraq escalating out of control, the President on 10 January announced a new strategy involving an increase of forces and a new emphasis on counter-insurgency tactics. Within a week of receiving orders, the brigade had 3,000 troops, 300 vehicles, and thousands of pieces of equipment on the way to Iraq. Over the next 15 months, the 325th moved into small outposts throughout the city and waged an aggressive campaign against
Al Qaeda terrorists, Sunni insurgents, Shiite militias, and other elements
committed to destroying the fragile Iraqi democracy. At the same time, they devoted thousands of hours of labor and millions of dollars to rebuilding and infrastructure projects. By Christmas of 2007, violence in their area of operations had declined by 95%, and violence throughout all of Iraq was down steeply. The regiment redeployed to Fort Bragg in March 2008. In May 2011 the 325th deployed to Iraq, over the next 8 months the brigade conducted combat operations and close out of American footholds from Haditha, Ramadi and Baghdad. The brigade suffered the loss of the last American service member in Iraq, SPC. David E. Hickman, on 14 November 2011. By 25 December 2011 the brigade had been returned to Fort Bragg. In January 2017, Task Force Falcon comprising approximately 1,700 soldiers deployed to Iraq in support of
Operation Inherent Resolve. 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division assumed responsibility from Task Force Strike, 2nd Brigade Combat Team,
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Union III in Baghdad. armed with an
M14 EBR provides security ==Lineage and honors==