World War I The regiment was constituted 5 August 1917 in the National Army as the 337th Infantry and assigned to the
169th Infantry Brigade of the 85th Division. It was organized at
Camp Custer,
Michigan, on 30 August 1917. Its initial commander was
Walter Cowen Short. In August 1917, the regiment was organized with 3,755 officers and enlisted men: • Headquarters & Headquarters Company- 303 • Supply Company- 140 • Machine Gun Company- 178 • Medical & Chaplain Detachment- 56 • Infantry Battalion (x3)- 1,026 • Headquarters- 2 • Rifle Company (x4)- 256 The regiment deployed to France as part of the
American Expeditionary Forces and were billeted in
Sancerre from August 14 to September 2, 1918. On September 4, they moved to the cities of
Nevers and
Cosne where they were trained until the end of the war. The 337th Infantry did not participate in any named campaigns; instead the regiment provided individual replacement soldiers for divisions engaged in combat. After completing its war service in
France, it arrived at the port of New York aboard
S.S. Leviathan on April 2, 1919. The regiment demobilized at Camp Custer on April 23, 1919. File:The Library of Congress - Camp Custer, Michigan, photographed from kites, camera elevated 500 feet (LOC).jpg|Camp Custer, Michigan File:USS Leviathan SP-1326.jpg|
SS Leviathan, the former Hamburg-Amerika liner
Vaterland, sports wartime camouflage paint to help hide her from German U-boats. File:LEVIATHAN leaving for France with 11,000 American troops.png|SS Leviathan leaving for France with 11,000 American troops
Between the Wars The regiment was reconstituted in the
Organized Reserves as the 337th Infantry on 24 June 1921 and reassigned to the 85th Division (later redesignated as the 85th Infantry Division) in the
Sixth Corps Area. It was organized in December 1921 with the Regimental Headquarters and the 1st and 2d Battalions at
Grand Rapids and the 3rd Battalion at
Sault Ste Marie, Michigan. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions relocated by 1929 to
Muskegon and
Cadillac respectively. The regiment conducted summer training most years with the
2nd Infantry Regiment at Camp Custer. In 1928 the regiment conducted joint summer training with the Michigan National Guard’s
126th Infantry Regiment at
Camp Grayling, while in 1934 the regiment conducted joint summer training with the
125th Infantry Regiment at Camp Grayling. They also conducted infantry Citizens Military Training Camp (CMTC) training some years at Camp Custer or
Fort Brady, as an alternate form of summer training. The primary
ROTC feeder school for new Reserve lieutenants for the regiment was
Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science. File:Fort Brady Barracks c 1908.jpg|Fort Brady Barracks circa 1908
World War II The regiment was ordered into active military service 15 May 1942 and reorganized at
Camp Shelby,
Mississippi, using a cadre provided by the
2nd Infantry Division. The regiment participated in the #2
Louisiana Maneuvers in April 1943 and the
Desert Training Center #3
California Maneuvers in June 1943. In July 1943, the regiment was organized with 3,256 officers and enlisted men: • Headquarters & Headquarters Company- 111 • Service Company- 114 • Anti-Tank Company- 165 • Cannon Company- 118 • Medical Detachment- 135 • Infantry Battalion (x3)- 871 • Headquarters & Headquarters Company- 126 • Rifle Company (x3)- 193 • Weapons Company- 156 It departed
Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation aboard HMS Andes on 24 December 1943, landed in
Casablanca,
French Morocco, on 2 January 1944 and received
amphibious warfare training at Port aux Poules. It arrived in
Naples,
Italy on 27 March 1944. The 337th participated in the Rome-Arno, North Apennines, and the Po Valley campaigns in the
Mediterranean Theater as part of the
Italian Campaign. The regiment usually fought as a
Regimental Combat Team with the addition of the 328th Field Artillery Battalion, Company A, 310th Engineer Battalion and Company A, 310th Medical Battalion attached. It saw heavy combat attacking the German's
Gustav and
Gothic Lines as they moved north up the Italian Peninsula during
Operation Diadem. The regiment initially held defensive positions north of the
Garigliano River until it attacked and seized
Castellonorato until it was stopped by German resistance south of Monte Campese on 16 May 1944. The regiment began a drive on
Terracina on 21 May that on the 24th opened the road to the
Anzio beach head. Over the next month, the regiment fought through Monte Artemisio and
Lariano. In June the 337th captured Monte Ceraso and advanced to the
Viterbo River before being relieved on 10 June 1944. The regiment relieved the
2nd New Zealand Division on the
Arno River Line on 16 August. On 17 August the 337th seized Mount Pratone. By 18 September, the division had penetrated the
Gothic Line. On 1 October, Sergeant
Chris Carr of Company L earned the
Medal of Honor for actions near Guignola, Italy. The 85th Division went on the defensive near Pizzano from 27 October through 22 November 1944. On 9 January 1945, the 85th relieved the British
1st Infantry Division near Monte Grande and then the
1st Armored Division on 17 April as part of
Operation Grapeshot. On 26 April the division crossed the
Adige River in the
Verona area and by 1 May was clearing the
Piave Valley. The German forces in Italy surrendered on 2 May 1945. The regiment departed Fagianeria, Italy for Hampton Roads and was inactivated at
Camp Patrick Henry,
Virginia, on 25 August 1945. File:Desert training center - map.png|Map of the Desert Training Center File:Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation leased facilities.png|Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation File:Welcome Home, Camp Patrick Henry, VA.jpg|Welcome Home, Camp Patrick Henry File:SpringOffensiveItaly1945.jpg|Spring Offensive, Italy 1945 File:IVCorpsApr45.jpg|IV Corps operations, Italy April 1945 File:337 INF Jan Apr 1944 Operations Report.pdf|Operations Report by the 337th Infantry Regiment for January through April 1944 File:337 INF May 1944 Operations Report.pdf|Operations Report by the 337th Infantry Regiment for May 1944 File:337 1st BN May 44.pdf|1st Battalion's operations report for May 1944 File:337 INF Jun Jul 1944 Operations Report.pdf|Operations Report by the 337th Infantry Regiment for June and July 1944 File:337 INF Aug 1944 Operations Report.pdf|Operations Report by the 337th Infantry Regiment for August 1944 File:337 INF Sep 1944 Operations Report.pdf|Operations Report by the 337th Infantry Regiment for September 1944 File:337 INF Oct 1944 Operations Report.pdf|Operations Report by the 337th Infantry Regiment for October 1944 File:337 INF Nov Dec 1944 Operations Report.pdf|Operations Report by the 337th Infantry Regiment for December 1944 File:337th INF Jan 1945 Operations Report.pdf|Operations Report by the 337th Infantry Regiment for January 1945 File:337th INF Feb 1945 Operations Report.pdf|Operations Report by the 337th Infantry Regiment for February 1945 File:337th INF Mar 1945 Operations Report.pdf|Operations Report by the 337th Infantry Regiment for March 1945 File:337th INF Apr 1945 Operations Report.pdf|Operations Report by the 337th Infantry Regiment for April 1945
Post War Service The Regiment was reconstituted on 6 November 1946 in the Organized Reserves with headquarters in the
Minneapolis,
Minnesota, under TOE 29-7T. Its recruiting area was
Illinois, Minnesota,
South Dakota, and
North Dakota. On 31 December 1949 the Regimental Headquarters was moved to
Chicago, Illinois and then to
Waukegan, Illinois, on 1 August 1955. The regiment, and its parent 85th Infantry Division belonged to the
Fifth Army, headquartered in Chicago.
Transformation of the Army All Battalions are currently subordinate to the
First Army and wear the First Army Shoulder Sleeve Insignia. The 1st Battalion was assigned to the
166th Aviation Brigade and specialized in training Aviation units at
Fort Hood,
Texas, until it was reassigned to Fort McCoy in 2015. The 1st Battalion was responsible for training an
Alaska Army National Guard aviation unit for deployment in 2010, elements of the 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment for a deployment to
Iraq, as well as several units for deployment to
Kosovo as part of the
KFOR in 2014. The 2nd Battalion was assigned to the
205th Infantry Brigade with a mission to train Combat Support and Combat Service Support units.
Current Assignment As part of Operation Bold Shift, the battalion changed their missions to better train Army Reserve and National Guard units. The 1st Battalion is a
Regular Army unit assigned to the
181st Infantry Brigade at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, with a mission to
train Brigade Support Battalions, Combat Sustainment Support Battalions, and other logistics units. The Battalion frequently sends personnel to
NTC and
JRTC to train units conducting rotations. The 2nd Battalion is an
Army Reserve unit assigned to the
157th Infantry Brigade with a mission to train Combat Support and Combat Service Support units. The 3rd Battalion is an Army Reserve unit assigned to the
4th Cavalry Brigade at
Fort Knox,
Kentucky and provides Observer, Controller/ Trainers (OC/T) and Staff to various Mobilization Training Centers responsible for conducting post mobilization training to Reserve Component units preparing them for deployment to Overseas Contingency Operations. File:U.S. Army Capt. Amy Ferrell, operations officer with the 1st Battalion, 337th Aviation Regiment, 166th Aviation Brigade, First Army Division West, during pre-flight inspections as she prepares for an evening 100401-A-ZZ999-001.jpg|1st Battalion supporting
NTC Rotation 10-05 File:Archers supporting JRTC 16-03 January 2016.jpg|1st Battalion supporting
JRTC Rotation 16-03 with
3-340th BEB and
1-291st BSB File:1-337th BSB Color Guard.jpg|1-337 color guard ready for the battalion reactivation ceremony File:1-337th BSB saluting during ceremony.jpg|1-337th BSB at 181st Infantry Brigade change of command ceremony July 28, 2017 File:1st BN 337th Brigade Support Battalion at Camp Ripley 5 August 2017.jpg|1-337th BSB preparing to conduct Observer/ Controller duties at
Camp Ripley during the Combat Support Training Exercise (CSTX) 17-86-03 File:After Action Review during CSTX 86-17-03.jpg|1-337th BSB Observer/Controller-Trainer conducts an
After-action review to assist a Reserve unit capture lessons learned from their exercise File:1st BN 337th Brigade Support Battalion at Camp Ripley 17 AUG 2017.jpg|1-337th BSB after conducting Observer/Controller duties at Camp Ripley for CSTX 17-86-03 File:FortMcCoyUSArmy.JPG|Fort McCoy, Wisconsin ==Campaign streamers==