World War I The regiment was constituted on 1 July 1916 in the Regular Army as the 37th Infantry, and organized on 12 July 1916 at
Fort Sam Houston, Texas, from personnel of the 3rd, 9th, and 30th Infantry Regiments, including Colonel
Julius Penn, who left command of the 3rd Infantry to organize and train the 37th.
Interwar period The 37th Infantry was stationed at
Fort McIntosh, Texas, as of June 1919 as a separate regiment. It was responsible for the Laredo District of the Mexican Border Patrol. The 2nd Battalion was transferred in 1920 to
Camp Marfa, Texas. The regiment, less the 3rd Battalion, was transferred on 17 October 1920 to
Fort Wayne,
Michigan. Concurrently, the 3rd Battalion was transferred to
Fort Brady, Michigan. The regiment was inactivated on 20 October 1921 at Fort Wayne, and the personnel were transferred to the
54th Infantry Regiment. The
18th Infantry Regiment had previously been designated as Active Associate for the 37th Infantry Regiment on 27 July 1921, and was relieved as Active Associate on 17 July 1922, with the
13th Infantry Regiment designated as Active Associate; the unit would provide the personnel from which the 37th Infantry would be reconstituted in the event of war. In June 1921
Colonel Frederick B. Shaw was assigned as commander of the 37th Infantry Regiment. The soldiers of the regiment at this time were among the last soldiers to serve under the command of
General Leonard Wood who retired on April 2, 1921. Wood was in command of the
Sixth Corp Area where the 37th Infantry Regiment was stationed. The 37th Infantry Regiment was assigned to the
9th Division on 24 March 1923, and organized on 10 September 1926 with
Organized Reserve personnel as a "Regular Army Inactive" (RAI) unit in the
First Corps Area at large. it was withdrawn from the First Corps Area on 10 October 1926 and allotted to the Second Corps Area. Concurrently, the 13th Infantry was relieved as Active Associate. The 37th Infantry was reorganized on 9 September 1927 with Organized Reserve personnel as an RAI unit with headquarters at
Brunswick,
New Jersey. The regiment, less the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, was affiliated with the
Rutgers University Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program on 7 April 1928, and reorganized at Brunswick as an RAI unit with Regular Army personnel assigned to the ROTC Detachment and Reserve officers commissioned from the program. Concurrently, the 2nd Battalion was affiliated with the
New York Military Academy, at
Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, and the 3rd Battalion was affiliated with the
College of the City of New York ROTC program at New York City, New York. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions were relieved from the ROTC affiliation program on 5 March 1937, allotted to the Newark and Englewood Military Districts, respectively, and concurrently organized with Organized Reserve personnel living in those locations. The regiment conducted monthly meetings at the
114th Infantry Regiment armories in
Camden and
Elizabeth, New Jersey, and conducted summer training most years at
Camp Dix, New Jersey. The designated mobilization training station for the regiment was Camp Dix. The 37th Infantry was relieved 1 August 1940 from the 9th Division, with Reserve personnel relieved 27 July 1941 and concurrently reassigned to the 311th Infantry,
78th Division. The 37th Infantry was activated on 1 August 1941 at
Unalaska,
Territory of Alaska, and assigned to the
Alaskan Defense Command.
World War II The regiment moved to
Adak Island on 26 November 1942 and to Atka on 24 August 1943. Arrived at Prince Rupert Port of Embarkation,
British Columbia,
Canada, on 28 January 1944 and departed 5 February 1944. Arrived Camp White,
Oregon, 8 February 1944 under
Fourth Army and attached to
III Corps 15 February 1944. Transferred to Camp Phillips,
Kansas, 26 April 1944 under
XVI Corps and assigned to XXXVI Corps on 17 July 1944. Arrived Fort Benning, Georgia 14 August 1944 under
Replacement and School Command where regiment conducted training for paratrooper volunteers from other branches of the Army. Inactivated 5 February 1945 at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Postwar Activated 1 August 1946 at Fort Benning, Inactivated 25 January 1949 at
Fort Sill, Oklahoma. ==Campaign streamers==