24th Infantry Regiment ( United States ) The 24th Infantry Regiment was a unit of the United States Army , active from 1869 until 1951 , and again from 1995 until 2006 . The regiment is notable for having a colorfully checkered history , with a record of mostly meritorious service and valorous combat performance , marred by episodes such as the Houston Riot of 1917 and deficiencies in command leadership during the Korean War . History . The 24th Infantry Regiment ( one of the Buffalo Soldier regiments ) was organized on November 1 , 1869 from the 38th and 41st ( Colored ) Infantry Regiments . All the enlisted soldiers were black , either veterans of the U . S . Colored Troops or freedmen . From its activation to 1898 , the 24th Infantry served throughout the Western United States . Its missions included garrisoning frontier posts , battling American Indians , protecting roadways against bandits , and guarding the border between the United States and Mexico . Spanish - American War . The year 1898 saw the 24th Infantry deployed to Cuba as part of the U . S . Expeditionary Force in the Spanish - American War . Elements of the 24th participated in the storming of the Spanish fortress in the Battle of El Caney . At the climactic battle of San Juan Hill , supported by intensive fire from the Gatling Gun Detachment , units of the 24th Infantry , accompanied by elements of the 6th and 13th Infantry Regiments , assaulted and seized the Spanish - held blockhouse and trench system atop San Juan Hill . Philippine - American War . In 1899 the regiment deployed to the Philippine Islands to help suppress a guerrilla movement in the Philippine - American War . The regiment returned to the Islands in 1905 and 1911 . Though the 24th fought a number of battles in the Philippines , one of the most notable occurred on December 7 , 1899 , when nine soldiers from the regiment routed 100 guerrillas from their trenches . Mexican Border . In 1916 the 24th Infantry guarded the U . S . - Mexico border to keep the Mexican Revolution from spilling on to U . S . soil . When it did , the 24th joined the " Punitive Expedition " under General Pershing and entered Mexico to fight Pancho Villa ' s forces . In 1919 , rebels and troops of the Mexican government fought in Ciudad Juárez , Chihuahua , which borders the U . S . city of El Paso , Texas . The 24th Infantry crossed over again to engage the rebels , ensuring that no violence erupted across the U . S . border . Pre - World War I and the Houston Riot . The Houston Riot ( 1917 ) was a mutiny by 150 black soldiers of the Twenty - fourth United States Infantry , called the Camp Logan Riots . Sergeant Vida Henry of I Company , 3rd Battalion led about 150 black soldiers in a two - hour march on Houston because they had suffered racial discrimination in the city . The soldiers were met by local policemen and a great crowd of Houston residents , who had armed themselves . When the soldiers killed Captain J . W . Mattes of the Illinois National Guard ( after mistaking him for a local policeman ) , the battalion fell into disarray . Sgt . Henry shot himself , distraught over having killed another serviceman . In their two - hour march on the city , the battalion killed 15 armed whites , including four policemen , and seriously wounded 12 others , one of whom , a policeman , subsequently died . Four black soldiers were killed . Two were accidentally shot by their own men , one in camp and the other on San Felipe Street . The riot lasted one afternoon , and resulted in the deaths of four soldiers and 15 civilians . The rioters were tried at three courts - martial . Fourteen were executed , and 41 were given life sentences . World War II . At the start of World War II , the 24th Infantry was stationed at Fort Benning as School Troops for the Infantry School . They participated in the Carolina Maneuvers of October – December 1941 . During World War II , the 24th Infantry fought in the South Pacific Theatre as a separate regiment . Deploying on April 4 , 1942 from the San Francisco Port of Embarkation , the regiment arrived in the New Hebrides Islands on May 4 , 1942 . The 24th moved to Guadalcanal on August 28 , 1943 , and was assigned to the US XIV Corps . 1st Battalion deployed to Bougainville , attached to the 37th Infantry Division , from March to May 1944 for perimeter defense duty . The regiment departed Guadalcanal on December 8 , 1944 , and landed on Saipan and Tinian on December 19 , 1944 for Garrison Duty that included mopping up the remaining Japanese forces that had yet to surrender . The regiment was assigned to the Pacific Ocean Area Command on March 15 , 1945 , and then to the Central Pacific Base Command on May 15 , 1945 , and to the Western pacific Base Command on June 22 , 1945 . The regiment departed Saipan and Tinian on July 9 , 1945 , and arrived on the Kerama Islands off Okinawa on July 29 , 1945 . At the end of the war , the 24th took the surrender of forces on the island of Aka - shima , the first formal surrender of a Japanese Imperial Army garrison . The regiment remained on Okinawa through 1946 . Korean War . From the end of World War II through 1947 , the 24th occupied Okinawa , Japan , after which it relocated to Gifu , Japan . On February 1 , 1947 , the regiment reorganized as a permanent regiment of the 25th Infantry Division . Despite the desegregation of the U . S . armed forces in 1948 by Executive Order 9981 , the 24th Infantry remained predominantly African – American , with an officer corps of both African and European Americans . In late June 1950 , soon after North Korea invaded South Korea , the 24th deployed to Korea to assist in the Korean War . The 24th Infantry fought throughout the entire Korean peninsula , from the defense of the " Pusan Perimeter " to its breakout and the pursuit of communist forces well into North Korea , to the Chinese counteroffensives , and finally to U . N . counteroffensives that stabilized near the current Demilitarized Zone . The regiment received the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for its defense of the Pusan Perimeter . The regiment also had two posthumous Medal of Honor recipients , Cornelius H . Charlton and William Thompson . The cases of Lieutenant Leon Gilbert , court martialed for refusing an order from the 24th ' s commanding officer ( who was white ) , and of some other members of the 24th , helped bring greater attention to problems of segregation and discrimination within the U . S . military . The landing at Inchon by U . S . and ROK forces on September 15 finally compelled the North Koreans to withdraw from the Pusan Perimeter . The 24th Infantry was divided into Task Forces Blair and Corley ( named for their commanders ) , and they , along with several from other commands , began pursuing the enemy on September 27 . The 25th Division remained in South Korea until ordered north in late November to participate in the Chongchon operation . Later in November , overwhelming assaults by Chinese troops forced the U . S . Eighth Army to withdraw . On November 29 , the Chinese 40th Army flanked the 24th Infantry ' s line north of the Chongchon River in North Korea , forcing the neighboring 9th Regiment of the 2nd Division to withdraw . On November 30 , the 3 / 24th was at Kunu - ri , on the division ' s open right flank , with Chinese troops behind it . With the help of air support , the battalion extricated itself , losing one soldier killed , 30 wounded and 109 missing . Overall , the 24th Infantry lost one - fifth of its officers and one - third of its enlisted men in the withdrawal across the Chongchon . Colonel Corley blamed the disarray of the 3rd Battalion on its commander , Lt . Col . Melvin E . Blair , whom he summarily relieved . The Eighth Army ' s withdrawal did not cease until the force was well below the 39th parallel north . But by early March 1951 , the American and ROK troops were again ready for a full - scale offensive . On March 6 , the 25th Division advanced across the Han River . The 1 / 24th did well , moving over difficult terrain against an entrenched enemy . The 3rd Battalion initially also performed well , executing a hastily devised river crossing and advancing through rough country against well dug - in Chinese troops , far from the 1st Battalion . While climbing up steep terrain , however , the 1 / 24th reportedly collapsed under Chinese fire and withdrew in disorder . When the division commander learned of that action , his confidence in the 24th plummeted . Many soldiers of the 24th ran away from the fight , tossing their weapons and equipment aside . A derisive poem throughout the U . S . Army stated : " When them Chinese mortars begins to thud , the Old Deuce - Four begin to bug . " Although the 24th performed well in the attack north of the Han and the subsequent general withdrawal of the Eighth Army after the Chinese spring offensive of 1951 , its reputation was somewhat tarnished . But it performed well in the Army ' s drive back north in May and June 1951 . In August , the regiment ' s new commander , Colonel Thomas D . Gillis , prodded by the division commander , closely examined the 24th ' s record in Korea . Determining that leadership had been the problem , he relieved a number of officers . After the change in command , Company F conducted a valiant bayonet and grenade charge on September 15 . But , the positive performance of Company F was ignored by higher commands and the news media . By October 1 , 1951 , the 24th was dissolved . Modern legacy . The 24th Infantry was re - instituted in 1995 and assigned to the 1st Brigade , 25th Infantry Division in Fort Lewis , Washington . The regiment served in the Iraq War from 2004 to 2005 , and was decorated for its service . In 2006 , during a re - organization of the Army , the regiment was re - flagged ; however , the 1st Battalion was not included , and so it alone retains the regimental designation and carries on its legacy . It is now part of the 1st Brigade Combat Team ( Stryker ) , 25th Infantry Division at Fort Wainwright , Alaska . They were assigned to the 1st Brigade , 25th Infantry Division " Lightning " ( a Stryker brigade ) , and served in Iraq from October 2004 to October 2005 . The battalion came home with 5 Silver Star s , 31 Bronze Star s , and 181 Purple Heart s and played a crucial role in the Battle of Mosul ( 2004 ) . During that battle , the battalion saw some of the heaviest , sustained fighting of the insurgency to date . The unit was also awarded with the Valorous Unit Award as being part of the 1st Brigade , 25th Infantry Division ( SBCT ) . The unit has now been reflagged as the 3rd Squadron , 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment and moved to Vilseck , Germany . The 1st Battalion , 24th Infantry Regiment has replaced the 2nd Battalion , 1st Infantry Regiment of the now decommissioned 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team as of December 14 , 2006 . The 1 – 24 Infantry is now part of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team , 25th Infantry Division based in Fort Wainwright , Alaska . The 24th Infantry Regiment also served under 1 - 25 SBCT in Afghanistan in 2011 - 2012 . The 1st BN , 24th Infantry was stationed at FOB Lagman in Zabul Province . 1 - 24 lost several soldiers to Taliban attacks throughout their yearlong deployment , including an " insider attack " in Qalat .