76th Field Artillery Regiment ( United States ) The 76th Field Artillery Regiment is a field artillery regiment of the United States Army first constituted 1916 in the Regular Army . History . The following history section is taken directly from the 3ID website . 1st Battalion , 76th Field Artillery , Duty , The Spirit of 1776 , was constituted in the Regular Army on 1 July 1916 with horse - drawn French 75mm pack guns . Initially organized at Fort Ethan Allen , Vermont on 13 June 1917 , it served with distinction in France with the 3d Division during World War I in the Champagne - Marne , Aisne - Marne , St Mihiel , Meuse - Argonne , and Champagne 1918 campaigns . The 76th Field Artillery Regiment was presented the Croix de Guerre with Gold Star by the Tenth French Army . On 16 October 1939 , the 76th Field Artillery was relieved of assignment to the 3d Division and reassigned to the 7th Division Artillery . Landing on Utah Beach , 11 August 1944 , the 76th was attached to First Army and served during four campaigns throughout Northern France , the Rhineland , Ardennes - Alsace , and Central Europe . In April 1945 , the battalion was attached to the 1st Infantry Division for its advance into Czechoslovakia , providing continuous fires on the enemy for 189 consecutive days . On 20 November 1945 , it was cited for the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes with the 30th Infantry Division . Upon return to the United States , the battalion was deactivated on 27 November 1945 at Camp Kilmer , New Jersey . Beginning 1 August 1946 , the 76th Field Artillery went through a series of activations and re - designations , and on 8 October 1954 , as 1st Howitzer Battalion , 76th Artillery , it was assigned to the 2d Infantry Brigade , Fort Devens , Massachusetts . The Battalion participated in numerous field exercises and tests in support of the Brigade Group , ROTC , and National Guard units . On 13 September 1971 , it was re - designated the 1st Battalion , 76th Field Artillery , assigned to the 3d Infantry Division , and activated in Germany . The battalion served as an integral part of NATO forces during the Cold War . The battalion was later deactivated on 16 February 1987 in Schweinfurt , Germany . 1st Battalion , 76th Field Artillery Regiment was reactivated and assigned to 4th Brigade Combat Team , 3d Infantry Division , at Fort Stewart , Georgia , on 24 June 2004 . Within seven months , the " Patriots " Battalion deployed to Baghdad , Iraq , in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III . During the year - long mission in support of the US Embassy , the " Patriots " conducted an average of 18 daily combat missions throughout the Multi National Forces - Iraq area of responsibility . The battalion totaled 3 , 849 combat patrols while under intense insurgent and terrorist pressure , traveled 530 , 138 miles on dangerous roads and delivered without loss or injury 61 , 183 diplomats , contractors , and senior military officers to their destinations across central Iraq . The " Patriot " Battalion recently returned from a deployment in support of OIF V , where they partnered with Iraqi Army and Police forces throughout three Iraqi provinces . Their mentorship led the Iraqi government to reach total control of that province . Patriot Song . The Patriot Song was comissoined by the command staff during the units deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III . The battalion song was written by HHC Medic Josiah " Doc " O ' Neil . Patriot Song < br > Through the sands and storm < br > Crusaders lend an arm < br > We ’ re ready night and day < br > For evil came our way < br > The Heat of the rising sun < br > The Knights have just begun < br > The Dogs came out to hunt < br > And evil ran away < br > The spirit of Seventy Six is marching < br > Forever on our thunder - in battle shakes the earth < br > Give me liberty or give me death < br > We ’ re Patriots until the end < br > We ’ re changing the history of war Lineage . Constituted 1 July 1916 in the Regular Army as the 18th Cavalry Organized 13 June 1917 at Fort Ethan Allen , Vermont Converted and redesignated 1 November 1917 as the 76th Field Artillery Assigned 12 November 1917 to the 3d Division Relieved 16 October 1939 from assignment to the 3d Division Assigned 1 July 1940 to the 7th Division Reorganized and redesignated 22 January 1941 as the 76th Field Artillery Battalion Relieved 1 June 1941 from assignment to the 7th Division Inactivated 27 November 1945 at Camp Kilmer , New Jersey Redesignated 1 August 1946 as the 76th Armored Field Artillery Battalion and activated at Fort Knox , Kentucky Inactivated ( less Battery A ) 24 August 1948 at Fort Knox , Kentucky Redesignated 8 October 1954 as the 76th Field Artillery Battalion and activated at Fort Devens , Massachusetts ( 576th Armored Field Artillery Battery concurrently redesignated as Battery A , 76th Field Artillery Battalion ) Inactivated ( less Battery B ) 15 February 1958 at Fort Devens , Massachusetts ( Battery B concurrently inactivated in Iceland ) Reorganized and redesignated 31 July 1959 as the 76th Artillery , a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System Redesignated 1 September 1971 as the 76th Field Artillery Withdrawn 16 February 1987 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System Redesignated 1 October 2005 as the 76th Field Artillery Regiment A Gold color metal and enamel device 1 1 / 8 inches ( 2 . 86 cm ) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned : Azure , three bendlets sinister Argent , a round shot Proper . On a canton Tenné , the headdress of the dragoons of 1836 Proper ( for the 2nd Cavalry ) . Attached below and to the sides of the shield a Red scroll inscribed “ DUTY THE SPIRIT OF ‘ 76 ” in Gold letters . The regiment was organized in 1917 from the 2nd Cavalry as the 18th Cavalry , changed to the 76th Field Artillery in the same year and served in France in the 3rd Division , the insignia of which forms the basis of the 2nd Cavalry shield , and the charges thereon is the crest of that regiment . The round shot symbolizes the motto . The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 76th Field Artillery Regiment on 19 February 1924 . It was redesignated for the 76th Field Artillery Battalion on 3 December 1942 . It was redesignated for the 76th Armored Field Artillery Battalion on 10 July 1947 . The insignia was redesignated for the 76th Field Artillery Battalion on 13 October 1954 . It was redesignated for the 76th Artillery Regiment on 10 June 1958 . Effective 1 September 1971 , it was redesignated for the 76th Field Artillery Regiment .