33rd Infantry Regiment ( United States ) The 33rd Infantry Regiment was an American unit stationed in the Panama Canal Zone and Caribbean from 1916 - 1956 . Though providing troops for various other American military formations , the regiment had no battle honors of its own . History . Though other American regiments in the War of 1812 and American Civil War ( 33rd Infantry Regiment United States Colored Troops formed from the 1st South Carolina Coloured Infantry on 8 February 1864 - disbanded 31 January 1866 ) had the designation of 33rd Infantry , they have no lineage with the most recent 33rd Infantry Regiment . The 33rd Infantry was activated on 6 July 1916 in accordance with War Department General Orders Number 22 dated 30 June 1916 that ordered seven new regiments to be organised ; four in the Continental United States , one in the Philippine Islands ( 31st Infantry Regiment ( United States ) ) , one in Hawaii ( 32nd Infantry Regiment ( United States ) ) , and one ( the 33rd Infantry ) in the Canal Zone . Chronicled by J . Fisher / Fort Clayton C . Z . on his six - foot panorama photo of the first assembly of the full regiment photographed November 1920 . " In 1916 , when the whole of Europe was engaged in the great war , the United States Congress enacted a law increasing our armed forces . On [ sic ] of the results of this act of congress was the organization of the 33rd infantry which was formed in the Canal Zone July 6 , 1916 and has remained on duty here ever since . The enlisted personnel of the regiment was originally drawn from the 5th and 10th infantry stationed at Camps Empire and Otis . During the construction days both camps were occupied by troops after being vacated by civilians . Major General Charles H . Muir was the first regiment commander . Headquarters , machine gun , supply companies , and companies A , B , C , D , E , and F were organized at Camp Empire . Companies G , H , I , J , K , L , and M were organized at Camp Otis . The band section was organized at Fort Jay , N . Y . During the first four years of existence , the 33rd . infantry was distributed by battalions , and detachments , throughout the canal zone and the Republic of Panama . During the World War , it guarded Gatun Locks , the dam and spillway , the Monte Lirio , and Mindi bridges , the Chagres River bridge at Gamboa . the Pedro Miguel and Mira FLores locks , pier 18 and the dry dock at Balboa . During the period from 1916 to 1920 , the regiment was engaged in exploring and charting the jungles of Panama . In November , 1920 , the young regiment assembled as a unit for the first time at Fort Clayton Canal Zone . The new post was named in honor of Colonel Bertram Tracy Clayton , who was killed in action in France May 30 , 1918 . In 1941 the regiment was transferred from the Panama Canal Department to the Caribbean Defense Command . On 6 September 1941 , the First Battalion was sent to Trinidad , with elements of the First Battalion later transferring to Surinam to guard bauxite mines , protect the Dutch government in exile , and watch the border of Vichy French Guyana . The 2nd and 3rd Battalion later arrived at Fort Read in Trinidad . The First Battalion was withdrawn from Surinam in June 1943 and moved to Aruba . In March 1944 the regiment departed Trinidad arriving in New York in 1944 , the first time the regimental colors arrived on Continental American soil . The regiment was assigned to Camp Claiborne Louisiana and assigned to the Fourth United States Army . Many of the regiment volunteered for Merrill ' s Marauders and were sent to Burma as the 2nd Battalion 5307th Composite Unit ( Provisional ) . The regiment was inactivated on 26 June 1944 . The 33rd Infantry was reactivated at Fort Clayton on February 1946 , inactivated again on September 1948 at Fort Gulick , then reactivated at Fort Kobbe , Canal Zone . During the Korean War the 3rd Battalion of the 33rd was transferred to the 65th Infantry Regiment ( United States ) for war service . The 33rd Infantry became part of the Americal Division in the Canal Zone on 2 December 1954 , with the regiment being inactivated again on 26 May 1956 , the assets of the unit being used to reactivate the 20th Infantry Regiment ( United States ) . Lineage . Constituted 1 July 1916 in the Regular Army as the 33rd Infantry . Organized 5 – 7 July 1916 in the Canal Zone by the transfer of personnel from the 5th and 10th Infantry Regiments at Empire , and Camp Otis , Canal Zone . Inactivated 26 June 1944 at Camp Claiborne , Louisiana . A Silver color metal and enamel device in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned : Argent , a pile cottised Azure , charged with a sword bayonet fesswise of the field . Attached below and to the sides of the shield a Silver scroll inscribed “ RIDENTES VENIMUS ” in Blue letters . This Regiment was organized in the Canal Zone in 1916 , and served there during World War I guarding the canal . This is symbolized by the cotises of Infantry blue on each side of a pile to represent the canal . The motto translates to “ Smiling We Come . ” The distinctive unit insignia was approved on 8 January 1924 . Argent , a pile cottised Azure , charged with a sword bayonet fesswise of the field . None . Coat of arms . Blazon . Motto RIDENTES VENIMUS ( Smiling We Come ) This Regiment was organized in the Canal Zone in 1916 , and served there during World War I guarding the canal . This is symbolized by the cotises of Infantry blue on each side of a pile to represent the canal . None . Background . The coat of arms was approved on 2 March 1921 .