69th Armor Regiment ( United States ) The 69th Armor is an armored ( tank ) regiment of the United States Army . The 69th Armor Regiment is part of the U . S . Army Regimental System with only two battalions , the 2nd and 3rd Battalion , 69th Armor Regiment , existing in separate brigades and representing the regiment as a whole . 2 - 69 AR is currently stationed at Fort Benning , Georgia as part of the 3rd Armor Brigade Combat Team ( " Sledgehammer " ) , 3rd Infantry Division and 3 - 69 AR is stationed at Fort Stewart , Georgia as part of the 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team ( " Raider " ) , 3rd Infantry Division . Both battalions have transformed from tank pure battalions into Combined Arms Battalions ( CAB ) , each comprising two mechanized infantry and two tank companies . World War II . The 69th Armored Regiment ' s history began on 15 July 1940 when it was formed and assigned to the 1st Armored Division . This original assignment did not last for long . In February 1942 it was reassigned to the 6th Armored Division where it continued to serve until September 1943 when elements of the Regiment were divided and reassigned . The Regimental HQ and 1st Battalion remained with the 6th Armored Division as the 69th Tank Battalion , while the 3rd Battalion was re - designated as 708th Amphibian Tank Battalion and was a participant in several critical amphibious campaigns and distinguished itself during the bloody fighting on Okinawa earning the battalion the Navy Presidential Unit Citation . The 69th Tank Battalion , as part of the 6th Armored Division , was included in various European campaigns including Normandy , the Rhineland , Ardennes - Alsace and Central Europe . The unit , along with many others , was deactivated in 1946 following the end of the Second World War . This deactivation came to an end when the unit was re - designated as the 69th Medium Tank Battalion in August 1950 . Once again it assigned to the 6th Armored Division , where it served until it was stood down in 1956 , ending its assignment to the 6th Armored Division . Korean War . Following the outbreak of hostilities on the Korean peninsula , the 708th Tank Battalion was subsequently restructured and re - designated the 89th Medium Tank Battalion . In November 1951 , it was again reflagged the 89th Tank Battalion and assigned to the 25th Infantry Division . The unit ' s combat actions earned the Presidential Unit Citation and the Navy Unit Commendation . The 89th Tank Battalion returned to Hawaii with the 25th Infantry Division where it remained until deactivation in 1957 . With the establishment of the regimental combat arms system , the formerly fragmented elements of the 2nd Battalion were remade into the 69th Armored Regiment . With the left over elements of the 69th and the 89th Tank Battalions , the 69th Armored Regiment was re - designated the 69th Armor , a parent regiment under the Regimental Combat Arms system . Vietnam War . The 1st Battalion was alerted to begin preparations for deployment to the Republic of Vietnam in December 1965 . Deployment commenced on 25 January 1966 with the Battalion laying over in Okinawa to take over 52 new M48A3 tanks and familiarize crews with the new series , AN - GRC 12 radios . Contrasting with the old Battalion M48A2 vehicles , the new A3 models still featured the 90mm cannon , a M2HB cupola mounted . 50 caliber machinegun and a 7 . 62mm , M72 coaxial machinegun . Moreover , it now boasted a V12 Continental Diesel engine which more than doubled the tank ' s combat range and significantly reduced the hazard of fire . The Battalion shipped from Okinawa to Vietnam and , and true to the policy at the time , was fragmented , with the Battalion HQ , trains , A and C companies going to Cu Chi supporting the main elements of the 25 Division , while B Company joined the 3rd Brigade of the 25th Division in Pleiku . A Company was committed within two hours of its disembarking from LSTs in Saigon , as a reaction force to combat in the Filhol Rubber Plantation west of Saigon . The Battalion ' s first major combat operation took place in April , 1966 in the tangled jungle growth of the Hobo Woods and along the trails of the Filhol Rubber plantation again , northwest of Saigon . This operation proved the value of Armor in reducing the number of friendly casualties while significantly increasing losses to the enemy . 69th Armor tankers learned on - the - job the importance of rear and flank security , the effect of canister in dense jungle , the exaggerated needs for constant maintenance halts and the value and down - sides of assorted OVM and equipment . The 52 ton M48A3 more than earned its stripes during this initial two week blooding and the unit set the example for future tactical employment of Armor in Vietnam . Similarly , B Company ' s actions along the Plei Me / Duc Co corridor , paralleling the Cambodian border set the tone for future savage fighting Battalion elements would encounter in this critical Central Highlands area of enemy infiltration . 1st Platoon , B Company earned a special Presidential Unit Citation in August , 1966 for their actions at LZ 27 Victor , a small Korean enclave in the triple canopy jungles of the Ia Drang - Chu Pong mountain area , where nine months earlier , the 1st Cavalry Division ( Airmobile ) fought savage battles with infiltrating North Vietnamese units . LTC Fairfield was promoted and subsequently reassigned as command of 1 / 69 Armor passed to LTC Clyde O . Clark . The bulk of the Battalion was moved in May 1966 to Qui Nhon via LST , then overland along the infamous QL ( Highway ) 19 to join B Company at Camp Enari near Pleiku , the home of the 4th Infantry Division . LTC ( Lieutenant General , Retired ) Paul S . Williams , Jr . took command of 1 / 69 Armor in March 1967 and continued operations in support of the 3rd Brigade , 25th Infantry Division . Company A was attached to the 1st Cavalry Division until October , 1967 . During this period Alpha Company supported the three Sky Trooper brigades in heavy combat operations along the South China Sea coast , distinguishing itself in savage fighting against Main Force Viet Cong , for countless fortified village complexes in Binh Dinh province and the Bong Son plain area . For its actions and the extraordinary heroism of its soldiers , A Company was awarded the Valorous Unit Citation . A Company completed its mission with the 1st Cavalry in October , 1967 and returned to Camp Enari with Battalion HQ . Earlier , in September , the Battalion , along with the other elements of the 3rd Brigade , 25th Infantry Division became part of the 3rd Brigade , 4th Infantry Division in a swap of brigades in place . LTC William Grant assumed command of 1 / 69 Armor as the Battalion was given the mission of securing the primary routes of communication on QL 19 , between Qui Nhon on the coast and Duc Co on the Cambodian border ; and on QL 14 between Dak To in the north to Ban Me Thout in the south . These routes were notorious for ambush actions dating back to the French Indochina War of the 1950s . The Battalion was instrumental in keeping these vital roads open for re - supply of units heavily engaged with the North Vietnames during the heavy battles around Dak To and Kontum in November , 1967 . During a reaction force operation just prior to Tet in January , 1968 , Sp5 Dwight Hal Johnson , gunner on B11 , was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty . 1 / 69 Armor played a critical role in the defense of Pleiku , Kontum , Dak To and Hwy 19 during the Jan / Feb . 1968 TET offensive . The Battalion displaced its forward headquarters in March , from Hwy 14S to Camp Radcliff in An Khe , under the operational control of the 173rd Airborne Brigade and was again involved in fighting along the coastal plain near Bong Son . A Company was charged with the security of Hwy 19E between An Khe and Mang Jiang Pass , and on 10 April , routed a regimental size ambush attempt on a convoy which effectively destroyed the NVA 95B battalion as a fighting force . A Company had previously decimated this same unit in the streets of Pleiku during TET . Nearly 200 of the enemy were killed during this two day action with no U . S . KIA . LTC Theodore S . Riggs took command of the Battalion in March , 1968 , prior to its displacement to An Khe . Meanwhile , B and C Companies were placed OPCON to the Republic of Korea ' s ' Tiger ' Division , headquartered near Qui Nhon at Camp Townes to support Operation Maeng Ho 11 . B Company elements engaged units of the 18th and 22nd NVA Regiments , as well as the 2nd VC Main Force Regiment in heavy combat between 10 and 25 April in the area of Ky Son , inflicting over 100 enemy KIA . LTC ( MG Retired ) Stan R . Sheridan assumed command of 1 / 69 Armor in September , 1968 as the Battalion forward HQ again moved , this time west to the area of the Oasis , HQ of the 3rd Brigade , 4th Infantry Division along QL 19W , conducting numerous reconnaissance - in - force operations north and east of Duc Co and along the Cambodian border . Also during this period , a provisional detachment of tanks taken from each line company , was detailed to support elements of the 101st Airborne Division and the 44th ARVN Regiment in the Phan Thiet - Song Mao area . The Battalion continued operations west of Pleiku and along the coastal plain during 1969 with both the 4th Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade . B Company was given the mission of reaction force and route security between Dak To and the besieged Special Forces border camp of Ben Het . Bravo Company ' s 1st Platoon , detailed to provide additional firepower to the SF camp , fought what was to be the only engagement between U . S . and NVA armor on the night of 3 and 4 March . Obviously surprised by the presence of the U . S . tanks , the enemy fled the field after the B Company M48s destroyed several of the assaulting PT 76b tanks and BTR50 fighting vehicles . LTCs Leo M . Brandt , Donald J . Pagel and MAJ George Latturner each commanded the Battalion for short periods , from April to December , 1969 . The Battalion continued to support the 4th Infantry Division along the Hwy 19 corridor , from Qui Nhon to Duc Co during the period , where it fought hot actions in and around LZ Schuller , An Khe , Plei Djereng and Plei Me . LTC James L . Marini took command in December , 1969 and continued operations until the Battalion stood down with the 3rd Brigade , 4th Infantry Division and returned to the U . S . in mid - 1970 . the 1st Battalion 69th Armor distinguished itself in fierce combat in all areas of its operations during over four years of deployment in the Republic of Vietnam . The unit and its component line companies were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation , the Valorous Unit Award , the Meritorious Award , the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm and the Vietnam Civic Action Award First Class . Cold War . The 1st Battalion was again reactivated and assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division in Germany in 1975 . It was subsequently deactivated in late 1991 with the Regimental Colors returning to the 2nd Battalion at Fort Benning , Georgia . The 2nd Battalion at Fort Benning , and the 3rd Battalion assigned to Fort Stewart , Georgia , were organic to the 24th Infantry Division ( Mechanized ) . Operation Desert Storm . As part of the 197th Brigade ( Separate ) , 2d Battalion , 69th Armor led the assault of the 24th Infantry Division into Iraq during Operation Desert Storm in February 1991 . 3d Battalion , 69th Armor similarly operated with the 24th Division during war . Iraq War . Operation Iraqi Freedom I . In 2002 the 2nd Battalion , 69th Armor deployed with 3rd Brigade Combat Team , 3rd Infantry Division to Operation Desert Spring in preparation for future combat operations in a six month training mission . In January 2003 , 2nd Battalion , 69th Armor deployed to Kuwait awaiting orders to begin combat operations . On March 19 , 2003 , 2nd Battalion , 69th Armor was the tip of the spear , leading the famous " March to Baghdad . " In July 2003 , following the downfall of the regime under Saddam Hussein , the Battalion redeployed to Fort Benning , Georgia . Operation Iraqi Freedom III . In January 2005 , the Battalion again deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . 2nd Battalion , 69th Armor served with the 42nd ID , a National Guard Division based in NY . Operations were based in the Chalis Qada area . In June 2005 , 2nd Battalion , 69th Armor was called to be the tip of the spear against the insurgent influence in the city of Ramadi in the Al Anbar province . A / 2 - 69 AR , D / 2 - 69 AR , HHC / 2 - 69 AR , and FSC / 2 - 69 AR , along with B / 1 - 30 IN operated out of CAMP CORREGIDOR and COMBAT OUTPOST on the eastern side of Ar Ramadi . C / 2 - 69 AR , along with additional attachments , remained in Chalis Qada to serve with the Iraqi Army in that area . Following great successes in Chalis Qada and Ar Ramadi , the Battalion redeployed to Fort Benning , Georgia in January 2006 . Operation Iraqi Freedom V . In March 2007 , 2nd Battalion , 69th Armor was deployed as part of the Baghdad " surge . " The Battalion served under Multi - National Division – Baghdad on the Karada Peninsula as well as the Al Muthana and Al Jedidah regions of Eastern Baghdad . The battalion served first under 2nd BCT , 2ID and later under 4th BCT , 10th MTN DIV while detached from the rest of the 3rd HBCT . The Battalion redeployed in May 2008 to Fort Benning , Georgia . Operation Iraqi Freedom VII . In October 2009 , the Battalion deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom for a fourth time , operating as an Advise and Assist Battalion in Babil and Karbala Provinces building the economic capacity and governance capabilities of local Iraqi government . This deployment was part of the transition from Operation Iraqi Freedom to Operation New Dawn . The Battalion played an important role by providing security assistance during the crucial Iraqi national elections in March 2010 . The Battalion then redeployed to Fort Benning , Georgia in October 2010 .