127th Infantry Regiment ( United States ) The 2nd Battalion , 127th Infantry Regiment traces its origins to the 4th Infantry Battalion , Wisconsin National Guard . Organization . The 4th Infantry Battalion , Wisconsin National Guard , was organized on 25 April 1884 from Milwaukee companies , expanded and redesignated in 1890 as the 4th Infantry Regiment ( four companies transferred to 1st Infantry Regiment 28 April 1898 ) . The four regiments of the Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry in Federal service for the War with Spain were as follows : They were reorganized on 10 June 1899 as 1st , 2nd , and 3rd Infantry Regiments in the Wisconsin National Guard . Mexico Border War . The 1st , 2nd , 3rd Infantry Regiments were mustered into Federal service on 30 June 1916 for service on the Mexican Border Service and mustered out at Fort Sheridan , Illinois , on 19 January 1917 ( 1st Battalion ) , 28 February 1917 ( 2nd Battalion ) , and 14 December 1916 ( 3rd Battalion ) . World War I . The regiments were again called into Federal service for World War I on 15 July 1917 and drafted into Federal service on 5 August 1917 . They were reorganized and redesignated as the 128th and 127th Infantry on 24 September 1917 at Camp MacArthur , Texas , and assigned to the 32nd Division . The units were Disbanded at Camp Grant , Illinois , on 18 May 1919 ( 127th ) and 19 May 1919 ( 128th ) . The 32d Division demobilized on 23 May 1919 at Camp Custer , Michigan . World War II . The 127th Infantry was reconstituted and was reorganized on 1 April 1921 in the eastern portion of Wisconsin and assigned to 32nd Division . It was inducted into Federal service on 15 October 1940 at Crandon . ( The 32nd Division was redesignated on 1 August 1942 as 32nd Infantry Division ) . On 26 November 1942 , the 127th disembarked at Port Moresby after a period of training in Australia . The 3rd Battalion , 127th Infantry Regiment now took over on the Urbana front at Buna during the battle of Buna – Gona . Not able to be supported by tanks due to the terrain and swampy land , the fighting was a desperate tree - by - tree , bunker - by - bunker struggle . On 24 December 1942 , First Sergeant , Elmer J . Burr was posthumously awarded first Medal of Honor of the campaign by throwing himself onto a grenade and absorbing the explosion protecting his commanding officer . Later the same day Sergeant , Kenneth E . Gruennert was awarded the Medal of Honor for knocking out two enemy bunkers single - handedly , and after being severely wounded in his attack against the first bunker , attacked the second bunker before being killed by a sniper . It inactivated on 28 February 1946 at Fukuoka , Japan . Post World War II . It was reorganized and Federally recognized on 18 August 1949 with headquarters in Waukesha , Wisconsin . It was reorganized on 15 February 1959 as the 127th Infantry , a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System . The 127th Infantry consisted of the 1st , 2nd , and 3rd Battle Groups , elements of the 32d Division . The 1st , 2nd , and 3rd Battle Groups , 127th Infantry were ordered to active Federal service on 15 October 1961 at Appleton , Oshkosh , and Milwaukee , respectively . The 1st , 2nd , and 3rd Battle Groups , 127th Infantry were released from active Federal service and reverted to State control on 10 August 1962 . The 127th Infantry reorganized on 1 April 1963 to consist of 1st , 2nd , and , 3rd Battalions . Shield : Azure , on a pale Argent the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 42d Division ( the fourth quadrant of a rainbow of three bands , Red , Yellow and Blue ) surmounted by the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 32d Division ( a Red arrow having shot through a line ) , both Proper ; on a chief of the second three fountains . Crest : That for the regiments of the Wisconsin National Guard : On a wreath of the colors ( Argent and Azure ) a badger couchant Proper . Motto : LES TERRIBLES . See symbolism for coat of arms below . The distinctive unit insignia was approved on 16 June 1927 . Azure , on a pale Argent the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 42d Division ( the fourth quadrant of a rainbow of three bands , Red , Yellow and Blue ) surmounted by the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 32d Division ( a Red arrow having shot through a line ) , both Proper ; on a chief of the second three fountains . That for the regiments of the Wisconsin National Guard : On a wreath of the colors ( Argent and Azure ) a badger couchant Proper . Motto LES TERRIBLES . The shield is blue for Infantry . The silver of the pale and chief indicates the 127th Infantry is numerically senior to the 128th Infantry in the 64th Infantry Brigade . The 127th Infantry was federally recognizes 14 July 1920 , and the 128th Infantry 16 April 1921 . Tradition is that the name Wisconsin means " wild rushing waters , " therefore , the three fountains , heraldic symbols for water , are used to symbolize the three Wisconsin regiments - The First , Second and Third National Guard Regiments - which were combined and from which organizations were drawn to make up the 127th Infantry ; they also signify that the unit has been called into Federal service three times - for the Spanish – American War , Mexican Border duty and World War I , at the time the coat of arms was approved . The red arrow was the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 32d Division and the rainbow that of the 42d Division , during World War I . The motto " LES TERRIBLES " is the nom - de - guerre conferred upon the 127th Infantry during World War I . The crest is that of the Wisconsin Army National Guard . The coat of arms was approved on 17 June 1927