121st Infantry Regiment ( United States ) The 121st Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Georgia National Guard that saw combat service in the First and Second World Wars . As a result of army - wide reorganization in the 1950s , the 121st Infantry ceased to exist as a tactical unit . Today , some units of the Georgia National Guard are affiliated with the 121st Infantry as part of their lineage . History . The 121st Infantry Regiment was formed from the 2nd Georgia Infantry Regiment in 1916 and assigned to the 31st Division . During World War One , the 121st was assigned to the 61st Infantry Brigade of the 31st Division . The units of the 31st Division , including the 121st Infantry , were broken up upon arrival at Brest and used to provide replacements for other units at the front lines in France . The regiment was demobilized on 14 January 1919 at Camp Gordon , Georgia . After unit changes that saw the unit retitled " 1st Infantry , Georgia National Guard " and " 122nd Infantry Regiment " , the 121st Infantry Regiment was formed again as a Georgia National Guard unit in Macon , Georgia , and federally recognized on 9 June 1924 . At this time , the regiment was also assigned to the 30th Division . The regiment was activated in 1925 because of hurricane damage at Tybee Island , and was activated again in 1934 to confront striking textile workers in the Georgia towns of Griffin , Jackson , and Rome . On 22 November 1941 , the regiment was relieved of assignment to the 30th Division and assigned to the 8th Division ( later retitled " 8th Infantry Division " ) . The regiment was briefly organized as a motorized infantry regiment before reverting to traditional infantry organization prior to shipping overseas . The 121st Infantry subsequently saw combat with the 8th Infantry Division in the European Theater of Operations during 1944 - 45 . The regiment returned from World War II at the Boston port of entry on 11 July 1945 and then moved to Fort Leonard Wood , Missouri , where it was inactivated on 20 October 1945 . In September 1946 , the 121st Infantry Regiment was assigned to the 48th Infantry Division , a national guard division headquartered in Jacksonville , Florida . In 1955 , this division became the 48th Armored Division and moved its headquarters to Macon , Georgia . As a result of this reorganization , the 121st Infantry Regiment ceased to exist as a tactical organization . Some elements of the 121st Infantry were transferred to the 162nd Tank Battalion in May 1956 . As the army adopted the Pentomic structure in the late 1950s , infantry regiments were broken up and the component battalions reassigned to brigade headquarters while still retaining the number of their former regiment in their titles . Thus , while the 121st Infantry has not existed as a separate tactical organization since the mid - 1950s , some Georgia National Guard battalions , such as 2nd Battalion , 121st Infantry Regiment are still affiliated with the regiment , but assigned to brigades such as the 48th Infantry Brigade for purposes of tactical organization . Battalions of the former 121st Infantry were assigned to the 48th Armored Division from 1959 until 1968 , the 30th Infantry Division from 1968 through 1973 , and 48th Infantry Brigade from 30 November 1973 to present . Distinctive unit insignia . The regimental nickname " The Gray Bonnets " is derived from the title of a song , " Put on Your Old Gray Bonnets " adopted in 1928 as the official air , or marching song , of the regiment . The Distinctive Unit Insignia of the regiment is an " Old Gray Bonnet " proper , and is one of the few DUIs in the U . S . Army designed to be manufactured and worn in pairs ( left and right ) . The Regimental Crest is a blue shield with a gray saltire cross and a prickly pear and fleur - de - lis and a Boar ' s Head with an oak branch in its mouth on top . The blue background represents the Infantry while the gray cross symbolizes the unit ' s Confederate Service . The cactus represents duty on the Mexican border , and the fleur - de - lis service in France during World War I . The Boar ' s Head with oak leaf is the crest of the Georgia Army National Guard . The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 121st Regiment Infantry , Georgia National Guard on 27 June 1928 . It was amended to permit manufacturing in pairs on 16 August 1928 . It was redesignated for the 162d Tank Battalion , Georgia National Guard on 24 May 1956 . The insignia was redesignated for the 121st Infantry , Georgia National Guard on 17 April 1961 .