145th Armored Regiment ( United States ) The 145th Armored Regiment , Ohio Army National Guard , is a parent regiment under the U . S . Army Regimental System , with headquarters at Stow , Ohio . It currently consists of the 1st Battalion , 145th Armored Regiment , an 900 - soldier combined arms battalion of the Ohio Army National Guard located throughout northeast Ohio . For command and control purposes within the Ohio Army National Guard it is a subordinate battalion of the 174th Air Defense Artillery Brigade . As a combined arms battalion , the 1st Battalion , 145th Armored Regiment , is able to deploy two mechanized infantry companies , two armor companies , a support company , a headquarters company , and a battalion headquarters in order to accomplish its federal , state , and community missions . Introduction . Reorganized and redesignated from the 1st Battalion , 107th Cavalry Regiment on 1 September 2007 , the first mobilization and deployment of the 1st Battalion , 145th Armored Regiment in its current form was the 2009 Multinational Force and Observers MFO - 52 mission responsible for multiple observation posts throughout Egypt ’ s Sinai Peninsula and the operation of MFO South Camp at Sharm el Sheik , Egypt , in partnership with ten other participating nations . Since 11 September 2001 , however , subordinate elements and individual soldiers that now comprise the unit have deployed to Operation Noble Eagle , Operation Enduring Freedom ( Europe ) , Kosovo Force , Operation Iraqi Freedom , and Joint Task Forces Katrina and Rita . The battalion has also deployed select individual soldiers in support of the combined Hungary - United States Operational Mentor and Liaison Team with service in Afghanistan . Mission , training , and capabilities . In support of their federal mission , soldiers of the battalion train as members of M - 1A1 Abrams main battle tank crews , M - 2A2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle crews , and as mechanized infantry platoons , squads , and fire teams . Additionally , the battalion has a scout platoon , a 120 - mm M120 heavy mortar platoon , a fire support platoon , a medical platoon , a signal section , a sniper squad , and a unit ministry team . When training in a traditional National Guard status , the battalion will typically complete tank gunnery tables , Bradley Fighting Vehicle gunnery tables , or dismounted infantry squad and fire team training lanes . The battalion has also conducted successful training cycles providing training and validation to prepare other Ohio Army National Guard units for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan . Additionally , the battalion incorporates elements of stability operations , support operations , and counterinsurgency operations into larger training events . Heraldry . Coat of arms . Symbolism . The service of the original organization , the 145th Infantry Regiment is indicated by the white shield for Infantry . The falcon from the arms of Montfaucon , France and the wavy bend for the Escaut ( Scheldt ) River symbolize the most outstanding feats of the regiment during World War I . The giant cactus represents service on the Mexican border . Background . The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 145th Infantry Regiment on 5 September 1928 . It was amended on 27 November 1928 . It was cancelled on 29 May 1935 . It was reinstated and redesignated for the 145th Infantry Regiment on 19 May 1936 . The insignia was redesignated with description and symbolism revised for the 145th Regiment on 15 April 1997 . It was redesignated effective 1 September 2007 , for the 145th Armored Regiment with the symbolism revised . From statehood to the Civil War . Units of the battalion originated as independent companies of the organized militia throughout northeast Ohio . For federal service during the Civil War , the unit was organized as the 7th Regiment , Ohio Volunteer Infantry , with companies from Cleveland and northeastern Ohio . The 7th Regiment was mustered into federal service 28 April 1861 for 3 months and then reorganized for three years on 16 June 1861 at Camp Dennison , Ohio . The regiment saw action throughout the Eastern Theater with the Army of Virginia and the Army of the Potomac , until it was transferred to the Western Theater where it joined the Army of the Cumberland at the Second Battle of Chattanooga . < br > The 7th Regiment saw action at Antietam , Chancellorsville , Gettysburg , and in the Atlanta Campaign . At the end of their three - year enlistment , soldiers of the 7th Regiment who wished to remain in service transferred to the 5th Ohio Volunteer Infantry . The regiment mustered out of federal service on 7 July 1864 in Cleveland , Ohio . Post - Civil War to World War I . Between the Civil War and World War I , units now comprising the battalion underwent numerous consolidations and reorganizations typical of a peacetime militia force . From 1870 – 1877 , units were independent companies of the organized militia . On 30 June 1877 , companies in northeastern Ohio were consolidated as the 15th Infantry Regiment , headquartered in Cleveland , Ohio . On 22 March 1881 , the regiment was disbanded , with Companies D , G , H , and K remaining as independent companies . Later that year on 7 July , Companies D , G , H , K , and other elements of the organized militia were reorganized and redesignated as the 5th Infantry Regiment . On 11 May 1898 the unit was mustered into federal service for the Spanish - American War at Camp Bushnell , Ohio as the 5th Regiment , Ohio Volunteer Infantry . Commanded by Colonel Cortland L . Kennan , the regiment had 48 officers and 1 , 302 enlisted men . During the war , the regiment was stationed in Tampa , Florida and Fernandina , Florida . Due to the quick nature of the war , the regiment was mustered out of federal service at Cleveland , Ohio on 5 November 1898 and resumed status as the 5th Infantry . Between April and July 1899 , the regiment was disbanded and later Companies B , C , E , F , G , H , and K were consolidated into the 5th Infantry . With the passage of the Militia Act of 1903 , initiated by Secretary of War Elihu Root and U . S . Senator Charles W . F . Dick ( also a Major General in the Ohio National Guard ) , militia units such as the 5th Infantry were now federally funded and recognized , and brought into compliance with improvements in the militia system borne out of weaknesses observed during the Spanish - American war mobilizations . The 5th Ohio was again mustered into Federal service on 19 June 1916 for service along the Mexican border . The regiment was mobilized at Camp Willis , near present - day Upper Arlington , Ohio , and served along the border in the vicinity of El Paso , Texas from September 1916 until it was mustered out on 15 March 1917 at Ft . Wayne , Michigan . World War I . For World War I , the regiment was drafted into federal service on 5 August 1917 . On 25 September 1917 it was reorganized and designated the 145th Infantry Regiment of the 37th Division . In June , 1918 the regiment deployed to Europe , where it fought in the Meuse - Argonne , Lorraine , and Ypres - Lys campaigns . During its service in World War I , eighteen of the regiment ’ s officers and soldiers received the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism fighting in France and Belgium . The regiment was demobilized over late April 1919 at Camp Sherman , Ohio . Following the war , elements of the 5th Infantry and the former 8th Infantry Regiment ( organized in 1876 with Headquarters in Massilon , Ohio ) were organized as the 3rd Infantry with Headquarters federally recognized on 1 July 1920 at Cleveland , Ohio . Exactly one year later , on 1 July 1921 , the regiment was once again designated the 145th Infantry Regiment and reassigned to the 37th Division . On 5 September 1928 , the 145th Infantry ’ s distinctive unit insignia was authorized . It was heavily influenced by the regiment ’ s World War I service , displaying a wavy bend to symbolize the Scheldt ( Escaut ) River and a falcon from the arms of Montfaucon , France . World War II . The 145th Infantry was inducted into federal service as part of the 37th Division ( later redesignated the 37th Infantry Division “ Buckeye ” ) on 15 October 1940 and left Cleveland , Ohio for Camp Shelby , Mississippi . From Camp Shelby , the regiment moved to Louisiana to participate in the Louisiana Maneuvers of June , August , and September 1941 before returning to Camp Shelby . On 26 May 1942 the division left the San Francisco Port of Embarkation , arriving at Viti Levu , Fiji Islands exactly one month later on 11 June 1942 . There , the entire division resumed training and fortified the islands against possible invasion . As one of three infantry regiments within the 37th Division , the 145th Infantry saw a significant amount of combat and distinguished itself in the Asiatic - Pacific Theater . Although the allies enjoyed an improved strategic position after the success of Operation Watchtower on Guadalcanal , a strategically important Japanese base at Rabaul on the island of New Britain in the Bismarck Archipelago blocked any offensives toward the Philippines and Japan . In order to ultimately assault or neutralize Rabaul , the allies would first have to capture the remainder of the Solomon Islands and portions of northeast New Guinea . While an assault on Rabaul would be postponed by decision of the 1943 Pacific Military Conference , U . S . Army General Douglas A . MacArthur and U . S . Navy Admiral William F . Halsey were ordered to “ begin the initial advance toward Rabaul and capture various points along the northern coast of New Guinea , New Georgia and the northern Solomons , and the Bismarcks . ” It was during these operations within the Northern Solomons Campaign on New Georgia and Bougainville , as part of the 37th Infantry Division , that the regiment saw most of its combat . Asiatic - Pacific Theater . Northern Solomons Campaign . New Georgia . The regiment first saw combat against the Japanese during the invasion of the New Georgia islands , codenamed Operation Toenails under Admiral Halsey . There , the 145th Infantry ' s 3rd Battalion was tasked as part of the Northern Landing Group of the Munda - Bairoko Occupation Force , along with the Marines ’ 1st Raider Battalion , and the 3rd Battalion from its sister regiment , the 148th Infantry , all under the command of U . S . Marine Colonel Harry B . Liversedge . The Northern Landing Group ’ s mission was to invade New Georgia north of Munda in order to interdict Japanese supply lines and prevent the reinforcement of Munda . On 5 July 1943 the Northern Landing Group went ashore at Rice Anchorage . Progress for Liversedge and other elements invading New Georgia was agonizingly difficult and slow due in greater part to hostile jungle terrain and weather than Japanese resistance . By 9 July , the offensive officially began and many allied units saw limited forward progress amid harsh close combat . By 13 July , U . S . Army Major General Oscar Griswold , Commanding General of the U . S . XIV Corps , took command on 16 July and decided not to renew the offensive until reinforcements had arrived . By 25 July , the offensive was resumed as a corps - level operation with “ five regiments attacking abreast ” , to include all three regiments of the 37th Infantry Division . During this offensive , allied forces on New Georgia experienced jungle warfare at its worst : “ the demanding , draining , and deadly task of assaulting hidden Japanese positions one by one , a style of warfare that chewed up rifle companies and became all too familiar to American ground troops in the Pacific . ” It was during this offensive that Major Carl F . Coleman , the regiment ' s operations officer noted , “ enemy strong points encountered in this fashion often times resulted in hasty withdrawals which were costly both in men and weapons . ” By 29 July , the Japanese had withdrawn to a final defensive line in front of the airfield , their main defenses shattered . As XIV Corps advanced into the last high ground protecting Munda Field , trying to break the Japanese line and defend against a counterattack , Private First Class Frank J . Petrarca demonstrated conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action to receive the Medal of Honor . Over the course of 27 July to 31 July , Private Petrarca , a medic , would repeatedly advance under intense enemy fire to uncover , treat , and evacuate wounded soldiers . Even when mortally wounded by hostile mortar fire , Private Petrarca “ continued to display valor and contempt for the foe , raising himself to his knees , this intrepid soldier shouted defiance at the enemy , made a last attempt to reach his wounded comrade and fell in glorious death . " Bougainville . By November 1943 , after operations on New Georgia and elsewhere , Adm . Halsey had been ordered to seize airfield sites on the final Solomon Island of Bougainville , which was occupied by approximately 37 , 500 Japanese soldiers . Adm . Halsey selected the Empress Augusta Bay area on the western side of the island , where 14 , 000 Marines cleared a shallow 4 , 000 - yard beachhead . It would not be until March 1944 that the Japanese realized an invasion of Bougainville would not be coming from another direction , and assembled a counterattack force of 19 , 000 soldiers who would not have the element of surprise . Key to Maj . Gen . Griswold ’ s defense of XIV Corps ’ 23 , 000 - yard , 62 , 000 - man perimeter , was two miles of jungle perimeter manned by the 3rd Marine Division and the 37th Infantry Division . Consistent with the rugged jungle terrain , this section of perimeter contained tactically important pieces of high ground which he refused to abandon after hard lessons learned at Munda . The linchpin to Maj . Gen . Griswold ’ s perimeter was Hill 700 at the center of the line , manned by the 145th Infantry . On 8 March 1944 the Japanese began their massive assault on Maj . Gen . Griswold ’ s perimeter . The plan was to focus on Hill 700 in the center of the horseshoe , as well as on the east and west “ corners ” of the horseshoe . By 7 : 00 am on the 8th , the 145th Infantry ’ s 2nd Battalion began receiving small arms fire , combined with focused artillery barrages , making it clear that the Japanese would be attacking Hill 700 . By noon , the regiment ’ s last patrol had come in and the American forces began to return artillery fire . Once the Japanese had advanced to a point too near for further American artillery fire , Japanese soldiers began scrambling uphill , setting off warning devices and booby traps . Fighting darkness worsened by fog and rain , the regiment was aided by artificial illumination fashioned by Staff Sergeant Otis Hawkins . When Japanese soldiers approached barbed wire obstacles , SSgt . Hawkins ordered wires pulled which ignited phosphorus grenades in gallon buckets of oil , providing illumination around the perimeter . While points on the perimeter were illuminated , SSgt . Hawkins was able to direct over 600 rounds of 60mm mortar fire and many other soldiers were able to fire on the advancing Japanese . While the Japanese had gained a small foothold during the night and managed to harass one observation post , another observation post was overrun at great cost . Four 145th Infantry soldiers manning one mortar observation post repelled several Japanese assaults with rifles , grenades , knives , and fists until all four were killed , with twelve Japanese bodies found inside their pillbox and hundreds more in the immediate area . By the morning of 9 March , the Japanese had penetrated the American lines 50 yards deep and 70 yards wide . Forward observers , directing accurate artillery and mortar fire at dangerously close distances repelled a fresh Japanese assault . By noon on 9 April , elements of the 1st and 2nd battalions , 145th Infantry , counterattacked but by 10 pm , only a few pillboxes had been regained and the Japanese still held their foothold on Hill 700 . The next morning , an American 90mm antiaircraft gun and bombers had been brought to bear on Japanese positions on the hill , coordinated with marking artillery fire . By 5 pm on the 10th , 1st and 2nd battalions mounted another counterattack and recovered all but four pillboxes from the Japanese . At dawn on 11 March , the Japanese charged the hill brandishing sabers and screaming epithets , despite withering American machinegun and small arms fire . It was during this charge that 1st Lt . Clinton S . McLaughlin , commander of Company G , 145th Infantry , and Staff Sgt . John H . Kunkel moved from pillbox to pillbox to encourage their men and break the Japanese attack . 1st Lt . McLaughlin was wounded several times and knowingly occupied outflanked emplacements , but he and SSgt . Kunkel were credited with killing over 185 Japanese soldiers and were both later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross . That afternoon , after three days of continuous combat 2nd Battalion , 148th Infantry arrived to join the 145th Infantry in regaining lost portions of the hill . Companies E , F , G , and H , 148th Infantry Regiment began operations to prevent further Japanese penetration and regain ground already taken by the Japanese . Over the next two days , 148th Infantry soldiers fought aggressively , using every weapon in their inventory – from bazookas to flamethrowers – to defeat the Japanese and regain the Hill for the Americans . By 4 pm on 12 March , the two Ohio infantry units had killed or routed the Japanese and American lines were restored . According to one history of the battle , “ Captured [ Japanese ] prisoners claimed that the four days of fighting had resulted in the virtual annihilation of the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the Japanese 23rd Infantry and the 13th Infantry , which had been pitted against this thin , narrow front of the 37th Infantry Division . ” The cooperation of the two Ohio infantry regiments lead to the successful defense of Hill 700 and the entire allied air installation at Empress Augusta Bay . The regiment remained on Bougainville until December 1944 , when it would prepare for the invasion of Luzon and the liberation of Manila . Luzon Campaign . During the Luzon Campaign in early 1945 , the 145th Infantry participated in the invasion of the island of Luzon and the approach march to the Philippine capital of Manila . The assault on Luzon commenced on the morning of 9 January 1945 . In the first few days , over 175 , 000 troops landed on the twenty - mile beachhead . Despite strong Japanese opposition , by 31 January , the 145th and 148th Infantry Regiments took Clark Field on Luzon . By 4 February , the 37th Infantry Division and the 1st Cavalry Division had encircled and begun to enter Manila from the north . The 37th Infantry Division moved south along the coast of Manila Bay , with the 1st Cavalry Division moving south to the east of the 37th . The Battle of Manila provided some of the worst urban combat of the entire Pacific theater . On 8 February , elements of the 37th Infantry Division crossed south over the Pasig River , a major obstacle dividing Manila . Both Provisor Island , a small industrial island in the middle of the Pasig River , and the Paco railway station were scenes of intense fighting for the 37th Infantry Division . The Paco railway station itself took ten assaults before it was taken by the Americans . Provisor Island and the Paco station on 9 and 10 February accounted for 45 killed and 307 wounded in the 37th Infantry Division . On 17 February , the 145th Infantry relieved the 129th Infantry Regiment on the eighth day of the 129th Infantry ’ s siege of the New Police Station . By 20 February , the police station was taken , and the 145th Infantry and armored support conducted repeated grueling combined arms assaults of Japanese strong points until 23 February when allied forces converged on the Japanese walled , old - city stronghold of Intramuros . The regiment stormed Intramuros through the Quezon and Parian Gates , and by 10 : 30 am had secured an area of several blocks inside the city from the gate . Their progress became slowed by a flood of civilian women and children . By the evening of the 23rd , two blocks short of the city walls that were their objective , the regiment had suffered 15 killed and 45 wounded , with approximately 200 enemy killed in the process . The morning of 24 February , the remaining Japanese in the regiment ’ s sector were in the aquarium off the southwest corner of Intramuros . Walled - off and easily defensible , the aquarium was where Company C , 145th Infantry utilize an underground tunnel as an assault route into the aquarium . According to one history , “ The final assault began at 1600 [ hours ] . An hour and a half and 115 dead Japanese later , the 145th Infantry had overcome the last organized resistance within Intramuros . ” By 3 March , the 37th Infantry Division had secured Manila . The pace of operations slowed while the 37th Infantry Division was temporarily reassigned directly to Sixth U . S . Army for stability and support operations within Manila . The 145th Infantry remained in Manila while the division moved to northwest Luzon and did not rejoin it until 2 June . Taking Bagabag on 9 June , the regiment continued to participate in mop - up operations through the end of the Luzon Campaign on 30 June . Postwar era . Overall , for their fighting in the Northern Solomons and Luzon Campaigns , soldiers in the regiment received twenty - one Distinguished Service Crosses and one Medal of Honor . On 13 December 1945 the regiment returned to the Los Angeles Port of Embarkation and was inactivated at Camp Anza , California . Back in northeast Ohio , the 145th Infantry was reorganized and federally recognized on 21 November 1946 . A combination of combat veterans and new recruits filled the ranks of the regiment . One recruit in Company C was a young John Carroll University football player named Don Shula , who would later have one of the finest coaching careers in the National Football League . On 15 January 1952 , Sergeant Shula and the rest of the 145th Infantry again headed south for active service , this time to Camp Polk , Louisiana . The Korean War was in its second year and the Army again called on the Ohio National Guard . The division led a vigorous basic training of its soldiers and prepared to go to war . By the summer of 1952 , it was clear that Washington had no plans to send multiple National Guard divisions on federal service to war as whole units , and began sending individual soldiers to Korea from the regiment . In January 1954 , 145th Infantry units began reorganizing in northeast Ohio armories with the formation being complete for a 15 June ceremony at Camp Perry . As the Army sought ways to fight on the modern , atomic battlefield , the 145th Infantry underwent a series of reorganizations from 1959 to 1968 , when the 37th Infantry Division cased its colors . By 15 February 1968 , only the 1st Battalion , 145th Infantry remained . The non - divisional battalion was headquartered at the old Akron armory in the city ’ s downtown . A move to the new First Sergeant Robert A . Pinn Armory in Stow , Ohio followed that fall . On May 4 , 1970 , Company A of the 1st Battalion , 145th Infantry , along with Troop G of the 2d Squadron , 107th Armored Cavalry of the Ohio ARNG participated in the attempted dispersion of a crowd of student protesters at Kent State University in Kent , Ohio , firing on the protesters , killing 4 and wounding 9 others . On 1 June 1974 the 1st Battalion , 145th Infantry , was consolidated with the 107th Armored Cavalry , with the nucleus of the former organization becoming the 3rd Squadron , 107th Armored Cavalry . The 107th Armored Cavalry had a long and distinguished history of service , dating back to its organization as three independent cavalry troops in 1877 . During World War I , the regiment served as the 135th and 136th Field Artillery Battalions during the Lorraine Campaign . Following the war , it was reorganized as the 107th Cavalry , with headquarters first in Cincinnati , then in Cleveland . During World War II , the regiment was reorganized as the 107th Cavalry Group and the 22nd and 107th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons , the latter serving in the European Theater . Throughout the remainder of the Cold War , the 107th Armored Cavalry trained and prepared for the anticipated armored showdown with the Red Army in Europe . Through its training , it gained a reputation as one of the premiere Armored Cavalry Regiments in the army ’ s inventory . However , as communism fell and coalition forces quickly disposed of the Iraqi Army during the Gulf War , the need for heavy , armored formations faded away . In September 1993 , the 107th Armored Cavalry reorganized as a single tank battalion under the 107th Cavalry designation . The 1st Battalion , 107th Cavalry , was originally assigned to the 28th Infantry Division ( “ Keystone ” ) of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard , before switching to the 38th Infantry Division ( “ Cyclone ” ) in Indiana in 1994 . Also in 1994 , the 2nd Squadron , 107th Cavalry , then a divisional cavalry squadron , was reorganized in southwest Ohio from elements of the 372nd Engineer Battalion . Global War on Terrorism to present . Since the beginning of the Global War on Terrorism , soldiers and units now comprising the 1st Battalion , 145th Armored Regiment , have been active in many domestic and expeditionary federal missions . In October 2003 , B and C Companies , and elements of Headquarters and Headquarters Company ( HHC ) and Company A , of the 1st Battalion , 107th Cavalry were activated at their home stations and traveled to Fort Bragg , North Carolina , and Fort Stewart , Georgia , for five months of mobilization training . There they were then attached to the 1st Battalion , 150th Armor ( West Virginia Army National Guard ) , the 1st Battalion , 252nd Armor ( North Carolina Army National Guard ) , and Troop E , 196th Cavalry ( North Carolina Army National Guard ) respectively , for deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom II with North Carolina ' s 30th Brigade Combat Team under the 1st Infantry Division . These elements of the 1st Battalion operated in Iraq from February to December 2004 , serving in Kirkush , Tuz Khurmatu , Jalawla , and Baghdad . They participated in the Transition of Iraq and Iraqi Governance campaigns and returned home in late December , 2004 . As the U . S . Army conducted its largest organizational transformation since World War II , the 1st Battalion , along with a company from the 1st Battalion , 148th Infantry , as well as a company from the 112th Engineer Battalion , were chosen to form a new combined arms battalion within the 2nd Brigade Combat Team , 28th Infantry Division . A change in designation was required and the unit uncased the new colors of the 1st Battalion , 145th Armored Regiment , effective 1 September 2007 . Campaigns , decorations , Medal of Honor . Campaigns . The lineage and honors of a National Guard unit will often reflect campaigns and honors won by units which hail from a certain area , regardless of whether or not the unit ' s role or numerical designator remains the same . This is true of the 145th , as its campaign participation credit reflects its consolidation with the 107th Cavalry in the three Europe - Africa - Middle East Theater campaigns listed below . Leaders . Following is a list of commanders of the units which carry the lineage and honors of today ' s 1st Battalion , 145th Armored Regiment . As illustrated , the unit repeatedly transformed after World War II to conform to the Army ' s pentomic division concept , and later to the ROAD ( Reorganization Objective Army Divisions ) concept . When commanders of multiple battalions or battle groups are listed with overlapping periods of command , it is because those units all carry the lineage and honors of the 1st Battalion , 145th Armored Regiment .