When I was with the 1/5th FA, there were only HQ BTRY, A BTRY, B BTRY, D BTRY, and SVC BTRY. so I am curious as to if it were true that C BTRY was lost in Vietnam?
That's a very good question. I just reviewed 1/5th Artillery's (1st Infantry Division) Vietnam history & there's no mention of C Battery. That's such a historic outfit ("Alexander Hamilton's Cannoneers") that I wouldn't be surprised if there's an older tradition about having no C Battery. Maybe one of these Redlegs knows.
I had heard about that years ago from someone coming from 1-5 at Riley. It is, however urban legend. From the unit history: "The battalion was again redesignated on January 20, 1964 as the 1st Battalion, 5th Artillery and was equipped with eighteen 105mm towed howitzers. This reorganization resulted in three firing batteries and a Headquarters and Service Battery. By direction of the Chief of Staff of the Army, the third firing battery was once more designated as Battery D in recognition of the many years that Battery D of the 5th Field Artillery had carried on the Alexander Hamilton Battery traditions" The Battalion deployed to Vietnam in October 1965, so the 'lost in Vietnam' story can't be true. the full history is at: http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:1cvZcvfvQJkJ:www.r...n&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us
Righton, Redleg13F! I just communicated with a Vietnam Veteran of that unit who confirms what you've posted. He mentioned that D Battery, 1/5th has the longest unbroken lineage of any U.S. Army unit, dating back to the American Revolution.
Originally posted by tweeder23: oh how I miss my many years with 1-5. I don't suppose any of ya'll were there during the time frame of Oct 95 to Feb 00 and Feb 01 to Feb 05.
