History of the Macon Volunteers 1825-2025: Post WWII Reorganization and the 48th Division Era

By Major William Carraway

Historian, Georgia National Guard

Anticipation and Optimism in Macon, 1945

In 1945, the citizens of Macon eagerly awaited the return of their hometown National Guard units. The Macon Volunteers, Floyd Rifles and Macon Hussars had deployed to Europe in World War I as the 151^st Machine Gun Battalion. But in World War II, the Macon units served separately with the Macon Volunteers assigned as the 30^th Reconnaissance Troop, 30^th Infantry Division and the Rifles and Hussars in the Georgia National Guard’s 121^st Infantry Regiment, 8^th Infantry Division. 

 

Reorganization Efforts Accelerated

Whereas previous post-war reorganizations brought reductions in force, The Georgia National Guard emerged much larger than the organization that entered federal service in 1940 in part due to assessment of the need for a larger reserve force in the post-war environment. Plans for the reorganization of the National Guard began before the cessation of hostilities and were not burdened by the legislative shortfalls that stalled previous reorganizational efforts. As World War II ended, the War Department published a memorandum concerning the reconstitution of National Guard units on the inactive list of the Army in order to preserve the combat lineage and honors of units that had served in Europe and the Pacific.[1] By the end of September 1945, the War Department issued guidance paving the way for the National Guard to resume enlistments.[2] An October 13, 1945 policy statement from the War Department formally called for an Army comprised of the Army, National Guard, and Organized Reserve Corps.

 

On March 15, 1946, former Georgia National Guard officers and combat veterans of World War II, gathered in Macon to lay the foundation for a new National Guard organization in the state. Charles Bowden, mayor of Macon, welcomed the assembled veterans, many of whom had transitioned to Army Reserve, and were considering service in the Georgia National Guard. Macon had served as the headquarters of the 30th Division prior to World War II, and its former commander, Maj. Gen. Henry D. Russell, himself a resident of Macon, also addressed the gathering.

 

Maj. Gen. Henry Russell.

Speaking to the assembly, Brig. Gen. Marvin Griffin, Georgia’s Adjutant General and future governor, observed that the National Guard had very nearly passed out of existence in favor of federal forces. Griffin credited The National Guard Association for the survival of the Citizen Soldier concept and laid out a bold plan for the reorganization of the Georgia National Guard.

 

“The zoning of Georgia (is) to carry out the War Department’s general plan for an over-all balanced defense of the nation,” said Griffin.[3] Under Griffin’s plan, units would be organized geographically to maximize training and supervision. At the same time, the state would strive to perpetuate the lineage of Georgia National Guard units, some of which pre-dated the American Revolution. Macon would become the home of the reorganized 121st Infantry Regiment with the headquarters company organized as the Macon Volunteers.

 

Through 1946, the governor and adjutant general of Georgia finalized the proposed allotment of National Guard force structure. The National Guard Bureau incorporated the recommendations into its proposed allocation of units which the governor accepted on July 17, 1946. The Military Department of the State of Georgia’s General Orders No. 17, dated December 31, 1946, established the 48^th Infantry Division and 108^th Antiaircraft Brigade as the principal land components of the Georgia Army National Guard along with elements that would constitute the Georgia Air National Guard.[4]

 

Initial allotment of the 48th Infantry Division. 

The 48^th Infantry Division

The 48th ID was headquartered in Macon with Russell serving as its first commander. Georgia received two-thirds of the Soldier allotments of the new division. Florida’s total contribution to the 48^th ID was 4,159 personnel.[5]

 

In its original structure, the 48th ID was comprised of three infantry regiments: the 121st and 122nd of Georgia and the 124th of Florida. The Division Artillery Headquarters was split between Florida and Savannah, Ga., with three field artillery battalions: the 118th and 230th of Georgia, and the 149th of Florida, armed with 105 mm howitzers. The Atlanta-based 945th FA (redesignated the 179th FA Bn. In 1947) provided division artillery with the heavy punch of 155 mm weapons.

 

Special troops were also split between the states with Georgia providing the band, signal, and MP companies as well as a reconnaissance troop. Georgia’s 560th Engineer Battalion provided engineering capability to the 48th ID while Florida supplied the 202nd Medical Battalion, 748th Ordnance Company and 48th Quartermaster Company.

 

While troops could be allotted and equipped on paper, it took significantly longer to field the new National Guard divisions. Units needed to recruit a determined percentage of end strength before they could begin the process of federal recognition.

 

Personnel was not the only shortfall facing fledgling National Guard divisions such as the 48^th ID. The increase in units and associated manning brought increased requirement for facility allocation and equipment fielding. At the time of its organization, few of the units of the 48^th ID had existing facilities prompting commanders to coordinate with community leaders to arrange for space to conduct training. These facilities ranged from county courthouses to churches and correctional facilities.[6]

 

The 48th Division at Fort McClellan in August 1952. Georgia National Guard Archives.

Reorganization of the Macon Volunteers

The problem of armory facilities did not concern the Macon Volunteers whose armory on the corner of First and Poplar Street was a magnificent. But the building used by the other Macon Companies before the war had been sold and was then occupied by the American Red Cross.[7] The armory of the Macon Volunteers became a center of interest for civic organization who backed the restoration of Macon’s National Guard units. The American Legion met regularly at the armory, and by July, the Macon Military Sub-District’s recruiting office for the U.S. Army had taken up residence there.[8]

 

B. F. Merritt as a colonel in 1952. Georgia National Guard Archives.

On August 10, 1946, Lt. Col. Benjamin F. Merritt, former commander of the Macon Volunteers, announced work was well underway to reorganize the company and that, within a week, there would be a call for recruits to join the famed unit.[9]

 

The Macon Volunteers was federally recognized December 12, 1946, as Headquarters Company, 121st Infantry Regiment.[10] Captain Clarence Wesley Welch of Macon assumed command of unit. Welch had served in the 28^th Division in World War II. Wounded at Bastogne December 19, 1944, he was captured and marched a total of 465 miles between prison camps before liberation.[11] Electing to reenter the U.S. Army, Welch was succeeded in 1947 by Capt. Thomas E. Greene Jr.[12]

 

The Korean War Era

With the outbreak of the Korean War, the Georgia National Guard was put on alert for possible mobilization. While the 48^th Infantry Division units would not be among those called, the Georgia Army National Guard’s 108^th Antiaircraft Artillery Brigade was activated to support home defense missions in cities and industrial areas across the Midwest United States through 1952.[13] Georgia Air National Guard units of the 54^th Fighter Wing flew combat missions in the skies over North Korea through July 1952.[14] Six Georgia Air National Guard pilots were lost in service during the mobilization.[15]

 

Initial allotment of the 48th Armor Division.

The 48th Armor Division

Lessons learned on the Korean Peninsula prompted the Department of Defense to consider changes to Army division structure. As part of the realignment, the Army proposed the conversion of four National Guard divisions from infantry to armor. The 48^th ID and divisions from three other states were directed to convert.[16] The National Guard Bureau codified the change in an organizational authority document issued October 17, 1955.[17]

 

Colonel Roy Hogan and the Macon Volunteers

Col. Roy Hogan at Fort McClellan, August 11, 1955.
Georgia National Guard Archives.

In accordance with NGB directive, the Macon Volunteers converted from Headquarters Company, 121^st Infantry Regiment to form Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Combat Command B. Colonel Roy Hogan, who had commanded the 121^st Infantry Regiment since 1950, continued in command.

 

Hogan was already a legend in the Georgia National Guard. Entering federal service in 1940 as a 2nd lieutenant with 1^st Battalion, 121^st Infantry Regiment, Hogan swiftly rose through the ranks and assumed command of the 3^rd Battalion on the eve of the regiment’s extended actions in the Hurtgen Forest. During his tenure with 3-121, Hogan received the Silver Star and Bronze Star for valor.

 

Breaking of the 121^st Infantry Regiment

The conversion to armor brought an end to the regimental structure of the 121^st Infantry Regiment that had existed with minor changes since 1917. Instead of a regiment, the 121^st was now an armored infantry battalion comprised of just five of the former regiment’s 12 companies. Other companies were scattered among the tank battalions of the 48^th or left the division entirely to serve as elements in the tank and armored infantry battalions of the 160^th Armored Group. 

 

The 48th Armor Division under the pentomic structure.

Reorganized for Nuclear War

In 1959, the Army implemented the pentomic division realignment.[18] The restructuring of the 48^th AD was undertaken in part to provide greater capability for divisions in the event of conventional or nuclear war.[19] With the pentomic reorganization, the units of the 160^th Armored Group were absorbed into the 48^th AD. The Macon Volunteers continued as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Combat Command B. Across the division, units were realigned to form four tank battalions, three of which were comprised of Georgia Soldiers. Supporting them were four armored infantry battalions including Georgia’s 1^st and 2^nd Armored Rifle Battalions, 121^st Infantry.

 

The All-Georgia 48^th AD

A 1963 restructuring of the Army prompted a reorganization of the 48^th Armor Division.[20] The most significant impact of the reorganization was the allotment of all of the 48^th AD’s units to the Georgia National Guard[21] The Macon Volunteers was redesignated Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade, 48th Armored Division. The 3rd and 4^th Battalions, 108^th Armor Regiment and 2^nd Battalion, 121^st Infantry were the organic units assigned to the 1^st Brigade.[22]

 

The 48th Armor Division following the 1963 reorganization.

With Hogan elevated to division chief of staff, command of the 1^st Brigade passed to Col. Andrew McKenna. Like Hogan, McKenna entered service in 1940 with the 121^st Infantry Regiment and was commissioned a 2^nd lieutenant the next year.

 

Following the 1963 reorganization of Army divisions, National Guard units transitioned to four hour-block training sessions called unit training assemblies, which were conducted monthly over a weekend. This training arrangement provided more time for training with less time spent traveling to armories and conducting administrative tasks.[23] The current Georgia National Guard continues this weekend unit training assembly system.

 

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[1] War Department, Adjutant General’s Office, RC 325 (July 30 45), August 25, 1945.

 

[2] War Department. Circular 284, September 19, 1945.

 

[3] “Officers Lay Plans for New National Guard.” The Georgia Guardsman, May 1946, 2.

 

[4] Military Department, State of Georgia, General Orders No. 17, Atlanta, December 31, 1946.

 

[5] Vivian Collins, Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Florida for the Years 1945 and 1946, (Saint Augustine, FL: Military Department, 1946), 11.

 

[6] Robert T. Baird, “48^th Infantry Division/48^th Armored Division: 18 Aug. 1947 thru 31 Dec. 1967,” (Unpublished manuscript, November 14, 1987, typescript), 3-4.

 

[7] “General Harris Expresses Doubt,” The Macon Telegraph, December 3, 1945, 3.

 

[8] “More Area to Be Covered by Macon Military District,” Macon Telegraph, July 30, 1946, 8.

 

[9] “Famed Macon Volunteers to Reorganize This Week,” Macon Telegraph, August 11, 1946, 6.

 

[10] U.S. Army Center of Military History. Lineage and Honors, 48^th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Washington DC: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 2024.

 

[11] “Welch Walked 465 Miles as Prisoner of Germans,” Macon Telegraph, February 5, 1946, 2.

 

[12] “Eyes and Ears of the Regimental Staff, Georgia Guardsman, November 1950, 8.

 

[13] Renee Hylton, Where Are We Going: The National Guard and the Korean War 1950-1953, (Washington, DC: National Guard Bureau 2003), 51.

 

[14] William Ridley, Georgia Air National Guard History 1941-2000, (Charlotte, NC: Fine Books Publishing, 2000), 20.

 

[15] “Last Accounts of Air Guard Pilots Reveal Their Courage and Daring,” The Georgia Guardsman, February 1953, 10.

 

[16] John B. Wilson, Maneuver and Firepower: The Evolution of Divisions and Separate Brigades (Washington DC: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1988), 255.

 

[17] National Guard Bureau, NG AROTO 325.4 (30 Sept 55) -Ga., Washington DC, October 17, 1955.

 

[18] National Guard Bureau, Reorganizational Authority 73-59, Washington DC: June 10, 1959.

 

[19] “Changes in Armor, Inf Divisions Seen,” The Georgia Guardsman, June July 1955, 4.

 

[20] National Guard Bureau, Reorganizational Authority 57-63, Washington DC: March 21, 1963.

 

[21] John B. Wilson, Maneuver and Firepower: The Evolution of Divisions and Separate Brigades (Washington DC: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1988), 318.

 

[22] National Guard Bureau, Reorganizational Authority 57-63, Washington DC: December March 21, 1963.

 

[23] Robert T. Baird, “48^th Infantry Division/48^th Armored Division: 18 Aug. 1947 thru 31 Dec. 1967” (Unpublished manuscript, November 14, 1987, typescript), 5A.