The 3rd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment: Lineage and Legacy

 By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

Left: The colors of the 121st Infantry Regiment's three battalions. Right:  Soldiers of the Company I, 3rd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment move down
the main road amid the ruins of Hurtgen, Germany Dec. 5, 1944. Photo 270805, National Archives Records Administration,

 

The Headquarters Company of the 3^rd Battalion, 121^st Infantry Regiment was federally recognized June 3, 2010 as Headquarters Company, 560^th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade.[1] With the inactivation of the 560^th BFSB, the company received its current designation.[2] While it carries on the lineage and honors of the 560^th, the 3^rd Battalion also recalls the history and legacy of the 121^st Infantry Regiment.

 

Georgia National Guard Soldiers of 3rd Battalion 121st Infantry Regiment in 1939. Georgia National Guard Archives.

From 1917 to 1955, the 121^st Infantry Regiment consisted of three infantry battalions. These battalions were deployed to the Mexican border in 1916, mobilized to France in both world wars and were part of the post-World War II reorganization of the Georgia National Guard in 1946. The battalions carried forward as armored infantry battalions and other units assigned to the 48^th Armor Division from 1956 to 1968. With the loss of the 48^th Armor Division in 1968, the 3^rd Battalion was inactivated.

 

Soldiers of Company C, 3rd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment receive an operations order during the eXportable Combat Training Capability exercise
 at Fort Stewart, Ga. June 14, 2017. Photo by Capt. William Carraway.

For decades, the 121^st Infantry consisted of the 1^st and 2^nd Battalion. It wasn’t until September 16, 2016 that the colors of all three battalions would once again assemble on the same field as the 48^th Infantry Brigade Combat Team entered into the associated unit pilot program with the 3^rd Infantry Division.[3]

 

Command Sergeant Major Clint Cowser addresses Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion 121st Infantry Regiment  during the battalion’s change of command
and change of responsibility ceremony January 11, 2020 at the Clay National Guard Center in Marietta, Ga. Photo by Maj. William Carraway.

In 2018, the 121^st Infantry Regiment deployed three battalions for the first time since World War II. The regiment mobilized with the 48^th Infantry Brigade Combat Team to Afghanistan where the 3^rd Battalion worked with U.S. Special Forces and trained Afghan National Army Soldiers.

Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, maintain asecurity presence in Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta
while assisting local law enforcement during protest demonstrations May 30, 2020. Photo by Maj. William Carraway

Just months after their return from Afghanistan, Soldiers of the 3^rd Battalion were activated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and supported law enforcement in Atlanta in response to civil unrest. Soldiers of the 3^rd Battalion provided security at Centennial Park during demonstrations in June 2020[4] and were again tasked to support security operations during the presidential inauguration in Washington D.C. in January 2021. 

The command team of the 48th IBCT visits Soldiers of the 3-121 in Tbilisi, Georgia for Exercise Agile Spirit 23. Photo courtesy of the 3-121.

Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion continued to support overseas operations, mobilizing to the country of Georgia in 2023 for Exercise Agile Spirit. In 2024, Soldiers of 3-121 mobilized with the 48th IBCT in support of missions in the Central Command area of operations. 

 

---

[1] OA 171-10 June 9, 2010 effective January 1, 2010.

[2] OA 545-15 January 8, 2016 effective September 1, 2016.

[3] William Carraway. “Georgia Army Guard Soldiers don 3rd ID patch as part of associated unit program.” Nationalguard.mil. September 19, 2016. https://www.nationalguard.mil/News/State-Partnership-Program/Article/948257/georgia-army-guard-soldiers-don-3rd-id-patch-as-part-of-associated-unit-program/

[4] William Carraway. “Eight Decades of Coordinated Domestic Response Operations: The Ga. DoD and GSP.” The Georgia Guardsman. Vol. 20, 2020, 6. https://issuu.com/georgiaguard/docs/covid-19_20magazine_20vol_20ii

A History of Company B 148th Brigade Support Battalion

 By Major William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

Then and Now: Left:1st Lt. Walter Pope, Capt. Henry D. Russell and 2nd Lt. Ezra Settle, Company A, 2nd Georgia Infantry Regiment at Camp Cotton,
El Paso, Texas in 1916. Right: Soldiers of Company B, 148th Brigade Support Battalion Dec. 7, 2019. Photo by Maj. William Carraway.

Company B, 148^th Brigade Support Battalion carries on the tradition of Georgia Army National Guard service in Jackson, Ga. that began with the establishment of the Jackson Rifles in 1902.[1] The Jackson Rifles, Company A, 2^nd Georgia Infantry Regiment, were called into active federal service July 20, 1916 under the command of Capt. Henry Dozier Russell and mobilized to the Mexican Border.[2] The unit was stationed at Camp Cotton, El Paso, Texas patrolling the Rio Grande and protecting citizens from cross border raids before returning to Georgia in March 1917. Remaining in federal service due to declaration of war against Germany, the unit was redesignated Company A, 121^st Infantry Regiment Oct. 1, 1917 while training for European mobilization at Camp Wheeler, Ga. The 121^st deployed to France in October 1918 but arrived too late to participate in combat operations. Returning to the United States in 1919 the unit was inactivated January 14, 1919 at Camp Gordon, Ga.[3]

Poster commemorating Company A, 2nd Infantry Regiment’s mobilization to the Mexican Border in 1916.
Georgia National Guard Archives.

The Jackson Rifles were reorganized September 21, 1920 as Company A, 121^st Infantry.[4] 

Company A, 121st Infantry Regiment at annual training, St. Simons, Island, Ga. July 1927. Georgia National Guard Archives.

On Sept. 16, 1940 the unit was once again called to active duty and mobilized to Fort Jackson, S.C. as part of the 30^th Infantry Division. With the reorganization of Army divisions in November 1941, the 121^st was reassigned to the 8^th Infantry Division.

On July 4, 1944 the121st splashed ashore on Utah Beach and entered the Normandy Campaign. Within a week of landing, the regiment would suffer its first casualties and in less than 10 months, the casualty list of the 121st would grow to 70 pages as the regiment fought its way from La Haye du Puits France to Schwerin Germany and the liberation of concentration camps near Wobbelin.[5] Returning to the United States the 121^st was inactivated October 20, 1945 at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.[6]

Georgia National Guard Soldiers of the Jackson-based Company A, 121st Infantry Regiment in formation before the start of annual training
July 24, 1949. Georgia National Guard Archives.

Company A was reorganized and federally recognized April 14, 1947 as part of the newly established 48^th Infantry Division commanded by Maj. Gen. Henry Dozier Russell.[7] When the 48^th was converted to an armor division in November 1955 Company A was redesignated Headquarters and Service Company, 48^th Reconnaissance Battalion.[8] In 1959 the unit was reorganized as Troop A, Reconnaissance Squadron, 108^th Armor Regiment.[9]

Troop A, 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, 108th Armor Regiment at Fort Stewart, Ga. in August 1959. Georgia National Guard Archives.

In 1963, Georgia was allocated all units of the 48^th Armor Division Troop A was redesignated Troop A, 748^th Cavalry Regiment.[10]

Troop A, 1st Squadron 748th Cavalry Regiment at the Jackson Armory Nov. 21, 1965. Georgia National Guard Archives.

On January 1, 1968, the 48^th Armor Division was inactivated, and the Jackson unit was redesignated Company D, 878^th Engineer Battalion.[11] The unit was redesignated Company A, 878^th in 1976.[12]

Company D, 878th Engineer Battalion on parade at Fort Stewart, Ga. circa 1968. Georgia National Guard Archives.

On Sept. 16, 1980, The Jackson began its modern history as a maintenance unit as it was redesignated the 648^th Maintenance Company.[13] On August 12, 1985, the company was redesignated Company D, 148^th Support Battalion.[14] In 1987, the unit was redesignated Company B, 148^th Support Battalion.[15] In August 1993, the unit was redesignated the 166^th Maintenance Company[16] before reverting to Company B 148^th Support Battalion in 2008.[17]

 

FORT GILLEM, Ga. September 2, 2005  - Vehicles of the Georgia Army National Guard's 166th Maintenance Co. are lined up at Fort Gillem
prepared to convoy to the Gulf Coast. Georgia National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Gail Parnelle.

---

[1] Adjutant General of the State of Georgia. Register of the National Guard of Georgia for the year 1917. Atlanta, January 1, 1917

[2] “Muster-in Roll of Company A, 2^nd Regt. Inf. Ga. N.G. Called into Service 20 July 1916” 180.

[3] Center for Military History. “Lineage and Honors of the 121^st Infantry Regiment.”

[4] “30^th Infantry Division (States of Georgia Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.) Division Troops, Georgia.”

[5] “Historical Data 121^st Infantry Regiment (Old Gray Bonnet) 8^th Infantry Division European Theater of Operations (ETOUSA) World War II.” Command Historian, Georgia Army National Guard Aug. 17, 1988.

[6] Center for Military History. “Lineage and Honors of the 121^st Infantry Regiment.”

[7] NGAROTO 325.4 Nov 1, 1955.

[8] NGAROTO 325.4 Nov 1, 1955.

[9] RA 73-59 June 10, 1959.

[10] RA 57-63 March 21, 1963.

[11] RA 71-67 Dec. 14, 1967.

[12] RA 229-76 Oct. 14, 1976.

[13] OA 182-80 Sept. 16, 1980.

[14] OA 111-85August 12, 1985.

[15] OA 7-87 Feb. 12, 1987.

[16] OA 169-93 August 9, 1993.

[17] OA 112-08  May 21, 2008.

Profiles In Georgia National Guard Leadership: Col. J. A. Thomas and 121st Regt.

 By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

Col. J. A. Thomas and the 121st Infantry Regiment at Camp Wheeler, Macon, Ga. February 1918.

Colonel James Adrian Thomas Jr. of Macon, Ga. was the first commander of the 121st Infantry Regiment. Thomas led the regiment to the Mexican Border in 1916, directed the 121^st through the long mobilization train up for World War I and was responsible for the 121^st sobriquet as the Gray Bonnet Regiment.

Thomas was born March 10, 1870 in Dublin Georgia to James Adrian Thomas Sr. and Josephine Thomas. Thomas Sr. was a veteran of the American Civil War who became a prominent attorney[1]. The younger Thomas attended private school before enlisting in the Southern Cadets as a private in February 1887 at the age of 17. As sergeant of the Southern Cadets drill team Thomas traveled frequently representing the Macon organization at competitions and winning several. His education continued at the Georgia Military College in Milledgeville and Gordon Institute (now Gordon State College) in Barnesville.[2] In 1893 he transferred to the Macon Hussars, Company F, 2nd Infantry Regiment. That same year he married Fannie Holt in Vineville, Ga.[3] The couple enjoyed a one-week honeymoon in Florida travelling by rail to destinations across the state.

Thomas commissioned as a 2^nd lieutenant Nov. 7, 1895 and was assigned as adjutant of the 2^nd Georgia. On July 6, 1896 he transferred to the Macon Light Infantry where he served for nearly two years until mustering into federal service with the 1^st Georgia Volunteer Infantry May 2, 1898 for service in the Spanish American War. The 1^st Georgia mobilized but did not leave the state of Georgia before the end of hostilities. Thomas was mustered out of federal service November 18.[4]

Returning to the 2^nd Georgia April 8, 1900, Thomas resumed the office of adjutant with the rank of captain where his execution of duties was widely recognized. In his report of the encampment of instruction in 1902, Col. Georgia T. Cann, inspector general, observed “The Post-Adjutant Capt. J. A. Thomas Jr., 2^nd Infantry, kept with splendid accuracy and care records of the minutest detail pertaining to his duties.”[5] Promotion to major and command of 1^st Battalion 2^nd Georgia came July 23, 1906.[6]

While Thomas studied at his father’s law firm and was admitted to the bar, he never
practiced law gravitating instead to real estate and by 1910 was firmly established in Macon with the firm of A. T. Holt Co. On Nov. 18, 1912, Col. Thomas assumed command of the 2nd Infantry, replacing Walter Harris who advanced to brigadier general and command of the Georgia Brigade. Shortly after assuming command, Thomas designated the regiment the Old Gray Bonnet after the popular song "Put on your Old Gray Bonnet" by Stanley Murphy and Percy Wenrich which was first released in 1909.[7]

Col. J.A. Thomas (right) and Lt. Col. J. M. Kimbrough, at Camp Cotton, El Paso, Texas in 1916. Photo by 2nd Lt. Vivian Roberts.

On July 2, 1916, the 2nd Regiment of Infantry was mustered into federal service and dispatched to the Mexican Border the following October. For the following five months, Thomas’ infantrymen patrolled the border from El Paso, Texas to Noria, N.M. in support of Brig. Gen. John J. Pershing’s punitive expedition.[8] The regiment returned to Macon in March 1917 but remained in federal service. Over the next three months Thomas’ command was scattered as companies of the 2^nd Georgia were detailed as far away as Key West, Fla. guarding railroad bridges and vital infrastructure following the United States declaration of war against Germany.[9]  By June, the 2^nd Georgia had consolidated in Macon and would proceed to Camp Wheeler where the regiment initiated a pre-mobilization training regimen under Thomas’ direction. In August 1917, Companies B, C and F of the 2nd Georgia were reorganized as the 151st Machine Gun Battalion. The 151^st would serve with the 42nd Infantry Division during World War I. The remaining companies of the 2nd Georgia Infantry were redesignated the 121st Infantry Regiment October 1, 1917.

Post card from Pvt. Ivar Peterson, Company F, 121st Infantry Regiment to his mother depicting troops leaving camp at Camp Wheeler, Ga.
Georgia National Guard archives.

Over the next 12 months, Thomas and the 121^st Infantry Regiment prepared for overseas deployment with the 31^st Infantry Division. Training consisted of battle drills, weapons familiarization, living and fighting in trench systems gas mask drills and foot marches of ever-increasing distance. After completing more than a year of training the 121^st entrained with other units of the 31^st Division for Camp Mills, N.Y.

Sheet music for Put on your Old Grey Bonnet. 1909.

The 121st departed Hoboken N.J. bound for France Oct. 5, 1918 aboard the transport
USS Orizaba. Arriving in the port of Brest the 121st was compelled to remain onboard until the ship could be unloaded. While waiting to disembark Thomas fell ill with Spanish Influenza. On Oct. 16, the beloved commander of the Gray Bonnet Regiment died having never set foot in France. He was 48.[10]

Word of Thomas’ death did not reach Macon until October 29.[11] Thousands of mourners attended his funeral and graveside service at Riverside Cemetery in Macon, Ga. Major General LeRoy Lyon, commander of the 31^st Division eulogized Thomas as “one of the most efficient National Guard Officers I ever met.”[12]

 

---

[1] 1870 Census, Laurens, Georgia, Militia District 342; Roll: M593_161; Page: 309A

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7163/images/4263490_00005?pId=5716155

 

[2] The National Cyclopaedia of American biography, being the history of the United States as illustrated in the lives of the founders, builders, and defenders of the republic, and of the men and women who are doing the work and moulding the thought of the present time. Vol. 17. (New York: J. T. White Company 1921) 57.

[3] “Home Wedding in Vineville.” The Macon Telegraph. December 21, 1893, 5.

 

[4] “Official Register of the National Guard of Georgia, 1916, 16.

[5] Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Georgia from Dec. 1^st, 1901, to Sept. 30^th 1902. (Atlanta: Geo. Harrison State Printer, 1902) 61.

 

[6] Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Georgia 1911-1912, Appendix No. 3. (Atlanta: Chas P. Byrd, 1913) 33.

 

[7] The first official authority for this designation appears March 24, 1924 in GO No. 1 in which the 121st Infantry was officially designated the Old Gray Bonnet Regiment. This much was affirmed in an October 28, 1926 outline of the history of the 121st Infantry certified by Charles H. Cox, Georgia's Adjutant General.

 

[8] William Carraway. We Are Having a Big Time Now: January-March 1917. April 17, 2017. http://www.georgiaguardhistory.com/2017/04/we-are-having-big-time-now-january.html

 

[9] Correspondence of Sgt. Robert G. Burton. Georgia National Guard Archives.

 

[10] The Georgia State Memorial Book Adopted as the Official Record by the Military Department of the State of Georgia. (Atlanta: 1921) 31.

 

[11] George Sparks. Macon’s War Work a History of Macon’s Part in the Great World War, 66.

[12] The National Cyclopaedia of American biography. Vol. 17. (New York: J. T. White Company 1921) 58.