140th Infantry Regiment (United States)

140th Infantry Regiment
Coat of arms
Active	June 1898–May 1899 1908–1914 1917–1919 1921–1945 1946–1963
Country	United States
Allegiance	Missouri
Branch	Missouri National Guard
Type	Infantry
Nickname(s)	"Sixth Missouri"
Motto(s)	Siempre Listo (Spanish) ("Always Ready")
Campaigns	Spanish–American War World War I Meuse-Argonne Alsace 1918 Lorraine 1918 World War II
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

The 140th Infantry Regiment (Sixth Missouri) was an infantry regiment of the Missouri National Guard.

It was first organized as the 6th Infantry Regiment of the Missouri National Guard in 1898 during the Spanish–American War, and was soon mustered into Federal service as the 6th Missouri Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Mustered out following service in the occupation of Cuba, it was reorganized as the 6th Battalion of Infantry in 1901 and expanded into a regiment of the same number in 1908, but disbanded in 1914.

The regiment was reconstituted in 1917 for service in World War I, and in Federal service consolidated with the 3rd Missouri Infantry Regiment to form the 140th Infantry. Part of the 35th Division, it served with the American Expeditionary Forces in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Reorganized in 1921, it served in World War II in the continental United States, then was reactivated after the end of the war. It was inactivated during a reorganization of the army in 1963.

History

The 6th Infantry Regiment of the Missouri National Guard was organized on 27 June 1898 during the Spanish–American War. As the 6th Missouri Volunteer Infantry Regiment, it mustered into Federal service between 20 and 23 July at Jefferson Barracks. The regiment served in the United States Army with the occupation force in Cuba, and mustered out at Savannah, Georgia, on 10 May 1899. Reorganized on 10 July 1901 as the 6th Battalion of Infantry in the Missouri National Guard, it was expanded into a regiment on 23 January 1908. It was again disbanded on 25 July 1914.^[1][2]

On 29 June 1917, the regiment was reactivated for service in the First World War when it consolidated with elements of the 3rd Missouri to create the 140th Infantry Regiment in October 1917. The new regiment was assigned to the 35th Infantry Division. Within the 35th Division they were assigned to the 70th Brigade alongside the 139th Infantry Regiment. Companies of the regiment were drawn primarily from the southeast of the state; A Company hailed from Lexington, B and C Companies were recruited from St. Joseph, D Company came from Sedalia.^[1] E, F, G, and H Companies were recruited from Doniphan, Willow Springs, Richmond, and Dexter respectively.^[1] I, K, L, and M Companies were pulled from Kennett, Sikeston, Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff respectively.^[1] Additional troops were recruited from Jefferson City, Seymour, Carterville, and West Plains.^[1] The regiment organized and trained in the United States at Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma and then shipped out for France where it began training under British tutelage in June 1918.^[1] In July, the 140th had its first taste of combat in the Gérardmer sector in the Vosges Mountains, where they conducted raids on German forces. They were moved to the St. Mihiel sector in September where they served as a reserve for the First Army.^[1] The regiment soon participated in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the largest battle the American Expeditionary Forces waged during the war. After five days of intense battle, they were relieved by elements of the 1st Infantry Division and were placed in the Sommedieue sector where they launched harassing attacks on the enemy positions until the Armistice of 11 November 1918 ended the war.^[1] They were deactivated in 1919 with the rest of the 35th Division.

When World War II broke out and America became involved due to the Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the 140th Infantry Regiment was detached from service in the 35th Infantry Division in order to defend against possible Japanese attacks on the West Coast, where they remained until the end of the war.

The 140th finally cased its colors in 1963 when it was formally deactivated as a maneuver infantry regiment.^[3] It serves today as the 140th Regiment, and runs the RTI (Regional Training Institute) for the Missouri Army National Guard.

References

Further reading

• Triplet, William S. (2000). Ferrell, Robert H., ed. A Youth in the Meuse-Argonne: A Memoir, 1917-1918. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press. ISBN 0-8262-1290-5. LCCN 00029921. OCLC 43707198.