73rd Cavalry Regiment

The 73rd Cavalry Regiment is a Cavalry Regiment in the United States Army, first formed in 1941. The three squadrons of the 73rd Cavalry Regiment ("Airborne Thunder"[1]) provide reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition (RSTA) to the Brigade Combat Teams of the 82nd Airborne Division. 3rd Squadron is assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Squadron is assigned to 2nd Brigade, and 5th Squadron is assigned to 3rd Brigade.

73rd Cavalry Regiment
73rd Cavalry Regiment coat of arms
Active1941
Country United States
BranchRegular Army
Part ofUSARS
Nickname(s)Airborne Thunder (Special Designation)[1]
Motto(s)HONOR, FIDELITY, COURAGE
Insignia
Distinctive Unit Insignia
Unit flashs of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Squadrons
U.S. Cavalry Regiments
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71st Cavalry Regiment 75th Cavalry Regiment

There is currently no 2nd or 4th Squadron, nor is there a regimental command. Formerly organized as the 4th Battalion of the 68th Armor Regiment, the 3rd Battalion was equipped with M-551 Sheridan and LAV-25 armored and reconnaissance vehicles to support the 82nd Airborne Division with light armor support until after Operation Desert Storm.

Lineage

Activated 1 June 1941 at Fort Lewis, Washington.

  • Inactivated 8 February 1946 at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey.

Activated 1 August 1948 at Fort Benning, Georgia.

  • Reorganized and redesignated 15 January 1948 as the 756th Heavy Tank Battalion, and assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division.
  • Reorganized and redesignated 14 July 1950 as the 73rd Tank Battalion, and relieved from assignment to the 3d Infantry Division.

Assigned 10 November 1951 to the 7th Infantry Division.

  • Inactivated 1 July 1957 in Korea and relieved from assignment to the 7th Infantry Division.

Reorganized and redesignated 2 October 1962 as the 73d Armor a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System.

  • Withdrawn 16 January 1988 from the Combat Arms Regimental System, and Reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System, with headquarters at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Current status

The three currently active squadrons as follows are all subordinated to the three Brigade Combat Teams of the 82nd Airborne Division stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina:
1st Squadron is the Cavalry Squadron of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
3rd Squadron is the Cavalry Squadron of the 1st Brigade Combat Team.
5th Squadron is the Cavalry Squadron of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team.

Coat of Arms

Blazon
  • Shield: Per fess Azure and Gules, on a fess Or a hand in armor grasping a bolt of lightning, both Vert.
  • Crest: On a wreath of the colors Or and Azure, issuing from a flame of six tongues, three to dexter and three to sinister, charged with an arrowhead Argent within a crescent Vert, the head of a mace formed by a Korean Taeguk.
  • Motto: HONOR, FIDELITY, COURAGE.

Symbolism
  • Shield: The shield is divided red and blue per fess, with a fess of gold thereon, which are the three colors of the shoulder sleeve insignia of the armored tank forces. The lightning bolt is symbolical of the striking power of the organization.
  • Crest: The six tongues of the flames represent the unit’s six decorations. The crescent and arrowhead symbolize the Algeria-French Morocco and southern France assaults, World War II, and the colors red and green are used to represent the French Croix de Guerre awarded for the Italian campaigns. The mace in the arms of Colmar suggested the mace head to refer to that campaign. The Taeguk represents the Korean War and the three Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citations from that nation. The mace also alludes to the striking power of armor.
  • Background: The coat of arms was originally approved for the 756th Tank Battalion, Light on 15 May 1942. It was redesignated for the 756th Tank Battalion on 22 November 1943. The insignia was redesignated for the 73d Tank Battalion on 23 October 1953. It was redesignated for the 73d Armor on 19 March 1963. It was amended to add the crest on 15 December 1965. It was redesignated effective 25 February 2004, for the 73d Cavalry Regiment.

Notable soldiers
  • Clint Lorance, former US Army first lieutenant convicted of 2012 second-degree murder for two battlefield killings in Afghanistan; sentenced to 20 years imprisonment; incarcerated at Fort Leavenworth; pardoned and released after six years.

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Army Institute of Heraldry document: "73d Cavalry Regiment".

  1. "Special Unit Designations". United States Army Center of Military History. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  • Historical register and dictionary of the United States Army, from ..., Volume 1 By Francis Bernard Heitman
  • Encyclopedia of United States Army insignia and uniforms By William K. Emerson (page 51).
  • http://fortbeavers.tripod.com/id43.html
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