The men of the 1st Battalion, 77th Armor do not possess a long tradition. Yet in their short 28 years, they have been in the forefront of America's combat action.
Their record in the Second World War speaks for itself. They participated in two amphibious landings: Sicily and Southern France, winning battle streamers for their combat actions. The battalion holds four French distinguished unit awards: two Croix de Guerre with Palm with streamers embroidered Central Italy and Vosges, a third Croix de Gueree marked Fourragere, and a fourth with Silver Gilt Star and streamer embroidered Monte Majo. When the war ended the battalion was in Czechoslovakia heading east.
In March 1949 the unit was designated as part of the Seventh Division and assigned to Japan. With the outbreak of the Korean War, the battalion once again took to the field. The 77th's record in Korea was also a magnificent one. They participated in all the early battles of the war and for their combat actions were awarded two ROK Presidential Unit Citations with streamers embroidered Seoul and Korea by the President of the Republic of Korea.
The battalion was reactivated at Fort Carson, Colorado, in February of 1962. The battalion was deployed to Vietnam in July 1968, as an organic member of the 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (Mech).
The 1st Battalion, 77th Armor was the first Brigade unit committed to combat in Vietnam. Their performance against the North Vietnamese in the DMZ set a high standard of performance for the rest of the Brigade to follow.
Units of the 1st Battalion, 77th Armor have participated in almost every major action fought by the Brigade since its arrival overseas. Whether the actions have taken place in the DMZ, at Alpha Four, Charlie Two, Wunder Beach, Khe Sanh, or the Quang Tri area, the battalion has lived up to its mission of closing with and destroying the enemy through mobility, fire power and shock effect.
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