116th Infantry Regiment | |
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Founded | 1741 |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Regiment |
Motto(s) | "Ever Forward" |
Engagements | French and Indian War War of 1812 |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Charles D. W. Canham |
Insignia | |
Distinctive unit insignia |
U.S. Infantry Regiments | ||||
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The 116th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the Virginia Army National Guard.
The regiment was formed as part of the Virginia Militia. It is one of several National Guard units with colonial roots. Units in its lineage included the Confederate Stonewall Brigade of the Army of Northern Virginia. It was formed under the designation of the 116th during World War I, when previously existing Virginia National Guard units were consolidated in federal service. It fought in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive with the 29th Infantry Division and returned to the United States in 1919, where it was demobilized. It was reformed in 1922 and called back into federal service before the American entry into World War II in March 1941. It fought in the Normandy landings, on Omaha Beach, where it suffered heavy casualties. It served continuously with the 29th Infantry Division in its eastward advance until reaching the Elbe at the end of World War II in Europe.
The regiment was inactivated in 1946 and was reformed in 1948. It was reorganized as part of the Combat Arms Regimental System in 1959, during which it became a parent regiment. Its battalions became part of the 116th Infantry Brigade in 1975. Units of the brigade have since been called into federal service for duty in Kosovo Force, for the Iraq War, and for the War in Afghanistan.