Currently two active battalions of the regiment, the 1st and 2nd, as part of the 25th Infantry Division are stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
More recently the regiment deployed to Afghanistan for the second time, following two deployments to Iraq. The regimental march is the Wolfhound March.
First and second formations
Prior to its establishment in 1901, the Wolfhound Regiment was preceded by two US Army 27th Infantry Regiments:[2]
27th U.S. Infantry Regiment constituted 29 January 1813; consolidated 3 July 1815 with 4 other regiments to become 6th Infantry Regiment (United States).
The 27th Infantry Regiment was established by act of Congress on 2 February 1901. James M. J. Sanno was assigned to command in August, and the regiment saw its first combat action in 1902 while serving as part of the American force sent to quell the Philippine Insurrection on the island of Mindanao.[3]
By 1904–1905, the unit had returned from the Philippines and its battalions were stationed at Fort Sheridan (Chicago, Illinois) and Columbus Barracks (Columbus, Ohio). The 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry participated in field maneuvers with the mobilized Ohio National Guard in southeastern Ohio (near Athens, Ohio) alongside other regular army units including Troop L of the 4th Cavalry, in a test of the nationally reorganized state militias following the Dick Act of 1903. This unit was involved in the August 19, 1904 riot with Ohio National Guard and civil authorities that resulted in several deaths.[4]
During the Russian Civil War, the 27th Infantry served in the American Expeditionary Force sent to Siberia in 1918. The troops embarked on the Army transports Crook, Merritt and Warren departing Manila on 7 August 1918 and arriving in Vladivostok on 15 and 16 August.[5] This campaign has become an integral part of the regiment's history. The tenacious pursuit tactics of the regiment won the respect of the Bolsheviks, who gave them the name "Wolfhounds." This emblem continues to serve as the symbol of the 27th Infantry Regiment. During their time in Siberia, the unit was part of the Evgenevka incident, a face-off between the Wolfhounds and the Japanese Military.
In 1920, the regiment was assigned to duty in the Philippines, and Joseph D. Leitch was assigned to command.[6] On 1 March 1921, the 27th Infantry Regiment was assigned to the Hawaiian Division. It served in the Hawaiian Division for over twenty years until it was relieved on 26 August 1941, and assigned to the 25th Infantry Division.
27th Infantry "Wolfhounds" on parade in Vladivostok, August 1918On the right, Major General J. L. Collins, commander of the 25th Division and, on the left, Major Charles W. Davis, commanding the 3rd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment confer on New Georgia, 14 August 1943.27th Infantry "Wolfhounds" advance past dead Chinese soldier, south of Seoul during Task Force 'Punch', February 1951
Occupation duties were cut short in July 1950, when the 27th Infantry Regiment departed for Pusan, South Korea, to assist in holding the Pusan perimeter at the onset of the Korean War. The unit saw heavy action throughout the war, where they were considered the "fire brigade" for the 25th Infantry Division – in essence, making first combat contact with enemy forces.[citation needed] They saw significant fighting at Sandbag Castle. Colonel George B. Sloan, the commander of the 27th Infantry Regiment[7] offered David Hackworth command of a new volunteer raider unit; Hackworth created the 27th Wolfhound Raiders and led them from August to November 1951. The 27th earned ten campaign streamers and three Presidential Unit Citations. Upon conclusion of hostilities in Korea, the unit returned to Schofield Barracks.
The 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, entered the Vietnam War in January 1966. During their five-year stay in Vietnam, the unit earned two valorous unit citations, and proved to be one of the last 25th Infantry Division units to return home. The regiment participated in Operation Junction City and fought during the Tet Offensive and the May Offensive. The regiment finally returned to Hawaii in April, 1971.
On 10 June 1987, the 2nd Battalion was relieved from their assignment to the 25th Infantry Division and assigned to the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Ord, California. During their tour at Fort Ord the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were deployed to Honduras in 1988 in support of "Operation Golden Pheasant" and in 1989 they were deployed to Panama in support of "Operation Just Cause." On 15 September 1993, the battalion was inactivated and relieved from assignment to the 7th Infantry Division.
The 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, was again activated on 31 August 1995, and this unit again carries its thirty battle streamers and twelve-unit citations on its colors. The motto "Nec Aspera Terrent" translates to "Frightened by no Difficulties," more literally "Not even difficulties frighten [us, them]": nec = nor, not even; aspera (nominative neuter plural noun) = rough things, adversities, difficulties; terrent (3rd person plural present tense verb) = "they (= the difficulties) frighten", from the same root as "terror". It is often stated as "No Fear on Earth," or more colloquially "Difficulties be Damned."
The 4th Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, was active in the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (L) at Schofield Barracks on the island of Oahu in Hawaii during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Assigned to 2nd Brigade was the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment. Elements of 4th Battalion were deployed during Operation Desert Storm and served as guards for Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf during their deployment. They also participated in clearing operations in Kuwait and a security element for later peace talks.
Medal of Honor recipients
Men of the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry prepare to board UH-1D helicopters before a long range reconnaissance patrol, 18 August 1970
Paul R. Lambers, Staff Sergeant, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 27th IN
Riley L. Pitts, Captain, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 27th IN
Regimental distinctive insignia
The 27th Infantry Regiment currently consists of two battalions; the 1/27 and 2/27. While some might believe that there are actually two separate distinctive unit insignia (DUI),[who?] one for the 1st Battalion wolfhound unit crest which has the wolfhound facing to the left and 2nd Battalion wolfhound crest has the wolfhound facing to the right on the crest, the wolfhound crests are issued in pairs. While in a Class A uniform a coordinated pair of the two different crests is worn, one on each shoulder with the motto toward the shoulder seam and the head of the wolfhound facing forward.
Charitable activities
Both battalions of the 27th Infantry have entered the 71st year of the regiment's relationship with the children and staff of the Holy Family Home Orphanage, Osaka, Japan. During Christmas 1949, Wolfhounds visited the orphanage to deliver gifts and hold a Christmas party for the children. Recognizing the needs of the children, and the then-limited capacity for self-help in postwar Japan, the regiment turned what was to have been a one-time occurrence into flow of supplies, food, building materials, and medical assistance from American soldiers and their families to the orphans. Soldiers from 1st and 2nd Battalions return to Japan every Christmas,[9] and two children from the orphanage have visited Schofield Barracks annually since 1957.[10] The relationship was recognized by Hollywood in 1956 when members of the regiment were profiled in the 1955 film, Three Stripes in the Sun, starring Aldo Ray.
Battalion commanders
1st Battalion
2022–present LTC Ryan M. Case
2020–2022 LTC Eric B. Alexander
2018–2020 LTC Lou Kangas
2016–2018 LTC Val Bernat
2014–2016 LTC Neal Mayo (Transition back to Light Infantry)
2012–2014 LTC Charles Bergman
2011–2012 LTC Todd Fox
2009–2011 LTC Brown
2006–2009 LTC Rich "Flip" Wilson (Strykers)
2005–2006 LTC Bryan Lee Rudacille (Transition to Strykers)
2002–2005 LTC C. Scott Leith
2000–2002 LTC Billy J. Buckner
1998–2000 LTC William B. Garrett III
1996–1998 LTC Bernard Champoux
1995–1996 LTC Kenneth R Curley
1993–1995 LTC Daniel Fey
1991–1993 LTC Paul Herbert
1989–1991 LTC Roland Carter
1985–1987 LTC David A Crittenden (Transition to Light Infantry)
World War II: Central Pacific; Guadalcanal; Northern Solomons (with arrowhead); Luzon
Korean War: UN Defensive; UN Offensive; CCF Intervention; First UN Counteroffensive; CCF Spring Offensive; UN Summer–Fall Offensive; Second Korean Winter; Korea, Summer–Fall 1952; Third Korean Winter; Korea, Summer 1953
^Hackworth, David (1989). About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior (Reissue ed.). Chestertown, Maryland: Simon & Schuster. p. 122. ISBN9781439144503.
United States
United States Army
