Military unit
The 304th Infantry Regiment currently consists of two battalions in the United States Army Reserve. In the current organizational plan of the U.S. Army, regimental designation is used only in historical tradition; there is no regimental commander, staff or headquarters. The 1st Battalion, 304th Regiment is headquartered in Londonderry, New Hampshire, and the 3rd Battalion, 304th Regiment is headquartered in Saco, Maine.
World War I
The 304th Regiment was created primarily with men from Connecticut as part of the 76th Infantry Division on 29 August 1917, at Camp Devens, Massachusetts, for the purpose of fighting Imperial Germany in World War I. Colonel Joseph S. Herron was appointed as the unit's first commander and set sail with the unit from Boston Harbor on 7 July 1918. The unit arrived in England, rested, then crossed the Channel for Le Havre, France, on 27 July 1918. Once in place in France, the unit served as a replacement regiment, providing officers and soldiers to the units currently fighting on the front line.[1]
The war ended on November 11, 1918, and the unit left France in 1919, being deactivated on 20 January 1919.
Interwar period
A year and a half after being deactivated, the unit was reorganized as part of the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921. Having been primarily made up of officer personnel from the state of Connecticut, the regiment was headquartered in Hartford.
World War II
With America's declaration of war on Nazi Germany in 1941, units in the Reserve Forces were called to active duty. The 304th Regiment, with the rest of the 76th Division, was called to active duty on 15 June 1942, and sent to Fort Meade, Maryland, to prepare for deployment overseas. The regiment completed training on 28 September 1942, and would remain on casual status until 25 February 1943.[1]
The regiment returned to combat status on 25 February 1943, and moved to A.P. Hill Military Reservation at Fredericksburg, Virginia. Colonel Wallace A. Choquette took command on 28 September 1943, and the unit set forth for Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. For the next year the unit continued to train, and finally on 11 November 1944, the regiment moved out for Europe.
Once in Europe, the 304th Regiment participated in the Battle of the Bulge, the Battle of the Rhineland and the Battle of Central Germany.[1] When hostilities ended on VE Day, the 304th Regiment was given the task of governing Altenburg and Rochlitz. The regiment was disbanded while still in Germany on 31 August 1945.[1]
Postwar
Just as after World War II, the 304th Regiment was reconstituted in the Army Reserves on 7 October 1946. But the headquarters was moved to Portland, Maine, rather than Hartford, Connecticut. The headquarters was moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1952. By 1963, the regiment's executive officer was Lt. Col. Clarence E. "Chief" Boston, who was head football coach of the New Hampshire Wildcats in nearby Durham, New Hampshire.[2] The US Army moved away from the use of regiments as a command structure, and the 304th Regiment ceased to exist as a command on 31 January 1968. However, the three subordinate battalions continued to exist as elements of the 76th Division.
Present day
The 2nd Battalion would eventually also be deactivated, but the 1st and 3rd battalions continue to survive, albeit in different divisions, with presences from Maine to Maryland. The 1st Battalion of the 304th Regiment, known as the Patriot Battalion,[citation needed] is headquartered in Londonderry, New Hampshire, as part of the 98th Division with the mission of executing basic training for the US Army at Fort Benning, Georgia, while the 3rd Battalion of the 304th Regiment (Forward Battalion) is headquartered in Saco, Maine, as a part of the 104th Training Division with the mission of supporting military training for the United States Corps of Cadets, United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
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