1st Battalion 21st Field Artillery Regiment (United States)

1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery Regiment
21st Field Artillery Regiment Coat of Arms
Active	1916–21; 1923–46, 1948–57, 1960–79, 1986–2005, 2007 – 14
Country	United States
Branch	U.S. Army
Type	Artillery
Role	Fire support
Size	Battalion
Garrison/HQ	Fort Hood
Nickname(s)	"First Strike"
Engagements	World War I, World War II Vietnam War, Southwest Asia War on Terrorism
Insignia
21st FAR Distinctive unit insignia

World War I, World War II
Vietnam War, Southwest Asia

The 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery was a field artillery battalion of the United States Army based in Fort Hood, Texas. It was a subordinate unit of the 41st Fires Brigade (United States).

The 21st Field Artillery was constituted in the Regular Army on 1 July 1916 and organized at Camp Wilson, Texas on 1 June 1917. It was assigned to the 5th Division in 1917 and saw action in France during World War I, participating in the St. Mihiel and Lorraine (1918) Campaigns.

The 21st Field Artillery was inactivated 23 September 1921 at Camp Bragg, North Carolina. On 24 March 1923 it was assigned to the 9th Division and relieved 1 January 1930 from assignment to the 9th Division. It was then assigned to the 5th Division and later redesignated as the 5th Infantry Division.

Following World War I, the 21st Field Artillery was retired until 6 October 1939 when it was reactivated as part of the 5th Division. The 21st Field Artillery fought in the World War II campaigns of Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe.

The 21st Field Artillery was inactivated on 20 September 1946 at Ladd Field, Alaska. Then activated 3 June 1948 at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, inactivated 30 April 1950 at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, activated 1 March 1951 at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, Pennsylvania, inactivated 1 September 1953 at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, Pennsylvania, activated 25 May 1954 in Germany, inactivated 1 June 1957 at Fort Ord, California, and relieved from assignment to the 5th Infantry Division; concurrently, redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 21st Artillery. It was then redesignated 1 July 1960 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Howitzer Battalion, 21st Artillery, assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division, and activated in Korea (organic elements concurrently constituted and activated). It was the redesignated 1 September 1963 as the 1st Battalion, 21st Artillery.

The newly formed 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery began its association with the 1st Cavalry Division. During the Vietnam War, the 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery participated in 15 different campaigns including the Tet Counteroffensive and Counteroffensives I-VII, earning the Presidential Unit Citation for action in Pleiku Province, the Valorous Unit Award for the Fish Hook Campaign, and the Meritorious Unit Commendation for operations in Vietnam (1967). Additionally, Alpha and Bravo Batteries were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for action in Binh Thaun Province.