July 2000

     The battalion has been asked to select a soldier, an NCO, and an officer to receive this award, based on their personal achievements and leadership in the battalion. The awards will consist of a replica of the Ft Benning Infantry School "Follow Me" (Iron Mike) statue for the individual and a plaque for display in the Battalion headquarters area. In addition, each individual receives a \$100 cash award.

     Proceeds from the sale of 18th Infantry Golf Shirts fund these awards, and we expect to make this an annual tradition of the 18th Infantry Regiment.

     Anyone wishing to attend and participate in the presentation of the Iron Mike Awards, please contact George Gentry, 562-596-8097 or Ggentry@aol.com Veterans are always welcome, and I can guarantee that it will be a worthwhile and rewarding experience.
 
 

    The "Insurrectos" were poorly organized, poorly armed, poorly trained, and poorly led. Being no match for US Army regulars, they resorted to typical guerilla tactics and terrorization of the native population, although there was some sympathy for their cause among the Filipinos. The Insurrectos knew the jungle well, and they could, and did, inflict casualties in ambushes and surprise attacks. It was difficult and dangerous duty. During this time, Captain William H. Gordon was given a unique assignment. He was ordered to form and command a detachment of mounted infantry. He selected men from all companies for their individual abilities and ingenuity, and particularly for their skill with the smaller sized Philippine horse. The number of his command varied with the number of horses available. Gordon's Scouts, as they were known, ranged freely in pursuit of the lnsurrectos, using the horses to move quickly on intelligence information to locate guerilla bands and camps, then dismounting to find and engage the enemy with typical infantry intrepidity. A brief entry in the Mounted Detachment's December 1900 Return says it all: "Dec 23 - Troop dismounted except camp guard of 10 men, took trail 6:30am toward Mt Singat. Discovered Insurgents strongly entrenched on Mountain to north. Troops advanced to attack and were strongly resisted. In action lasting 6 hours, Noble and Van Kirk severely wounded. Returned to camp 5:30pm." Gordon's Scouts were quite effective. They eventually hounded the local leader of the Insurrectos, Quentin Sales, into surrender in the Spring of 1901. During this tour of duty, 18th Infantry soldiers had to endure the physical hardships of jungle fighting, while tropical illness and disease took an even greater toll than did battle casualties.

    In March 1900, James M. J. Sanno was promoted Colonel of the 18th Infantry. However, COL Sanno was on assignment in the United States when he was promoted, and he remained on detached service until the Regiment returned from the Philippines in September 1901. Tropical illness, retirement and detached service caused frequent changes in command of the 18th Infantry in the field during his absence. LTC Van Horne became ill, returned to the US on sick leave, and retired. MAJ Paul, 1st Battalion, retired. MAJ Adams moved from 2nd Battalion to command 1st Battalion, and was soon on his way to San Francisco. MAJ Walker, 2nd Battalion, assumed command, but he too was taken ill and returned to the US on sick leave. MAJ Wheeler, 3rd Battalion, is shown in Regimental Returns as detached on recruiting service in New York and did not serve with the Regiment in Panay. By the end of 1900, the 18th Infantry (minus) had eight companies, with 16 officers and 1001 enlisted men present for duty in the Philippines, and the Regiment in the Philippines was commanded by Captain Thomas Griffin, Company K.

    The 1st Battalion history diverged from the rest of the 18th Infantry during this period. In March, the Department of the Pacific and Eighth Army Corps instituted the concept of a home battalion, presumably to establish a home depot for the training and forwarding overseas of constantly needed replacements for regular Army regiments operating in the Philippines. In May, the 1st Battalion was designated as the 18th Infantry home battalion. On June 19, under command of MAJ Henry H. Adams, the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry, embarked from the Philippines en route to the United States, taking station at the Presidio of San Francisco. There the 1st Battalion remained until the Regiment returned from it's first tour of duty in the Philippine Islands.  In Omnia Paratus!
 
 
 

     31 March -- a very special day indeed for the Vanguard Battalion. We received a Valorous Unit Citation for the Battle of Tan Hiep (4 May 68) and were honored by the presence of several returning veterans: COL (R) George Tronsrue Jr., COL (R) Dick Shaw, and SGT (R) Gary Gansereit were all able to make it to Germany and participate in the Ceremony. Turned out to be a fantastic ceremony for both them and the battalion. That night COL Tronsrue was kind enough to be our guest speaker at an All-Ranks Ball and the young soldiers truly enjoyed getting the opportunity to hear him speak and then, at the end of the night, speak with him and the other heroes of the battle. As I have said before, with the history that you all have built for this battalion it makes it very easy for me to instill a sense of respect and duty in our soldiers. These three gentlemen were an inspiration to all and brought to life the legacy of the 18th Infantry.

     12 April -- the Battalion deployed to Grafenwoehr for gunnery. Highlights include mounted gunnery through Bradley Table VIII, a squad live fire exercise / competition, and a platoon live fire qualification (BT XII). You would have been proud to see your soldiers in action. All 44 Bradley crews qualified, with only 3 having to make a second run. I have been told that this is the best results of any battalion in the Division for quite some time. Additionally, 60% of the crews qualified as either Distinguished or Superior! Top Gun went to the crew of C26 with a perfect score. Every squad underwent an extremely tough competition, so that we could identify and reward our best squad. Competition started off with a two day squad external evaluation followed by a 4 mile road march (carrying a 200 lb. liter) straight into an externally evaluated day/night squad live fire attack. All squads performed admirably, but the best squad came from C Company. SGT Clarks and his squad each received an ARCOM from the Brigade Commander for their outstanding performance. Following that we brought the Mounted Crews and the Squads back together for Bradley Table XII. Once again, tough day/night exercise that forced each platoon to conduct a live fire mounted / dismounted attack to enter and clear a trench line and then defeat a counterattack.  Each platoon got the opportunity to integrate live bangalore breaches, hand grenades, live Dragon and AT-4 antitank missiles, and live 120mm mortar fires into their scheme of maneuver. I personally evaluated each platoon and walked off the range confident in their abilities and proud of their enthusiasm and motivation.

     Immediately following Graf, we moved to Hohenfels for a high-intensity CMTC rotation. We started off with three days of Company Level STX training with each company conducting an In-Stride Breach and Deliberate Attack, MOUT Attack, Movement to Contact, and Hasty Defense. On 22 May we began our 14 day rotation with a night tactical road march. Over the next 14 days we conducted a Battalion/Task Force level Deliberate Attack, Deliberate Defense, Deliberate Defense (night), Movement to Contact, and Deliberate Attack (night) -- with 0% illumination the night missions were very interesting!!  Based upon the positive comments we received, and my own personal assessment, I can tell you that the battalion did EXTREMELY well!  Hard to judge wins and losses, but I would put our record at 4-1. Most importantly we met the three objectives I set for us:

• Everyone completed the training safely and are now back in Schweinfurt
• We got better every day at every level
• The soldiers feel good about themselves and their unit - the 18th Infantry!
• We are now in the process of recovery - making sure our equipment is ready to go when needed. (This will take us through the end of June and then the soldiers will go on a well deserved 2 week block leave period.)

DUTY FIRST - FIRST TO BATTLE - VANGUARDS!

LTC Mike Murray
(Editor's Note: "Iron Mike", if there ever was one!)
 
 
 

     The Army is going through a major transformation today. The leadership of our Army is working hard to change the configuration of the forward deployed units so they can be sent anywhere in the world more rapidly and with enough fighting power to hold their own. In addition, many of the support units are being downsized so that more people go to the combat units. Our 18th Infantry is now receiving the benefit of this new policy.

     I look forward to our coming reunion and hope to meet some more of you and our 18th Infantry soldiers that will come for this gathering. I support and applaud the 18th Infantry Regiment Association for bringing two of our soldiers over to the reunion. I hope each of you, if at all possible, will come to Philadelphia in September. You will not regret it. Just the opportunity to meet these two soldiers makes the whole trip worthwhile.

All the best- Phil Pryor