1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
3.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
4.
Iraq War
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The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces. An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3–4 years of conflict and it became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition, the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue. The invasion began on 20 March 2003, with the U. S. joined by the United Kingdom and several allies, launching a shock. Iraqi forces were overwhelmed as U. S. forces swept through the country. The invasion led to the collapse of the Baathist government, President Hussein was captured during Operation Red Dawn in December of that same year, the United States responded with a troop surge in 2007. The winding down of U. S. involvement in Iraq accelerated under President Barack Obama, the U. S. formally withdrew all combat troops from Iraq by December 2011. Select U. S. officials accused Saddam of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, while others cited the desire to end a repressive dictatorship, after the invasion, no substantial evidence was found to verify the initial claims about WMDs. The rationale and misrepresentation of pre-war intelligence faced heavy criticism within the U. S. in the aftermath of the invasion, Iraq held multi-party elections in 2005. Nouri al-Maliki became Prime Minister in 2006 and remained in office until 2014, the al-Maliki government enacted policies that were widely seen as having the effect of alienating the countrys Sunni minority and worsening sectarian tensions. The Iraq War caused hundreds of thousands of civilian, and thousands of military casualties, the majority of casualties occurred as a result of the insurgency and civil conflicts between 2004 and 2007. A1990 Frontline report on The arming of Iraq said, Officially, most Western nations participated in an arms embargo against Iraq during the 1980s. Western companies, primarily in Germany and Great Britain, but also in the United States, sold Iraq the key technology for its chemical, missile, any Western governments seemed remarkably indifferent, if not enthusiastic, about those deals. N Washington, the government consistently followed a policy which allowed and perhaps encouraged the growth of Saddam Husseins arsenal. The Western arming of Iraq took place in the context of the Iran-Iraq War, prior to September 2002, the CIA was the George W. Bush administrations main provider of intelligence on Iraq. The agency was out to disprove linkage between Iraq and terrorism the Pentagon adviser told me, the U. N. had prohibited Iraq from developing or possessing such weapons after the Gulf War and required Iraq to permit inspections confirming compliance. This was confirmed by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, during 2002, Bush repeatedly warned of military action against Iraq unless inspections were allowed to progress unfettered. In accordance with U. N. Security Council Resolution 1441, Iraq agreed to new inspections under United Nations Monitoring, as part of its weapons inspection obligations, Iraq was required to supply a full declaration of its current weapons capabilities and manufacturing
5.
Creed C. Hammond
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Creed C. Hammond was a Major General in the United States Army. He served as Chief of the National Guard Bureau, creed Cheshire Hammond was born in Eugene City, Oregon, on October 9,1874. In 1892, he enlisted in Company C, 2nd Oregon Infantry of the Oregon Army National Guard and he graduated from the University of Oregon in 1896, and worked as a retail merchandiser. Hammond enlisted for the Spanish–American War, joining Company I, 1st Nebraska Volunteer Infantry and he served in the Philippines, and attained the rank of First Sergeant. In 1901, Hammond was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Oregon Army National Guards 4th Infantry Regiment, while continuing his military career Hammond lived in Eugene, and worked as a deputy sheriff, real estate broker, and officer of the Bank of Commerce. Hammond was promoted to Colonel in 1911 as a member of the Governors staff, at the start of World War I, Hammond was commander of the 39th Coast Artillery Regiment. He was later appointed commander of the 162nd Infantry Regiment, a unit of the 81st Brigade and his regiment performed garrison and training site duties in the United States, as well as providing replacement troops for other regiments. From 1919 to 1920 Hammond was Cashier of the Portland National Bank, in 1920 he returned to active duty as a member of the General Staff, where he played a key role in the creation of the National Defense Act of 1920. From 1922 to 1925 Hammond served as Assistant to the National Guard Bureau Chief and Chief of the Finance Division, in 1925 Hammond was appointed Chief of the Militia Bureau and promoted to Major General. Hammond served as Militia Bureau Chief until 1929, however, Secretary of War James W. Good announced the adoption of a rotation policy for high level assignments, and Hammond left the post when his term expired. After retiring from the military, Hammond accepted appointment as Auditor General of the government in the Philippines. In retirement Hammond resided in Portland and he died in Portland on April 2,1940, and was buried at Portland’s Lincoln Memorial Park, Section Vista, Lot 426, Grave #1
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161st Infantry Regiment (United States)
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The 161st Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Army and the Washington Army National Guard. Its 1st Battalion is a combined element of the 81st Armor Brigade Combat Team consisting of two infantry and two armored companies, with its headquarters in Spokane, Washington. During the War with Spain the United States seized the Philippine Islands in 1898, elements of the Filipino army, who wanted independence and resented the seizure of their islands by the United States, began hostilities against U. S. Army units stationed in the Philippines. To reinforce these units, the War Department mustered National Guard units into federal service, among them were ten companies of the 1st and 2nd Infantry Battalions of the Washington National Guard mustered into federal service 6–13 May 1898 at Tacoma. The Washington National Guardsmen were then reorganized and redesignated as the 1st Regiment, the regiment was dispatched to the Philippines where it was assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, VIII Corps. The regiment was cited for valorous conduct at the Battle of Santa Ana, the First Washington spent a week in Japan en route back to America. It was mustered out of service on 1 November 1899 at San Francisco. Three months later the regiment returned to American Lake, WA where it was mustered out on 8 October 1916, as war clouds gathered, the 2nd Infantry Regiment, Washington National Guard was called back into federal service on 25 March 1917. In July 1917 the War Department set up a new numbering system for infantry regiments with National Guard regiments to be numbered 101-300, one hundred and sixty seven National Guard regiments were renumbered. From 19 September to 20 October 1917, the 2nd Infantry Regiment was consolidated with elements of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, the 161st was assigned to the 41st Division on 19 September 1917. Sent overseas to France, the 161st was not committed to combat, rather, the personnel of the 161st were used as replacements for other units. For its service the regiment was awarded the World War I campaign streamer without inscription, the 161st was demobilized 1–8 March 1919 at Camp Dix, NJ and Camp Dodge, IA. Initially ordered to Camp Murray, Washington on 20 September 1940, between 5 June and 2 July 1941 the 41st participated in the IX Corps maneuvers at Hunter Leggett Military Reservation, California. Returning to Washington State, the division participated in the Fourth Army maneuvers at Fort Lewis from 15 through 30 August 1940. With the 41st Division being reconfigured to the new triangular division, the War Department ordered the 161st Infantry to the Philippine Islands to reinforce American forces there in anticipation of a possible Japanese invasion. The Japanese attacked Hawaii and the Philippines before the 161st was to depart San Francisco, in reaction the War Department directed the 161st to Hawaii to reinforce the defenses there. The regiment sailed from San Francisco on 16 December 1941, arriving in Hawaii on 21 December 1941, on 17 February 1942 the 161st Infantry was reassigned from the 41st Division to the Hawaiian Department. The 25th was reconfigured into three regimental combat teams, the 161st RCT was composed of the 161st Infantry, the 89th Field Artillery Battalion and other combat support units under the command of Colonel Clarence A. Orndorff
7.
163rd Infantry Regiment (United States)
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The 163rd Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the Montana National Guard. It went overseas with the 41st Infantry Division in World War II, in December 1942, General Douglas MacArthur decided to commit more American troops to the Battle of Buna-Gona. The 163rd Regimental Combat Team, under the command of Colonel Jens A. Doe, was alerted on 14 December 1942 and it arrived at Port Moresby on 27 December. The 163rd Regimental Combat Team was attached to Major General George Alan Vaseys 7th Division, the front line consisted of a raised road with Japanese positions on relatively dry ground astride it, surrounded by jungle swamp. Roadblocks had been established behind the Japanese positions but they had not been budged, constituted in the Montana National Guard as the 1st Regiment of Infantry and organized 1884-1887 from existing companies. Redesignated as the 1st Montana Volunteer Infantry and mustered into federal service 5–10 May 1898 at Helena, served in the Philippines and mustered out 17 October 1899 at San Francisco, reorganized 30 May 1901-1 December 1903 as the 2nd infantry Montana National Guard. Mustered into federal service at Fort William Henry Harrison 27 June 1916 for Mexican border, mustered into federal service 7 April 1917 at Fort William H. Harrison. Demobilized 21 February 1919 at Camp Dix, NJ, reconstituted as the 2nd Infantry Montana National Guard and reorganized during 1921-1922. Redesignated as the 163rd Infantry Regiment and assigned to the 41st Infantry Division 1 May 1922, federally recognized 20 January 1924 with headquarters at Helena. Headquarters relocated to Billings 29 December 1939 Inducted into federal service 16 September 1940 at Billings Inactivated 31 December 1945 in Japan, relieved from the 41st Infantry Division 17 June 1946 and assigned to the 163rd Regimental Combat Team. Reorganized and federally recognized 21 April 1947 with headquarters at Bozeman, attached below the shield is a Blue scroll doubled and inscribed MEN, DO YOUR DUTY in Gold letters. Symbolism The palm tree represents Philippine service, the giant cactus Mexican Border duty, Blue and white are the colors associated with Infantry and refer to the organization’s combat service as the 163d Infantry during World War II. Background The distinctive unit insignia was approved for the 163d Infantry Regiment. It was redesignated for the 163d Armored Cavalry Regiment, Montana National Guard on 17 September 1953 and it was amended to change the symbolism on 21 January 1970. The insignia was updated to include both the Montana and Nevada Army National Guard on 20 January 1975 and it was redesignated for the 163d Infantry Regiment, Montana Army National Guard on 1 February 1989. Blazon Shield Per fess Argent and Azure, in chief a palm tree on mount Proper and in base a giant cactus, symbolism Shield The palm tree represents Philippine service, the giant cactus Mexican Border duty and the fleur-de-lis service in France during World War I. Blue and white are the associated with Infantry and refer to the organization’s combat service as the 163d Infantry during World War II. Crest The crest is that of the Montana Army National Guard, background The coat of arms was originally approved for the 163d Infantry Regiment, Montana National Guard on 15 December 1941
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41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team (United States)
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The 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team is an element in the Oregon Army National Guard. Headquartered at Camp Withycombe, Clackamas, Oregon, it was part of the 7th Infantry Division based at Ft. Carson in Colorado, the brigade traces its lineage back to the 41st Infantry Division. The history of the Oregon National Guard’s 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, or 41st IBCT, began during the days preceding the founding of the state. ”Two months later came the appointment of one major. In May 1887, the Oregon legislature passed “Summers Law” named after Portland businessperson, the law authorized the establishment of a State Adjutant General and a State National Guard. On July 18,1917, the 41st Infantry Division was formed for service in World War I and was comprised primarily from National Guard units from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, known as the Sunset Division, the divisions unit patch symbolized a setting sun over the Pacific Ocean. For more information see the 41st Infantry Division history, on November 15,1965, the 41st Division was reorganized into the 41st Infantry Brigade. In 1968, the 41st Infantry Brigade was redesignated as the 41st Separate Infantry Brigade, in 1975 the brigade became the roundout brigade to the 7th Infantry Division, serving this capacity until August 2006. In 1994, the 41st Separate Infantry Brigade was designated as Enhanced, in 1999,136 members of C Company, 2–162 Infantry and B Company, 1-186 Infantry were called up to active duty to protect Patriot Missile batteries in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. This was the first activation of Oregonian National Guardsmen to federal service since 1941, on September 11,2001, advance elements of the 241st Military Intelligence Company arrived in Tuzla, Bosnia, for a seven-month deployment as part of the NATO Stabilization Force. 1–162 Infantry was deployed 6 February 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, several months after 1–162 INF deployed to Iraq, 2-162 INF deployed as part of the 39th Infantry Brigade to Iraq. The battalion served in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq, suffering a number of casualties while conducting stabilization security missions, during the same time, a handful of personnel were sent to train foreign soldiers in Afghanistan. 2nd Platoon B Co 2nd Battalion 162nd 41st Brigade Combat Team was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for their gallantry in combat and this was the first award of the Presidential Unit Citation to a unit of the Oregon National Guard in more than six decades. The last time a unit of the Oregon National Guard received this distinction was for their valor during the Second World War, the unit was selected for the initial attack on the city and tasked with penetrating the enemy’s defenses and isolating the Jolan District in northwestern Fallujah. The Jolan District was believed to be the strongest of the enemy’s defenses, the unit’s rapid penetration deep into the city overwhelmed enemy positions, leading the way for further exploitation by the Marines. Throughout the remainder of the battle, the continued to isolate western Fallujah while attacking and destroying numerous enemy strong points. The unit’s heroic Soldiers, and their use of combined arms firepower. In the spring of 2006, Brig. Gen. Pritt and elements of the joined the personnel already in Afghanistan. In 2006 the brigade was redesignated to become the 41 Infantry Brigade Combat Team
United States
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Army Institute of Heraldry document "162nd Infantry".
