314th Infantry Regiment (United States)

Organized as part of the 79th Division A.E.F. (American Expeditionary Force) – World War I The United States in World War I, the men of the 314th were trained at Camp Meade (later renamed Fort George G. Meade in 1929), Maryland. Arriving at the camp in September, 1917, the unit was included in the 157th Infantry Brigade of Brigadier General William Jones Nicholson, along with the 313th Infantry Regiment and the 311th Machine Gun Battalion.[1] The regiment completed training and sailed to France aboard the USS Leviathan in July, 1918. Upon arrival at Brest, France, they continued training until September 1918, then took part in the Meuse Argonne Offensive. Capturing the town of Malancourt on 26 September 1918, they assisted the 313th Infantry on the following day in the capture of the town of Montfaucon-d'Argonne. Montfaucon was a heavily defended area and observation post of the German army. Of the four Infantry regiments of the 79th Division involved in the offensive, the 314th was hardest-hit. It took several days to account for all the missing personnel and bring the regiment up 50 percent manning.

The 79th Division was relieved on 30 September and transferred to the Troyon sector. While there, they assumed a variety of duties, including holding the front. They shared the trenches with the 313th, 315th, and 316th Infantry Regiments. During this time, they were harassed with mustard gas, shelling, and enemy trench and air raids but held the line.

At the end of October, the 79th Division was again ordered to move to participate in the third phase of the Meuse Argonne Offensive. On 1 November 1918, the 314th advanced. By 9 November, they captured the towns of Crepion, Waville, and Moirey. The following day the unit captured Buisson Chaumont, Hill 328. On 11 November, the 314th advanced against Cote de Romagne and stopped firing at 11 a.m., at the time of the Armistice. By the end day, the 314th had made the greatest advance into German lines east of the Meuse River.

The regiment continued training, passed a review by General Pershing, and shipped home on 15 May 1919, aboard the USS Princess Matoika. Arriving at Hoboken, New Jersey on 26 May 1919, they were discharged from service at Camp Dix, New Jersey.

Erected at Camp Meade, Maryland in 1917 by the men of the 314th as an Officers' Club and assembly room, it was purchased from the U.S. government after the war, carefully disassembled, and rebuilt on ground provided by the Washington Memorial Chapel by members of the Regiment. Dedicated in 1922 by the Veterans of the 314th A.E.F. to honor the 362 men of the Regiment who made the supreme sacrifice. The cabin housed artifacts of the 314th which allowed a glimpse at how life was for the men during the First World War. The centerpiece of the cabin was a bronze tablet listing all the members of the regiment—more than 4,000 names. A star was placed beside each name upon their death as a sign of honor. In 2012 the cabin was disassembled, gifted to the US Army and returned to Ft George G. Meade, MD. It remains in storage currently awaiting reconstruction. The contents of the cabin were likewise donated to the Ft Meade Museum.

314th Infantry Regiment A.E.F. website

• Shield

Azure upon a mount Proper a falcon close Or within an orle of the last in bordure three fleurs-de-lis of the like.

• Crest

That for the regiments and separate battalions of the Army Reserve: From a wreath Or and Azure, the Lexington Minute Man Proper. The statue of the Minute Man, Captain John Parker (H.H. Kitson, sculptor), stands on the common in Lexington, Massachusetts. Motto Fortitude and Courage.

• Shield

The 314th Infantry was organized at Camp Meade as a unit of the 79th Division in 1917. It served overseas during World War I and took part in the Meuse-Argonne operation and held a sector in Lorraine. Under authority of the National Defense Act the regiment was reconstituted a unit of the 79th Division, Organized Reserves, in November 1921, with headquarters at Reading, Pennsylvania. The falcon recalls Montfaucon and the three fleurs-de-lis recall the regiment's first service in the Meuse-Argonne, the Troyon Sector and the second service in the Meuse-Argonne.

• Crest

The crest is that of the U.S. Army Reserve.

The coat of arms was originally approved for the 314th Infantry, Organized Reserves on 2 May 1924. It was amended to withdraw the "Organized Reserves" from the designation and to delete the Organized Reserves' crest from the coat of arms for the 314th Infantry on 29 May 1959. On 22 June 1970 it was amended to reinstate the crest of the Army Reserve and revise the symbolism of the design. On 3 September 1999 the coat of arms was redesignated for the 314th Regiment.