33rd Infantry Regiment (United States)
Encyclopedia
The 33rd Infantry Regiment was an American unit stationed in the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...

 and Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 from 1916-1956. Though providing troops for various other American military formations, the Regiment had no battle honours of its own.

History

Though other American Regiments in the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

 and American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 (33rd Infantry Regiment United States Colored Troops
United States Colored Troops
The United States Colored Troops were regiments of the United States Army during the American Civil War that were composed of African American soldiers. First recruited in 1863, by the end of the Civil War, the men of the 175 regiments of the USCT constituted approximately one-tenth of the Union...

 formed from the 1st South Carolina Coloured Infantry on 8 February 1864-disbanded 31 January 1866) had the designation of 33rd Infantry, they have no lineage with the most recent 33rd Infantry Regiment.

The 33rd Infantry was activated on 6 July 1916 in accordance with War Department General Orders Number 22 dated 30 June 1916 that ordered seven new Regiments to be organised; four in the Continental United States, one in the Philippine Islands (31st Infantry Regiment (United States), one in Hawaii (32nd Infantry Regiment (United States), and one, the 33rd Infantry, in the Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...

.

Chronicled by J. Fisher/Fort Clayton C.Z. on his six-foot panorama photo of the first assembly of the full regiment photographed November 1920.

"In 1916, when the whole of Europe was engaged in the great war, the United States Congress enacted a law increasing our armed forces. On [sic] of the results of this act of congress was the organization of the 33rd infantry which was formed in the Canal Zone July 6, 1916 and has remained on duty here ever since. The enlisted personnel of the regiment was originally drawn from the 5th and 10th infantry stationed at Camps Empire and Otis. During the construction days both camps were occupied by troops after being vacated by civilians. Major General Charles H. Muir was the first regiment commander. Headquarters, machine gun, supply companies, and companies A,B,C,D,E, and F were organized at Camp Empire. Companies G,H,I,J,K,L, and M were organized at Camp Otis. The band section was organized at Fort Jay, N.Y. During the first four years of existence, the 33rd. infantry was distributed by battalions, and detachments, throughout the canal zone and the Republic of Panama. During the World War, it guarded Gatun Locks, the dam and spillway, the Monte Lirio, and Mindi bridges, the Chagres River bridge at Gamboa. the Pedro Miguel and Mira FLores locks, pier 18 and the dry dock at Balboa. During the period from 1916 to 1920, the regiment was engaged in exploring and charting the jungles of Panama.

In November, 1920, the young regiment assembled as a unit for the first time at Fort Clayton Canal Zone. The new post was named in honor of Colonel Bertram Tracy Clayton, who was killed in action in France May 30, 1918."

In 1941 the regiment was transferred from the Panama Canal Department to the Caribbean Defense Command. On 6 September 1941, the First Battalion was sent to Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...

, with elements of the First Battalion later transferring to Surinam to guard bauxite mines, protect the Dutch government in exile, and watch the border of Vichy French Guyana. The 2nd and 3rd Battalion later arrived at Fort Read in Trinidad. The First Battalion was withdrawn from Surinam in June 1943 and moved to Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...

.

In March 1944 the regiment departed Trinidad arriving in New York in 1944, the first time the Regimental Colors arrived on Continental American soil. The Regiment was assigned to Camp Claiborne
Camp Claiborne
Camp Claiborne was a U.S. Army military camp during World War II located in Rapides Parish in central Louisiana. The camp was under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Eighth Service Command, and included 23,000 acres ....

 Louisiana and assigned to the Fourth United States Army. Many of the Regiment volunteered for Merrill's Marauders
Merrill's Marauders
Merrill’s Marauders or Unit Galahad, officially named the 5307th Composite Unit , was a United States Army long range penetration special operations unit in the South-East Asian Theater of World War II which fought in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, or CBI...

 and were sent to Burma as the 2nd Battalion 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional). The Regiment was inactivated on 26 June 1944.

The 33rd Infantry was reactivated at Fort Clayton on February 1946, inactivated again on September 1948 at Fort Gulick
Fort Gulick
Fort Gulick was a U.S. Army base in the former Panama Canal Zone located on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal near Fort Davis, on Gatun Lake.-History:It was perhaps best known as the location of the School of the Americas...

, then reactivated at Fort Kobbe
Fort Kobbe
Fort Kobbe was an Army fort created in 1932 that was adjacent to Howard Air Force Base in Panama. It was a relatively small post, and housed a battalion of paratroopers , a firing battery of artillery M-102 105mm; six gun battery with survey and search light section, a battalion of engineers , and a...

, Canal Zone. During the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 the 3rd Battalion of the 33rd was transferred to the 65th Infantry Regiment (United States)
65th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 65th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed "The Borinqueneers," was an all-volunteer Puerto Rican regiment of the United States Army. Its motto was Honor et Fidelitas, Latin for Honor and Fidelity. It participated in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War...

 for war service.

The 33rd Infantry became part of the Americal Division
Americal Division
The 23rd Infantry Division, more commonly known as the Americal Division of the United States Army was formed in May 1942 on the island of New Caledonia. In the immediate emergency following Pearl Harbor, the United States had hurriedly sent three individual regiments to defend New Caledonia...

 in the Canal Zone on 2 December 1954, with the regiment being inactivated again on 26 May 1956, the assets of the unit being used to reactivate the 20th Infantry Regiment (United States)
20th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 20th Infantry Regiment is a United States Army infantry regiment.-History:It was organized on 6 June 1862 at Fort Independence , as the 2nd Battalion of the 11th Infantry, one of the nine "three-battalion" regiments of regulars, each battalion containing eight companies of infantry, in...

.

Lineage

Constituted 1 July 1916 in the Regular Army as the 33rd Infantry. Organized 5-7 July 1916 in the Canal Zone by the transfer of personnel from the 5th and 10th Infantry Regiments at Empire, and Camp Otis, Canal Zone. Inactivated 26 June 1944 at Camp Claiborne
Camp Claiborne
Camp Claiborne was a U.S. Army military camp during World War II located in Rapides Parish in central Louisiana. The camp was under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Eighth Service Command, and included 23,000 acres ....

, Louisiana.
Activated 1 February 1946 at Fort Clayton
Fort Clayton
Fort Clayton was a United States Army base in the former Panama Canal Zone, later part of the Republic of Panama. Fort Clayton was located northwest of Balboa, Panama, with the Panama Canal located nearby. It closed in 1999 pursuant to the Torrijos-Carter Treaties...

, Canal Zone. Inactivated 1 September 1948 at Fort Clayton. Activated 4 January 1950 at Fort Kobbe
Fort Kobbe
Fort Kobbe was an Army fort created in 1932 that was adjacent to Howard Air Force Base in Panama. It was a relatively small post, and housed a battalion of paratroopers , a firing battery of artillery M-102 105mm; six gun battery with survey and search light section, a battalion of engineers , and a...

, Canal Zone. Inactivated 26 May 1956 at Fort Kobbe.

Distinctive Unit Insignia

  • Description

A Silver color metal and enamel device 1 1/4 inches (3.18 cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Argent, a pile cottised Azure, charged with a sword bayonet fesswise of the field. Attached below and to the sides of the shield a Silver scroll inscribed “RIDENTES VENIMUS” in Blue letters.
  • Symbolism

This Regiment was organized in the Canal Zone in 1916, and served there during World War I guarding the canal. This is symbolized by the cotises of Infantry blue on each side of a pile to represent the canal. The motto translates to “Smiling We Come.”
  • Background

The distinctive unit insignia was approved on 8 January 1924.

Blazon

  • Shield

Argent, a pile cottised Azure, charged with a sword bayonet fesswise of the field.
  • Crest

None.
Motto RIDENTES VENIMUS (Smiling We Come)
  • Symbolism
  • Shield

This Regiment was organized in the Canal Zone in 1916, and served there during World War I guarding the canal. This is symbolized by the cotises of Infantry blue on each side of a pile to represent the canal.
  • Crest

None.
  • Background

The coat of arms was approved on 2 March 1921.
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