359 Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division

359 Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division. “Carry On”. Constituted in 1917, the 359th Infantry Regiment served in several hard-fought campaigns during World War I. Recalled to active service in March 1942, it was reorganized at Camp Barkeley, Texas, and assigned to the 90th Infantry Division. The Regiment conducted all phases of individual and unit training before sailing for England on 23 March 1944, some ten weeks before D-Day. , , In Great Britain, the Regiment trained rigorously under the leadership of Colonel Clark K. Fales in preparation for service in Normandy. In accordance with invasion planning, most of the 359th Infantry Regiment was attached to the 4th Infantry Division for the assault on Utah Beach. On D-Day, the Regiment's 1st and 3rd Battalions landed and joined in the effort to clear German defenders from coastal areas and to carry the fight inland in order to link-up with elements of the two American airborne divisions dropped early on D-Day. After occupying an assembly area near St. Martin de Varreville, those battalions engaged in their first ground combat against German infantry. On 7 June, the transport vessel carrying the Regiment's 2nd Battalion struck a mine. Although the soldiers of the 2nd Battalion survived, they needed to be reequiped before joining the battle. , , On 10 June 1944, the 4th Infantry Division detached the units of the 359th Infantry, which the 90th Infantry Division reattached. Intact once more, 359th Infantry went into the line on 11 June near Picauville. The 90th Division then crossed the Merderet River and captured Pont-l'Abbe in close combat. After assuming a defensive sector south of the Douve River on 23 June, the Regiment prepared for future offensive operations, which included, on 3 July, the assault upon the Foret-de-Mont Castre, carried out in the face of determined enemy resistance. The forest was in American hands by 11 July. By the time Périers fell on 27 July, hard fighting in the Norman hedgerows had turned the 90th Infantry Division into a formidable force of seasoned veterans performing well in the early days of Operation Cobra and hastening the Allies' breakout from Normandy. , , During the eleven months following D-Day, the 359th Infantry would "Carry on" and pen new chapters of its storied history. Among other matters, those chapters include the award of the Medal of Honor to Sergeant John D. Hawk of Company E, two Presidential Unit Citations, and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm. The Regiment returned to the United States with the 90th Infantry Division and was inactivated at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, on 26 December 1945. , In tribute to the Reserve and National Guard Forces who have answered, and still, the call to preserve and defend the United States of America. Given by Frances B. Brooke to mark the 65th anniversary of D-Day.