115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division

115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division. “Rally Round the Flag”. The 115th Infantry was organized on 29 September 1881 as the 1st Battalion of Infantry, Maryland National Guard, from existing independent companies, including those at Hagerstown and Frederick. It was expanded and redesignated on 1 May 1886 as the 1st Regiment of Infantry by consolidation with other redesignated infantry companies. The 3rd Battalion of Infantry was organized 13 June 1881 by consolidation and redesignation of four companies. On 9 June 1892, the 1st Regiment of Infantry and the 3rd Battalion of Infantry were consolidated and redesignated as the 1st Regiment of Infantry. Mustered into federal service on 11 May 1898 as the 1st Maryland Volunteer Infantry, it consisted of companies posted throughout the state. Recalled into federal service in July 1917, the regiment distinguished itself in the Great War. Again federalized on 3 February 1941, the unit was redesignated the 115th Infantry. The 115th shipped to England in October 1942 to train for the cross-channel attack that would change the course of World War II. , , Assigned by Overlord planners as a follow-up force landing on the evening of D-Day, the 115th Infantry was later shifted to the main assault force that hit Omaha Beach at 0630. At 0632 on D-Day, V Corps Commander, Maj. Gen. Leonard T. Gerow, issued the dramatic order that would shape the regiment's destiny: "Land the 115th Infantry at 10:30 AM." , , Led by Col. Eugene Slappey, the regiment moved toward shore in twelve LCIs (Landing Craft, Infantry), each embarking about 190 infantrymen plus liaison teams from the 110th Field Artillery Battalion. Under steady artillery and scattered small arms fire, the 1st and 2nd Battalions disembarked at 1100; the 3rd landed an hour later. Coming in at high tide, the LCIs forced their way through a belt of submerged beach obstacles, many of them topped with mines. The 115th Infantry exited the beach through barbed wire and unmarked minefields, to push up the steep coastal bluff between E-1 and B-3 Draws. About noon the regiment attained the crest and received orders to turn west and attack the strongpoint at St. Laurent-sur-Mer, characterized as a "mass of tunneled emplacements." At 1500, E and F Companies led that assault. Fierce lighting erupted in and around the village, particularly near the church. Maneuvering around the village to the south, the 1st and 2nd Battalions sidestepped enemy resistance. Meanwhile, the 3rd Battalion attacked to secure St. Laurent, an effort that continued the next day. During the night of 6 June a mortar shell mortally wounded the commander of 1st Battalion, Lt. Col. Richard Blatt, who died aboard ship returning to England. D-Day casualties in the 115th Infantry amounted to 103, including 33 killed. , , The 115th Infantry Regiment played a crucial role in Operation Overlord. The U.S. Army would later acknowledge the regiment's audacious D-Day exploits by awarding the 115th the Presidential Unit Citation. It concludes: "The outstanding performance of duty, the courage, the tenacity, aggressiveness, and extraordinary heroism of all personnel of the 115th Infantry Regiment, at a time when the success of this great military undertaking was in the balance, reflect the highest credit on the military forces of the United States.” , , This monument is placed in lasting tribute to the 115th Infantry Regiments devotion to duty and contribution to victory on D-Day, 6 June 1944.