137th Infantry Regiment

---

 

Valor For Service

(Kansas National Guard)

Chronology :

• 23 December 1940 inducted into federal service at Wichita Kansas assigned to the 35th Division and moved to Camp Joseph T. Robinson Arkansas 7 January 1941
• Transferred to Fort Ord California 23 December 1941 and to the Presidio of San Francisco California 14 Jan 1942
• Sent to Long Beach California 23 April 1942 and to Camp San Luis Obispo California 2 February 1943
• Relocated to Camp Rucker Alabama 31 March 1943 and to the Tennessee Manoeuvre area 17 November 1943
• Arrived at Camp Butner North Carolina 21 January 1944 and staged at Camp Kilmer New Jersey 3 May 44 until departed New York P/E 12 May 1944
• Arrived England 25 May 1944 and landed in France 8 July 1944 (attached to 4th Armoured Div 20-24 August 1944)
• Entered Germany 18 November 1944 and crossed into Belgium 27 December 1944
• Returned to France 18 January 1945 and re-entered Germany 5 February 1945
• Crossed into Holland 23 February 1945 and returned to Germany 26 February 1945 (attached 30th Infantry Division 14 April 1945 only)
• Arrived Boston P/E 31 August 1945 and moved to Camp Breckinridge Kentucky 4 September 1945 where inactivated on 5 December 1945.

List of the hometowns of the different units :

Units	Towns
Regimental HQ Company, HQ et Band	Wichita
Service Company	Wichita
Anti-tank Company	Topeka
Medical Detachment	Wichita
1st Bn HQ Detachment	Cotton Wood Falls
A Company	Atchinson
B Company	Emporia
C Company	Council Grove
D Company	Dodge City
2nd Bn HQ Detachment	Kansas City
E Company	Holton
F Company	Newton
G Company	Kansas City
H Company	Lawrence
3rd Bn HQ Detachment	Wichita
I Company	Wichita
K Company	Wichita
L Company	Kingman
M Company	Lawrence

Campaigns :

Philippine Insurrection :

• Manilla
• Malolos

World War 1 :

• Meuse Argonne
• Alsace 1918
• Lorraine 1918

World War 2 :

• Normand
• Northern France
• Rhineland
• Ardennes - Alsace
• Central Europe

Awards :

• DUC/PUC (Army) 18-21 nov 44 (3rd Bn, 137th inf cité WD GO 11 1946)
• DUC/PUC (Army) 10 dec 44 (F Co, 137th inf cite WD GO 20 1946)

Commanderss:

Date	Name
26 May 1944	Col. Harold R. Emery
7 Sep 1944	Col. Robert. Sears
31 Oct 1944	Col. William S. Murray

Motto:

Valor for service

Crest:

The regimental crest is a shield with a blue back-ground edged with gold. At the top center is a “fitchee” or pointed segment of green representing service on the Mexican Border in 1916.

At the bottom are crossed, golden bolos representing service of the 20th Kansas in The Philippine War.

In the center is a gold bar or baton. The gold baton was awarded to the regiment by the French War Department commemorating the 137th's capture of the historic town of Varennes in the 1918 Meuse-Argonne offensive. The baton on the shield is taken from the arrus or coat of arms of Varennes.

It represents the baton of a marshal of France. The baton was awarded to the City of Varennes when a young Lieutenant captured Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette at Varennes when they were attempting to escape from Paris during the French Revolution.

The motto at the bottom of the shield, “Valor for Service,” is a magnetic challenge to every person of the 137th Regiment to do their duty to God and country, thus upholding the high standards of service established by those who have gone before.

The five battle stars (awarded in 1945) are for: Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe.

Dans la partie basse se trouve deux bolos croisés représentant le service durant l'insurrection des Philippines.

The book, Combat History of the 137th IR, World War II, printed by "Special Troops" in 1946 shows the crest with five battle stars. The Department of Defense, Office of Heraldry later passed a rule that there could be no changes made to insignia after World War II.

Therefore current 137th soldiers today wear a crest WITHOUT the five battle stars earned in World War II which looks "empty" to old timers.

World War II veterans of the 137th IR prefer to see their crest WITH the five battle stars which they earned with blood, sweat and tears.

The Crest and motto were approved December 8, 1930.

Crest with 5 battles stars	Standard crest<