The 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger) was the United States Army Ranger unit of the Vietnam War era.
History[]
On 1 February 1969, as part of the U.S. Army Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS), all U.S. Army Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (or "Lurp") units were reorganized as the 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger).[1] Fifteen Ranger companies were formed from reconnaissance units in Europe and Vietnam with lineage to Merrill's Marauders, the 5307th Composite Unit,[2] The companies were designated C through I and K through P. There was no "J" Ranger Company; this is so there would be no confusion with the similar "I" (or India) designation on typed paperwork. Companies A and B were kept stateside as a strategic reserve in case they were needed overseas in Europe or the Americas.
The Ranger companies were composed of small, heavily armed long range reconnaissance teams that patrolled deep in enemy-held territory. Each independent company was attached to a division or separate brigade and acted as the eyes and ears of those units.[3] Rangers collected intelligence, discovered enemy troop locations, surveilled trails and enemy hot spots, directed artillery and air strikes, did bombing damage assessment, performed ambushes, and sniper attacks. Additionally, Rangers attempted recovering prisoners of war, captured enemy soldiers for interrogation, tapped the wire communications of the North Vietnam Army and the National Liberation Front for South Vietnam (Vietcong) on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and mined enemy trails and roads.
Lineage[]
Constituted 25 May 1944 in the Army of the United States as the 475 Infantry. Organized 10 August 1944 in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations from personnel of the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) aka "Merrill's Marauders" (Organized 3 October 1943 in the China-Burma-India Theater) Inactivated 1 July 1945 in China.
Redesignated 75th Infantry 21 June 1954. Allotted to the Regular Army 26 October 1954. Activated 20 November 1954 on Okinawa. Inactivated 21 March 1956 on Okinawa. Reorganized 1 January 1969 as the 75th Infantry (Ranger), a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System.
Reorganized 1 July 1984 with Headquarters at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Consolidated 3 February 1986 with the former 1st Ranger Infantry Battalion, 2d Infantry Battalion, and 3d, 4th, 5th, and 6th Ranger Infantry Battalions (see ANNEXES 1-6) and consolidated unit redesignated as the 75th Ranger Regiment; concurrently withdrawn from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System.
Organization[]
| Company | Unit attached | Company | Unit attached |
| Company A | V Corps, Germany | Company I | 1st Infantry Division |
| Company B | VII Corps, Germany | Company K | 4th Infantry Division |
| Company C | I Field Force, Vietnam | Company L | 101st Airborne Division |
| Company D | II Field Force, Vietnam | Company M | 199th Infantry Brigade (Light) |
| Company E | 9th Infantry Division | Company N | 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) |
| Company F | 25th Infantry Division | Company O | 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division |
| Company G | 23rd Infantry Division | Company P | 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) |
| Company H | 1st Cavalry Division |
References[]
- ↑ SuaSponte.com Vietnam Rangers page (access not allowed)
- ↑ On 1 February 1969 the U.S. Army designated the 75th Infantry Regiment successor of the 5307th Composite Unit (Merrill's Marauders).
- ↑ Ankony, Robert C., Lurps: A Ranger's Diary of Tet, Khe Sanh, A Sahu, and Qung Tri, revised ed., Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Lanham, MD (2009).
- ↑ Lock, John D. and Moore, Harold G. To Fight With Intrepidity: The Complete History of the U.S. Army Rangers 1622 to Present Fenestra Books, 2001 ISBN 1-58736-064-0 pp. 515-516
External links[]
- Photographic history of 1st Air Cavalry Division Lurp / Rangers in Vietnam 1968.
- 75th Ranger Regiment lineage
See also[]
- Company F, 425th Infantry (Ranger)
- Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol
- 75th Infantry Regiment (United States)
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The original article can be found at 75th Ranger Infantry Regiment (Airborne) and the edit history here.