46th Infantry Regiment (United States)

The 46th Infantry Regiment ("The Professionals") is a unit in the United States Army that served in WWII and Vietnam.

History

During World War II, the 46th Infantry Regiment was assigned to the 5th Armored Division. Landing at Normandy in 1944, the 46th Infantry led the 5th Armored Division in five campaigns earning the nickname "Victory’s Spearpoint".

For their repeated courage under fire, the 2nd Battalion, 46th Infantry, was awarded two Presidential Unit Citations, the French Croix de Guerre, and the Luxembourg Croix de Guerre, those nation’s highest awards for gallantry in action.

During the Vietnam War, the 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry and the 5th Battalion, 46th Infantry were part of the Americal Division. Both initially deployed to Vietnam with the 198th Infantry Brigade from Fort Hood, Texas. But the 1-46th was placed under operational control of the 196th Infantry Brigade (Light) and later became fully a part of the 196th Brigade. Though the 5-46th left Vietnam when the Americal Division cased its colors in the fall of 1971, the 1-46th deployed to Da Nang with the rest of the 196th. The 1-46th left Vietnam in June 1972.