History of the 36th
36th ARMORED INFANTRY REGIMENT
Call sign: "Ozark"

Men of the 36th Armored Infantry Regiment, "Blitz Doughs" of the 3rd Armored Division, trace
their immediate history back to Brownsville, Texas, where the unit was activated in July, 1916, by
personnel of the 4th, 26th, and 28th Infantry Regiments. The new organization did not go overseas
in World War I, but saw service on the Mexican border.

Reactivated by a cadre from the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Armored Division, on
April 15, 1941, the 36th Armored Infantry Regiment became an original "Spearhead" element.

At Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, the first commander was Colonel Walton H. Walker, the officer
who later became a lieut. general in command of the famous XX "Ghost Corps" of the 3rd American
Army. Other commanders, during training at Camp Polk, Louisiana; Desert Training Center,
California; Camp Pickett, Virginia; and Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania; were Colonel Edwin A.
Smith, Colonel William L. Roberts, and Colonel Graeme G. Parks.

Upon arrival in England during mid-September, 1943, the 36th was billeted at Sutton Veny,
Wiltshire. With the rest of the division, it maneuvered widely over Salisbury Plain, engaged in
landing exercises along the British coast, and took part in various special training courses.

Colonel Parks led the "Blitz Doughs" in their baptism of fire at Villiers Fossard, Normandy, but
on July 18, 1944, he was succeeded by Colonel William W. Cornog, Jr. Colonel Cornog was the first
regimental commander to be killed in action. From August 9 to September 23, 1944, the regiment
was under the command of Lt. Colonel Jack R. Hutcheson, Colonel Louis P. Leone, and Colonel
Carl J. Rohsenberger. At that time, Colonel Robert L. Howze, Jr., came to the regiment and led it
through the remaining eight months of the European campaign.

Men of the 36th Armored Infantry Regiment figured prominently in every 3rd Armored Division
action on the continent. Companies "A" and "C" of the 1st Battalion were the division's first tactical
units to be awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation. This honor was bestowed as the result of heroic
fighting in the December Roer River salient. The entire 1st Battalion, commanded by Lt. Colonel
William R. Orr, was later awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for its work in storming the
Siegfried Line. The action began during Orr's first day in battle! That was characteristic of the
regimental spirit.

The Distinguished Unit Citation was also given to men of the 2nd and 3rd Battalion medical
sections for outstanding gallantry in action at Fromentel, France, and the Stolberg area in
Germany, respectively. And in September, the 36th was declared a combat infantry regiment with
more
than 65 percent of its personnel wearing the coveted badge.

During the "Spearhead" Division's five western campaigns, six separate commanders led the 36th
Armored Infantry Regiment. The casualty rate was even more severe in lower echelons. Colonel Orr's
1st Battalion went into its initial action at Villiers Fossard, Normandy, under Lt. Colonel Walter
Abney. Before the unit reached German soil three months later, it had been commanded by seven
officers. They were: Colonel Abney, Major Paul W. Corrigan, Captain John C. Chapman, Major
Theodore P. Mason, Captain Frank D. Hall, Captain Louis F. Plummer, and Colonel Orr.
Captain Plummer was wounded during the first phase of the Siegfried line attack.

In the 2nd Battalion, Lt. Colonel Vincent E. Cockefair landed at the head of his troops in
Normandy and was killed in action on August 9. The records disclose that 14 succeeding officers
commanded the battalion from that time until VE day. Of these, Major Thomas G. Tousey, Jr.,
and Lt. Colonel Thomas J. Moran served longest, the latter fighting with his troops throughout the
Roer-Rhine slug fest, the great Paderborn sweep, and the steady drive to Dessau.

Lt. Colonel Carlton P. Russell, wounded in action on August 5, 1944, was the first combat
commander of the 3rd Battalion. Eight other officers succeeded him, with Lt. Colonel Paul L.
Fowler, and Major Robert E. Chaney leading for the longest period of time. Major Chaney was
killed in action ten days before the "Spearhead" Division came out of the line for the last time, at
Dessau. Major Gordon Thomas then assumed command.

Many enlisted men of the 36th Armored Infantry Regiment gave their lives to bring final victory.
The job of the "Blitz Doughs" was not an enviable one, and yet there was such esprit de corps among
Colonel Howze's troops that not one man would have changed places with a tanker. These men were
the infighters of the division, the soldiers who insured victory after the cutting edge of the armor had
slashed enemy positions. Indeed, in street fighting, the armored infantry often preceded the tanks.
For all of heavy casualties, constant fighting and fatigue, the "Blitz Doughs" maintained a
brilliant reputation for valor.