The 128th Infantry Regiment is an organization in the Wisconsin Army National Guard with a history that dates back to the start of the Civil War and the establishment of the 1st and 2d Regiments, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry; both fought for the Union Army in that conflict and their service in 16 campaigns is credited to the Regiment. It would first be designated as the 128th Infantry when the 1st and 3rd Infantry Regiments in the Wisconsin National Guard were consolidated after being drafted into Federal service in August 1917. Assigned to the 32nd Division (later known as the 32nd Infantry Division), would the Regiment would be credited with action in five campaigns of World War I, and was awarded a French Croix de Guerre with Palm for action in the Oise-Aisne campaign.
World War II would find the Regiment’s units assigned again to the 32nd Infantry Division. The Regiment as a whole was credited with four World War II campaigns in the Asiatic-Pacific Theaters and tapped for a Presidential Unit Citation and a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation; Companies C and D of the 1st Battalion individually entitled to one and four additional campaigns respectively in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater.
The Regiment would not see combat again until the launch of the War on Terrorism and the invasion of Iraqi, a multi-decade period that saw it reorganized first under the Combat Arms Regimental System and then the U.S. Army Regimental System, with its number of battalions and their assignments changing with each organization. Its most recent reorganization was in September 2007, defining the Regiment as consisting solely of the 1st Battalion, an element of the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the descendant unit of the 32nd Infantry Division.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Originally approved on 15 March 1926, the 128th Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia—frequently referred to as a “unit crest” or a DUI—has a blue shield to denote the organization’s status as part of the Infantry branch. The yellow vertical band in the center, called a “pale,” divides the shield into thirds—a reference to three major engagements the unit fought in with the 32nd Division in World War I, represented by the red arrow (taken from the 32nd Division’s Shoulder Sleeve Insignia). Three fountains above the pale are symbols of water—the word “Wisconsin” means “wild, rushing waters”—and stand for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Wisconsin National Guard Regiments, from which personnel were drawn to form the 128th Infantry. “Les Terribles” is a nickname given the unit during World War I; it translates as “The Terrible Ones.”
The Distinctive Unit Insignia is worn by all Soldiers (except General Officers) in units that have been authorized to be issued the device. It is worn centered on the shoulder loops of the Army Green Service Uniform (AGSU) and the blue Army Service Uniform (ASU, Enlisted only) with the base of the insignia toward the outside shoulder seam. DUIs are not worn on the Dress variations of either uniform, however.