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Surviving veterans of the Horse Cavalry?


Ngrovcam
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Gents,

 

Probably a dumb question gents, but are there any surviving veterans of the US Cavalry? If so how many?

 

-Nick C

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Are you asking about the old horse Cavalry ? The Cavalry still exist today as a branch of the Army and there are thousands of men who served in that branch who are still alive. Horse mounted Cavalry went away in early WWII with the exception of several horse mounted platoons that serve as ceremonial units.

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1SG_1st_Cav

The 1st Cavalry Division gave up it's horses in 1943 before deploying to Australia. We've maintained a Horse Platoon ever since in one form or another. The 1st Cavalry Division was formed in 1921 specifically as being horse mounted in order to patrol the US/Mexican Border. And our Field Artillery was specifically designed as the 82nd Field Artillery [Horse]. The Gun Crews rode the horses vs. riding on the Caissons.

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While the cavalry insignia is allowed to be worn by soldiers of cavalry units in lieu of their Branch of Service insignia when approved by major command commanders, and some Armor and Aviation Branch units are designated as "cavalry," the cavalry is not now an Army Branch of Service.

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The horse cavalry survived the war.

 

Not really. The Cavalry School closed in 1946 and the last mounted cavalry unit, the 127th Cavalry Squadron, was inactivated in 1947. The Cavalry Branch was converted to the Armor Branch in 1950.

 

However, the last mounted units in the Army weren't cavalry. The 4th Field Artillery Bn and the 35th QM Pack Co lasted until 1957. This doesn't include ceremonial units, of course.

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Only battery A of the 4th FA was mule. I have posted on these units at length. The last Stateside Cavalry unit was at Riley was "Cavalry Squadron,Horse" formerly the 129th Cavalry Sqn. It was inactivated July of 1947 and its equipment remained at Riley for the animals still in residence.

 

This "Cavalry Squadron,Horse" was three troop Squadron.

 

The horse cavalry of this period is my area of focus.

 

Happy easter everyone.

 

 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

My Father was in F/106th Cavalry which was horse until after it was Federalized in 1941, then the converted to Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

 

Mike

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  • 11 months later...

Here is a photo of a veteran I met at the Alabama military collectors show, Robert Hamsley, the book is a really good read. He talks about guarding the Mexican border, riding and camping in the desert. He had several photos of his horse at his table. He really talked about the horse, you could hear the pride he had. Here is the Amazon synopsis of the book.

 

A remarkable adventure based on the true story of Robert Hamsley and his men as part of Patton's 3rd Army during WWII. From horseback to tank commander, Ham is soon faced with the onerous decision to disobey the General's standing orders--For the fist time in fifty years the entire story can finally be told. Action, Drama, Humor, Tragedy, Triumph and Redemption. Patton himself was a Cavalry Officer, but little has been written about the role of the Cavalry in WWII, a very important role. Robert Hamsley is a young man swept into the events of WWII in the mounted U.S. Cavalry, through the dismount into full mechanization, and finally as a tanker and young Lieutenant in General Patton's 3rd Army. The words "heroic" and "humble" have been used by many to describe Ham, but in his words "I was just doin' my job." After almost fifty years the grateful people of the French village of Plelo finally found the "Hero of Plelo" and saw to it that he was awarded the French Legion of Honor for his, and his men's deeds.

 

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Are you asking about the old horse Cavalry ? The Cavalry still exist today as a branch of the Army and there are thousands of men who served in that branch who are still alive. Horse mounted Cavalry went away in early WWII with the exception of several horse mounted platoons that serve as ceremonial units.

 

Cavalry does not still exist in the Army as a Branch of Service. It exists as an historical designation and insignia for use by qualifying units and personnel. Officers are not commissioned into the cavalry.

 

From the Institute of Heraldry website, "Officers and enlisted personnel assigned to cavalry regiments, squadrons or separate cavalry troops are authorized to wear the cavalry collar insignia in lieu of their insignia of branch when approved by the major command commander. Some of the armor and aviation units are designated cavalry units."

 

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