23rd Infantry Regiment (United States)

23rd Infantry Regiment
The coat of arms of the 23rd Infantry Regiment.
Founded	1861; 156 years ago (1861)
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Stryker
Garrison/HQ	Fort Lewis, WA and Fort Carson, CO
Nickname(s)	"Tomahawks"
Motto(s)	We Serve
Engagements	American Civil War Indian Wars Philippine–American War World War I World War II Korean War Vietnam War Iraq War War in Afghanistan
Decorations	Presidential Unit Citation 7 Croix de Guerre with Palm 3 Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation 3 Meritorious Unit Citation 1 Valorous Unit Citation 1 Cited in order of the day of Belgian Army French Fourragere Belgian Fourragere
Commanders
Current commander	Lt. Col. Theodore Kleisner (1st BN); Lt. Col. Terry Tillis (2nd BN); Lt. Col. Dan Rayca (4th BN)
Notable commanders	Jefferson C. Davis Granville O. Haller Henry M. Black Samuel Ovenshine George Whitefield Davis Paul L. Freeman, Jr. Pete Dawkins Bernard W. Rogers William T. James
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

The 23rd Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the United States Army. A unit with the same name was formed on 26 June 1812 and saw action in 14 battles during the War of 1812.

In 1815 it was consolidated with the 6th, 16th, 22nd, and 32nd Regiments of Infantry into what is at present the 2nd Infantry Regiment.

The modern 23rd Infantry regiment was formed during the American Civil War; the regiment saw action in American wars up to the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War. It included a battalion of volunteers made up of active and reserve French military personnel who had been sent to the Korean Peninsula as part of the United Nations force fighting in the Korean War.

After withdrawing from Bloody Ridge, the Korean People's Army (KPA) set up new positions just 1,500 yards (1,400 m) away on a seven-mile (11 km) long hill mass. If anything, the Communist defenses were even more formidable here than on Bloody Ridge. The U.S. 2nd Infantry Division's acting commander, Brigadier General Thomas de Shazo and his immediate superior, Major General Clovis E. Byers, the X Corps commander, seriously underestimated the strength of the North Korean position. They ordered a single infantry regiment—the 23rd—and its attached French battalion to make what would prove to be an ill-conceived assault straight up Heartbreak's heavily fortified slopes.

All three of the 2nd Division's infantry regiments participated, with the brunt of the combat borne by the 23rd and 9th Infantry Regiments, along with the attached French battalion. The attack began on 13 September and quickly deteriorated into a familiar pattern. First, American aircraft, tanks and artillery would pummel the ridge for hours, turning the already barren hillside into a cratered moonscape. Next, the 23rd's infantrymen would clamber up the mountain's rocky slopes, taking out one enemy bunker after another by direct assault. Those who survived to reach the crest arrived exhausted and low on ammunition. The North Koreans counterattacked repeatedly. Many of these counterattacks were conducted at night by fresh troops that the North Koreans were able to bring up in the shelter of neighboring hills.