69th Infantry Brigade (United States)

In 1963, the 35th Infantry Division was inactivated, and on 1 April 1963, the Kansas portion of the division was redesignated as the 69th Infantry Brigade (Separate).^[4]

The brigade was then mobilized for training at Fort Carson during the Vietnam War. In a message received from the Department of the Army dated April 11, 1968, the 69th Infantry Brigade was ordered to active duty effective May 13, 1968, in order to replace the 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized), stationed in Vietnam.^[5] The 69th Brigade was integrated into the 5th Infantry Division as a replacement for the brigade in Vietnam, to bolster manpower. Actually, the 69th, along with other units, was recalled to active duty due to the USS Pueblo crisis, when the"spy ship" was captured by the North Koreans. The crisis forced the President to mobilize approximately 200,000 members of the Reserve and National Guard. The 69th Brigade's units were attached to their counterparts in the 5th Infantry Division.^[6] The 169th Support Battalion was attached to the Division Support Command, and later became the divisional maintenance unit; 2-133 FA became part of the divisional artillery; the cavalry troop joined the divisional cavalry; and the 169th Engineer Company became part of the divisional engineer battalion. Later the active duty maintenance battalion was inactivated, and the 169th Support Battalion taking on the entire task.

The 3rd Battalion, 137th Infantry, was not included in the call to active duty for two reasons; to leave a unit available in Kansas in the event of civil disturbances or major natural disaster; and because the battalion was newly reorganized as an infantry unit and had not yet completed Advanced Unit Training. The 3rd Battalion of the 137th Infantry was replaced by the 2nd Battalion, 133rd Infantry, an Iowa National Guard unit that had previously been assigned to the 67th Mechanized Brigade. The 69th Brigade arrived at Fort Carson in May 1968, and some personnel began to be levied for Vietnam duty in July, arriving in-theater in October. After return from Fort Carson, on December 12, 1969 demobilization ceremonies were held at various armories throughout Kansas and Iowa. The 69th Brigade officially reverted to state control on December 13, 1969. 324 officers and 2,073 enlisted men of the Brigade served in Vietnam and 40 died, with hundreds being wounded.^[7]

On 25 August 1984, it was converted into the headquarters of the reactivated 35th Infantry Division (Mechanized),^[5][4] and another brigade headquarters appears to have been formed from the remainder of the brigade headquarters. In 1984–85, the 69th Infantry Brigade was reported to comprise the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 137th Infantry Regiment, the 1st Battalion, 635th Armored Regiment, 1st Battalion, 127th Field Artillery, Troop E, 114th Cavalry, and the 169th Engineer Company.^[8] The brigade was redesignated as the 69th Brigade, 35th Infantry Division, serving with it until 1 September 1997, when it was redesignated as the 130th Field Artillery Brigade.^[9]

• Clay, Steven E. (2010). US Army Order of Battle 1919–1941 (PDF). Vol. 1. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: Combat Studies Institute Press. ISBN 9780984190140. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 25, 2012.
• Isby, David C.; Kamps, Charles T. (1985). Armies of NATO's Central Front. Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0-7106-0341-X.
• McGrath, John J. (2004). The Brigade: A History: Its Organization and Employment in the US Army (PDF). Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: Combat Studies Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-4404-4915-4.
• McKenney, Janice E. (2010). Field Artillery: Regular Army and Army Reserve, Part 1 (Army Lineage Series) (PDF). CMH Pub 60-11. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History. OCLC 275151269. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2015.
• Stanton, Shelby L. (1984). Order of Battle: U.S. Army, World War II. Novato, California: Presidio Press. ISBN 9780891411956. 815th tank destroyer.
• Wilson, John B. (1999). Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Center for Military History, U.S. Army. ISBN 0-16-049994-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.

• Website about the 69th Infantry Brigade (Separate)