Submitted by: Rob Gould
A 2nd Armd Cav Gallop through History
From war against the Indians in the festering swamps of Florida during the Seminole Campaign to Iron Curtain sentry duty in the 1960’s-the United States Army’s oldest cavalry regiment has galloped across a turbulent swath of American history.
Born out of the necessity of cleaning up the Indian menace in newly acquired Florida in 1836, the 2nd U.S. Cavalry has marched on through years of trial and change to forge a tradition that thrives on urgency.
Whenever and wherever trouble beckoned, the unit was there. The Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War and the two World Wars-troopers from the 2nd Cav fought in them all.
Out of the dust and blood of its trials and its successes, the unit has insured its perpetuation-even against the periodic clamor for economy and ever changing tactics and technology.
Known today as the 2nd Armd Cav Regt and commanded by a famous military name, Col. Frank B. Clay, son of Gen. Lucius D. Clay (Ret.), military governor of the U.S. Zone in Germany during the Berlin Airlift-the regiment’s primary job is to guard 300 miles of Czechoslovakian and East German frontier in Central Europe.
“It’s this mission on the border that is the spice of our operation,” Clay said at regimental headquarters in Nuernberg.
The mission consists of 24-hour surveillance of the border assigned to the 2nd. The 14th Armd Cav Regt and the 2nd of the 9th Cav carry out similar border assignments north and south of the 2nd Armd Cav.
Clay said his reconnaissance troops, who perform their mission from five border camps, spend six months of the year away from their families.
“It’s tough duty and it’s highly important,” he said. The only similar frontier manned by American troops is the 38th Parallel in Korea.
The Czechoslovakian border patrolled by the U.S. troopers must be one of the most tightly guarded frontiers in all history. The Czechs have secured their side of the border with minefields and electrified barbed wire. Guards in wooden blockhouses watch the entire border sector.
Border and strip plowing allows patrols to pick up footprints. American guards often observe small unit exercises by East German and Czechoslovakian patrols almost within spitting distance of the border.
Watching the frontier is a serious and meticulous assignment which the cavalry-by tradition, training and modus operandi- is well equipped to handle.
Through the years, tradition has become a watchword with the 2nd. The unit history has been carefully documented and is handsomely illustrated in the regimental trophy room., where 53 bright yellow battle streamers won during the past 129 years are on display. Contributing to regimental prestige are 19 Medal of Honor winners.
During its history, the regiment has served under some of America’s most illustrious generals-Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War, Philip Sheridan (Shenandoah Valley Campaign) in the Civil War, and George B. Patton Jr. (with the 3rd U.S. Army) during World War II. In World War I, the 2nd Cav was the only horse unit with the American Expeditionary Force.
At one time or another, 2nd Cav troopers have pitched their tents in nine foreign countries-Cuba, Mexico, the Philippines, England, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg , and Czechoslovakia.
Progress of the fighting during the last days of World War II took the regiment into the western tip of Czechoslovakia.
Twice in its history, the unit narrowly escaped extinction. In 1843, just seven years after the regiment had been created by Congress to cope with Seminole uprisings, the House passed an economy bill which, among other things, called for disbanding of the regiment. The Senate’s refusal to endorse the House bill saved the day for the troopers, but in order to reduce expenditures, the unit was stripped of its horses for a year.
During the House debate on the fate of the 2nd Cav, former President John Quincy Adams, serving in Congress from Massachusetts, said of the size of Uncle Sam’s 7,500-member Regular Army:
“The monster has grown until it has reached a size at which I, for one, am startled.”
Mechanization posed the second serious threat to the regiment, when in 1942 the War Department abolished all horse units. Later the same year, the 2nd Cav Regt, Mechanized, was organized. The regiment had survived its second most serious crisis.
Know from the beginning as the Dragoons (soldiers on horseback equipped with short muskets), troopers of the 2nd Cav Regt count their nickname as a distinguishing feature of their history. In keeping with tradition, members of the regimental band and color guard wear old dragoon uniforms.
“Tradition helps esprit and the cavalry does have tradition,” Clay said as he pointed to a wall-length mural (depicting an old cavalry legend) in the trophy room.
Clay’s own past blends with the tradition of the regiment. A 1942 graduate of U.S. Military Academy, he was graduated from the Armored School officers advance course in 1950, the Command and General Staff College in 1952, and the National War College in 1961.
Twice, helicopters he was flying in were shot down over the Mekong Delta in South Viet Nam, where he served as senior advisor to the Vietnamese 7th Inf. Div.
His awards include the Silver Star, the Bronze Star Medal for valor with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Commendation Ribbon and the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster.
Clay assumed command of the regiment in August 1964.
