After a more than 90-year history, the 110th Field Artillery Regiment is going away. The unit is being disbanded as part of the Army's transformation and modernization to a force based on brigade-sized elements. For many outside of the unit, the casing of the unit's colors is not a significant event. But for those that are a part of the unit, or who were once assigned to the unit, it's an end to more than a numerical designation.
First organized in 1915, members of the unit patrolled along the Mexican border in 1916 after Pancho Villa made several raids into the U.S., took part in World War I and landed on Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion. There is still a dispute amoung members of the unit as to which battery of the regiment fired the first round at D-Day. Personally, I don't think it really matters at this point. There were also numerous smaller events that the unit took part in.
But, something almost more important than battles participated in are the people that are or were a part of the unit. For many, being a member of the 110th FA Regt. was an intense source of pride. It provided, amoung other things, a sense of community and for some a sense of family. While the units that will take the place of the 110th FA Regt. (one battery will be replaced by a chemical decontamination company while the other will be replaced by a military police company) will no doubt offer many of those same things, but the traditions of the 110th FA Regt. will be lost to faded photos and the memories of those who were once a part of the unit.
On an unusually warm fall day, at Fort A.P. Hill, Va., the unit fired it's guns for the last time. These are a few photos from that day.
