121st FIELD ARTILLERY REGIMENT
On September 11, 1884 W.B Roberts and A.L. Darrow organized a meeting at an office of the Wisconsin Telephone Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The purpose of the meeting was to create a field artillery battery. Twelve men in attendance signed an agreement to assist in organizing the unit. The battery formally organized on May 11th, 1885 with Civil War veteran Captain Joseph B. Oliver elected as the commander of the newly formed 65-man “First Wisconsin Battery.”
The First Wisconsin Battery evolved during the pre-WWI period as the United States prepared for WWI. The Regiment re-organized on September 19, 1917, becoming the “121st Field Artillery Regiment.” Over the past 100 years the 121st Field Artillery Regiment has served during WWI, WWII, and the Global War on Terror (
GWOT). To this day, the 1st Battalion 121st Field Artillery Regiment of the Wisconsin Army National Guard maintains its headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The map to the right highlights the locations where units of Regiment have served overseas during the previous ~100 years. The table below provides a summary of the units whose lineage is associated with the 121st Field Artillery Regiment and periods of federal service. See the links in the table below for more detail on the 121st Field Artillery Regiment history.
| Era | Unit(s) | Federal Service | Background | |
| Time Period | Locations(s) | |||
|
1885 -1916 |
1st Wisconsin Battery 1st Light Battery Battery “A”, 1st Light Artillery Battery “A”, 1st Field Artillery 1st Field Artillery Regiment |
Jul 1898 – Sep 1898 |
Camp Douglas, WI | Battery “A”, 1st Light Artillery from Milwaukee, WI mobilized during the Spanish-American War. |
|
Jul 1916 – Oct 1916 |
Camp Douglas, WI Camp Wilson, TX |
Battery “A”, 1st Field Artillery from Milwaukee, WI was mobilized and sent to Texas during the Mexican Border incident. | ||
|
1917 – 1918 |
1st Field Artillery Regiment |
Jul 1917 – May 1919 |
Camp Douglas, WI Camp McArthur, TX France, Germany |
The 1st Field Artillery Regiment was mobilized in early July 1917. On September 22, 1917 the unit became the 121st FA Regiment. Units comprising the 121st FA Regiment originated from the Wisconsin cities of Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Racine. |
|
1940 – 1945 |
121st Field Artillery Regiment |
Oct 1940 – Feb 1942 |
Camp Beauregard, LA Camp Livingston, LA
|
The 121st FA Regiment was mobilized on October 15, 1940. After undergoing multiple re-organizations between February 1942 and February 1943 units created from the 121st FA Regiment began to deploy for overseas service. The units created from the 121st FA Regiment added Soldiers from throughout the US during the extended mobilization. The units mobilized on October 15, 1940 originated from the Wisconsin cities of Abbotsford, Eau Claire, Green Bay, Hartford, Janesville, Kenosha, Mauston, Milwaukee, Racine, River Falls, Waterford, and Whitefish Bay. |
|
121st Field Artillery Battalion |
Feb 1942 – Feb 1946 |
Camp Livingston, LA
Camp Gruber, OK Pacific Theater European Theater Mediterranean Theater |
||
|
Berlin Crisis 1961-1962 |
1-121st Field Artillery Regiment 2-121st Field Artillery Regiment 3-121st Field Artillery Regiment |
Oct 1961 – Aug 1962 |
Fort Lewis, WA | All Battalions of the 121st Field Artillery Regiment were called to active duty with the 32nd Infantry Division for the Berlin Crisis. The mobilized Battalions were headquartered in the Wisconsin cities Marshfield, River Falls, and Whitefish Bay. |
|
Post 911 2006 – 2019
|
1-121st Field Artillery Regiment |
Apr 2006 – July 2007 |
Camp Shelby, MS Kuwait & Iraq |
The 1st Battalion 121st FA Regiment mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The deployed units originated from the Wisconsin cities of Plymouth, Milwaukee, and Sussex as well as communities from the States of Maine and Nevada. |
|
A/1-121st Field Artillery Regiment 108th Forward Support Company |
Jan 2009 – Jan 2010 |
Fort Bliss, TX Iraq |
Two units of the 1-121st FA mobilized with the 32nd IBCT in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The mobilized units originated from the Wisconsin cities of Racine and Sussex. | |
| B/1-121st Field Artillery Regiment |
Jan 2013 – Oct 2013 |
Fort Bliss, TX Afghanistan |
B/1-121st FA mobilized in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. | |
| A/1-121st Field Artillery Regiment |
Apr 2014 – Jan 2015 |
Fort Bliss, TX Afghanistan |
A/1-121st FA mobilized in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. | |
|
1-121st Field Artillery Regiment 108th Forward Support Company |
Aug 2018 – May 2019 |
Fort Bliss, TX Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, UAE |
1-121st FA mobilized in support of Operations Inherent Resolve, Spartan Shield and Freedom Sentinel. | |
Please see our Contact Us page if you have questions or additional information regarding the history or activities of the 121st Field Artillery Regiment. The Association is collecting digitized written and photographic source material in an effort to foster and perpetuate our traditions and preserve the incidents and memories of the units during times of war and times of peace.