THE LAST OF THE HORSE SOLDIERS
3rd CAVALRY REGIMENT (HORSE) COLORS & GUIDONS
1941 Regulations
On the eve of America's entry into the Second World War, the era of of the horse soldier was drawing to a close. Many cavalry regiments of the US Army had been partly mechanized and plans called for their complete mechanization by early 1942. Of the thirteen horse cavalry regiments in existence on 7 December 1941, four assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division would be dismounted, designated "Special" and employed as infantry during the war; four assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Division would be inactivated along with that division; two more not assigned to a division would be inactivated; one (the 26th Cavalry) would surrender to the Japanese in the Philippines, and the remainder would be mechanized.
At the beginning of the war, the 3rd Cavalry Regiment (Horse) was stationed at Fort Myer, Virginia and assigned to the Washington Provisional Brigade. Under the regimental headquarters were two cavalry rifle squadrons, a regimental machinegun troop (30-caliber machineguns) and a regimental special weapons troop (50-caliber machineguns and 81mm mortars). The regimental headquarters and service troop both supported the regimental headquarters and controlled the regimental medical, veterinary, transportation and supply sections.
As a mounted unit, the 3rd Cavalry has a National Standard and Regimental Standard, both made of silk, three feet at the hoist by four feet on the fly plus 2 1/2-inch yellow silk fringe. Troops of the regiment had red-over-white guidons made of wool bunting, 20 inches at the hoist by 27 3/4 inches on the fly with a 10-inch fork. Centered in the upper half of the guidon was the regimental number; centered in the lower half was the troop designation. For the regimental HHT this was HQ; for the squadron HHTs it was the squadron number. The other troops were lettered A through H.
The 3rd Cavalry Regiment (Horse) was inactivated on 15 July 1942, its personnel being transferred to the 3rd Armored Regiment of the 10th Armored Division.
