The 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment is a United States Army infantry battalion. Originally formed during World War II, the battalion took part in the Aleutian and Italian campaigns before being deactivated after the war. Later, however, it was reactivated and in recent times has served in the Sinai Peninsula and in Afghanistan.
Unit history
World War II
Formation The battalion was formed in May 1942, several months after the American entry in World War II the 87th Infantry, Mountain, 2nd Battalion, Reinforced at Fort Lewis, Washington. It along with 1–87 Mountain Infantry composed the 87th Mountain Infantry. The battalion was made up of world-famous skiers, mountaineers, forest rangers, trappers, lumberman, guides, cowboys, muleskinners, horseman, and Regular Army cadre.
As the battalion was conducting maneuvers in Jolon, California in November 1942, the army was preparing a brand new camp to house the 87th on the Continental Divide at Camp Hale, Colorado, at above sea level. 2–87 moved to Camp Hale in late December 1942. During the winter of 1942–43, the battalion conducted extreme cold weather and high altitude training and tested over one hundred types of equipment and vehicles.
Aleutian campaign On 11 June 1943, the battalion deployed to Fort Ord, California for amphibious training in preparation of combat operations. Within weeks after this training, the battalion sailed to the Aleutian Island as part of Amphibious Technical Force Nine. The 2–87 Mountain Infantry took part in regimental amphibious assault of Kiska on 1–16 August 1943 and occupied the island until withdrawal to Camp Carson, Colorado in December 1943.
In February 1944, the battalion joined the 10th Light Division (later 10th Mountain Division) and moved again to Camp Hale. In the winter of 1944, the battalion took part in a maneuver in sub-zero weather. In one night alone, over 100 cases of frostbite were evacuated. All men who completed the maneuver were commended.
Italian campaign In late June 1944, the battalion moved with the newly designated 87th Infantry Regiment, Light as a part of the 10th Mountain Division to Camp Swift, Texas. On 20 December 1944, 2–87 entrained from Camp Swift to Newport News, Virginia and embarked on the USS West Point. The battalion sailed for Naples, Italy on 4 January 1945.
The battalion entered combat on the Italian Front 28 January 1945 as part of Lieutenant General Lucian Truscott's U.S. Fifth Army. On the night of 19 February after 17 days of patrolling in the mountains on snowshoes and skis, the battalion was instrumental in the capture on Mount Belvedere and other key mountain peaks in a night attack.
On 4–5 March, 2–87 participated in their second offensive by capturing Mad Na Di Brasa and Castel d'Aiano. Whereas the Battle of Belvedere was a night attack, the Battle of Castel d'Aiano was a deadly struggle in the sunlight, from bunker to bunker, hill to hill, objective to objective.
During the first two weeks of April 1945, the battalion planned and prepared for their part in the final spring offensive of the Fifth Army in Italy. The intent was to break through the northern Apennine, drive the Germans out of the mountains, and secure the wide Po Valley. The battalion fought continuously from 4 April to 2 May over mountainous terrain covering .
The battalion learned of the surrender of all German forces at suppertime on 2 May 1945. The Germans had been impressed by the 10th Mountain Infantry soldiers. Using the words from captured enemy documents, the Germans knew they had been up against mountain troops. They believed them to be a hand-picked elite corps, made up of physically superior soldiers, sports personalities and young men from politically significant American families. It was no accident that Lieutenant General Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin insisted on surrendering in person only to Major General George Price Hays, the Commanding General of what the general called the best American formation in Italy—the 10th Mountain Division.
From May–July 1945, the battalion conducted occupation duties. In July, the battalion was ordered to duty in the Pacific. 2–87 sailed from Italy on 2 August and arrived in the United States on 11 August. On 14 August, the battalion learned that the Japanese had surrendered and that the war was over.
Postwar The 2nd Battalion, 87th Mountain Infantry was inactivated in November 1945 at Camp Carson, Colorado. On 18 June 1948, the battalion was designated the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry and again assigned to the 10th Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas. In June 1958, the battalion was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division in Germany, and in 1963 reassigned to the 8th Infantry Division. 2–87 Infantry was inactivated in June 1986, only to be reactivated two years later as the sixth battalion of the 10th Mountain Division, Light Infantry, at Fort Drum, New York.
In November 1991, the battalion completed a successful rotation at NTC in conjunction with 3rd Brigade, 24th Mechanized Division and in March 1992 the battalion spent a month at Fort Pickett Virginia conducting MOUT Training. In August 1992 the battalion deployed to Florida as relief for Hurricane Andrew, in support of JTF Operation Hurricane Andrew. They operated from August through October in Homestead Florida, providing food and essential services to local citizens and aiding in cleanup of the city.
In December 1992, 2-87, minus Comanche Company and the Battalion scouts who were detached in support of a JRTC rotation, but with the addition of Alpha Company and scouts from 1-87, deployed to Somalia as part of a Joint Task Force in support of Operation Restore Hope under the command of LTC Jim Sikes. The initial mission was to secure Baledogle airfield and assist Non-government organizations with food distribution. In late December, Apache and Blackhawk Companies conducted an Air Assault to seize Belet Uyene Airfield in order to allow the expansion of the coalition footprint. While Blackhawk Company secured Baledogle airfield, the remainder of the battalion air assaulted into the port of Marka in support of civil agencies' efforts. While in Marka, members of TF 2-87 stood up a local city council, a local police force, distributed food to locals, patrolled the town, manned checkpoints and secured the port. 2-87 was involved in several firefights with local militias and criminal elements. In January 1993 through mid-February, 2-87 was responsible for securing the lower Shabele valley from local militia forces. In late February, the battalion moved to secure the port of Kismayu, and then back to the port of Marka. In April 1993, TF 2-87 was relieved by 1-22 and returned to Fort Drum.
In August 1994 the battalion deployed to Haiti on a four-month rotation in August 1994 as part of Operation Uphold Democracy.
In January 1997, 2–87 deployed with 529 soldiers as a Task Force to Sinai in Egypt for a six-month rotation for the Multinational Force and Observers mission. The Task Force was part of a 14-country peace keeping force sent to the Sinai to enforce the Camp David Peace Accord signed in 1981. During this deployment soldiers from 2-87 participated in the "Force Skills" competition with the team from HHC 2-87 scouts winning "First Place Team" competing against teams from 14 different countries.
In September 1998, elements of the battalion deployed to Central Asia to participate in CENTRAZBAT '98, a multi-national peacekeeping exercise involving soldiers from six former Eastern Bloc nations. During this exercise, 2–87 forged ties with other nations through shared hardships and training, while setting the stage for the multinational operations and peacekeeping missions that would soon follow.
In late August 1999, the soldiers of 2–87 deployed overseas to the nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the former Yugoslavia. The battalion would serve as one unit in the Multinational Division (North) component of the Stabilization Force 6, in support of Operation Joint Forge. Task Force CATAMOUNT was charged with the northern portion of the MND (N) sector, including the towns of Brcko, Srebenik, and Modirchia. During the Task Force's seven-month deployment, it participated in several missions designed to bring stability to the Balkans and a lasting peace to the People of Bosnia. Most notably, Operation Harvest which resulted in the destruction of over 5,000 weapons, and the implementation of the Brcko Demilitarization process that disbanded and relocated over 5,000 members of the Entity Armed Forces as well as destroyed 9,000 weapons required by the Brcko Arbitration Decision.
Sinai 2001 From July 2001 to January 2002, 2–87 Infantry was again ordered overseas. This time it was a six-month deployment in support of the Multi-National Force and Observers in the Sinai desert. During those six months, the battalion took part in pre-deployment and sustainment training and certification, 24-hour operation of all remote sites and the battalion tactical operations center, training and deployment of the quick reaction force (QRF) and were responsible for security and force protection of South Camp. The battalion also prepared and participated in Force Skills Competition, operational readiness checks and SNAP inspections, EIB, EFMB, marksmanship and live-fire training and testing, joint and combined training with other contingents, and many other tasks, duties, and responsibilities.
Afghanistan 2003
Prior to the 2d Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment deployment, soldiers were hand-selected to stand up an advanced fighting force with advanced training schools, and skillsets. In August 2003 the battalion deployed with 700 soldiers as a task force to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom IV, for a nine-month rotation. Task Force 2–87 was part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, working as the northern combat task force. In Afghanistan, the Catamounts took part in combat operations to defeat anti-coalition forces operating in Asadabad, Barikowt, Khowst, Nangalam, and Ghazni provinces.
After their return from Afghanistan, 2–87 was swept up in the army's transformation initiative, where it added a weapons company, received in direct support a forward support company, and was assigned to the newly activated 3rd BCT (Spartans) of the 10th Mountain Division at Ft. Drum, NY.
Afghanistan 2006 During the period 29 January 2006 to 28 May 2007, Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Toner 2d Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment and its subordinate units deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) VII and VIII. With an initial area of operations 200 km in length and 200 km in width, and over 750 km of shared border with Pakistan, the battalion effectively deterred enemy infiltration from Pakistan and isolated the interior population of Paktika Province from terrorist attacks and influence.