FIRST UNITED STATES ARMY

FIRST UNITED STATES ARMY HERALDIC ITEMS

SHOULDER SLEEVE INSIGNIA

Description: On a background equally divided horizontally white and red, a black letter "A."

Symbolism: Red and white are the colors of distinguishing flags for armies, and the black letter "A" signifies "army."

DISTINCTIVE UNIT INSIGNIA Description: A gold colored metal and enamel device, consisting of a black letter "A" bearing three gold five-pointed stars aligned horizontally on the top cross bar and five gold five-pointed stars aligned horizontally on the center cross bar, in front of and interlaced with a gold fleur-de-lis (the vertical or middle petal charged in base with a red arrowhead) entirely behind and extending above the letter "A" and the tops of the two outside or flanking petals above the cross bar extending over the verticals (legs) of the letter "A," the lower ends of the outside petals curving under and over the lower ends of the verticals (legs) of the letter "A" and continuing in and joined together by a gold arched scroll inscribed FIRST IN DEED in black letters, the areas within the letter "A" above the center crossbar and between the petals of the fleur-de-lis and the verticals of the letter "A" of white and the areas below the crossbar between the fleur-de-lis, the motto scroll, the verticals of the letter "A" of red and a gold galloon dike curving slightly upward from each side of the lower point of the middle petal of the fleur-de-lis and terminating at the outside petals.

Symbolism: The interlaced fleur-de-lis alludes to the initial organization of Headquarters, First Army, at La Ferte-sous-Jouarre, France, on 10 August 1918. The three stars at the top of the letter "A" are for the Lorraine 1918, St. Mihiel, and Meuse-Argonne campaigns in which the First Army participated in World War I . The five stars OD the center cross bar are for the Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe campaigns in which the First Army participated in World War II , the red arrowhead referring to the assault landing on the Normandy beaches. The motto "First in Deed" is a play on the numerical designation, purpose, and achievements of the First United States Army.

[9]

[10]

LINEAGE AND HONORS HEADQUARTERS AND HEADQUARTERS COMPANY FIRST UNITED STATES ARMY

LINEAGE

(active)

Organized 10 August 1918 in the Regular Army in France as Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, First Army. (Headquarters Troop reorganized and redesignated in September 1918 as Troop A, Headquarters Battalion, First Army; redesignated 1 March 1919 as Headquarters Troop, First Army.) Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, First Army, demobilized 20 April 1919 in France. Reconstituted 27 June 1944 in the Regular Army as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, First Army; concurrently consolidated with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, First Army (active) (see ANNEX), and consolidated unit designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, First Army. Redesignated 1 January 1957 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, First United States Army. (Headquarters Company inactivated 5 June 1970 at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland.)

ANNEX

Constituted 15 August 1927 in the Regular Army as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Seventh Army. Redesignated 13 October 1927 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, First Army. Headquarters activated 1 October 1933 at Governors Island, New York; Headquarters Company activated 18 November 1940 at Governors Island, New York.

CAMPAIGN PARTICIPATION CREDIT

World War I
   St. Mihiel
   Meuse-Argonne
   Lorraine 1918

World War II
   Normandy (with arrowhead)
   Northern France
   Rhineland
   Ardennes-Alsace
   Central Europe

DECORATIONS
   None.

FIRST UNITED STATES ARMY BIBLIOGRAPHY

After Action Report First US. Army, 1-3 December 1944. Fort Jackson, 1945.

American Battle Monuments Commission. American Armies and Battlefields in Europe. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1938. Reprint. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1992.

Blumenson, Martin. Breakout and Pursuit. United States Army in World War II. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1961.

Borovatz, Frank M. "First United States Army: A Working Army." Army Digest 25 (February 1970): 4-8.

[11]

A Brief History of the First United States Army From 1918 to 1946. Fayetteville, N. C.: Worth Publishing Co., 1947.

Cole, Hugh M. The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge. United States Army in World War II. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1965.

______ . The Lorraine Campaign. United States Army in World War II. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1950.

First Army, TI&E Section. History of the United States First Army. Fort Jay, 1953.

First United States Army Combat Operations Data, Europe, 1944-45. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1948.

First United States Army Report of Operations, 20 October 1943-1 August 1944. 7 vols. Paris, 1944.

First United States Army Report of Operations, 1 August 1944 to 22 February 1945. 4 vols. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1946.

First United States Army Report of Operations, 23 February-8 May 1945. 3 vols. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1946.

Gabel, Christopher R. The US. Army GHQ Maneuvers of 1941. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1991.

Hallas, James H. Squandered Victory: The American First Army at St. Mihiel. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Pubs., 1996.

Harbord, James G. The American Army in France, 1917-1919. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1936.

Harrison, Gordon A. Cross-Channel Attack. United States Army in World War II. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1951.

Historical Section, Army War College. Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War; American Expeditionary Forces; General Headquarters, Armies, Army Corps, Services of Supply, and Separate Forces. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1937. Reprint. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1988.

_______. The Genesis of the American First Army. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1929. 2d ed. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1938.

Liggett, Hunter. Commanding an American Army, Recollections of the World War. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1925.

MacDonald, Charles B. The Last Offensive. United States Army in World War II. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1973.

_______. The Siegfried Line Campaign. United States Army in World War II. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1963.

"Why Didn't They Let First Army Win the War?" Army 9 (April 1959):48-52.

Pershing, John J. My Experiences in the World War. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1931.

Pogue, Forrest C. The Supreme Command. United States Army in World War II. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1954.

Report of the Commanding General, First Army, American Expeditionary Forces: Organizations and Operations, First Army, A.E.F. France, 1919.

Report of the First Army, American Expeditionary Forces: Organization and Operations. Fort Leavenworth: General Service Schools Press, 1923.

[12]

Report of the First Army, American Expeditionary Forces, Organization and Operations, General John J Pershing, Aug. 10, 1918; Lieutenant General Hunter Liggett, Oct. 16, 1918, Apr. 20, 1919. Fort Leavenworth, Kans.: General Service School Press, 1923.

"Salute to the Numbered U.S. Armies." Army Information Digest 17 (October 1962):32-39.

Walker, Glenn D. "First U.S. Army: A New Challenge." Army 23 (October 1973):72-76.

Ziemke, Earl F. The US. Army in the Occupation of Germany 1944-1946. Army Historical Series. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1975.

Go to the Table of Contents

page created 4 October 1999

Return to CMH Online