The 229th Supply and Transport (S&T) Battalion has been part of the 29th Division since 1959, and then again at the division’s reactivation in 1985 as the 29th Division (Light).
The 229th Supply and Transport (S&T) Battalion is one of the Maryland Army National Guard’s most historic units. It traces it ancestry back to 20 February 1879 when a group of African-American units established an independent military company. This company’s standards of discipline and proficiency were so high that the unit was accepted into the Maryland National Guard in 1882 as the “Monumental City Guards” (later known as the First Separate Company).
During World War One, the company was federalized and redesignated Company I, 372nd Infantry. It was subsequently shipped overseas and fought gallantly on the Western Front until the close of hostilities. The French government later awarded the unit the prestigious Croix de Guerre with Palm in recognition of its distinguished service. In 1923 the unit was reorganized in Baltimore as part of the Maryland National Guard and assumed its old name, the First Separate Company.
In March 1941, by then known as Service Company, 372nd Infantry, the unit was again federalized. It served in the Pacific theater in the later stages of World War Two.
When the Maryland Army National Guard reorganized after the war, the unit was reformed in Baltimore as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 231st Transportation Truck Battalion.
When the Korean War broke out in June 1950, the entire battalion was federalized and was the only unit in the Maryland National Guard to be federalized during the entire war. 2 companies of the 231st served in Korea, including HHC. The army did not release the unit from Federal service until 1955 – 2 years after the end of the war. As a result of its dedicated Korean War service, the battalion was awarded two U.S. Army Meritorious Unit Citations and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.
In 1959 the unit was assigned to the 29th Infantry Division and redesignated the 229th Transportation Battalion (shortly thereafter the 229th Supply and Transport Battalion). When the 29th Division was deactivated in 1968, the 229th was broken up and its component parts were reorganized and redesignated.
In 1985, the reactivation of the 29th Division (Light) resulted in the rebirth of the 229th S&T Battalion as part of the new “Blue and Gray” Division. The Monumental City Guards is the only unit in the Maryland National Guard with Korean War campaign streamers on its colors.
During Desert Storm in 1990, the 229th S&T played a major role in the deployment of the 82nd Airborne by loading the 82nd aircraft which were preparing to depart for Saudi Arabia.
References:
1. Balkoski, Joseph. The Maryland National Guard: A History of Maryland’s Military Forces, 1634-1991. Baltimore, MD: Guard, 1991. Print.