53d Infantry Regiment
Not yet constituted / organized
This timeline begins in 1916. The cited organization had not yet been constituted or organized during this interval; its formation follows.
First division shown6th Infantry Division1 Dec 1917
Separate unit histories0 documented elementsDated lineages and service notes below
Page cutoff8 September 2026Last-documented status is explicitly marked
One regiment, separate assignments
The common row follows the regiment. After its reorganization, battle groups and battalions could hold different assignments at the same time. A deployment or temporary attachment does not by itself change the assigned division. Battalion rows follow headquarters lineages, often descended from lettered companies, rather than assuming that the old regimental battalions continued unchanged.
The 1942-1950 gap includes Alaska service and organizational changes whose precise dates are not established by the sources used here. The 1950-1953 association with the 101st Airborne Division was a training attachment, not an overseas combat deployment. The November 1917 assignment is recorded only to the month here. The Army order of battle dates activation to 1 August 1940 and divisional relief to 29 November 1941. The secondary history gives July for activation, so July is left uncertain.
Division patches
Representative division patches. Patterns could change over time; an image does not imply that the exact version was worn throughout every period. Divisions without a verified asset remain identified by name.
At a glance
Assignments across time
Bar widths follow elapsed time.
Scroll horizontally on a small screen. Select a segment to open its dated entry. Diamond markers open deployments; their positions indicate the labeled year, not an exact start date or duration. Short assignments are easier to inspect in the list below.
- Division assignment
- 1st Infantry
- 2d Infantry
- 8th Infantry
- Separate headquarters
- Training / academy
- Inactive
- Unverified / last documented
Explore a date
Who were they with?
Look up the dated rows below. Service notes with incomplete dates are excluded; last-documented results do not certify a current assignment.
The dated record
Division timeline
Deployments, operations and credited campaign service appear inside assignment cards. Award years establish credited service, not exact tour dates. Some service notes identify only company-sized elements. This is a sourced selection, not a complete movement log.
Assignment ends are exclusive: the next period starts on that date. *Striped final bars mean last documented, with later status unverified through the page cutoff. Unknown intervals are not treated as inactive.
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1 Jan 1916 – 1 Jan 1917
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1 Jan 1917 – 1 Dec 1917
53d Infantry Regiment
Assignment not established
The available record does not establish a precise assignment throughout this interval. No division is inferred.
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1 Dec 1917 – 23 Sep 1922
53d Infantry Regiment
6th Infantry Division
Division names are normalized across historical redesignations. This entry follows the cited unit lineage.
Deployments & overseas operations
1918
France
53d Infantry Regiment · Campaign service
Campaign participation is recorded in the cited history. The year label summarizes campaign service, not an exact overseas tour.
Source
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23 Sep 1922 – 24 Mar 1923
53d Infantry Regiment
Inactive · 6th Infantry Division
The unit was inactive but retained the division assignment shown. Paper assignments and Reserve-officer training are not active combat service.
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24 Mar 1923 – 1 Jul 1940
53d Infantry Regiment
Inactive · 7th Infantry Division
The unit was inactive but retained the division assignment shown. Paper assignments and Reserve-officer training are not active combat service.
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1 Jul 1940 – 1 Aug 1940
53d Infantry Regiment
Assignment not established
The available record does not establish a precise assignment throughout this interval. No division is inferred.
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1 Aug 1940 – 29 Nov 1941
53d Infantry Regiment
7th Infantry Division
Division names are normalized across historical redesignations. This entry follows the cited unit lineage.
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29 Nov 1941 – 1 Jan 1942
53d Infantry Regiment
No assigned division
The cited record establishes service outside an assigned division. Higher headquarters and temporary operational attachments could still direct the unit.
Deployments & overseas operations
1942-1943
Alaska and Adak
53d Infantry Regiment · Deployment / overseas operation
The regiment left the 7th Division and served in Alaska; precise assignment boundaries remain unresolved. The labeled service overlaps an assignment change and is listed only once; consult the following assignment cards as well.
Source
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1 Jan 1942 – 29 Sep 1950
53d Infantry Regiment
Assignment not established
The available record does not establish a precise assignment throughout this interval. No division is inferred.
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29 Sep 1950 – 1 Dec 1953
53d Infantry Regiment
Attached to 101st Airborne Division · Training
An attachment for depot or training service, not a formal maneuver-division assignment.
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1 Dec 1953 – page cutoff*
53d Infantry Regiment
Last documented: Inactive
The unit or its headquarters lineage was inactive. This status does not imply that every inherited honor or divisional affiliation was erased. The source establishes this last recorded status, not uninterrupted service through 2026. The striped bar extends to the page cutoff to keep the later research gap visible.
Sources and scope
Army Center of Military History lineage certificates provide the dated backbone. Regimental associations and secondary histories supplement individual operations and battalions. Where the evidence stops, the page says so. A page cutoff is not a claim that every unit directory was current on that date.
Earlier battalions are covered by common regimental service; separately dated lineages and substantiated later battalions receive their own rows or notes. A unit graphic alone is not evidence of a battalion assignment. Reserve, training and inactive organizations are distinguished from active combat units.
- Combat Studies Institute: U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941, vol. 1, pp. 391-397
- 53d Infantry Regiment history (Wikipedia; secondary)
Patch artwork
Unmodified artwork from Wikimedia Commons; individual file pages identify the artist and license. Insignia represent the divisions, not regimental affiliation badges.
- 6th Infantry Division · file and credit · public domain
- 7th Infantry Division · file and credit · public domain
