FORT BENNING, Ga., (June 17, 2015) -- "This memorial will represent the long and proud history that the 22nd Infantry Regiment has had in defense of our country ... We wanted to go back and recognize every brother who had fallen under the 22nd Infantry," said retired Lt. Col. Lon Oakley Jr., president of the 22nd Infantry Regiment Society.
Until now, the 22nd Infantry Regiment Society, which includes regiments from 4th Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment; 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment; 25th Infantry Division's 3rd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment and 4th Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, did not have a national memorial of its own.
That will change when their new memorial monument is unveiled at noon June 23 at the National Infantry Museum's Walk of Honor.
Oakley said the history of the 22nd Infantry Regiment dates back to the Battle of Chickamauga in 1812. He attributes the vision for the monument to retired Lt. Col. and U.S. Rep. Steve Russell, the former Task Force 1-22 commander whose task force was responsible for the capture of Sadaam Hussein. After eight years of working with fellow 22nd Infantry Regiment veterans, Russell was finally able to bring his vision to fruition.
"We want to embody the fact that each of our fallen brothers will be remembered by name on the monument," Oakley said. "The 22nd Infantry Regiment Society will create a directory, similar to the Vietnam Wall ... There are an estimated 3,200 names that will be etched onto the monument's obelisk."
"People who have served with the 22nd Infantry have gone on to do other things within the Army and civilian life, yet the single thread that runs through all of us is the fact that we associate with the 22nd Infantry Regiment. I think the single thread for us is 'Deeds Not Words,' which is found on the 22nd Infantry Regiment Crest," Oakley said.
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