FORT BENNING, Ga., (July 22, 2015) -- What is a birthday without a birthday party?
Soldiers from 2nd Battalion 69th Armored Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, spent the day at Uchee Creek celebrating 75 years in the Army July 16 with a battalion organization day.
Although the actual birthday falls on July 15, over 150 Soldiers attended the event that featured sporting events, bouncy houses, music and food.
The battalion saw it as a way to mix their work life with their home life.
"Just (wanted) to show that we're part of a larger team, we care about our Soldiers and we care about their Families," said Lt. Col. Theodore Leonard, 2nd Bn., 69 Armored Regt., 3rd Bde., battalion commander.
"We want them to feel they are part of the unit and it's not just about us the Soldiers and what we do, we appreciate their support that allows us to do what we do," Leonard said.
The battalion took a moment to recognize top winners of the organizational day sporting events during the cake cutting ceremony that symbolizes the past, present and future of the battalion.
The Panther battalion, as they are called, has a long lineage of transition throughout their 75 years.
On July 15, 1940, the battalion was constituted and fought in most major campaigns in the European theater before being deactivated and reactivated for the Korean War and then again from 1966 to 1970 for Vietnam.
"If you look at their history they've been used in many different capacities so they were never just strictly an armored battalion," said Leonard. "They were an amphibious armored battalion, they've worked all over Vietnam, they were never specialized but they were always ready when called upon."
The battalion eventually found a home with the 3rd Infantry Division and has been there ever since.
In the next few months the battalion will once again go through the transition of closing their doors.
What's next to come is not quite set in stone but whatever it is, these Soldiers are ready to accept the job.
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