124th Cavalry Regiment

The 124th Cavalry Regiment, part of the 56th Cavalry Brigade, Texas National Guard, was mobilized for active duty on 18 November 1940. The Regiment was initially stationed at Fort Bliss, El Paso, but was reassigned to Fort Brown in Brownsville, and Fort Ringgold in Rio Grande City, replacing the 12th United States Cavalry.

The Regiment participated in the Louisiana maneuvers and patrolled the border with Mexico from Brownsville to Laredo. After its sister regiment, the 112th Cavalry Regiment was sent overseas, the 124th Cavalry remained a part of the 56th Cavalry Brigade until 12 May 1944, when it was moved to Fort Riley, Kansas. At that time, the Regiment was the last horse-mounted regiment in the United States Army.

The Regiment turned in its horses on 10 June 1944, and departed Fort Riley on 25 July. It landed in Bombay, India, on 26 August 1944. Reinforced with the 613th Field Artillery Battalion, and redesignated "Special," it became part of the MARS Task Force and moved into the mountains of Northern Burma on 15 December 1944. The Regiment fought many pitched battles with the Japanese in and around the Burma Road, and on 14 May 1945 were flown over "the Hump" to Kumming, China. The fighting had been characterized by operations deep in enemy territory, the use of pack mules and aerial resupply.

On 1 July 1945, the Regiment was deactivated. The 124th was reactivated in the Texas National Guard on 2 July 1945.

A member of the Regiment was awarded, (posthumously), the only Medal of Honor awarded for ground combat action in the China-Burma-India theater of operations. He was First Lieutenant Jack L. Knight, a prewar member of the Texas National Guard.

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