11th United States Cavalry - 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment 

100  Years  of   Service  to  the Nation100thlogo1.jpg (49703 bytes)  

PRESS RELEASE
11  July 2001



11 July 2001 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

11th United States Cavalry - 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment

100 Years of Service to the Nation

100 Years of Service to the Nation

Honorable Thomas E. White, Guest Speaker, Secretary of the Army

Secretary of the Army, the Honorable Thomas E. White will address Vietnam veterans and veterans from the last 100 years who served in one of the Army’s top combat units, the Blackhorse Regiment. The 100th Anniversary reunion will be held in Washington, DC, Friday, August 3rd thru Sunday, August 5th, 2001 at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill.

Secretary White’s distinguished Army career as a commissioned officer began with two tours in Vietnam and service as commander, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment; commander, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, V Corps; and executive assistant to the chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. Among the Regimental Commanders in attendance is Major General William W. Cobb, who led the 11th ACR ashore in Vietnam on September 7th 1966. Sergeant Major of the Army, Jack L. Tilley will also address the veterans.

More than 1,200 veterans and family members are expected to come from around the world to renew old friendships. Family members of those men killed in Vietnam will come to meet with some of the veterans who knew their loved ones during their final days.

The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, "THE BLACKHORSE REGIMENT", has been rated by military historians as one of the top combat units of the Vietnam War and served with distinction in Vietnam from 1966 to 1972. Colonel George S. Patton IV, (the son of World War II's General Patton, one of our nations most famous war heroes), was in command of the regiment during 1968 and 1969. The 11th Cavalry also spearheaded the successful 1970 attack across the Cambodian border to destroy the North Vietnamese command and supply sanctuaries. This was the last major allied operation prior to Vietnamization of the war.

While the majority of those attending fought in Vietnam, many who served since 1901, to the present active duty personnel assigned to the Army’s “TOP GUN” National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, will also join in.

The 11th U.S. Cavalry has served our nation for a century. Activated in 1901 as a horse cavalry regiment, the troopers once chased Pancho Villa's bandits from the Texas and New Mexico borders and engaged them in battle after the bandits conducted raids inside our borders killing settlers. This would become the “last mounted horse cavalry charge in U.S. history.”

The regiments tanks later participated the largest battle ever fought by the United States and was the largest land battle of World War II, the Battle of the Bulge. During the Gulf War, troops were drawn from their positions along the German border to reinforce larger armored units, then continued to secure Kuwait after the allied victory over Iraq.

The events on Saturday, August 4th begin at 9:30 AM , include a wreath laying at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and at the Tomb of the Unknown, followed by a reenactment at 2:30 PM of the 1901 formation of the 11th U.S. Cavalry at Fort Myer, VA where it began 100 years ago.

Secretary White will address his old combat unit at the Saturday evening banquet which begins at 7:00 PM. Media coverage will be limited at this event and ID must be worn at all times. Please call early for reservations.

I look forward to assisting your news team cover this historic event. I can provide combat footage video from military archives along with news clips from cities across the country. Please review the following pages for information about our guest speakers and others which you may wish to interview. Additional information is located on our website at: www.11thCavNam.com.

I may be reached at (817) 540-4322, FAX (817) 416-5899 Cell Phone (817) 239-3437 - PO Box 961, Colleyville, TX 76034 -

After August 1st at the Hyatt Regency (202) 737-1234 on Capitol Hill. ------------

Eric Newton

Public Relations Coordinator