The 124th Cavalry Regiment (nicknamed "Mars Men") is a United States Army cavalry regiment, represented in the Texas Army National Guard by 1st Squadron, 124th Cavalry, part of the 56th Infantry Brigade Combat Team at Waco.
The 124th was originally constituted and organized in 1929 in the Texas National Guard. It was Federalized in 1940 but remained stateside, patrolling the Mexico–United States border, after the Attack on Pearl Harbor resulted in the United States entry into World War II. In 1944 it moved to Fort Riley, the last horse cavalry regiment in the army. The regiment was sent to India, where it arrived in August. After being redesignated as the 124th Cavalry, Special, it joined the Mars Task Force. Operating alongside Chinese troops, the 124th Cavalry and the task force recaptured the Burma Road from the Japanese in early 1945. The regiment was then sent to China to train Chinese troops, and was inactivated there in mid-1945.
The regiment was broken up in 1946 but became the 124th Armor in 1959. In 1963 it was redesignated the 124th Cavalry again.
Interwar period
The 124th was constituted on 13 February 1929 in the Texas National Guard and organized on 15 March 1929 from new and existing units. It initially consisted of two cavalry squadrons, each with two troops, and headquarters and support units. Its headquarters was organized at San Antonio. The regimental band was redesignated from the Band Section of the 112th Cavalry's Service Troop at Mineral Wells. Its Machine Gun Troop was redesignated from Troop B, 56th Machine Gun Squadron, Cavalry at San Antonio. The Medical Department Detachment was redesignated at Houston from the Medical Department Detachment of the 56th Machine Gun Squadron.
Headquarters and Troops A and B of 1st Squadron were organized at Fort Worth. Troops A and B were redesignated from Troops E and G of the 112th Cavalry, respectively. 2nd Squadron headquarters was organized at Houston, while Troops E and F were organized at Brenham and Mineral Wells, respectively. Troop E was redesignated from Troop A of the 56th Machine Gun Squadron, while Troop F was redesignated from the 112th Cavalry's Service Troop. On 20 March, the regiment's Headquarters Troop was organized at Austin, completing the initial organization of the 124th.
The regiment was part of the 23rd Cavalry Division's 56th Cavalry Brigade, and was commanded by Colonel Louis S. Davidson, the former executive officer of the 56th Brigade. Each summer from 1929 to 1939, the 124th conducted training at Camp Wolters. The regiment's designated mobilization training station was Fort Bliss. Between September and October 1929, the regiment was called up for state duty to enforce martial law during the breaking up of the organized crime organization in Borger. In May 1930, it was called up to restore order after the Sherman race riot. Between September 1931 and December 1932, the regiment was called up to enforce order and prevent illegal oil production in the East Texas Oil Field. On 29 November 1934, regimental executive officer Colonel Calvin B. Garwood took command of the regiment after Davidson was promoted to command the 56th Brigade. Between 1935 and 1939, the 124th was awarded the National Guard Association's Pershing Trophy for cavalry marksmanship.
The 56th Brigade became an independent unit after leaving the 23rd Division on 1 April 1939. On 30 June, Troops I and K of the new 3rd Squadron were organized at Corpus Christi and Seguin, respectively. 3rd Squadron's headquarters was organized at Houston almost a month later, on 23 July. Between 3 and 23 August, the regiment participated in the Third Army maneuvers in the Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana, involving 70,000 troops. On 1 October 1940, 3rd Squadron headquarters was inactivated and Troops I and K became Troops C and G of the 1st and 2nd Squadrons, respectively.
The 124th was called up for Federal service on 18 November at San Antonio. It was transferred to Fort Bliss, where it arrived on 28 November. The 56th Brigade became part of the Third Army upon Federalization. Headquarters and 1st Squadron transferred to Fort Brown on 5 February 1941, while 2nd Squadron simultaneously transferred to Fort Ringgold. The regiment relieved the 12th Cavalry of the Fort Brown Command sector of the Mexican Border Patrol. The 124th conducted border patrol duty along the Mexico–United States border from Brownsville to Laredo. On 29 May, the regiment returned to Fort Bliss. Between 12 August and 2 October, it participated in the massive Second Army–Third Army maneuver in the Louisiana Maneuver Area, which involved 342,000 troops. On 4 October, after the maneuvers ended, the regiment returned to Fort Brown.