1st BATTALION
15th INFANTRY REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM

FORT BENNING, GEORGIA


"The Old China Hands"
The China Room serves two purposes for the 1st Battalion. First, it is the room where reenlistments, promotions boards, and other special ceremonies are held. Second It is a repository for articles and other memorabilia, which represents some of the illustrious history of the 15th Infantry Regiment.

 

 
On October 10, 1911 an explosion in the Russian Concession at Hankow (now part of Wuhan), China sparked off the Chinese Revolution against the Qing (Manchu or C'hing) Dynasty. In November 1911, the 15th Infantry's 2nd Battalion departed for Tientsin, China. In China it joined the international peacekeeping forces assigned to protect American and other foreign nations' interests. The battalion arrived in December 1911 with the 3rd Battalion and regimental headquarters following in early 1912. The 1st Battalion was retained in the Philippines and not posted to China.

During the interminable revolutions, rebellions and civil wars following the 1911 Revolution in China the regiment performed its mission of protecting Tientsin from encroachment by marauding bandits and disaffected soldiery with skill and honor. During one incident in 1924-25 regimental elements were posted on the perimeter of Tientsin as part of the international forces protecting the city. Chinese soldiers fleeing from defeats by other Chinese warlord armies were disarmed and set to collection centers. Pursuing victorious units, including mercenary White Russians were diverted and not allowed into the City. Following the termination of Germany's treaty rights in China in April 1917 the American forces posted in Tientsin took over the former German barracks.

Leroy F. Johnson, Jr.
Associate Member Contributes Valuable Items To China Room One of the Association's newest members is Leroy F. Johnson, Jr. He learned of the Association from visiting the Association website and subsequently became a Life Associate Member.  

Leroy was born in China May 20, 1933, his parents having arrived in China just two months before. Leroy’s father, Leroy F. Johnson, Senior, was 1st Sergeant of Service Company, 15th Infantry Regiment. The family remained in China until 1935 when 1st Sergeant Johnson was reassigned to Utah. 1st Sergeant Johnson entered the Army in 1919, served in several units and transferred to US Air Force in 1947. He retired from the service in 1952 after 33 1/2 years service.

Although Leroy, Jr has little recollection of the time his family was in China he recalls many stories later related by his father and mother. After being provided with an Association roster, he contacted two of the China Hands members, Tom Mason and Melvin Greek. Leroy reports that he had some very interesting phone visits with them.

 Leroy has contributed some very interesting items to the 1-15 Infantry for placement in China Room. They are:----A large patch, USATC (US Army Troops in China), and Tiensen in Chinese letters. Thought to be worn on sports uniforms.----Leroy Johnson Sr Honorable Discharge in 1934 after a three year enlistment.---Leroy Johnson Sr Enlistment Record of 1919 to 1934 with reenlistment for 3 years.---1933 photo of Service Company Officers and NCOs. The photo Includes LT William F. Dean who as a Brigadier General was captured in Korea and was also a Congressional Medal Of Honor recipient in Korea.---Copy of the May 1933 edition of The Sentinel. One of the articles in the edition is the birth announcement of Leroy, Jr. Another article announces that LT Dennis Moore is to assume the position as Editor. LT Moore, later Colonel Moore, commanded the Regiment in Korea in1950.--A swagger stick with 15th Infantry crest and wrapped with a dragon in pure silver.

Many thanks to Leroy for his contributions. The 1-15 vows to display the items in a prominent place in the China Room

The United States 15th Infantry Regiment
in China, 1912–1938
Alfred Emile Cornebise

ISBN 0-7864-1988-1
photographs & illustrations, notes, bibliography, index
283pp. softcover 2004
$45
Available for immediate shipment
http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?isbn=0-7864-1988-1

Description
Taking up its position astride the Peking-Mukden [Beijing-Shenyang] railway beginning in January, 1912, the United States Fifteenth Infantry Regiment was engaged in protecting American interests in China. The 1000 man force was especially challenged during the 1920s, those tumultuous years when warlords struggled to gain ascendancy in the Chinese Republic. Although Chiang Kai-shek established a measure of control in China by 1928, the regiment remained in China—partially to counter Japan’s increasingly aggressive actions—despite considerable misgivings within and outside of the United States Army as to the feasibility, desirability, and ethical appropriateness of the policy retaining it there. The success of the Japanese in conquering much of eastern China finally compelled Washington to withdraw the regiment on March 2, 1938.

This work recounts and assesses some aspects of the involvement and service of the Fifteenth Infantry Regiment during its fateful quarter of a century in the Orient between the World Wars. Also detailed is the Army’s service in those years in general. Many insights are provided regarding the self-perceptions of a key generation of U.S. military personnel deployed there.

About the Author
Alfred Emile Cornebise is professor emeritus of History at the University of Northern Colorado and also the author of The CCC Chronicles (2004). He lives in Greeley, Colorado.
Mc Farland Publishing Co.
 http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/index.html