274^th Infantry Regiment

The 274th Infantry Regiment was activated at Camp Adair, Oregon, on June 15, 1943, with the 70th Infantry Division and later trained at Fort Leonard Wood. It staged at Camp Myles Standish, departed Boston on December 1, 1944, and reached France on December 10. The regiment arrived before the rest of the division and became part of Task Force Herren, an infantry command built from the 70th's three regiments and sent into combat before the division's full supporting structure had arrived.

The regiment's first campaign unfolded during Operation Nordwind in Alsace. Task Force Herren initially held Rhine-front positions near Bischwiller, then its regiments were shifted toward the Bitche salient and the eastern exits from the Low Vosges. The 274th was attached in rapid succession to the 79th, 45th, 103rd, 45th, and 100th Infantry Divisions, reflecting the emergency nature of the January fighting. In the Wingen area, a battalion of the 274th led elements of the 276th Infantry in clearing SS troops from the village by January 7; the 2nd Battalion later received a Presidential Unit Citation for this action.

After Task Force Herren dissolved in February, the 274th remained in the Saarbruecken sector. With the 275th, it cleared heights commanding Saarbruecken and Stiring-Wendel by February 24. When the division attacked beyond the Forbach-Saarbruecken road on March 3, the 274th fought for Stiring-Wendel and captured the town on March 5 after heavy combat. The regiment then participated in the final Saar-Palatinate operations as German forces withdrew. The division entered Germany in March, occupied Saarbruecken, and later served in security and Saar Basin reduction missions as organized resistance in the region collapsed before inactivation in October 1945.