“The Infantry actually kissed the tubes when they first saw the guns. The battery immediately went into position and fired in support of the 1st Infantry Division.” -History of the 190th-200th Field Artillery Group

June 6th, 1944, is a storied day in American history. It marks the largest amphibious landing ever undertaken by the U.S. military and began the ground campaign which liberated occupied France from the Nazi regime. While many units in the Division carry a “NORMANDY” campaign streamer for their actions during the summer of 1944, only a handful carry the invasion arrowhead, marking their participation in the initial landings under fire.

One oft forgotten Pennsylvania National Guard unit, Sunbury’s 190th and 200th Field Artillery Battalion, served in Europe not with the Keystone Division, but as a part of the Army’s V Corps Artillery. Initially formed from remnants of the old 103d Cavalry, these battalions landed in France in the initial days of the invasion, and provided critical field artillery support to V Corps infantry units as they broke out from the German beach defenses.

Battery A, 200th Field Artillery held the distinction of being the first V Corps Artillery unit to fire in action when they sent rounds down range in support of the 1st Infantry Division on June 7th, 1944.  The rest of the battalion, and their sister battalion the 190th from PA, would unload on June 8th, and would set up their headquarters near Colleville-sur-Mer. Both units would spend the next few nights under shellfire and enemy strafing runs firing to support the advance of the 1st, 2d, and 29th Infantry Divisions. They would later participate in the fighting at St Lo, providing fires for the 175th Infantry (who now serves in the 2d Brigade Combat Team, 28th Division) and other elements of the 29th Division as they fought their way through the rubble.

The 190th and 200th Field Artillery would continue their service with the V Corps through the remainder of the war, fighting across France, Belgium, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. During the actions in December of 1944, the 200th Field Artillery would receive a commendation from the 1st Infantry Division for their “maximum possible support quickly and accurately” engaging German forces attacking that Division.  At the end of the war, they would sport 5 battle streamers: Normandy (with Assault Landing), Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Europe.

Today the 190th and 200th Field Artillery Battalions no longer exist in name. Post-war they consolidated with the 229th Field Artillery, and later were broken up and redesignated as members of several different units. Across the 28th Division today their NORMANDY streamer with the invasion landing arrowhead can be found on the colors of units such as the 728th Support Battalion, Headquarters Battery 107th Field Artillery, and a few separate companies. Their legacy however, remains etched in stone on the National Guard memorial on Omaha Beach, forever commemorating the role they played on June 6th, 1944.