Pennsylvania-California Military Ties Stretch Back to the Civil War

Photo By Maj. Travis Mueller | U.S. Soldiers with the California National Guard's 40th Combat Aviation Brigade are taking over the aviation mission in the Middle East from the Pennsylvania National Guard's 28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade, taking part in Pennsylvania-California military cooperation that has been going on since the Civil War.  

CAMP BUEHRING, KUWAIT

05.11.2021

Story by Sgt. John Mateja 

28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade

(Story by Sgt. John Z. Mateja, a former middle school history teacher and currently the religious affairs specialist with the 628th Aviation Support Battalion, 28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade)

As Soldiers of California’s 40th Combat Aviation Brigade trade places with their counterparts of Pennsylvania’s 28th Combat Aviation Brigade, troops will be taking part in a legacy of state-to-state cooperation stretching back to the Civil War.

California, while a state during the Civil War, was unable to contribute troops to the war in the East thanks to the lack of intercontinental railroads and vast oceanic travel distances. To remedy this, Californians called for Oregon Senator Edward Baker to recruit a force in their state’s name to serve alongside Union forces. Dubbed the “California Brigade,” its Philadelphia-native recruits constituted the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th California Infantry Regiments. Baker, appointed the brigade commander, would fall in the Battle of Ball’s Bluff within the first year of the war.

Pennsylvania would reclaim the units of the California Brigade, dubbing it the “Philadelphia Brigade” and reorganizing its units as the 69th, 71st, 72nd, and 106th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiments. The units would continue to serve until the Battle of Cold Harbor. Today, the 72nd Pennsylvania (3rd California) is perpetuated by the 111th Infantry Regiment of the Pennsylvania National Guard and the “Philadelphia Brigade” is spiritually succeeded by the 56th Stryker Brigade.

During World War I, the 111th Infantry would continue to play a part in interstate bonds. Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. James I. Mestrovitch, an immigrant who had first settled in California before resettling in Pennsylvania, was posthumously awarded for actions near the village of Fismette, France.

California would contribute even more men than Sgt. Mestrovitch to the 28th Division, as the 40th Division would serve as a depot division and help strengthen the deployed 28th. California Guardsman Joe Tong Sue, a replacement sent to the 111th Infantry, would be awarded the Croix de Guerre for his actions in the Meuse-Argonne offensive.

During the Korean War, California and Pennsylvania Guardsmen would be part of the only four National Guard divisions mobilized to serve during the conflict. While the 40th would partake in combat on the Korean Peninsula, the 28th would be sent to Germany to guard against the Soviets.

More recently, in 2016 Soldiers of the California National Guard helped train Pennsylvania Guardsmen of the 2nd Infantry Brigade, 28th Division prior to mobilization to their peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.

• Date Taken: 05.11.2021
• Date Posted: 05.11.2021 06:54
• Story ID: 396081
• Location: CAMP BUEHRING, KW