229th Aviation Battalion (Assault Helicopter)

The 229th Aviation Batalion

The 229th was constituted 18 March 1964 into the Regular Army as the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion and assigned to the 11th Air Assault Division at Fort Benning, Georgia.  The unit was reorganized and re-designated as the 229th Aviation Battalion on 1 July 1965 and was concurrently reassigned to the 1st Calvary Division (Airmobile) in preparation for deployment to Vietnam.  The 229th Aviation Battalion fought in Vietnam for seven years and distinguished itself in 16 major campaigns earning three Presidential Unit Citations, the Valorous Unit Award, a Meritorious Unit Commendation, four awards of the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, and a Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Medal.  The unit returned from Vietnam as the most decorated aviation unit in the Army, but inactivated following the war on 22 August 1972 at Fort Hood, Texas. The 229th, less Company B was reactivated 21 September 1978 and was incorporated into the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) as the 229th Attack Helicopter Battalion at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.  On 16 September 1981, Company B, 229th Attack Helicopter Battalion was activated and organized at Fort Rucker, Alabama, under the operational control of the 1st Aviation Brigade to complement the Battalion's rapid deployment capability.