35th Infantry Regiment · 2nd Battalion · Charlie Company
"Take Arms!"
The lineage of the 35th Infantry Regiment traces from the Global War on Terrorism back through five major conflicts to the Arizona borderlands. This is the story of the regiment, the 2nd Battalion, and Charlie Company — where the record allows.
Post-Vietnam, the 2nd Battalion was inactivated in 1972 but reactivated on 16 August 1995 as a light infantry unit in the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. It focused on Pacific training exercises — Team Spirit, Cobra Gold, Orient Shield — and the division reorganized as a light infantry force for rapid deployment.
In the Global War on Terrorism, the 3rd Brigade “Broncos” (including 2-35 IN) deployed four times across eight years, from Afghanistan in 2004 to Afghanistan again in 2012:
Afghanistan · 2011–2012
Operation Enduring Freedom. April 2011 through April 2012. Operating as Task Force Cacti under Task Force Bronco in Regional Command East, the battalion was responsible for areas of Kunar, Nangarhar, and Nuristan provinces along the Pakistan border — some of the most contested terrain of the war.
In late June 2011, the battalion launched Operation Hammer Down, a seven-day air-assault offensive into the Watapur Valley, Kunar Province, to destroy suspected foreign fighter training camps. Soldiers were inserted by helicopter onto a high ridgeline just before midnight on 24 June. The fighting was intense — approximately 120 Taliban killed, with five U.S. and Afghan soldiers killed in action. The battalion was awarded the Valorous Unit Award for Extraordinary Heroism in Combat for the operation.
Additional operations included Operation Stone Steps (ANA training at Nangalam Base) and Operation Saguaro (security operations in the Bargay Valley, February 2012). Ten soldiers from 2-35 IN were killed during this rotation.
Iraq · 2008–2009
Operation Iraqi Freedom. October 2008 through October 2009. Approximately 3,400 Bronco Brigade soldiers deployed to northern Iraq. The battalion conducted stability and partnership operations in Samarra and the surrounding Salah ad-Din province, operating from Contingency Operating Base Speicher outside Tikrit with a forward patrol base inside the city.
The operational focus had shifted from major combat to transition — joint patrols with Iraqi Police and Iraqi Army, barrier removal symbolizing improved security, and mediating local disputes between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government. In June 2009, the battalion’s patrol base in Samarra was renamed from its American designation to an Arabic name, reflecting the handover of responsibility to Iraqi forces. Two soldiers from 2-35 IN were killed during this rotation.
Iraq · 2006–2007
Operation Iraqi Freedom. July 2006 through October 2007 — a 15-month tour extended as part of the 2007 troop surge. The battalion assumed responsibility for Kirkuk Province from the 101st Airborne Division in September 2006 and conducted counterinsurgency operations including patrols, air assaults, and convoy security across northern Iraq.
In June 2007, elements of 2-35 IN were detached from the main body in Kirkuk to support Operation Arrowhead Ripper — a major offensive to retake Baqubah from al-Qaeda. Delta Company (“Gundogs”) operated under 1-12 CAV in New Baqubah and Sebat Nisan from 15 June through 8 August. Bravo Company, 3rd Platoon of Charlie Company, and Charlie Company’s Mortar Section also deployed to Baqubah — small elements folded into a 10,000-troop operation alongside Stryker brigades, the 82nd Airborne, and Iraqi Army and police forces.
On 22 August 2007, a UH-60 Black Hawk (Call Sign “Jenna”) suffered mechanical failure during a nighttime mission near Kirkuk. All 14 aboard were killed, including the entire 10-man Battalion Scout Platoon of 2-35 IN and four aircrew from 4th Squadron, 6th Air Cavalry Regiment. It was the single deadliest incident for the Cacti Battalion in the GWOT. Nineteen soldiers from 2-35 IN and attached units were killed during this rotation.
Afghanistan · 2004–2005
Operation Enduring Freedom. February 2004 through early 2005. The 3rd BCT deployed as Combined Task Force Bronco, headquartered at Kandahar Airfield with responsibility for Regional Command South. The battalion operated primarily in Zabul Province, centered on the town of Qalat, from Forward Operating Base Lagman.
Operations included Mountain Storm (counter-insurgency and election security for Afghanistan’s first presidential election in October 2004) and Lightning Resolve. On 7 June 2004, CPL David M. Fraise of Alpha Company was killed by an IED at a location known as “Taliban Bridge” in the Qalat District — the first Cacti Soldier killed in the GWOT. The CPL David M. Fraise Memorial Chapel was later dedicated at Kandahar Airfield in his honor.
Charlie Company participated in each rotation as a core rifle company. During OIF 06–07, its platoons operated across multiple areas of operation simultaneously — a testament to the demands placed on light infantry at the battalion level during the surge. In Samarra, the company continued operations across the Salah ad-Din province. In Afghanistan, the company fought in Kunar Province’s valleys and ridgelines alongside the rest of the battalion.
Today the 2nd Battalion remains the only active element of the 35th Regiment, still assigned to the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Charlie Company continues as an active rifle company, upholding traditions like the Ace of Spades logo and focusing on Indo-Pacific readiness.
The 35th Regiment’s 1st and 2nd Battalions formed the core of the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, deploying to Pleiku in the Central Highlands by December 1965. The 2nd Battalion (Cacti Blue) arrived in early 1966, perpetuating its “Take Arms” heritage.
Operations spanned the Cambodian border, Quang Ngai Province, the area west of Hoi An, and central Vietnam — including counteroffensives, the Tet Counteroffensive, and the Cambodian Incursion (May–June 1970) seizing enemy caches. The brigade transferred to the 4th Infantry Division in August 1967 before returning to the 25th in 1970. Redeployment to Schofield Barracks began in late 1970.
Charlie Company
On 28 October 1966, during Operation Paul Revere IV, Charlie Company withstood attacks by two NVA companies, holding firm despite heavy casualties.
Ace of Spades
In early 1966, Charlie Company originated the use of the Ace of Spades as a psychological warfare tool. Inspired by a Stars and Stripes article about Viet Cong superstitions, four lieutenants — Barrie E. Zais, Frederick S. Raymond, Richard L. Dugan, and Charles S. Brown — devised leaving the card on enemy bodies, trails, and villages to instill fear.
They requested 1,000 decks of only the Ace of Spades from the United States Playing Card Company, which supplied crates for free. The cards featured Lady Liberty on the face. This “death card” practice spread Army-wide but originated with Charlie Company.
The company adopted the Ace of Spades as its logo beginning in 1962 and carries it to this day.
The 25th Division, including the 35th Regiment, deployed from Japan to Korea in July 1950 after the North Korean invasion. The 2nd Battalion fought in the Pusan Perimeter, the advance into North Korea, and defensive actions against Chinese interventions — including withdrawals south of the Chongchon River and defenses along the Iron Triangle.
From May 1953 the battalion guarded Seoul’s approaches, notably defending the Nevada Complex against a People’s Volunteer Army assault. Battalion records note intense close-quarters fighting, such as at the Nam River and during Chinese assaults in November 1950 where over 374 enemy dead were counted.
The unit returned to Hawaii in 1954 after the armistice.
As part of the 25th Infantry Division (“Tropic Lightning”), the 35th Regiment deployed to the Pacific Theater after Pearl Harbor. The 2nd Battalion saw heavy combat starting with the Guadalcanal Campaign, arriving 25 November 1942 to relieve the Marines. The battalion helped seize Kokumbona and reduce the Mount Austen Pocket — including the “Gifu” strongpoint, manned by over 500 enemy troops and 52 crew-served weapons — by February 1943.
From there: the capture of Munda, New Georgia (July–August 1943); Vella Lavella (August–September 1943); and the Philippines, where the battalion landed at San Fabian, Luzon on 11 January 1945. It advanced across the Central Plain and fought through the Caraballo Mountains, securing Balete Pass by 13 May and Santa Fe by 27 May.
Charlie Company
Not distinctly mentioned in available records, but as a rifle company in the 2nd Battalion, Charlie Company would have participated in these actions — the jungle fighting on Guadalcanal, the island-hopping campaigns, and the advance across Luzon. The battalion transitioned to occupation duty in Japan post-war.
The 35th Infantry Regiment was constituted on 1 July 1916 in the Regular Army at Douglas, Arizona, drawing elements from the 11th, 18th, and 22nd Infantry Regiments. Organized between 8–19 July 1916 for border security along the U.S.–Mexico frontier amid tensions with Mexican revolutionaries like Pancho Villa, the unit patrolled harsh desert terrain and earned its “Cacti” moniker from the resilient plants that symbolized endurance.
The 2nd Battalion’s lineage begins here — Company B, 35th Infantry, organized 13 July 1916. Company designations were fluid at this stage; no distinct records single out Charlie Company.
During World War I the regiment was assigned to the 18th Division on 7 August 1918 but saw no overseas combat. It remained on border duty, culminating in the Battle of Ambos Nogales on 27 August 1918. Soldiers from the 35th, reinforced by Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry, repelled a cross-border attack involving Mexican and possibly German forces, capturing key positions and forcing a surrender. The regiment’s motto — “Take Arms!” — originated from shouts during this skirmish.
In the interwar period the regiment transferred to Camp Lewis, Washington, then to Hawaii in 1920, arriving at Schofield Barracks on 25 September. Assigned to the Hawaiian Division (later redesignated the 25th Infantry Division in 1941), it focused on mobile beach defense on Oahu.