The National Guard has been in Harlan since the late 1920s. The unit was first organized and recognized on March 16, 1929, as Company A of the 149th Infantry.
"The unit was inducted into federal service on January 17, 1941, and they served in France during World War II. The unit was inactivated on November 9, 1945, at Camp Anza, California. The 149th Infantry was relieved from assignment to the 38th Infantry Division on May 13, 1946. The unit was reorganized and federally recognized on October 11, 1946. The unit was converted and redesignated on September 1, 1955, as the 917th Medical Company. In October of 1959, the unit was again converted and redesignated as Company A of the 1st Medium Tank Battalion (MTB) of the 123rd Armor. The unit was again reorganized on April 6, 1964, as Company A, 1st Battalion of the 149th Infantry. On February 1, 1968, the unit was reorganized again as the 223rd Military Police Company."
(From the Lineage and Honors of the 223rd Military Police Company)
Besides the above-named units, the National Guard in Harlan has also served as an ambulance company (late 1970s), and since 1979, has been Company A of the 1st/149th Infantry.
With the exception of service in France during World War II, the unit has not been activated for overseas duty. Some men from the unit volunteered for Desert Storm, but were never processed for duty. Currently, there are some Vietnam and Desert Storm veterans in the unit, but they were members of the regular Army before they joined the National Guard. The National Guard unit has seen a number of active duty assignments, including winter storms, floods, forest fires, mud slides in Harlan, and tornado assistance in Middlesboro in 1988. The Guard responded to forest fires which occurred in November 1987, October 1991, and August of 1994. Winter storms have occurred the past three winters (1996-1998), and the unit has cleared fallen trees off the roads, and performed mountain rescue missions. The unit took HumVees into the mountains to rescue two families during the snowstorm of 1998. The Guard also delivered water and set up a central water distribution point at Pine Mountain Settlement School. In many parts of the county, people did not have electricity for four days.
The National Guard unit from Harlan has also participated in peacekeeping/police missions during their time as the 223rd Military Police. From May to June of 1968, the unit was sent to Louisville to help keep peace during the race riots that occurred there. The unit was on flood duty in Harlan from December 1969 to January 1970, escorted trucks during a coal mining strike in the 1970s, and were in Covington in April of 1970 to help quell the civil disturbances that occurred there. Since Harlan is a large coal producing area, and many of the Guardsmen are coal miners, outside Guard units are often called in to help during coal strikes or other mining-related disturbances. The National Guard in Harlan has been involved in Operation Green-Gray, a drug eradication campaign that has been in effect in the area since August 1988.
The National Guard has changed since its earlier years. Guardsmen in Harlan believe the training is more strenuous than it used to be, the admission standards are higher now, and the Guard is a more professional organization overall. The benefits, including state tuition assistance, are better than ever. In Harlan, more Guardsmen take advantage of the tuition assistance program than anywhere else in the state. Currently, the National Guard has 121 members, which is over 105% strength. The National Guard unit in Harlan recruits from Harlan County, which has 4 high schools.
The current National Guard armory is not eligible for the National Register due to its recent date of construction. The current armory is the second one built in Harlan. Prior to construction of the current building, an armory was located on Sunshine Turnpike, close to downtown Harlan.
The first armory in Harlan was constructed in 1942 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The armory was completed with funds from the Armory Corporation of Kentucky. The building is located in Sunshine, across a bridge and next to the railroad tracks outside downtown Harlan. The building is a two-story poured concrete building with attached drill hall. The front of the armory has been painted green, and a handicapped-accessible ramp was added to the front of the building in 1996. The walls are 12 inch thick and steel-reinforced, and the facade has elements of the Art Deco style around the entrance, with its linear lines and vertical, stepped ornamentation. The building still has its original plaque in the entrance hall, which gives the date of erection, the architect (Edd R. Gregg), and the engineer, Preston S. Sinton. John A. Polin was the Adjutant General. The original, double wooden front doors are still on the building, and another set of original, double wooden front doors with original hardware and locks are located inside the entrance. The armory was used by the Kentucky National Guard until 1979, when they moved into the new armory on U.S. 421. The old armory was given to the county, and managed by the Harlan County Fiscal Court, which still owns the building but leases it to the Community Action Agency, which pays for any improvements.
The county used the building for storage until it was acquired by the Community Action Agency. During the time it was used for storage, over 80 windows were broken out. Besides the CAA, the Sunshine Volunteer Fire Department uses the old OMS area of the building. Many community agencies are located in the building, including the Meals on Wheels program, a career center, and a community fitness center, to name a few.
Harlan Works Progress Administration Armory The current armory was built on old farm land bought by the county for the National Guard. The current armory is the second one constructed in Harlan; the first armory is located across the river and the railroad tracks from Harlan in Sunshine. The first armory was built in 1942 by the Works Progress Administration, and was used until the new armory was built in 1979. In 1980, the old armory was given to the county, and it is currently occupied by the Community Action Agency. The current armory at Harlan is very similar in appearance to the armory at Harrodsburg.
Photos and information courtesy Kentucky Heritage Council -- Report No. 25" Inventory and Evaluation of National Guard Armories in the State of Kentucky" - 1999 by Kate Carothers.