Kentucky: National Guard History eMuseum

A Jackson National Guard unit was first organized in 1910 as Company C of the 149th Infantry Regiment. Prior to World War I, the unit was reorganized as the Machine Gun Company of the 149th Regiment, and was called up for active duty in World War I. Breathitt County, Kentucky, was the only county in the U.S. not to have a single draftee in World War I, because they had more than the required number of men volunteer for military service ( Lineage of Jackson National Guard, prepared by the unit). Jackson lost twenty-six men in World War I, and the unit served in what is today Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia.

In 1924, the unit was again reorganized as the 38th Military Police Company of the 38th Infantry Division. In December , 1940, the unit was called up for active duty in World War II. The unit trained in Camp Shelby, Mississippi, before being sent to the Pacific Theater, where they served in New Guinea, Leyte, and Luzon. The unit was once again reorganized in 1959 as Company C, 201st Engineers Battalion. In September, 1978, the unit was reorganized as the 207th Engineers Battalion.

In November 1985, the unit was again reorganized as the 206th crash, Engineers Battalion, part of the 35th Infantry Division. Finally, the last reorganization occurred in September 1995, as the unit was designated Company C of the 206th Engineers Battalion. Company B of the 206th Engineers was moved to Carlisle.

In its long history, the National Guard unit in Jackson has won many awards and commendations, including a Meritorious Unit Commendation for World War II, a battle streamer embroidered "Luzon", a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation and a streamer embroidered, "17 October - July 1945." In addition, the unit was ...called upon to provide security services for General of the Army Douglas MacArthur as he toured Pacific Battlefields. (Lineage of Jackson National Guard as prepared by unit) In all, Breathitt County lost 91 men in World War II. The Jackson unit also served in Korea in 1951, and lost ten men in that conflict. Although the unit was not activated for duty in Desert Storm, some volunteers served in the Gulf.

The Jackson unit has participated in a variety of state active duty missions, most recently the snowstorm of February 1998, when 32 men helped remove trees and clear roads. Other active duty missions have included flood duty, forest fires, and union/labor disputes. Specific missions include: the 1931 and 1936 coal field strikes in Harlan, 1937 flood duty in Louisville and Frankfort, 1957 flood duty in Eastern Kentucky, the 1958 Prestonsburg bus crash, 1977 flood duty in Harlan County, the 1979 truckers strike along I-75 in Laurel County, forest fire duty in 1980, 1984 flood duty in Breathitt County, and the recent active duty mission for the snowstorm of 1998, when the Jackson National Guard unit served a 10-county area in Eastern Kentucky.

The current armory and OMS occupy five acres of land. In the late 1950s, Jackson was in fear of losing its National Guard unit because of lack of a site on which to build an armory. Seven Guard members joined together and obtained a bank loan from the National Bank of Jackson, then purchased five acres of land that were deeded to the government so that an armory could be constructed. (From plaque at Jackson Armory) A plaque and a picture in the armory commemorate the men who were willing to go to great lengths to keep the Guard in Jackson. Currently, there are 113 men in the unit, which draws recruits from Breathitt, Wolfe, Lee, and Owsley counties. A 67-man detachment of the Jackson unit is located in Prestonsburg. The drill hall is used for some community functions such as weddings, and the National Guard participates in the Breathitt County Honey festival/parade every year.