Among the hundreds of Army National Guard units ordered into active Federal service as a result of the Korean War was the 300th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, Wyoming Army National Guard. The battalion arrived in Korea in February 1951 and entered combat in early May. On the night of May 15, 1951, three corps of the Chinese People’s Volunteers launched a major offensive against the 2nd Infantry Division. The 300th AFA Battalion, attached to the 2nd Division during the Battle of Soyang, delivered devastating artillery fire for seven days inflicting thousands of enemy casualties. During the morning of May 18 the battalion was given the mission of destroying an enemy roadblock. The batteries of the 300th poured both direct and indirect fire on the roadblock allowing retreating U.N. forces to fall back to more secure positions. The heroic and determined stand of the 2nd Division and its attached units allowed the Eighth Army to regroup and stop the enemy envelopment. For its gallantry in action, the battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the first of four awards that the 300th would earn. Today’s 1st and 3rd Battalions, 49th Field Artillery, Wyoming Army National Guard carry on the gallant traditions of the Cowboy Artillery.