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Lake City, Florida: A Sesquicentennial Tribute (2009) H. Morris Williams, Dr. Kevin M. McCarthy

Chapter Fifteen: 1950 - 1959

National Guard

National Guard Armory in 1959 -
it is named after Robert B. Harkness Jr.

The 153rd Engineer Company of the Florida National Guard
that is headquartered in Lake City has a history that dates back to
1835, when Fort Alligator was built in the vicinity. The local unit, be-
sides serving in World War II and in more recent wars, has also been
mobilized for law-enforcement assistance and humanitarian support
in times of crisis.
In the 20th century, the unit was organized and federally rec-
ognized in the Florida National Guard as Company C, 1st Regiment
of Infantry and was drafted into federal service (1917); reorganized
as the 3rd Company, 56th Depot Brigade, and element of the 31st
Division (1917); demobilized - with personnel transferred to other
organizations of the 31st Brigade (1917); reorganized and federally
recognized as the 5th Separate Company Infantry (1920); redesig-
nated as Company G, 1st Infantry and then as Company H, 124th
Infantry, an element of the 39th Division (both in 1921); assigned to
the 31st Division (1923); inducted into federal service (1940); inacti-
vated at Camp Stoneman, California (1945); reorganized, redesig-
nated, and federally recognized as the Antitank Company, 124th In-
fantry (1947); and redesignated as the Tank Company, 124th Infan-
try (1948).

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