C001361

Round shaped, brass colored coin, 2 1/8 inches in diameter.

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Operation Enduring Freedom IX coin (2008-2009)

Origin of the nickname, Ramrod: In 1843, Lieutenant Colonel Riley, who commanded the 2nd Infantry through the Seminole and Mexican Wars, presented the regiment with a drum major's baton made from either a cannon rammer or cypress wood with a silver knob inscribed with the date of presentation, the name of the officer giving it and the regimental motto, "Noli Me Tangere". During the assault to capture the fortress at Chapultapec, Mexico in September 1847 Sergeant Major Samuel C. Green broke the baton when he struck an enemy soldier in the head. An artillery ramrod from that fortress was used to replace the broken wood on the baton, with the silver mountings transferred to it. Additional silver bands made from a tea set captured at the fortress were placed on the baton, one of them inscribed that the baton was made from the ramrod captured at Chapultapec. The baton changed hands several times and, in late 2012, was placed in the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, Kentucky.