The first citation was awarded to the regiment during World War II on 6 June 1944, for action on the beaches of Normandy.

Two other presidential unit citations were awarded to the battalion for actions in Pleiku Province and Dak To district in the Republic of Vietnam.

Alpha and Charlie Companies were awarded an Oakleaf Cluster to their Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism in the Republic of Vietnam.

A-1-4 engineers took much of the brunt blast of automatics and mortar fire from human waves charging and retreating many times.

During the American Civil War, the 8th Infantry Regiment was involved in several major battles and campaigns.

The 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 8th Infantry Regiment was originally organized on 1 July 1838 as a detachment of recruits at Detroit, Michigan.

It sailed from Antwerp, Belgium, on 25 January 1923 on the troopship USAT St. Mihiel, and arrived on 7 February 1923 at Savannah, Georgia.

Company D was awarded the Edwin Howard Clark trophy for machine gun marksmanship for 1930.

The 1st Battalion 8th Infantry won nine campaign streamers for action in Vietnam from 1966 to 1970, participating in operations Sam Houston, Francis Marion, Don Quin and Paul Revere III.

Alpha and Charlie Companies were awarded a cluster to their presidential unit citations for extraordinary heroism in the Republic of Vietnam.

During Operation Wayne Grey at Landing Zone Brace 3 March 1969 in Vietnam 3rd Battalion Company "A" had at least 21 fatalities[6] The unit served at Coleman Barracks, Sandhofen, Germany (near Mannheim) as part of the 8th Infantry Division (Mechanized).

4-8 INF BN's mission during Operation Desert Storm was to guard the family housing areas immediately surrounding Campbell Barracks as well as the Army Airfield, both in Heidelberg.

Following the end of hostilities, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) was sent to Kuwait as a security force.

This was the first time units of the 2nd Infantry Division set foot on US soil since the Korean War began.

The battalion secured the Tikrit and began destroying resistance from the Iraqi forces and raids on Saddam supporter in the area.

In July 2003, 1-8 Infantry and 3rd Brigade returned to the Township of Balad and Balad Airfield (LSA Anaconda) to set up five Forward Operating Bases (FOB) and remained to conduct combat operations until redeployment to Fort Carson, Colorado and Fort hood, Texas in March 2004.

The battalion spent approximately three weeks at Camp Buehring, Kuwait conducting Reception, Staging, Integration, and Onward Movement (RSIO).

2–8 IN, in conjunction with 2nd Special Troops Battalion, and 2nd Brigade Headquarters conducted Relief in Place/Transfer of Authority with 155th AR BDE, Mississippi National Guard and 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in December 2006.

2–8 IN's area of operations included Babil Province north the Yusifiyah, south to Tounis, west to Mussayib, and east to the Ubaid.

Within AO NORMANDY the major population centers controlled by 2–8 IN included Iskandariyah, Haswah, Eskan, the Hateen Apartments, Muelha, and an area known as Chaka 4 (or the Kilometers).

In April 2008 the battalion conducted a month-long rotation at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California in preparation for OIF 08–09.

2-8 Infantry Battalion 4th ID deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the early summer of 2011.