World War II
Division History
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9th Infantry Division
The 9th Infantry Division, known as "Old Reliables" Division, was activated on 1 August 1940. The Division insignia is an octofoil - a design of eight petals on a khaki background. Upper part of the octofoil is red, lower part blue, and there is a white disk in center. The 9th Infantry Division saw its first combat in the North African invasion, 8 November 1942, when its elements landed at Algiers, Safi, and Port Lyautey. Campaigns during World War II included: Algeria-French Morocco, Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy, North France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe. The Division was inactivated on 15 January 1947.
36th Infantry Division
The 36th Infantry Division was activated on 25 November 1940, from a National Guard Division from Texas. Nickname: Texas Division; sometimes referred to as Panther Division or the Lone Star Division. The 36th Infantry Division landed in North Africa, 13 April 1943, and trained at Arzew and Rabat. It first saw action, 9 September 1943, when it landed at Paestum on the Gulf of Salerno. Campaigns during World War II included: Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, Southern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe. The Division was inactivated on 15 December 1945. Note: The 36th Division insignia consisting of an olive drab "T" on a blue flint arrowhead was adopted in 1918. In World War I, the division was organized from National Guard units of Oklahoma and Texas; the flint arrowhead represents the State of Oklahoma (once the Indian Territory), and the "T" is for Texas.
37th Infantry Division
The 37th Infantry Division, known as the "Buckeye" Division, was activated on 15 October 1940 from a National Guard Division in Ohio. The 37th Infantry Division arrived in the Fiji Islands in June 1942 to fortify the islands against possible invasion. Campaigns during World War II included: Northern Solomons and Luzon. The Division returned to the United States in November 1945 and was inactivated on 18 December 1945.
76th Infantry Division
The 76th Infantry Division, known as "Onaway"
Division, was activated on 15 June 1942. It was formerly called "Liberty
Bell" Division. The Division landed at Le Havre, France, 12 January 1945, and
proceeded to the Limesy concentration area. Campaigns during World War II
included: Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland, and Central Europe. The Division was
inactivated while in Europe on 31 August 1945.
79th Infantry Division
The 79th Infantry Division, known as "Cross of Lorraine" Division, was activated on 15 June 1942. The Division arrived in the United Kingdom in April 1944 for training and landed on Utah Beach, Normandy, 12-14 June and entered combat 19 June 1944. Campaigns during World War II included: Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe. The Division returned to the United States on 10 December 1945 and was inactivated on 20 December 1945.
80th Infantry Division
The 80th Infantry Division, known as the "Blue
Ridge" Division, was activated on 15 July 1942. The Division departed
for overseas in July 1944, landing on Utah Beach, 3 August 1944. Campaigns
during World War II included: Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace,
and Central Europe. The Division returned to the United States on 3
January 1945, and was inactivated on 5 January 1945.
88th Infantry Division
The 88th Infantry Division, known as the "Blue Devil" Division, was activated on 15 July 1942. It was sometimes called the "Clover Leaf" Division. The Division arrived at Casablanca, French Morocco, 15 December 1943, and moved to Magenta, Algeria, on the 28th for intensive training. Campaigns during World War II included: Rome-Arno, North Apennines, and Po Valley. The Division was Inactivated while in Italy on 24 October 1947.
96th Infantry Division
The 96th Infantry Division known as the "Deadeyes" Division was activated into military service on August 15, 1942 at Camp Adair, Oregon with the divisions organic combat elements, the 381st, 382nd, and 383rd Infantry Regiments; 361st, 362nd, 363rd, and 921st Field Artillery Battalions; and the 321st Engineer Battalion. Major General James (Smiling Jim) L. Bradley was chosen to command the unit, a post he held until the end of the war. At the change of command ceremony, he made clear the mission of the 96th. "We of the 96th Division have a clearly defined task. It is to become a well-trained combat division in the shortest possible time. We must keep our eyes; we must keep our thoughts on that goal. Any time spent on efforts which do not lead to the goal is time wasted - and we have no time to waste." "This is the kind of a division we are going to be: well trained, tough physically and mentally, ready and eager to fight, not for our personal glory, but for the honor of the division and the service of our country." As to the nature of the job that lay ahead and the alternatives that faced his men, he spoke with typical bluntness, "We kill or get killed." And with what the future was to bring the 96th, these words were to ring all too true. The 96th Infantry Division trained in Hawaiian Islands, July to September 1944, before entering combat in an assault landing in Leyte Gulf, Philippine Islands, between Tanauan and Dulag, 20 October 1944. Enemy resistance in the beachhead area was quickly broken and the Division had advanced to and secured the Tanauan-Dagami-Tabontabon sector by 9 November after heavy fighting. The Division continued to wipe out resistance on the island, engaging in small unit actions, patrolling, probing, and wiping out pockets of Japanese. Chalk Ridge was taken, 12 December 1944, and major organized resistance was at an end by Christmas Day. The next 3 months were spent in mopping up, security duty, training, and loading for the coming invasion of Okinawa. The Division left the Philippines, 27 March 1945, for Okinawa, making an assault landing on the island, 1 April 1945. The landing was unopposed and a beachhead was established near Sunabe, 1-3 April. Resistance stiffened considerably as the Division advanced to gakazu Ridge, where fighting was fierce, 7-16 April. The 96th assaulted and cracked the fanatically defended enemy defense line, TanabaruNishibaru, 17-23 April, and after advancing slightly against extremely determined resistance, was relieved, 30 April, by the 77th Infantry Division. The Division trained and rested, 1-9 May, while elements mopped up bypassed enemy pockets and then returned to the offensive, 10 May, attacking and capturing Conical-Sugar Hill Ridge, 21 May, thus breaking the right flank of the Shuri defenses. Heavy rains the following week slowed down the advance. The offensive was resumed, 30 May, against weakening enemy resistance; Japanese north of Yonabaru-Shuri-Naha Road area were cleared out. Resistance stiffened again, 3 June, and Laura Hill was taken, 14 June 1945, only after a bloody fight; the last important Japanese defense position, the Yuza-Dake, Yaeju-Dake Hill mass, was secured by 17 June, and on 22 June all resistance was declared at an end. The Division patrolled an area from Chan to Ogusuku until 30 June. After resting in July, the Division left Okinawa for Mindoro, in the Philippines, and engaged in a training program. The Division left the Philippines, 17 January 1946, for the United States, arriving on 2 February 1946. The 96th "Deadeyes" Division was then deactivated 3 February 1946, and began its Army Reserve mission on December 18, 1946, at Fort Missoula, Montana. Note: Insignia patch is a white diamond and a blue diamond which overlap, both superimposed on a hexagonal patch with khaki background. Brigadier General Claudius M. Easley, a man with an established reputation as an Army rifle coach and sharpshooter, was eventually named Asst. Division Commander. And the training of the division became his mission. The superior marksmanship of the 96th developed under the supervision of General Easley earned for the unit the nickname of "deadeyes", which the 96th still carries to this day. The men of the division speak reverently and with respect 55 years later about General Easley. The day before the official end of the campaign. Brigadier General Easley was killed in action.
104th Infantry Division
The 104th Infantry Division, known as the "Timberwolf"
Division, was activated on 15 September 1942. The Division
landed in France on 7 September 1944. During six months of front line
combat, the Division rapidity of maneuver, bold night attacks, and team
work spearheaded five major offenses that took the Allied Forces into the
heart of Germany. Campaigns during World War II included: Northern France,
Rhineland, and Central Europe. In June 1945 the 104th Division returned to
San Luis Obispo, California to begin intensive training for the invasion
of Japan. On December 20, 1945 the Division was inactivated after V-J
(Victory over Japan) Day and returned to reserve status.
2nd Armored Division
The 2nd Armored Division, known as "Hell on
Wheels" Division, was activated on 15 July 1940. Elements of the
Division first saw action in North Africa, landing at Casablanca, 8
November 1942, and later taking part in the fighting at Beja, Tunisia, but
the Division as a whole did not enter combat until the invasion of Sicily,
when it made an assault landing at Gela, 10 July 1943. Campaigns during
World War II included: Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsac,
and Central Europe. In July 1945 the Division entered Berlin, the
first American unit to enter the German capital city. The 2nd Armored
Division was inactivated at Fort Hood, Texas, its home for much of the
post-World War II period, on 15 January 1996.
82nd Airborne Division
The 82nd Infantry Division was reactivated on March
25, 1942 and on 15 August 1942 was redesignated the 82nd Airborne
Division. . In April 1943, paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division set
sail for North Africa under the command of Major General Matthew B.
Ridgeway to participate in the campaign to puncture the soft underbelly of
the Third Reich. On June 5-6, 1944, the paratroopers of the 82nd's three
parachute infantry regiments and reinforced glider infantry regiment
boarded hundreds of transport planes and gliders and, began the largest
airborne assault in history. They were among the first soldiers to fight
in Normandy, France. Following the surrender of Germany, the 82nd was
ordered to Berlin for occupation duty. In Berlin General George Patton was
so impressed with the 82nd's honor guard he said, "In all my years in
the Army and all the honor guards I have ever seen, the 82nd's honor guard
is undoubtedly the best." Hence the "All-Americans" became
known as "America's Guard of Honor." The 82nd returned to the
United States January 3, 1946. Instead of being demobilized, the 82nd made
its permanent home at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and was designated a
regular Army division on November 15, 1948.
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), known as the "Screaming Eagles" Division, was organized on Aug. 15, 1942. On August 19, 1942, the first commander, Maj. Gen. William C. Lee, promised his new recruits that the 101st has no history, but it has a "Rendezvous with destiny." During World War II, the 101st Airborne Division led the way on D-Day in the night drop prior to the invasion. When surrounded at Bastogne, Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe answered "NUTS!" and the Screaming Eagles fought on until the siege was lifted. For their valiant efforts and heroic deeds during World War II, the 101st Airborne Division was awarded four campaign streamers and two Presidential Unit Citations.
35th Signal Construction Battalion
The 35th Signal Construction Battalion was constituted 11 May 1942 in the Army of the United States as the 35th Signal Construction Battalion, and activated 23 February 1943 at Camp Crowder, Missouri. Campaigns during World War II included: Normandy (with arrowhead), Northern France. Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe. Note: The distinctive unit insignia was not officially adopted until 7 February 1951. The Orange and white are the colors of the Signal Corps. The telephone poles are symbolic of the construction activities of the organization. The five flashes are symbolic of the five battle honors of World War II; also the flashes are symbolic of messages carried over the wires. The three poles and five flashes are suggestive of the numerical designation of the organization, viz. 35.
1st Special Service Force
Known more formally as the 1st Special Service Force, the Devil's Brigade was a joint Canadian-American venture that began July 9, 1942, at Fort William Henry Harrison, near Helena, Montana. Airborne-trained and honed to the sharpness of a cold steel blade, the Devil's Brigade saw most of its action in Italy, but also fought in France, where it was inactivated in 1944. Its forte was close-quarter combat against numerically-superior forces, a task which it accomplished with a raw power that gave the brigade its nickname. Note: The formation patch was a red spearhead with the words USA written horizontally and CANADA written vertically. The branch of service insignia was the crossed arrows formerly worn by the U.S. Army Indian Scouts. The unit wore red, white, and blue piping on their garrison cap and on the breast an oval (or trimming ) behind their Parachutist Wings. Members of the unit also wore a red, white, and blue fourragère, lanyard, or shoulder cord made out of parachute shroud lines.
42nd Bomber Group (Medium)
The 42nd Bombardment Group (Medium) was established by the Army Air Corps on 20 November 1940, The group was activated on 15 January 1941 at Fort Douglas, Utah, and placed under the command of Col John V. Hart. The 42nd entered combat in June 1943, while operating from Guadalcanal and, later, other bases in the Solomon Islands. Aircrews from the 42nd attacked Japanese airfields, personnel areas, gun positions, and shipping in the central Solomons. For the first six months of 1944, the group was primarily engaged in the neutralization of enemy airfields and harbor facilities on New Britain. However, the group also acted in support of ground forces on Bougainville Island and attacked shipping in the northern Solomons and the Bismarcks. In August the 42nd began to bomb airfields and installations on New Guinea, Celebes, and Halmahera in the Malay Archipelago, and flew reconnaissance missions. These operations continued through January 1945 while the group operated from bases in New Guinea and the Philippines. In March 1945, the 42nd moved to the Philippine Islands. This combat- hardened unit attacked shipping along the China coast, struck targets in French Indochina, bombed Japanese airfields and installations in the Philippine Islands, and supported Allied ground forces on Mindanao. In addition, the 42nd also supported Australian forces on Borneo in May and June 1945. It was during this operation that the group earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for its pre-invasion bombing of the Japanese oil refinery located at Balikpapan, Borneo, from 23 to 30 June 1945. The 42nd brought its World War II combat service to an end during July and August of 1945 while attacking isolated Japanese units on Luzon. After the war, the 42nd ferried troops and equipment to Manila. In January 1946, the group moved to Japan where it served as part of the occupation forces. On 10 May 1946, the War Department inactivated the group.
384th Bomber Group (Heavy)
The 384th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated on 1 December 1942 at Gowen Field, Idaho. Comprised of the 544th, 545th, 546th, and 547th Bombardment Squadrons, the 384th was assigned to Wendover Field, Utah, on 2 January 1943 to begin training in B-17s for combat in the European Theatre of Operations. The 384th Bomber Group arrived at USAAF Station 106 near the village of Grafton Underwood, Northamptonshire, England in the summer of 1943. They flew their first combat mission as a group on 22 June 1943, bombing automobile parts warehouses in Antwerp. This first mission claimed two of the unit's B-17s and their aircrews. By the time their sixth mission was completed the 384th had lost thirty-five of its original thirty-six aircraft. Replacement crews and aircraft constantly arrived to take the vacancies, but the losses kept mounting. On a mission to bomb the port at Hamburg the 384th first experienced the terrible reality of a "ghost squadron" -- all seven ships and crews of the 544th Squadron failed to return from the mission. The entire squadron was lost. During their tenure in England the B-17s undertook bombing missions to the airdromes at Orleans, Bricy, and Nancy, the motor works at Cologne, an aircraft component factory in Halberstadt, the steel works at Magdeburg, oil storage facilities at Leipzig and Berlin, railroad marshalling yards at Duren and Mannheim, the ports of Hamburg and Emden, and ball bearing plants in Schweinfurt. They received a Distinguished Unit Citation for their raid on aircraft factories in central Germany on 11 January 1944 and took part in the heavy bombing campaign against the German aircraft industry during "Big Week" the following month. On 24 April 1944 the unit received its second Distinguished Unit Citation when, although crippled by heavy losses of aircraft and men due to almost overwhelming enemy opposition, the group led the attack on an aircraft factory and airfield at Oberpfaffenhofen. In June 1944 the 384th supported the Normandy invasion with attacks along the French coast, then bombed airfields and communications lines beyond the Allied beachhead. The unit supported ground troops during the breakthrough at St. Lo in July 1944 and assisted the airborne assault on Holland in September of that year. During that winter it struck enemy communications lines and fortifications during the Battle of the Bulge. The following spring the 384th aided the Allied assault across the Rhine by cutting enemy supply lines. The 384th Bombardment Group flew 9,348 combat sorties in 316 missions, dropping 22,416 tons of bombs on enemy targets. The unit lost 159 aircraft and 1,625 men in combat, while destroying 165 enemy airplanes (with 34 more "probables") and seriously damaging 116 others. Through it all, the members of the 384th lived up to their motto "Keep the Show on the Road." Following the surrender of the Axis powers the 384th Bombardment Group remained in Europe as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe, ferrying Allied troops into Germany, Greek soldiers back to their homeland, and American troops to Casablanca for their return to the United States. The unit was inactivated in France on 28 February 1946.
453rd Bomber Group (Heavy)
The 453rd Bomber Group (Heavy) was activated at Wendover Field, Utah on 1 June 1943. Comprised of 732nd, 733rd, 734th, 735th Bombardment Squadrons with the B-24 Liberator. Established at Pocatello Field, Idaho, on 29th of July 1943 and trained there for two months. Moved to March Field, California on the 30th September 1943 to complete training. The ground echelon left March AFB for port of embarkation on the 2nd December 1943. The group arrived at OLD BUCKENHAM, England 23 December 1943. The 453rd Bomber Group began its first mission on 5 February 1944 participating in the following campaigns: Air Offensive, Europe, Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe. 733rd BS completed 82 consecutive missions without loss, a record. James Stewart, of film fame, was Group Executive Officer from March 1944. Last mission was flown on 12 April 1945. The 453rd Group flown 259 missions, 6,665 sorties, 15,804 total bomb tonnage, and 58 aircraft missing (MIA). The 453rd Bomber Group was inactivated on the 12 September 1945 at Fort Dix, AAB, New Jersey.
USS LSM-135
LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium: USS LSM-135 was laid down, 13 March 1944, at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C. Launched, 23 April 1944. Commissioned USS LSM-135, 31 May 1944, LT. Harry L. Derby, Jr., USNR in command. During World War II LSM-135 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the: Leyte operation; (a) Leyte landings, 20 October 1944 (b) Ormoc Bay landings, 7 to 8 December 1944. Luzon (a) Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 April to 25 May 1945. Sunk by Kamikaze attack off Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 25 May 1945 at approximately 0830 hours. LSM-135 had only been in service 11 months and 25 days. At the time of her sinking LSM-135 was picking up survivors from the minesweeper Spectacle (AM-305) when it also was hit by Kamikaze attack and burst into flames. Flemming (DE-32) rescued twenty survivors of the Bates (APD-47) (which was sinking from two Kamikaze hits) and eleven survivors from LSM-135. Struck from the Naval Register (date unknown). Final Disposition, hulk donated, 10 July 1957, to the Government of the Ryukyu Islands, fate unknown. LSM-135 earned three battle stars for World War II service.
USS LST-507
USS LST-507 (Landing Ship Tank) was laid down on 8 September 1943 at Jeffersonville, Ind., by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co. launched on 16 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Raymond C. Fuller; and commissioned on 10 January 1944. In preparing for the Normandy Invasion, the United States Army conducted various training exercises at Slapton Sands in Start Bay and in the nearby Tor Bay, beginning on December 15, 1943. Slapton was an unspoiled beach of coarse gravel, fronting a shallow lagoon that was backed by bluffs that resembled Omaha Beach. After the people in the nearby village were evacuated, it was an almost perfect place to simulate the Normandy landings. The training was long and thorough. The culmination of the joint training program was a pair of full scale rehearsals in late April and early May 1944. "TIGER" was the code name of the training exercise for the Utah Beach assault forces under Admiral Don P. Moon. It was held from April 22-30, 1944. The troops and equipment embarked on the same ships and for the most part from the same ports from which they would later leave for France. , the exercise "landings" were begun during the morning of April 27, and the unloading continued during the day and the next when a follow up convoy was expected. This Convoy T-4 consisted of two sections from two different ports. The Plymouth section, LST Group 32, was composed of USS LST-515, USS LST-496, USS LST-511, USS LST-531, and USS LST-58, which was towing two pontoon causeways. The Brixham section consisted of USS LST-499, USS LST-289, and USS LST-507. The convoy joined with HMS Azalea as escort and proceeded at six knots in one column with the LSTs in the same order as listed above. When the convoy was maneuvering in Lyme Bay in the early hours of April 28, they were attacked by nine German E-boats out of Cherbourg that had evaded the Allied patrols. No warning of the presence of enemy boats had been received until LST-507 was torpedoed at 0204 hours. The ship burst into flames, and survivors abandoned ship. Several minutes later LST-531 was torpedoed and sank in six minutes. LST-289, which opened fire at E-boats, was also torpedoed but was able to reach port. The other LSTs plus two British destroyers fired at the E-boats, which used smoke and high speed to escape. This brief action resulted in 198 Navy dead and missing and 441 Army dead and missing, according to the naval action reports. Later Army reports gave 551 as the total number of dead and missing soldiers. To keep the Germans from possibly learning about the impending Normandy Invasion, casualty information on Exercise TIGER was not released until after the invasion. On August 5, 1944, Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force released statistics on the casualties associated with the Normandy Invasion, which included information about the German E-Boat attack on April 28. Thus, since August 1944, information about the training exercise also commonly called "Operation TIGER" has been available to the public. LST-507 was struck from the Navy list on 9 June 1944.
USS CABOT (CVL-28)
The second Cabot (CVL-28) was laid down as Wilmington (CL-79), redesignated CV-28 on 2 June 1942, renamed Cabot 23 June 1942, converted while building, and launched 4 April 1943 by New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J.; sponsored by Mrs. A. C. Read; reclassified CVL-28 on 15 July 1943; and commissioned 24 July 1943, Captain M. F. Shoeffel in command. The USS Cabot joined the Pacific Fleet on 2 December 1943, launching her planes in air strikes and aiding in the neutralization of Japanese bases. On 25 November 1944 while on patrol off Luzon, conducting strikes in support of operations ashore, and repelling desperate suicide attacks, a particularly vicious one occurred. Cabot had fought off several kamikazes when one, already flaming from hits, crashed the flight deck on the port side, destroying the still-firing 20 mm. gun platform, disabling the 40 mm. Mounts and a gun director: Another of Cabot's victims crashed close aboard and showered the port side with shrapnel and burning debris. Cabot lost 62 men killed and wounded but careful training had produced a crew which handled damage control smoothly and coolly. While she continued to maintain her station in formation and operate effectively, temporary repairs were made. On 28 November 1944 she arrived at Ulithi for permanent repairs. Cabot returned to action 11 December 1944, steaming with the force striking Luzon, Formosa, Indo-China, Hong Kong, and the Nansei Shoto in support of the Luzon operations. From 10 February to 1 March 1945 her planes pounded the Japanese homeland and the Bonins to suppress opposition to the invasion of Iwo Jima. Continued strikes against Kyushu and Okinawa in March prepared for the invasion of the island latter. After these prolonged, intensive operations, Cabot returned to San Francisco for a much-needed overhaul completed in June, and then sailed to rejoin the Pacific Fleet, launching strikes on Wake Island on 1 August 1945 while en route to Eniwetok. Here she remained on training duty until the end of the war. Sailing 21 August, she joined TG 38.3 to support the landings of occupation troops in the Yellow Sea area in September and October. Embarking homeward-bound men at Guam, Cabot arrived at San Diego 9 November 1945, then sailed for the east coast. Cabot was placed out of commission in reserve at Philadelphia, 11 February 1947. Source: Division History information obtained from The Army Historical Foundation and other Army History Internet sources. Ship's History from Naval Historical Center. |
