A Summary History of the 7th Infantry Division

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 "The Bayonet Division"
(Original article written by Jim Broumley, 1/25/2010)

The 7th Infantry Division, the "Bayonet," was a light division formerly stationed at Fort Ord, California. Known at the end of the Cold War as "light fighters," this division has a storied history from WWII and Korea to Operation Just Cause, the invasion of Panama.

The shoulder sleeve insignia was first adopted in October 1918. It originated from the use of two sevens, one inverted and one upright, to create an hourglass symbol. As a result, the 7th Division was also known as the "Hourglass Division." A bayonet was added to the distinctive unit insignia as a result of the Division's participation in the Korean War and symbolizes the fighting spirit of the 7th Infantry.

The 7th Infantry Division was originally formed for service during World War I. It was activated into the regular army on December 6, 1917, at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, and after training arrived in France in October of 1918, approximately a month before the armistice was signed. Although the 7th Infantry Division as a whole did not see action, many of its subordinate units did. After 33 days in combat, the division suffered 1,988 casualties including 204 killed in action. The 7th Infantry Division returned to the United States in late 1919 and was gradually demobilized at Camp Meade, Maryland. The Division was deactivated on September 22, 1921.

In the buildup for World War II, a cadre was sent to Camp Ord, California to reactivate the 7th Infantry Division on July 1, 1940. The Division was formed around the 17th, 32nd, and 53rd Infantry Regiments and was commanded by Major General Joseph Stilwell. Many of the new soldiers in the Division were draftees, called up in the US Army's first peacetime draft in history.

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the 7th Infantry Division was sent to Camp San Luis Obispo to continue training. The 159th Infantry, recently mobilized from the California National Guard, replaced the 53rd Infantry Regiment. From April 1940 until January 1, 1943, the Division was designated the 7th Motorized Division, and the unit trained in California's Mojave Desert. It was thought that the Division would head to North Africa. However, the motor vehicles went away, and the unit was redesignated the 7th Infantry Division once again. Amphibious training began under the tutelage of the Feet Marine Force and General Holland Smith. The 7th Division was now destined for the Pacific Theater.

The Hourglass Division first saw combat in WWII in the Aleutian Islands. On May 11, 1943, led by the 17th Infantry Regiment, elements of the Division landed on Attu Island where Japanese forces were established. The 7th Infantry Division destroyed all Japanese resistance on the island by May 29th after defending against a suicidal "Bonzai" charge. Approximately 2,351 Japanese were killed, leaving only 28 to be taken prisoner. The 7th Infantry Division lost 600 soldiers killed in action. The 159th Infantry Regiment remained on Attu to secure the island and was replaced by the 184th Infantry Regiment. In August of 1943, the 7th Infantry landed on Kiska Island only to find that the Japanese forces there had secretly withdrawn. The Hourglass Division was then redeployed to the Hawaiian Islands for more training.

The 7th ID was now assigned to the Marine's V Amphibious Corps along with the 4th Marine Division. Their next stop was Kwajalein Atoll, landing on January 30, 1944. The purpose of Operation Flintlock was to remove all Japanese forces from this group of 47 islands in the Pacific. The 7th Infantry Division landed on the main island of Kwajalein while the Marines moved on to outlying islands. By February 4th the island was under the control of the Hourglass soldiers. The 7th Infantry Division suffered 176 killed in action and 767 wounded.

Elements of the 7th Infantry Division also participated in Operation Catchpole to capture Engebi in the Eniwetok Atoll on February 18, 1944. The islands of that atoll were secured in only a week. Afterward, all elements of the Division were back in Hawaii for refit and training in preparation for the assault on the Philippine Islands. While there, the Hourglass Division was reviewed by General Douglas MacArthur and President Franklin Roosevelt in June 1944.

The 7th Infantry Division was now assigned to the XXIV Corps of the Sixth Army. On October 20, 1944, the Hourglass Division made an assault landing at Dulag, on Leyte in the Philippine Islands. Initially, there was only light resistance. However, on October 26th the enemy launched a large, but uncoordinated counterattack against the Sixth Army. High casualties were suffered in fierce jungle fighting, but the 17th Infantry Regiment took Dagami on October 29th. The 7th Infantry Division then moved to the west coast of the island on November 25th, attacking north to Ormoc and securing Valencia on December 25, 1944. Operations to secure Leyte continued until February 1945. The 7th Infantry Division was then removed from the Sixth Army, which went on to attack Luzon and continue the Philippine Campaign. The Hourglass Division would begin training for their next stop through the Pacific, the Japanese island of Okinawa.

For the landing on Okinawa, the 7th Infantry Division was again assigned to the XXIV Corps, now of the Tenth Army. On April 1, 1945, the 7th Infantry Division landed south on Okinawa along with the 96th Infantry Division, and the 1st, and 6th Marine Divisions. The Okinawa Campaign would eventually have 250,000 troops on the island. The Japanese had removed their armor and artillery from the beach and set up defenses in the hills of Shuri. The XXIV Corps destroyed these forces after 51 days of battle over harsh terrain and in inconsiderate weather. After 39 more days of combat, the 7th Infantry Division was moved into reserve after having suffered heavy casualties. The Hourglass Division was soon moved back into the line and fought until the end of the Battle of Okinawa on June 21, 1945. The 7th ID had experienced 89 days of combat on Okinawa and lost 1,116 killed in action and approximately 6,000 wounded. However, it is estimated that the 7th Infantry Division killed at least 25,000 Japanese soldiers and took 4,584 prisoners.

During WWII, the Hourglass soldiers spent 208 days in combat and suffered 8,135 casualties. The 7th Infantry Division won three Medals of Honor, 26 Distinguished Service Crosses, 1 Distinguished Service Medal, 982 Silver Star Medals, and 3,853 Bronze Star Medals. The Division received nine Distinguished Unit Citations and four campaign streamers.

After the Japanese surrender, the 7th Infantry Division was moved to Korea to accept the surrender of Japanese forces there. After the war, the Bayonets remained as occupation forces in Japan and as security forces in South Korea. During this period, the US Army went through a massive reduction in strength, falling from a wartime high of 89 divisions to only 10 active duty divisions by 1950. The 7th Infantry Division was one of only four drastically under-strength and under-trained divisions on occupation duty in Japan when the North Koreans invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950.

At the beginning of the Korean War, the 7th Infantry Division was further reduced in strength when the Division provided reinforcements for the 25th Infantry Division and the 1st Cavalry Division who were sent directly to South Korea. Over the next two months the Bayonet Division was brought up to strength with replacements from the US, over 8,600 South Korean soldiers, and the attachment of a battalion of Ethiopians as part of United Nations forces.

The 7th Infantry Division and the 1st Marine Division made up the landing force for the famous Inchon Landing, code-named Operation Chromite. Supported by the 3rd Infantry Division in reserve the landing began on September 7, 1950, under the command of the X Corps. The operation took the North Koreans completely by surprise and the X Corps immediately moved on to retake the South Korean capital of Seoul. Seoul was captured on September 26th, and the 7th Infantry Division was soon linked with American forces moving north from the breakout of the Pusan Perimeter. The Inchon operation cost the Division 106 killed, 411 wounded, and 57 missing. Casualties of South Korean soldiers with the Division numbered 43 killed and 102 wounded. The X Corps was removed through the ports at Inchon and Pusan to prepare for another amphibious landing further north.

With the North Korean army broken and on the run, the 7th Infantry Division made an unopposed landing at Iwon on October 31, 1950, with orders to move north to the Yalu River with the rest of the X Corps. Through cold, early winter weather, like that only known to a soldier who has been to the Korean Peninsula, the 17th Infantry Regiment made it to Hyesanjin on the Yalu on November 20th. This made the 17th, and as a result the 7th ID, the first American unit to reach the Manchurian border with Communist China.

Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) entered the war on November 27, 1950, storming across the border to attack the Eighth Army in the west and X Corps in the east. Twelve Chinese divisions now assaulted the spread-out regiments of the Bayonets and the rest of X Corps. United Nations forces could not stand up to the onslaught and a retreat was ordered. The 7th ID repulsed repeated attacks as they moved to the port of Hungnam in December of 1950. Three battalions of the division, known as Task Force Faith were trapped by the CCF during the withdrawal. These battalions were wiped out during what became known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. During the retreat from the Yalu, the 7th Infantry Division lost 2,657 killed and 354 wounded.

The 7th Infantry Division was back on the front lines in January of 1951 as part of the United Nations offensive to push back the CCF and North Koreans. The Division was now part of the IX Corps and saw action almost continuously until June when it was moved to the rear for rest and refit. The first since coming to the Korean Peninsula. The Bayonets returned to the line in October, now entering the "stalemate" phase of the war. The 7th ID defended a "static line" with the rest of United Nations forces until the armistice. It was only known as "static" because although the enemy was kept above the 38th parallel, very few gains in territory were made. Still, the Bayonets participated in multiple recognizable actions like the Battle for Heartbreak Ridge, the Battle for Old Baldy, the assault on the Triangle Hill complex as part of Operation Showdown, and the famous Battle at Pork Chop Hill.

The Korean War Armistice was signed on July 27, 1953. During the Korean War, the Bayonets were in combat for a total of 850 days. They suffered 15,126 casualties, including 3,905 killed in action and 10,858 wounded. The 7th Infantry Division remained on the DMZ, its headquarters at Camp Casey, South Korea until 1971. On April 2, 1971, the Division was deactivated at Fort Lewis, Washington.

The 7th Infantry Division was reactivated at Fort Ord, California in October of 1974. The Bayonets did not deploy to Vietnam. They were held as a contingency force for South America. On October 1, 1985, the Division was redesignated as the 7th Infantry Division (Light) and organized as a light infantry division. It was the first US division specifically designed as such. During the Cold War the "Light Fighters" trained at Fort Ord, Camp Roberts, Fort Hunter Liggett, and Fort Irwin. The 7th ID now had battalions from the 21st, 27th, and 9th Infantry Regiments.

In December of 1989, the 7th Infantry Division participated in Operation Just Cause, the invasion of the Central American nation of Panama. The 7th Light Infantry Division was joined by the 82nd Airborne Division, the 75th Rangers, Marines, and other US forces totaling some 27,684 personnel and over 300 aircraft. On December 20th, elements of the 7th ID landed in the northern areas of Colon Province, securing the Coco Solo Naval Station, Fort Espinar, France Field, and Colon. The symbolic end of the operation was the surrender of Panamanian Dictator Manuel Noriega on January 3, 1990. Most US units began to return to their American bases on January 12th, however, several units, including the 5th Battalion, 21st Infantry (Light) of the 7th Light Infantry Division stayed in Panama until later in the spring to train the new Panamanian Police Forces.

One final mission for the 7th Infantry Division was helping to restore order to the Los Angeles basin during the riots in 1992. Their deployment was called Operation Garden Plot, whose objective was to patrol the streets of Los Angeles and act as crowd control, supporting the Los Angeles Police Department and the California National Guard. In 1991 the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended the closing of Fort Ord due to the high cost of living in the coastal California area. By 1994 the 7th ID had moved to Fort Lewis, Washington. As part of the post-Cold War reduction of forces, the 7th Infantry Division (Light) was deactivated on June 16, 1994 at Fort Lewis.

Since the end of the Cold War, the US Army has considered new options for integrating the components of the Active Army, National Guard, and Army Reserve. To facilitate the training and readiness of National Guard units, two active duty division headquarters were activated. The 7th ID was one of these, reactivated on June 4, 1999, at Fort Carson, Colorado. While the active division headquarters concept worked admirably, a new component called Division West under First Army was activated to control the training of reserve units in 21 states. This made the need for the active component headquarters obsolete and the 7th Infantry Division headquarters was deactivated for the final time on August 22, 2006.

The 7th Infantry Division was identified as the highest priority inactive division in the US Army Center of Military History's lineage scheme due to its numerous accolades and long history. All of the Bayonets' flags and heraldic items are located in the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, Georgia.

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Book R & R: "The Summer of 1876" by Chris Wimmer

Book Recommendation and Review: The Summer of 1876: Outlaws, Lawmen, and Legends in the Season That Defined the American West by Chris Wimmer.

If you are interested in the history of the American West, this is an excellent starting point. The Battle of the Little Bighorn (Custer’s Last Stand) in Montana, Wild Bill Hickok was killed in Deadwood, South Dakota, Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson began to earn their reputations in Dodge City, Kansans, and the James Gang experienced a disastrous attempt at a bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota, all took place during the summer of 1876. It was the last year of the Grant administration, Bell unveiled the telephone, Mark Twain published Tom Sawyer and it was the first season of the National Baseball League. Chris Wimmer noticed that all of these events occurred in the same year and wrote a book that covers them all. Brilliant notion.

This is Wimmer’s first book, but I suspect he’s got some other writing experience. Certainly from producing the “Legends of the Old West” Podcast (that I listen to on Prime Music). I like the author’s voice. The book is easy to read and has a good pace. The major events are detailed enough to make the book educational and entertaining but doesn’t get bogged down in minute details that would slow the narrative. So rather than read Nathanial Philbrick’s The Last Stand, Tom Clavin’s Dodge City, and Wild Bill, or Mark Lee Gardner’s Shot All To Hell, (I think you get the idea), you can start by reading The Summer of 1876.

You might not think it, because so much of this blog and my books have to do with World War II, but I enjoy reading about the history of the American West. I’ve seen the era called several things: American West, Westward Expansion, or Wild West History just to name three. I was born in Fort Worth, Texas so I guess it’s in my DNA. My problem with the subject is that so much is based on folklore because of an apparent lack of primary source documents. (But as they say, if ain’t true it ought to be.) That being said, 1876 has the requisite bibliography of secondary sources if you want to read more about any of the subjects in the book.

The Summer of 1876 is an enjoyable read and an excellent work of popular history that will keep you turning the pages. Give it a read.

A Summary History of the 2nd Infantry Division

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 "Second to None"
(Original article by Jim Broumley, 6/10/08)

The 2nd Infantry Division's primary mission is the defense of South Korea in the event of an invasion from North Korea. The Warrior Division has approximately 17,000 soldiers who wear the Indianhead shoulder patch, prepared to finish the Korean War, which was technically never concluded. As a result, the 2nd Infantry Division is the most forward-deployed unit in the U.S. Army without being in direct combat.

The 2nd ID is the only division in the American army that has a large number of foreign soldiers assigned to it, made up partially of Korean soldiers. These South Koreans are called KATUSAs (Korean Augmentation to US Army). The program began in 1950 by agreement with South Korean President Syngman Rhee. Some 27,000 KATUSAs served with the US forces at the end of the Korean War. As of May 2006, approximately 1,100 KATUSA Soldiers serve with 2ID.

The 2nd Infantry Division was formed at Bourmont, France on October 26, 1917, during the First World War. As such the 2nd I.D. is one of the few active army units organized on foreign soil. At the time of activation, the Indianhead Division had one infantry brigade and one marine brigade assigned. During WWI the 2nd Infantry Division was commanded twice by Marine generals: Major General C.A. Doyen and Major General John A. Lejune. This was the only time in U.S. military history when an Army Division was commanded by a Marine Corps officer.

The 2nd ID spent the winter of 1917/1918 in training. Although judged to be not ready for combat by their French Army trainers, the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) needed the Warrior Division in a desperate attempt to halt a German advance toward Paris. As a result, the 2nd Infantry Division entered combat for the first time during Belleau Wood in June 1918. The Indianhead Division went on to participate in the Chateau-Thierry campaign, won victories at Soissons and Mont Blanc, and the Meuse-Argonne offensive. On 11 November 1918, the Armistice was declared, and the 2nd Infantry Division marched into Germany where it performed occupational duties until April of 1919. During WWI, the 2nd ID, including their assigned marines, had 4,478 of its soldiers killed in action. The 2nd Infantry Division was returned to the United States in July 1919.

During the Interwar years, the 2nd Infantry Division was home-based at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The Warrior Division remained there for the next 23 years, serving as an experimental unit, testing new concepts and innovations for the Army. The Indianhead Division participated in extensive training and maneuvers for the coming war. Major events included the Louisiana Maneuvers in August of 1941 and winter warfare training at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin beginning in November of 1942. The 2ID sailed from New York on October 8, 1943, en route to Belfast, Northern Ireland, and then later to Wales to train and stage for the invasion of Europe.

Operation Overlord, the invasion of France by Allied Forces, began on June 6, 1944. The Second Infantry Division landed on Omaha Beach on D-day plus one, June 7, 1944. The Division attacked across the Aure River, liberating the town of Trevieres on June 10th. The Warrior Division continued to fight through the hedgerow country of Normandy, ending their participation in the campaign by seizing the heavily defended port city of Brest on September 18, 1944.

After about a week's rest, the 2nd Infantry Division moved to defensive positions at St. Vith, Belgium on September 29, 1944. The 2nd ID entered Germany on October 3rd and was ordered on December 11, 1944, to attack and seize the Roer River dams. Having pierced the dreaded Siegfried Line, the Division was advancing when Nazi Field Marshal Gerd Von Rundstedt unleashed the powerful German offensive in the Ardennes. In mid-December the Indianhead Division was forced to withdraw to a defensive position near Elsenborn. Throughout this Battle of the Bulge, the 2nd Infantry Division held fast, preventing the enemy from seizing key roads leading to the cities of Liege and Antwerp. The 2nd Infantry Division went back on the attack on February 6, 1945. The Division reached the Rhine River on March 9th and crossed it on March 21, 1945.

Transferred from the First Army to Patton's Third Army, the Indianheads spent their last days of the war in Europe with a dash across Czechoslovakia, finally halting in the town of Pilsen on VE Day, May 8, 1945.

The 2nd Infantry Division returned to the United States through New York and arrived at Camp Swift, Texas on July 22, 1945. There the Warrior Division began to prepare for the invasion of Japan, but they were still at Camp Swift on VJ Day, September 2, 1945. From Camp Swift, the Division moved to their new home base at Fort Lewis, Washington in April of 1946. During WWII, the 2ID participated in five campaigns for a total of 303 days of combat. Six Indianhead Division soldiers were awarded Medals of Honor. The Division lost 3,031 soldiers killed in action during World War Two.

The Korean War began when the North Korean Army invaded the South on June 25, 1950. The 2nd Infantry Division was quickly alerted and arrived in Pusan, South Korea on July 23, 1950, becoming the first unit to reach Korea directly from the United States. Like all units early to arrive in Korea, the 2ID was employed piecemeal to stem the tide of the invading Communists. The entire division was committed as a unit on August 24th, relieving the 24th Infantry Division at the Naktong River Line. A sixteen-day battle began on the night of August 31, 1950, that required the Warrior Division's clerks, band, and logistics personnel to join in the fight to hold the "Pusan Perimeter."

On September 16, 1950, one day after the Inchon Landing, the 2nd Infantry Division was the first unit to break out of the Pusan Perimeter. The Indianhead Division led the Eighth Army drive to the Manchurian Border. The Division was within fifty miles of the Manchurian border when Chinese forces entered the fight, first encountering American troops on November 1, 1950. Soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division were given the mission of protecting the rear and right flank of the Eighth Army as it retired to the South. Fighting around Kunu-ri cost the 2nd ID nearly one-third of its strength, but was ten times more costly to the enemy. Routes south were kept open.

The Chinese Winter Offensive was finally blunted by the 2nd ID on January 31, 1951, at Wonju. Powerful counter-offensives were repulsed in February and the United Nations front was held. Again in April and May of 1951 the 2nd Infantry Division was instrumental in stopping the communist's spring offensive, earning the Warrior Division a Presidential Unit Citation. The remainder of the Indianhead Division's participation in the Korean War was a series of alternating periods of rest and combat. The Division participated in the Battles at Bloody Ridge and Heartbreak Ridge. A ceasefire agreement was signed on July 27, 1953, ending the main hostilities of the Korean War.

On August 20, 1954, four years after its last unit arrived in Korea, the 2nd Infantry Division was alerted for redeployment to the United States. During the Korean War, 17 Warrior Division soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor. The 7,094 combat deaths of the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea are the highest total among any modern U.S. division in any war since 1900.

The 2nd Infantry Division returned to Fort Lewis, Washington, where it remained for only two years. In August of 1956, the Division was transferred to Alaska. After a brief threat of deactivation, the unit was again transferred, this time to Fort Benning, Georgia to be reorganized with the personnel and equipment of the 10th Infantry Division returning from Germany. Fort Benning remained the home of the new 2nd Infantry Division from 1958 to 1965, where they were initially assigned the mission of a training division. In March 1962 the 2ID was designated as a Strategic Army Corps (STRAC) unit. Following this designation, the Division became engaged in intensified combat training, tactical training, and field training exercises, in addition to special training designed to improve operational readiness.

As a result of the formation of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) at Fort Benning in 1965, the 2nd Infantry Division's stateside units were reassigned to the new formation and the existing 1st Cavalry Division in Korea took on the title of the 2nd Infantry Division. Thus the division formally returned to Korea in July 1965. North Korean forces were engaging in increasing border incursions and infiltration attempts and the 2nd Infantry Division was called upon to help halt these attacks. On November 2, 1966, soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment were killed in an ambush by North Korean forces. In 1967 enemy attacks in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) increased, as a result, 16 American soldiers were killed that year. North Korean probes across the DMZ continued in 1968. In 1969, four soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment were killed while on patrol.

On August 18, 1976, during a routine tree-trimming operation within the DMZ, two American officers of the Joint Security Force (Joint Security Area) were axed to death in a melee with North Korean border guards called the Axe Murder Incident. What resulted was known as Operation Paul Bunyan. The 2nd Infantry Division was chosen to support the United Nations Command response to this incident and on August 21, Task Force Brady (named after the 2d ID Commander) in support of Task Force Vierra (named after the Joint Security Area Battalion Commander), a group of Republic of Korean (ROK) soldiers, American infantry, and engineers, swept into the area and cut down the infamous "Panmunjom Tree." The 2nd Infantry Division delivered an unmistakable message to the North Koreans, as well as to the world.

Throughout the 1980s, soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division continued to patrol along the DMZ. With the end of the Cold War, 2ID Warriors left the DMZ in 1991 but remained forward deployed along the most heavily defended frontier in the world. In 1994, the death of the North Korean leader, Kim Il Sung, issued a period of increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula, now with the North threatening nuclear development. The 2nd Infantry Division is still stationed in Korea, with a number of camps near the DMZ. The Warrior Division faces a real threat. One of the largest armies in the world sits just across the DMZ. The fighting stopped in 1953, but the Korean War never officially ended.

Beginning in 1995, the 2nd Infantry Division began to change to reflect the modularization of the U.S. Army in the 21st Century. This included changing from a two maneuver-brigade formation to a structure of four Brigade Combat Teams (BCT). While the 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, the Combat Aviation Brigade, Division Fires Brigade, and various support troops remain in Korea, three additional BCTs have been formed in the United States. The 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team was moved from Korea to Fort Carson, Colorado after their deployment to Iraq in 2004/05, and is structured like a traditional mechanized infantry, reinforced brigade. The 3rd and 4th Brigades were re-activated at Fort Lewis, Washington, and have fielded the Stryker Armored Vehicle. These two brigades now are designated as Stryker Brigade Combat Teams (SBCT). They bridge the gap between the heavy mechanized infantry formations and light infantry troops.

While the North Korean threat is ever-present, the Warrior Division also participates in the Global War on Terror. In August of 2004, the majority of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT) of the 2nd Infantry Division was deployed to Iraq. The 2nd BCT was given strategic command to much of the sparsely populated area south and west of Fallujah. Their mission changed when major insurgent actions began to take place within the city proper. At this time, the Brigade Combat Team was refocused and given control of the eastern half of the volatile city of Ar-Ramadi. Within a few weeks of taking over operational control from the previous units, the 2nd Brigade began experiencing violent activity. The primary focus of the 2nd BCT for much of their deployment was the struggle to gain local support and to minimize casualties. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team was in action in the city of Ramadi for several historical events, but most notably the Iraqi national elections of January 2005. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team left Iraq in July of 2005. The 3rd and 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, 2nd Infantry Division are the latest Warrior Division units to be deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007.

Like all U.S. military units, the primary mission of the 2nd Infantry Division is to deter war. Should that deterrence fail, the soldiers of the Warrior Division are ready to defend "Freedom's Frontier." As in their history, the units that wear the Indianhead patch will live up to their motto of "Second to None."

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Veterans Visit National Parks for Free (and some Antietam pictures)

We visited the Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland and learned that veterans get access to National Parks and other Federal Public Lands for free. Forever.

Last week (September 17^th) was the 161^st anniversary of the Battle of Antietam. We have visited many times. Antietam, located next to the small town of Sharpsburg, Maryland, is my favorite Civil War battlefield. Antietam has historical significance in that the battle has a combined casualty count of 22,727 killed, wounded, and missing. That makes Antietam (or Sharpsburg to the Confederates) the highest one-day casualty count in American military history. It was the impetus for Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which changed the Federal cause for fighting the war from preserving the Union to ending slavery. Moreover, it is an easy battlefield to view the terrain and understand the flow of the battle. Climb the observation tower. It’s worth it. And finally, the battlefield park is more than a park or a tourist attraction. It’s hallowed ground where thousands of Americans fought and died. That being said, Antietam is also a beautiful place to go for a walk and enjoy the fall weather.

I was going to talk about the battle and the remodel of the Visitor Center. Also, I wanted to point out how cool it is to visit a battlefield as near to its anniversary as possible. That way you have good odds of similar weather and you get an idea of what the foliage looked like at the time of the battle. Instead, I wanted to make sure that you are aware of the new program that allows free access to active military, veterans, and Gold Star family members.

It was time to renew my annual National Park Pass. I was thinking that I’d score on that senior discount this year (one of the few advantages of getting old). When we walked up to the counter and told the Ranger on duty what we wanted, he asked if I was a veteran. I am, I said, and so is my wife. He then went on to explain that since last November, the National Park Service has been providing free lifetime access to NPS and other Federal lands to active military, veterans, and Gold Star families. Would I like an “America the Beautiful” lifetime pass for free? Yes, please.

Here are the official rules. To get your pass you need a Veteran ID. You can obtain a digital Veteran ID from the VA’s website. (When they started producing those, I had no idea. I’ve obviously been asleep at the wheel on these things over the years.) The NPS is not supposed to accept your DD214 as proof of your veteran status. They need to see your Veteran ID. To obtain the Veteran ID you can use a copy of your DD214. Sound bureaucratic? Hey, it’s the government, and if you are a veteran then this Catch-22 logic should make you feel right at home. But it’s worth the trouble. If you have your Veteran ID, then not only can you use it to get a lifetime pass to National Parks, but there are a bunch of other perks and discounts out there for veterans (like the ten percent discount at Cabela’s). So get your Veteran ID from the VA website (links below), then go in person to any NPS site and pick up your lifetime pass.

Enjoy some pictures of the battlefield from our trip last Wednesday. If you are looking for background on the Battle of Antietam, I have “Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam” by Stephen Sears on my shelf. Get out and enjoy a historic site while the weather is nice. Maybe I’ll see you at Valley Forge next week. 😉

Link: Information on National Park Passes

Link: VA website to obtain a Veteran ID

A Summary History of the 2nd Armored Division

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"Hell On Wheels"
(Original article written 6/2/08 by Jim Broumley)

The United States Army's 2nd Armored Division, nicknamed "Hell On Wheels," is one of the most storied shoulder patches from World War II. The Second Armored Division's combat history in WWII covered three years, two continents, and ten countries. The 2nd A.D. is remembered by most Cold War veterans for its service at Fort Hood, Texas, with a reinforced brigade forward stationed in West Germany. After participating in the Persian Gulf War, the 2nd Armor Division was deactivated as part of the downsizing of the Army in the 1990s.

The 2nd Armored Division was formed on July 15, 1940, at Fort Benning, Georgia. Then Colonel George S. Patton was in charge of training the new division, and later that year was promoted to Brigadier General and took command. The 2nd AD continued training through 1941 with maneuvers in Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, and the Carolinas. Reportedly, Patton boasted during these maneuvers that the 2nd Armored Division would be "Hell on Wheels" when it met the enemy. The moniker stuck and became the Division's nickname and part of the unit shoulder sleeve insignia.

The 2nd Armored Division was organized as a "heavy" armored division that had two armored regiments of four medium tank battalions and two light tank battalions. The heavy division also maintained an "armored infantry regiment" organization. Hell On Wheels and the 3rd Armored Division kept this structure throughout the war; while the army's other 14 armored divisions were reorganized as "light" armored divisions.

The core units of 2AD were the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment, the 66th Armored Regiment, the 67th Armored Regiment, the 17th Armored Engineer Battalion, the 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, and the 142nd Armored Signal Company. The 2d Armored Division Artillery was composed of the 14th, 78th, and 92nd Armored Field Artillery Battalions. However, there was a variety of attachments throughout the war.

Some elements of the 2nd Armored Division saw combat for the first time when Allied Forces landed at Casablanca, in North Africa, on November 8, 1942. However, the Division as a whole did not enter combat until the invasion of Sicily on July 10, 1943. The Hell On Wheels Division saw action at Butera, Campobello, and through to Palermo. During the fight for Sicily, the 2nd AD fought against the German's elite Hermann Göring Panzer Division. In November of 1943, the 2nd Armored Division was moved to England to train for the invasion of Europe, Operation Overlord.

The 2AD was landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-day plus 3, June 9, 1944. Hell On Wheels raced across France with the rest of the Third Army during July and August. The Division reached the Albert Canal in Belgium on September 8, 1944, and crossed the German border north of Schimmert on September 18, 1944. On October 3, 1944, the 2nd Armor attacked the Siegfried Line, breached it, and then crossed the Wurm River, seized Puffendorf on November 16th, and Barmen on November 28th. The 2d Armor Division was holding positions on the Roer River when ordered to help contain the German's Ardennes offensive, the Battle of the Bulge.

During the Battle of the Bulge, Hell On Wheels fought in eastern Belgium, blunting the German Fifth Panzer Army's penetration of American lines. The Division helped reduce the Bulge in January, fighting in the Ardennes forest in deep snow and freezing winter conditions. After a rest in February, the Division drove on across the 1,153-foot wide Rhine River on March 27, 1945, in an unprecedented seven hours while under mortar fire. On April 11, 1945, the 2nd Armored Division was the first American Division to reach the Elbe River. On orders, the Division halted on the Elbe. In July 2nd A.D. was the first American unit to enter the German capital city of Berlin.

During World War II, Hell On Wheels took 94,151 prisoners of war, liberated 22,538 Allied prisoners of war, shot down or damaged on the ground 266 enemy aircraft, and destroyed or captured uncountable thousands of enemy tanks and other equipment and supplies. 2nd Armored Division soldiers had been awarded 9,369 awards for distinguished service and bravery including two Medals of Honor, twenty-three Distinguished Service Crosses, two thousand three hundred two Silver Stars, and not to mention nearly six thousand Purple Hearts. In 238 battle days, the 2nd Armored suffered 7,348 casualties, including 1,160 killed in action. After a brief period of occupation duty, the 2nd Armored Division returned to Fort Hood, Texas in 1946.

Based at Fort Hood, the 2nd Armored Division furnished thousands of trained replacements to units serving in the Korean War. In 1951 the Hell on Wheels division returned to Germany to serve for six years in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and then returned to Fort Hood. The 1/50 Infantry; 2/1 Cavalry; 1/40 Field Artillery; and 1/92 Field Artillery fought in the war in Vietnam, but not the Division as a whole. The main division, however, would spend much of the next 35 years at Fort Hood.

During the Cold War, the 2nd Armored Division's primary mission was to prepare to conduct heavy armored combat against Warsaw Pact forces in defense of NATO. Hell On Wheels formed a key component of the U.S. military's plan to move "ten divisions in ten days" to Europe in the event of a Soviet threat to NATO. The division practiced this task numerous times during Exercise REFORGER (Return of Forces to Germany) from 1967 to 1988. To build and maintain combat skills, the division's maneuver brigades deployed almost annually to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, to face an opposing force modeling Soviet military weapons and tactics.

In 1978 the 2nd Armored Division's 3rd Brigade deployed to the Federal Republic of Germany and was assigned to NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG). The 3rd Brigade received additional aviation, engineer, military intelligence, medical, and logistics support units. Now designated as the 2nd Armored Division (Forward), the unit was based at a new military facility near the village of Garlstedt just north of the city of Bremen. The unit's primary mission in the event of conflict with the Warsaw Pact was to either secure airfields or staging areas for the deployment of III Corps from the United States or to deploy directly to the Inter-German Border (IGB) and establish a blocking position as part of a NATO combat force. However, with the end of the Cold War, the U.S. military began to draw down its combat units. The 2nd Armored Division was scheduled to be inactivated in the spring of 1990.

The invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein in August 1990 caught the division in the midst of the post-Cold War drawdown of the U.S. military. On October 10, 1990, the division began to deploy more than 5,000 soldiers to Saudi Arabia to participate in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The 2nd Armored Division's Second Brigade could not be deployed as it was in the middle of deactivating. The Division's 1st Brigade deployed to Saudi Arabia independently and participated in Operation Desert Storm by providing heavy armor for USMC forces in their attack into Kuwait. The 3rd Brigade - 2nd Armored Division (Forward) - based in Germany, conducted combat operations as the third maneuver brigade of the 1st Infantry Division from Fort Riley, Kansas. On February 24, 1991, the Second Armored entered Iraqi-held Kuwait. In 100 hours Allied Forces had taken back the country of Kuwait and defeated the Iraqi Army.

Between the cease-fire and the official end of the war in April 1991, the 2nd Armored Division (Forward) took part in security operations to ensure peace in Kuwait. Hell On Wheels then redeployed to Saudi Arabia where some of its soldiers established and ran three refugee camps near Raffia, Saudi Arabia. Division relief workers processed over 22,000 Iraqi refugees between April 15 and May 10, 1991.

Desert Storm had temporarily interrupted the inactivation of the division that had begun in 1990. However, after the Persian Gulf War, the 2nd Armored Division went through a confusing series of deactivations and re-designations. The 1st Brigade returned to Fort Hood and was re-designated the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. On September 1, 1991, the 2nd Armored Division (Forward) officially became the 2nd Armored Division (-). Over the summer and fall of 1992, the 2nd Armored Division (-) was inactivated. In 1992, the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Polk, Louisiana was re-designated the 2nd Armored Division. In 1993 that unit moved to Fort Hood. In December 1995 the 2nd A.D. was again re-designated, this time as the 4th Infantry Division. This ended more than 55 years of continuous active duty for the "Hell On Wheels" Division. 

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