U.S. 32nd Infantry Division
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The United States 32nd Infantry Division was formed from
Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...
units from
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
and
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
and fought primarily during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. With roots as the
Iron Brigade The Iron Brigade, also known as The Black Hats, Black Hat Brigade, Iron Brigade of the West, and originally King's Wisconsin Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Although it fought ent ...
in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, the division's ancestral units came to be referred to as the ''Iron Jaw Division''. During tough combat in France in World War I, it soon acquired from the French the nickname ''Les Terribles'', referring to its fortitude in advancing over terrain others could not. It was the first allied division to pierce the German
Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (, Siegfried Position) was a German Defense line, defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in France during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to ...
of defense, and the 32nd then adopted its shoulder patch; a line shot through with a red arrow, to signify its tenacity in piercing the enemy line. It then became known as the ''Red Arrow Division''. During World War II, the division was credited with many "firsts". It was the first United States division to deploy as an entire unit overseas and among the first of seven U.S. Army and
U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
units to engage in offensive ground combat operations during 1942. The division was among the first divisions to engage the enemy and were still fighting holdouts after the official Japanese surrender. The 32nd logged a total of 654 days of combat during World War II, more than any other United States Army division. The unit was inactivated in 1946 after occupation duty in Japan. During 1961, the division was called up for a one-year tour of service in the state of Washington during the Berlin Crisis. In 1967, the 32nd Infantry Division (now made up completely of units from Wisconsin) was inactivated and partially reorganized as the 32nd Infantry Brigade, the largest unit of the
Wisconsin Army National Guard The Wisconsin Army National Guard has dual state and federal roles, and is jointly funded and maintained by both governments. Its federal mission is to provide trained units to the United States Army in time of war or national emergency. Its sta ...
.


World War I


Activation, organization and training

When the United States declared war on Germany on 11 April 1917, the Wisconsin Adjutant General ordered the Milwaukee troops to add a squadron, and Troop C and Troop D were added. The Guard units' Troop A and Troop B had been mustered out of federal service less than a year earlier on 20 October 1916 and 6 March 1917, respectively. The Adjutant General then directed the unit to add a new regiment, and the Second and Third Squadrons were formed as the First Wisconsin Cavalry, with units organized in various cities. Troop E commanded by Captain John S. Coney was formed in Kenosha on 10 May 1917, and the Wisconsin Cavalry was officially formed on 29 May 1917. Only two months later, the 32nd Division was activated in July 1917 at
Camp MacArthur Camp MacArthur (or Camp McArthur) was an American military training base in Waco, Texas, during World War I. It was named for Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur Jr. Arthur MacArthur Jr. (June 2, 1845 – September 5, 1912) was a lieutenan ...
,
Waco Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 population of 146,608, making i ...
, Texas of
National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...
units from Wisconsin and Michigan. Wisconsin furnished approximately 15,000 men, and another 8,000 troops came from Michigan. The division was made up of the 125th and
126th Infantry Regiment The 126th Infantry Regiment ("Second Michigan") is a United States military unit of the Michigan Army National Guard. The 126th was originally an infantry regiment, then was converted into an armoured role, and then was converted to a light ca ...
s (63rd Infantry Brigade) and the 127th and 128th Infantry Regiments (64th Infantry Brigade), as well as three artillery regiments within the
57th Field Artillery Brigade The 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, also known as the Iron Brigade, is based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was formerly known as the 57th Field Artillery Brigade, at which time its subordinate organizations included the 1st Battalion, 126t ...
. On 4 August 1917, Battery F, 121st Field Artillery regiment was the first unit to arrive at Camp MacArthur. The remainder arrived as soon as trains could be mustered for transportation. On 26 August 1917, Major General James Parker assumed command. General Parker had previously been awarded the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
during the
Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...
. On 18 September 1917, General Parker left for France on special duty with his chief of staff, Lieut. Col. E. H. DeArmond. Brigadier General William G. Haan assumed command in his absence. When General Parker returned in December, he was almost immediately transferred to the 85th Division at Camp Custer, Michigan. General Haan assumed command once again. In keeping with the new 1917 infantry division tables of organization that called for a
square division A square division is a designation given to the way military divisions are organized. In a square organization, the division's main body is composed of four "maneuver," i.e., infantry regimental elements. Other types of regiments, such as artiller ...
, he reorganized the division during September and October. The 120th Field Artillery Regiment was organized on 22 September 1917 at Camp MacArthur, as a part of the
57th Field Artillery Brigade The 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, also known as the Iron Brigade, is based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was formerly known as the 57th Field Artillery Brigade, at which time its subordinate organizations included the 1st Battalion, 126t ...
, better known as the ''Iron Brigade''. The nickname originated with the
1st Wisconsin Cavalry The 1st Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment was a volunteer cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment is most notable as one of two cavalry regiments credited with the final capture of Confederate presid ...
and was traditionally given to crack artillery units in the Civil War. From 26 October to 3 November 1917, 3,000 National Army draftees were assigned to the division from Camp Custer, and during December, another 1,000 came from Camp Custer and
Camp Grant, Illinois Camp Grant was a U.S. Army facility located in the southern outskirts of Rockford, Illinois named in honor of American Civil War general Ulysses S. Grant. Camp Grant covered an area of 5,600 acres during World War I and 3,200 acres during Worl ...
; the division would still be about 3,500 men understrength at the time of its departure for France. Captain Alien L. Briggs returned to Camp MacArthur to assist with training. He had been an Aide-de-camp to General Parker and had been in Europe when the war broke out in 1914. He had observed the training methods used in military schools in France. As training intensified in preparation for leaving for France, five French and four British officers, along with several non-commissioned officers, joined the division as instructors. A trench system was built outside the camp in which the division practiced the techniques of
trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from a ...
. There was a continual shortage of equipment that hampered training in the artillery and machine gun battalions. Additional training for junior and non-commissioned officers was implemented, and General Haan offered additional daily instruction to the brigade, regimental and battalion commanders. By early December, it had received the equipment assigned to it and was judged to be ready for deployment. War Department inspectors found the division more advanced in its training than any other division in the United States. Orders were received in late December, and the first troops left Waco on 2 January 1918 for the
New York Port of Embarkation The New York Port of Embarkation (NYPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for the movement of troops and supplies from the United States to overseas commands. The command had facilities in New York and New Jersey, roughly covering th ...
at
Hoboken Hoboken ( ; ) is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's popula ...
, New Jersey. The infantry was moved first, arriving at Camp Merritt before the division headquarters sailed. The unit received its first casualties when the
SS Tuscania (1914) SS ''Tuscania'' was a luxury liner of the Anchor Line, a subsidiary of the Cunard Line and named after Tuscania, Italy. In 1918 the ship was torpedoed and sunk by the German U-boat while transporting American troops to Europe with the loss ...
was sunk by a German U-boat. Brigadier General William G. Haan led the unit when it arrived in France.


Combat in France

The 32nd Division arrived on the Western Front in February 1918. The 32nd was the sixth U.S. division to join the
American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...
(AEF), under
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
John J. Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was an American army general, educator, and founder of the Pershing Rifles. He served as the commander of the American Expeditionary For ...
. The unit's morale was temporarily lessened when they learned they were assigned to create a depot for I Corps that would train replacement soldiers. Major General Haan reminded his commanders that it was every soldier's duty to contribute their best to the war effort, including training replacements. However, Haan lobbied Pershing and after several stormy sessions, finally convinced him that the 32nd could hold its own as a division. Up to this point much of the war had been a stalemate, fought from static trench lines over the same few kilometers of terrain. Over the next six months, the division was under constant fire, with only 10 days' rest. The division took a leading role in three important offensives, fighting on five fronts, suffered more than 14,000 casualties, captured more than 2,000 prisoners, and never yielded ground to the enemy. Major General James Parker had re-assumed command on 7 December 1917, and led the unit into
Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
in May 1918, attacking in seven days. During the Battle of Marne, they captured
Fismes Fismes () is a Communes of France, commune in the Marne (department), Marne Departments of France, department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The commune has been awarded three flowers in the ''Concours des villes et villages fl ...
. The only American unit in French
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
Charles Mangin Charles Emmanuel Marie Mangin (6 July 1866 – 12 May 1925) was a French general during World War I. Early career Charles Mangin was born on 6 July 1866 in Sarrebourg. After initially failing to gain entrance to Saint-Cyr, he joined the 77th In ...
's famous 10th French Army, it fought between the Moroccans and the Foreign Legion, two of the best divisions in the French army in the Battle of Oise- Battle of Aisne offensive. The 10th Army took Juvigny. In the five-day battle against five German divisions, the 32nd suffered 2,848 casualties. On 18 May 1918, four battalions of the 32nd division replaced decimated French troops on the front line at Haute Alsace, along a front from the
Aspach-le-Bas Aspach-le-Bas (; ; ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Haut-Rhin department The following is a list of the 366 Communes of France, communes of the French Departments of ...
to the Swiss border. The division's units conducted combat patrols into Germany itself, gaining the distinction of being the first US troops to set foot on enemy soil in World War I. Moving out of their trenches, the division fought continuously for 20 days during the
Meuse–Argonne offensive The Meuse–Argonne offensive (also known as the Meuse River–Argonne Forest offensive, the Battles of the Meuse–Argonne, and the Meuse–Argonne campaign) was a major part of the final Allies of World War I, Allied Offensive (military), offe ...
. The division was the front line element of the
Third U.S. Army The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army that saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...
. The Germans were well dug in after four years of
trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from a ...
and had orders to hold the line at all costs. On 14 October at 5:30 am, the division broke through the maze of barbed wire and took the line of trenches forming the
Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (, Siegfried Position) was a German Defense line, defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in France during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to ...
and moved on to the last German stronghold at Kriemhilde Stellung, where they reached the
Meuse River The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upp ...
. The 32nd was the first Allied Army unit to penetrate the Hindenburg Line. They then captured Côte Dame de Marie, the key to all the defenses in the area. Over the next five days the division continued to advance while under nearly constant machine gun and artillery fire. The 32nd Division defeated 11 German divisions in the Argonne fighting, including the fearsome Prussian Guards and the German Army's 28th Division, known as Kaiser's Own. The offensive cost the division 5,950 casualties. Their next objective was to flank the Germans at
Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...
and they marched to the Rhine River. There they occupied the center sector in the
Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...
bridgehead for four months, during which they held and 63 towns.


Origin of nickname ''Les Terribles''

The division fought in three major offensives, engaging and defeating 23 German divisions. They took 2,153 prisoners and gained , pushing back every German counterattack. During the drive to capture Fismes, they successfully attacked over open ground at great cost. The authorized strength of the 3rd battalion was 20 officers and 1,000 men, but by 4 August it had only 12 officers and 350 men on the line. As they advanced over of mostly open ground, the Germans targeted them with intense artillery and machine gun fire. They were reinforced by the 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry, which was also understrength. The 127th Infantry finally captured Fismes, but they lost many men. By the end of the day, the 3rd Battalion had only two officers and 94 men; the 2nd Battalion had five officers and 104 men. General de Mondesir, the 38th French Corps Commander, which the 32nd served under, went to the front to observe the fighting. When he saw how the 32nd cleared the Germans out of their reinforced positions with unrelenting and successful attacks, he exclaimed, ''Oui, Oui, Les soldats terribles, tres bien, tres bien!'' General
Charles Mangin Charles Emmanuel Marie Mangin (6 July 1866 – 12 May 1925) was a French general during World War I. Early career Charles Mangin was born on 6 July 1866 in Sarrebourg. After initially failing to gain entrance to Saint-Cyr, he joined the 77th In ...
heard of it and referred to the 32nd Division as ''Les Terribles'' when he asked for the division to join his 10th French Army north of Soissons. He later made the nickname official when he incorporated it in his citation for their attack at Juvigny. The division's shoulder patch, a line shot through with a red arrow, symbolizes the fact that the 32nd Division penetrated every German line of defense that it faced during World War I.


Casualties and decorations

The division was still engaging German troops east of the
Meuse River The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upp ...
when the
Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...
was finally signed. The division suffered a total of 13,261 casualties, including 2,250 men
killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...
and 11,011 wounded, placing it third in the number of battle deaths among U.S. Army divisions. The American, French, and Belgian governments decorated more than 800 officers and enlisted men for their gallantry in combat. All four infantry regiments, the three artillery regiments, and the division's three machine gun battalions were awarded the
Croix de guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...
by the Republic of France. The flag and standard of every unit in the division was authorized four American battle streamers. The 32nd Division was the only American division recognized with a ''
nom-de-guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In ''ancien régime'' France it would be adopted by each new recruit (or assigned to them by ...
'' by an Allied nation during the war.


Inactivation

Following the war's end, the division served in the Army of Occupation in Germany, commanded by Maj. Gen.
William Lassiter William Lassiter (September 29, 1867 – March 29, 1959) was a career officer in the United States Army. He was a veteran of the Spanish–American War, occupation of Veracruz, World War I, and the occupation of the Rhineland and attained the rank ...
. The 32nd Division headquarters arrived at the port of
Hoboken Hoboken ( ; ) is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's popula ...
,
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, aboard the troopship U.S.S. George Washington on 5 May 1919 after 16 months of overseas service and was demobilized 23 May 1919 at Camp Custer.


Interwar period

In accordance with the
National Defense Act of 1920 The National Defense Act of 1920 (or Kahn Act) was sponsored by United States Representative Julius Kahn (congressman), Julius Kahn, Republican Party (United States), Republican of California. This legislation updated the National Defense Act ...
, the 32nd Division was allotted to the states of Wisconsin and Michigan and assigned to the VI Corps in 1921. The division headquarters was reorganized and federally recognized on 24 July 1924 at
Sparta, Wisconsin Sparta is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Wisconsin, United States, along the La Crosse River. The population was 10,025 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Sparta is located on former Ho-Chunk territory acq ...
, under Major General
Robert Bruce McCoy Robert Bruce McCoy (September 5, 1867January 5, 1926) was an American lawyer and Army National Guard officer in the early 20th century. He served as a colonel in World War I and is the namesake of Fort McCoy, Wisconsin (formerly Camp McCoy). B ...
. After McCoy's death from illness, the headquarters was relocated on 21 June 1926 to
Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...
, under the command of Major General Guy Wilson. Wilson was succeeded by Major General Irving Fish of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
, on 22 December 1938. In the period between the World Wars, the 32nd Division was understrength, with training rarely leaving the local drill hall except for the yearly summer encampment and occasional corps area or
army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
maneuvers. During most years, the division's units trained within their respective states; Michigan units at
Camp Grayling Camp Grayling is a military training facility located near Grayling, Michigan, United States, primarily in Crawford County, and spread over three counties. Camp Grayling is the main training facility for the Michigan National Guard and is the l ...
, and Wisconsin units at
Camp McCoy Fort McCoy is a United States Army Reserve Military installation, installation on between Sparta, Wisconsin, Sparta and Tomah, Wisconsin, Tomah, Wisconsin, in Monroe County, Wisconsin, Monroe County. In 1909, there were two separate camps name ...
,
Camp Williams Camp W. G. Williams, commonly known as Camp Williams, also known as Army Garrison Camp Williams, is a National Guard training site operated by the Utah National Guard. It is located south of Bluffdale, west of Lehi, and north of Saratoga Sp ...
, or Camp Douglas. For at least one year, in 1937, the division’s subordinate units trained over 100 company-grade officers of the
Organized Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. History Origi ...
101st Division at Camp Williams. In 1937 and 1938, the 107th Engineer Regiment trained at Camp Grayling with emphasis on boat drills and float bridging. The regiment was short of men, had no vehicles, and what equipment it had was of World War I vintage. The division staff mostly conducted joint training at Camp Grayling, with the Wisconsin elements of the staff training at Camp Douglas in those years when they did not go to Camp Grayling. The staff also participated in the Sixth Corps Area command post exercises in 1931, 1932, and 1936, and the large Second Army command post exercises in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
in 1933 and at
Fort Knox, Kentucky Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository (also known as Fort Knox), which is used to house a larg ...
, in September 1938. The entire division assembled in one place at Camo Custer, in August 1936 for the Second Army Maneuvers, The division was pitted against the 33rd Division of the
Illinois National Guard The Illinois National Guard comprises both Army National Guard and Air National Guard components of Illinois. As of 2013, the Illinois National Guard has approximately 13,200 members. The National Guard is the only United States military force e ...
in the field near
Allegan, Michigan Allegan ( ) is a city and the county seat of Allegan County, Michigan Its population was 5,222 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located southwest of Grand Rapids and northwest of Kalamazoo, both via US 131. It lies within All ...
. In 1940, the division underwent a minor reorganization concurrent with the National Guard disbanding many of its horse cavalry units and fielding six new field artillery brigades. The 119th Field Artillery Regiment was relieved from the 32nd Division on 18 September 1940, reassigned to the 72nd Field Artillery Brigade, and had its armament changed from 75 mm guns to 155 mm guns; on 1 October 1940, the 105th Cavalry Regiment was relieved from the 23rd Cavalry Division, redesignated the 126th Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm gun), and assigned to the 32nd Division. The Michigan elements of the 107th Quartermaster Regiment were reorganized as part of the separate 177th Field Artillery Regiment, and the 107th was reorganized as an entirely Wisconsin-based unit.


World War II


Louisiana Maneuvers

The fall of France in June 1940 injected urgency into their training operations, and on 27 August 1940, Congress authorized inducting the National Guard into federal service. Eighteen National Guard divisions were activated, including the 32nd. On 16 September 1940 Congress authorized the first peacetime draft in United States history. When the division was federalized on 15 October 1940, It was authorized to have a peacetime strength of about 11,600 soldiers, but like almost all units in the National Guard and the Regular Army prior to World War II, was not at full strength nor was it assigned all of the equipment it was authorized. Training for many soldiers was incomplete. The division was scheduled to receive a year of training. In October 1940, the division began a six-day motor march to Camp Beauregard, Louisiana. On 26 January 1941, the 32nd Division relocated to the recently completed
Camp Livingston Camp Livingston was a U.S. Army military camp during World War II. It was located on the border between Rapides and Grant Parishes, near Pineville, north of Alexandria, Louisiana. History Camp Livingston was open from 1940 to 1945, and was ...
, about northeast of
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
, Louisiana. The unit then spent the next 16 months training in Louisiana. During the summer of 1941, the division moved to
Camp Beauregard Louisiana National Guard Training Center Pineville (previously Camp Beauregard) is a Louisiana National Guard installation located northeast of Pineville, Louisiana, primarily in Rapides Parish, but also extending northward into Grant Pari ...
, Louisiana, as part in the
Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...
and Fourth Army maneuvers—nicknamed the
Louisiana Maneuvers The Louisiana Maneuvers were a series of major U.S. Army exercises held from August to September 1941 in northern and west-central Louisiana, an area bounded by the Sabine River to the west, the Calcasieu River to the east, and by the city of ...
—which provided the army high command a good look at the preparedness of the regiment. The first test, which was held in the vicinity of
Camp Beauregard Louisiana National Guard Training Center Pineville (previously Camp Beauregard) is a Louisiana National Guard installation located northeast of Pineville, Louisiana, primarily in Rapides Parish, but also extending northward into Grant Pari ...
, was conducted 16–27 June and included the 32nd Division as well as the 37th Division from
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
. From 16–30 August, the maneuvers expanded to include the 34th and 38th Divisions. During September, the largest maneuvers were held with the Seventh Corps of the Second Army, opposing the Fourth, Fifth, and
Eighth Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...
Corps of the Third Army. The Grand Rapids Guard was part of the Fifth Corps. It was the largest maneuver of its kind in the history of the Army and included some 100,000 men. National Guard units were at the time not required to serve active duty outside of the western hemisphere and draftees were inducted for a maximum of one year of service. But on 7 August 1941, by a margin of a single vote, Congress approved an indefinite extension of service for the guard, draftees, and reserve officers, including the Red Arrow Division. During January and February 1942, the division lost one of its infantry regiments when, like all U.S. Army divisions, its "square" infantry division structure was reorganized into a
triangular A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimensional ...
organization, centered on three instead of four infantry regiments. It was left with the
126th Infantry Regiment The 126th Infantry Regiment ("Second Michigan") is a United States military unit of the Michigan Army National Guard. The 126th was originally an infantry regiment, then was converted into an armoured role, and then was converted to a light ca ...
,
127th Infantry Regiment The 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry Regiment traces its origins to the 4th Infantry Battalion, Wisconsin National Guard. Organization The 4th Infantry Battalion, Wisconsin National Guard, was organized on 25 April 1884, from Milwaukee compani ...
, and the 128th Infantry Regiment. The three existing artillery regiments (120th, 121st and 126th) were converted into four separate battalions (120th, 121st, 126th and 129th), and supporting units. In early February 1942, Major General Fish was transferred and replaced by Regular Army Major General Edwin F. Harding.


Pacific Theater

After the
Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...
, the division was one of the first to be prepared for overseas duty. The division was initially ordered to prepare for an early departure overseas to Europe and the division moved to
Fort Devens Fort Devens is a United States Army Reserve military installation in the towns of Ayer, Massachusetts, Ayer and Shirley, Massachusetts, Shirley, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County and Harvard, Massachusetts, Harvard in Worcester ...
, Massachusetts, for transport to Northern Ireland. The 107th Engineer Battalion left
Camp Livingston Camp Livingston was a U.S. Army military camp during World War II. It was located on the border between Rapides and Grant Parishes, near Pineville, north of Alexandria, Louisiana. History Camp Livingston was open from 1940 to 1945, and was ...
on 2 January 1942, and was shipped by train to
Fort Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Fo ...
, New Jersey, where it lost its 2nd battalion and was redesignated the 107th Engineer Combat Battalion. The 107th was shipped ahead of the rest of the division as an advance party so they could prepare an overseas camp for the division's arrival. The rest of the division was to have three months to prepare for embarkation to the front in Europe. However,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
had rapidly advanced into the South Pacific, progressively occupying an increasing number of islands. Japan was evidently intent on cutting Australia off from its American supply lines, and Australia feared that Japan was planning to invade. Prime Minister
John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), having been most ...
demanded the Allies release Australian troops from the Mediterranean and North Africa front to defend their home. The United States initially sent the 41st Infantry Division, less one regiment, from where it was training at
Fort Lewis, Washington Fort Lewis is a United States Army base located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington. Fort Lewis was merged with McChord Air Force Base on February 1, 2010, to form Joint Base Lewis–McChord. Fort Lewis, named after Meriwether Lewis of the ...
. The 41st Division arrived in Melbourne on 6 April 1942. Though the Allies released the Australian 6th and 7th Divisions, the 9th could not be spared. In a compromise, the 32nd was notified on 25 March, less than six weeks after Harding was placed in command, to turn around and ship out west to the Pacific instead. Harding was told the entire unit was to be ready to board ships in San Francisco in only three weeks. Implementing these orders cost the division's preparedness a great deal. The 35th Division, in lieu of an aborted mission to the Philippines to reinforce American forces there, was designated to replace the 32nd Division for eventual shipment to England. The 114th Engineer Combat Battalion was hurriedly assigned to replace the 107th Engineers, who were already in the middle of the Atlantic bound for Ireland. On 1 June 1942, the original 107th Engineer Combat Battalion was redesignated the 2nd Battalion, 112th Engineer Regiment; on 19 August 1943, at
Saunton Sands Saunton Sands is a beach near the English village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton, popular for longboard surfing. Beyond its southern end, Crow Point, England is the mouth of the River Taw estuary. It is part of the Taw-Torri ...
near Camp Braunton, England, the 2nd Battalion, 112th Engineers was redesignated as the 254th Engineer Combat Battalion. The division boarded 13 freight trains and 25 passenger trains at Fort Devens near Boston on 9 April 1942 and arrived five days later in
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
, California. Portions of the unit were then transported by bus to Pier 7 in San Francisco, where they boarded the U.S. Army ferry for Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, which was utilized by the Army as Fort McDowell. The remainder were housed at
Fort Ord Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay on the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, ...
near
Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...
, California, at the Dog Track Pavilion in Emeryville and at the
Cow Palace The Cow Palace (originally the California State Livestock Pavilion) is an indoor arena and events center located in Daly City, California, situated on the city's northern border with neighboring San Francisco. Because the border passes through t ...
, where the men slept uncomfortably in stadium chairs and in horse stalls. On 22 April 1942, just before the division boarded ships in San Francisco bound for Australia, they received about 3,000 additional soldiers, most of whom had just finished
basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique dema ...
, to fill in their incomplete ranks. The division was still missing about 1,800 men. The division had to make do with whatever equipment was found in depots near San Francisco. Not even its firearms allocation was complete; it could not obtain any compact
M1 carbine The M1 carbine (formally the United States carbine, caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine chambered in the .30 carbine (7.62×33mm) cartridge that was issued to the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War, and t ...
rifles meant for officers and support forces, forcing the division to arm them with the regular infantry's longer, heavier yet more powerful
M1 Garand The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the United States Army, U.S. ...
. They traded in their World War I-era horse-drawn artillery pieces for new 105mm
M101 howitzer The M101A1 (previously designated Howitzer M2A2 on Carriage M2A2) howitzer is an artillery piece developed and used by the United States. It was the standard U.S. light field howitzer in World War II and saw action in both the European and Pa ...
s, though they received scant training on the new guns. After eight days waiting for transit, the division returned to San Francisco and boarded a convoy of seven Matson Line ships, including the S.S. ''Lurline'' and USS ''Hugh L. Scott'' at Pier 42. The convoy (SF 43) was escorted by the cruiser USS ''Indianapolis'' and two corvettes. Four days out of San Francisco, the Lurline ship's crew discovered the division's mascot, a dog named Vicksburg. She was named for the town she was born in and the location of the final major campaign of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. (Vicksburg was killed in a road accident in Southport, Australia on 8 October 1942). A monument to the dog still exists at the former entrance to Camp Cable. After a stop in Auckland, New Zealand, the ships entered a zone where two freighters had been sunk by Japanese submarines in recent days. The soldiers stayed fully dressed and wide eyed for the two days to Sydney. Taking a southerly route to avoid the Japanese Navy, they arrived in southern Australia at
Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...
on 14 May 1942, having traveled in 23 days. They were the first American division in World War II to be moved in a single convoy from the United States to the front lines.


Training in Australia

After the division arrived in
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, the 126th Infantry Regiment was sent to Camp Sandy Creek (north of Adelaide), and the 127th and 128th went to Camp Woodside, east of Adelaide and from Camp Sandy Creek. Once the unit arrived in Australia, rather than begin combat training, the division was forced to build its new camps from scratch. Their initial training was planned to be oriented around a defense of the Australian mainland. However, instead of learning the basics of patrolling and maneuvering, they cut down trees, dug wells and latrines, and set up kitchens and tents. The division did not begin training again for several weeks.


Preparedness for jungle warfare

Although the 32nd had spent a good deal of time training in Louisiana, with considerable swamp close at hand, their intended destination at that time was Europe. Most official records state that the men had little additional training for jungle conditions while in Australia. General Eichelberger, Commanding General, I Corps and US Army Forces in Australia, wrote that "In Washington I had read General MacArthur's estimates of his two infantry divisions, and these reports and our own inspections had convinced my staff and me that the American troops were in no sense ready for jungle warfare." However, some veterans reported that they received general training with weapons and practice at terrain maneuvers and in jungle warfare, increasing once the unit arrived in Brisbane. Less than two months after their arrival in Australia, the unit was moved in July 1942 halfway across Australia, northeast to Camp Tamborine, about south of
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
on Australia's east coast. The majority of the division and its equipment was split up and shipped by railroad, while some were transported on five
Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...
s. Each Australian state had a different
rail gauge In rail transport, track gauge is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many different track gauges exist worldwide, gauge dif ...
(or width), and the equipment and men had to be offloaded at each state's boundary and reloaded onto a new train. The division's trains crossed four states before it reached Brisbane. On 30 August, Camp Tamborine was renamed Camp Cable, in honor of Sergeant Gerald O. Cable, a soldier in the Service Company, 126th Infantry. Sergeant Cable was the sole casualty when his Liberty ship, en route from Adelaide to Brisbane, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, making him the first soldier of the 32nd Division to die in combat during World War II.


Japanese assault on Port Moresby

The
Battle of Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the battle ...
in early May followed by the Allied victory at the
Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of t ...
in early June foiled Japan's plans to capture Port Moresby by sea. The Japanese were undaunted. A Japanese convoy conveyed Maj. Gen.
Tomitarō Horii was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. After graduating from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1911, Horii served in China before undertaking a variety of regimental appointments. Following Japan's entry ...
with about 4,400 troops onto the beach at Gona during the night of 21–22 July 1942 on the north-eastern shore of Papua New Guinea. They proceeded inland to Popondetta and then south-westward onto the
Kokoda Trail The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland – in a straight line – through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Imperial ...
with the object of capturing
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
. By 13 August, the Japanese had landed about 11,100 men, which the object of securing a base to dominate the south Pacific. The Allies commonly believed the Japanese intended to invade Australia, whose
Cape York Peninsula The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...
was only from
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
. Unknown to the Allies, the Chief of the Imperial Japanese Naval General Staff,
Osami Nagano was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy and one of the leaders of Japan's military during most of the Second World War. In April 1941, he became Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff. In this capacity, he served as the ...
, had proposed an invasion, but this plan was rejected in favor of a decision to occupy
Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; ; ) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the United States and is an unorganized and unincorporated territory. The largest island is Sand Island, which has housi ...
with the intention of cutting Australia off from United States supply lines, eventually forcing Australia to surrender. General Willoughby continued to believe that the Japanese only intended to build airfields on the northern coast with the intent to attack Port Moresby and Australia by air. But the Japanese fought up the northern side of the
Owen Stanley Mountains The Owen Stanley Range is the south-eastern part of the central mountain-chain in Papua New Guinea. Its highest point is Mount Victoria at , while its most prominent peak is Mount Suckling. History Owen Stanley Range was seen in 1849 by Captai ...
and in the middle of September, after weeks of fighting, descended the southern slopes to Ioribaiwa Ridge, within of Port Moresby. At the peak of their effort, the Japanese had 16,000 troops in the region. Japanese engineers remained on the coast to fortify the beachhead and build a system of reinforced and cross-linked bunkers. The Allied air forces relentlessly attacked the Japanese supply lines over the Owen Stanley Mountains that connected the Japanese forces to Buna, Sanananda, and Gona. The weakened Japanese forces, attacked from the air and on the front and flanks by Australian forces, were finally stopped on 17 September at Imita Range, south of Ioribaiwa.


Japanese withdrawal from Kokoda Track

On
Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...
,
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...
Harukichi Hyakutake was a general in the Japanese Imperial Army in World War II. He is sometimes referred to as Haruyoshi Hyakutake or Seikichi Hyakutake. His elder brothers Saburō Hyakutake and Gengo Hyakutake were admirals in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Biog ...
's initial thrust to re-take the island's Henderson Field had been badly defeated. Meanwhile, a landing at Milne Bay had also been repulsed. With the concurrence of the Japanese command staff, he ordered General Horii to withdraw his troops on the Kokoda Track until the issue at Guadalcanal was decided. On 28 September, General Horii and his troops began to hastily withdraw northward over the Owen Stanley Mountains to Kokoda and then to Buna–Gona.


Transport to New Guinea

General
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...
had repeatedly requested Washington, D.C. to send him additional troops with which to initiate an offensive campaign and had been pointedly told he would have to make do with the troops on hand. MacArthur had decided as soon as he had reached Australia that the key to its defense lay not on the Australian mainland but in New Guinea. The U.S. Army typically required divisions to train as a unit for a full year before entering combat. The 32nd had arrived in Australia in April 1942, spent several weeks building its first camp, was transported to a new camp in July, and nearly one third of its troops had been in boot camp only five months previously. Nonetheless U.S. officers decided it was the most combat-ready unit in Australia. Even though the division had less than two months of jungle warfare training, MacArthur ordered parts of the 32nd Division to Papua New Guinea on 13 September 1942. Because the situation was critical and time was short,
5th Air Force The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organiz ...
commander General
George Kenney George Churchill Kenney (6 August 1889 – 9 August 1977) was a United States Army general during World War II. He is best known as the commander of the Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), a position he held between Augus ...
suggested that he could transport the first regiment by air. This had never been attempted before, so Company E, 126th IR, was used to test the concept. At dawn on 15 September 1942, the unit was flown from Amberly Field in Brisbane to Port Moresby. The remainder of the 126th IR boarded ships for Port Moresby beginning on 18 September from Brisbane. The 128th IR was from Townsville, Australia to Port Moresby on the same day. These units would become part of the opening ground offensive against Japanese troops in the
Southwest Pacific Area South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the ...
, and MacArthur expected the Americans to quickly and easily advance on and capture the Japanese forward base at Buna.


Kapa Kapa Trail march

The
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...
units on New Guinea were under increasing pressure from the Japanese forces who had advanced within of Port Moresby. Anxious to blunt the Japanese attack, and although no white man had crossed using that route since 1917, General
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...
issued orders for United States forces to take the
Kapa Kapa Trail The Kapa Kapa Trail is a steep, little-used mountain trail that stretches from the Kapa Kapa village (an English mispronunciation of Gabagaba) on the south coast of Papua New Guinea, across the extremely rugged Owen Stanley Range, to the vicinity ...
running parallel to the
Kokoda Track The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland – in a straight line – through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Japane ...
. The 32nd's Divisional Headquarters and two regimental combat teams formed around the 126th and 128th infantry regiments were deployed to Port Moresby between 15 and 29 September 1942. MacArthur believed based on available intelligence that the U.S. forces could guard the right flank of the Australian forces and entrap the
Imperial Japanese The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From 1910 to 19 ...
troops between the two allied forces. Beginning on 14 October 900 troops of the 2nd Battalion, 114th Engineer Battalion, 19th Portable Hospital, and the 107th Quartermaster Company of 126th Infantry, commanded by Lt. Col. Henry A. Geerds, departed in stages from Karekodobu, nicknamed "Kalamazoo" by the
GIs A geographic information system (GIS) consists of integrated computer hardware and software that store, manage, analyze, edit, output, and visualize geographic data. Much of this often happens within a spatial database; however, this is not ...
who had a hard time pronouncing the local name. They were charged with making an extremely difficult trek inland over the Kapa Kapa Trail toward Jaure, where they were to flank the Japanese on the
Kokoda Trail The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland – in a straight line – through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Imperial ...
. The total distance over the mountains to the Japanese positions was over , and most of the trail was barely a goat path. The men carried only six days rations, expecting to be resupplied en route. The food, however, was very poor, including
hardtack Hardtack (or hard tack) is a type of dense Cracker (food), cracker made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Hardtack is inexpensive and long-lasting. It is used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyage ...
, rice and
bully beef Bully beef (also known as corned beef in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia and other Commonwealth countries as well as the United States) is a variety of meat made from finely minced corned beef in a small amount of ge ...
, some of which had become rancid and sickening many men. They had leather toilet seats but no machetes, insect repellent, waterproof containers for medicine or personal effects, and it rained heavily every day. The men found themselves utterly unprepared for the extremely harsh conditions found in the jungle. The Kapa Kapa trail across the Owen Stanley divide was a "dank and eerie place, rougher and more precipitous" than the
Kokoda Track The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland – in a straight line – through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Japane ...
on which the Australians and Japanese were then fighting. Lead elements of the 126th finally crossed the gap near Mount Obree, which they nicknamed Ghost Mountain, where all of the remaining native porters abandoned the Americans, leaving them to carry their own equipment. On 20 November 1942, after almost 42 days on the trail, crossing exceedingly difficult terrain, including hogback ridges, jungle, and mountainous high-altitude passes, E Company was the first to reach Soputa near the front. The remainder of the battalion trickled in over the next few days. As a result of the extremely difficult march and the decimated ranks of the unit, the battalion earned the nickname of ''The Ghost Battalion''. No other troops were tasked with making the same trek.


Attack on Buna

Two weeks later the remainder of 128th
Regimental Combat Team A regimental combat team (RCT) is a provisional major infantry unit which has seen use by branches of the United States Armed Forces. It is formed by augmenting a regular infantry regiment with smaller combat, combat support and combat servic ...
was flown to Wanigela near the Buna where they joined the Australian 18th Brigade. They were to begin an assault on 16 November 1942 on the main Japanese beachheads in eastern New Guinea. The 32nd Division was among the first of all US divisions to engage in a ground assault against the enemy in World War II. General Harding was nearly killed before the attack began. The first day of the assault, Harding was on board a sixty-two-foot wooden coastal trawler, the Australian civilian crewed ''Minnamurra'' that was operating as part of the
US Army Small Ships Section The US Army Small Ships Section was an improvised civilian fleet mobilized by Douglas MacArthur to provide logistical support to Allied Operations in the Pacific War. Between 1942 and 1945, over 4,372 Allied Merchant seaman served aboard command ...
, with his headquarters company when it and its convoy carrying important artillery and supplies was attacked by Japanese fighter-bombers. Harding saved himself by diving overboard and swimming to shore. The attack destroyed all five vessels and the supplies Harding was relying on for the upcoming attack. More were sunk over the following days or ran aground. General
George Kenney George Churchill Kenney (6 August 1889 – 9 August 1977) was a United States Army general during World War II. He is best known as the commander of the Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), a position he held between Augus ...
wielded a great deal of influence over MacArthur, and although he had no knowledge of jungle warfare, insisted that tanks had no role in ground action in the jungle, but that the "artillery in this theater flies." Harding reluctantly accepted MacArthur's decision to go ahead with the attack and to rely on direct air support in place of tanks or heavy artillery.


Japanese defenses

The Japanese were now commanded by Maj. Gen.
Kensaku Oda was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Biography Oda was a native of Fukuoka Prefecture. From 1938, he was the commanding officer of the IJA 50th Infantry Regiment, which was in combat during the Battle of Xuzhou in the ...
, who succeeded General Horii, who had drowned in the Kumusi River while retreating from their initial attack across the
Kokoda Track The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland – in a straight line – through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Japane ...
on
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
. The Japanese at Buna-Gona were unable to dig deep trenches or shelters due to the water table. Instead, they built hundreds of coconut log
bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...
s. These had mutually supporting lines of fire and were organized in depth. The bunkers were often linked by trenches allowing the Japanese to move at will among them, reinforcing one another. Buna was General
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...
's first ground offensive campaign against Japanese troops in World War II. He received intelligence from Brigadier General Charles Willoughby, who told MacArthur before the operation that there was "little indication of an attempt to make a strong stand against the Allied advance." Other intelligence he received led him to believe that Buna was held by about 1,000 sick and malnourished soldiers. Unfamiliar with the state of Japanese defenses, Lieutenant General
Richard K. Sutherland Lieutenant General Richard Kerens Sutherland (27 November 1893 – 25 June 1966) was a United States Army officer during World War II. He served as General of the Army Douglas MacArthur's Chief of Staff in the South West Pacific Area during the ...
, MacArthur's chief of staff, glibly referred to these fortifications as "hasty field entrenchments." The division's performance in battle under the circumstances was not surprising. It was unprepared for offensive operations against what turned out to be some of the strongest Japanese fortified positions in the South Pacific, and was severely hampered by completely inadequate fire support.


Harding relieved

After taking a large number of casualties and making virtually no progress, MacArthur became frustrated with the 32nd Division's performance and gave Major General
Robert Eichelberger Robert Lawrence Eichelberger (9 March 1886 – 26 September 1961) was a general officer in the United States Army who commanded the Eighth United States Army in the Southwest Pacific Area during World War II. A 1909 graduate of the United ...
authority to remove Harding, which Eichelberger promptly did. Eichelberger then ordered a two-day pause in operations, had hot food brought to the front, got additional supplies moved forward, and was able to get the detached 128th restored to the division. These were all actions that Harding had requested and been denied.


Casualties and refitting

U. S. Air Force historian Stanley Falk wrote, "The Papuan campaign was one of the costliest Allied victories of the Pacific war in terms of casualties per troops committed." Of the 9,825 men of the 32nd Division who entered combat, the division suffered 2,520 battle casualties, including 586
killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...
. More telling was the huge number who were casualties due to illness: 7,125 (66%, with 2,952 requiring hospitalization), and 100 more died from other causes. The total casualty count of 9,956 exceeded the division's entire battle strength. The Ghost Mountain Boys of the 2/126th were especially hard hit. When Buna was taken they finished the fight with only six officers and 126 troops standing out of the 900 plus who had started out from Kapa Kapa. The extremely difficult
march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...
by the U.S. 2/126th from Kapa Kapa to Jaure and the brutal combat at Buna-Gona taught the Allied armies important lessons that they applied throughout the Pacific Theater and remainder of the war in the Pacific.


Refit and retrained in Australia

After the 32nd Division wrapped up operations at Buna, the men were slowly transported to Australia for rest, rehabilitation and training. The first units arrived in Brisbane, Australia on 1 March 1943. The complete move took several weeks because of the limited number of planes available to transport the troops over the Owen Stanley Mountains and the few ships available to get the men from Port Moresby to Australia. The last units arrived in April. Upon arrival, some men spent a few days camped near Brisbane and went into town to get drunk. The division then returned to Camp Cable where it had been stationed before it left for New Guinea. On 1 March 1943, Major General
William H. Gill William Hanson Gill (August 7, 1886 – January 17, 1976) was a highly decorated officer in the United States Army during World War II. Originally a civil engineer, Gill entered the army in 1912 and served with infantry units throughout his care ...
at Camp Carson, Colorado was ordered to Australia to assume command of the division. After a period of rest, the division began training to induct the many replacements into its ranks and help them incorporate the lessons of jungle warfare the division had gained in battle. The troops also received six weeks' amphibious training.Miller, ''Cartwheel: The Reduction of Rabaul'', p. 296 During March, the 107th Quartermaster Battalion was reorganized as the 32nd Quartermaster Company, and the ordnance detachment was redesignated the 732nd Ordnance Company. The 121st Field Artillery Battalion's 155 mm howitzers were replaced with 75 mm howitzers.


Return to New Guinea

By October 1943 the division was ready for combat and moved back to New Guinea. From 16 to 30 October 1943 the 32nd Division was moved from Australia back to New Guinea. At
Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range (Papu ...
and
Goodenough Island Goodenough Island in the Solomon Sea, also known as Nidula Island, is the westernmost of the three large islands of the D'Entrecasteaux Islands in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. It lies to the east of mainland New Guinea and southwest ...
they continued their training and prepared for future combat operations. During December 1943 the U.S. Sixth Army was given the mission to capture Saidor with the goal to cut off the Japanese retreat from Finschhafen. The 32nd division formed the majority of the Michaelmas Task Force given the assignment to help establish a blocking position at Saidor with the intent to trap an entire Japanese division at Sio. They were charged with seizing the airfield at Saidor and securing the surrounding area. The main combat power for the task force was the 126th Infantry.


Operation Cartwheel and Western New Guinea

On 2 January 1944, the 32nd Division took part in
Operation Cartwheel Operation Cartwheel (1943 – 1944) was a major military operation undertaken by the Allies in the Pacific theatre of World War II. The ultimate goal of Cartwheel was to neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul. The operation was di ...
, part of MacArthur's "leap-frog" operational plan to take strategic points to use as forward bases. MacArthur sent Allied forces westward along the northern coast of New Guinea in a sequence of operations against selected locations that would provide landing fields for aircraft. This was designed to provide his ground forces with continued
close air support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...
and deny the enemy sea and airborne resupply, effectively cutting the Japanese forces off as they were under attack.


Landing at Saidor

Elements of the 32nd's 126th Infantry Regimental Combat Team landed at Saidor on the north coast of New Guinea and helped to end enemy resistance there on 14 April 1944. On 23 April, elements took part in the
landing at Aitape The Landing at Aitape (code-named Operation Persecution) was a battle of the Western New Guinea campaign of World War II. American and Allies of World War II, Allied forces undertook an amphibious landing on 22 April 1944 at Aitape on the norther ...
, the division arriving on 3 May. After meeting slight initial resistance, the 32nd had to withstand savage counterattacks in the Driniumor River area. By 31 August, Aitape was secured and the division rested. Elements landed on Morotai on 15 September. The 32nd's command post opened at Hollandia,
Dutch New Guinea Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea (, ) was the western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1949 to 1962. It contained ...
on 1 October, setting the stage for the advance into the Philippines.


Philippines battles


Battle of Leyte

The Battle of
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...
was the invasion and conquest of Leyte in the Philippines by American and Filipino guerrilla forces under the command of MacArthur. The U.S. forces fought Japanese Army forces led by General
Tomoyuki Yamashita was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Yamashita led Japanese forces during the invasion of Malaya and Battle of Singapore. His conquest of Malaya and Singapore in 70 days earned him the sobriquet "The Tig ...
. The battle took place from 17 October to 31 December 1944 and launched the Philippines campaign of 1944–45, the goal of which was to recapture and liberate the entire
Philippine Archipelago As an archipelago, the Philippines comprises about 7,641 islands clustered into three major island groups: Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. Only about 2,000 islands are inhabited,
and to end almost three years of Japanese occupation. The 32nd was in reserve and was not deployed to Leyte until 14 November when it was assigned to the US X Corps. It relieved the 24th Infantry Division and went into action along the Pinamopoan-
Ormoc Ormoc (IPA: oɾˈmok, officially the City of Ormoc (; ; ), is a independent component city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 230,998 inhabitants, making it the second mo ...
highway, taking Limon and smashing the Yamashita line in bitter hand-to-hand combat. The division linked up with elements of the
U.S. 1st Cavalry Division The 1st Cavalry Division ("First Team") is a Armored brigade combat team, combined arms division (military), division and is one of the most decorated combat divisions of the United States Army. It is based at Fort Cavazos, Texas. It was for ...
in the vicinity of Lonoy, on 22 December, marking the collapse of Japanese resistance in the upper Oromoc Valley. The division remained on the front lines until the Japanese resistance on Leyte was broken near the end of December.


Battle of Luzon

From Leyte the division moved to
Lingayen Gulf Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central (Luzon), Cordillera Central. The Agno ...
, Luzon, on 27 January 1945. In the
Battle of Villa Verde Trail The Battle of Villa Verde Trail ( Filipino: ''Labanan sa Tugaygayan ng Villa Verde'') was a campaign by the United States Army and Filipino guerrillas in the Philippines during World War II in 1945 to force its way across the Caraballo Mountains ...
, the 32nd navigated a narrow track through the
Caraballo Mountains The Caraballo Mountains is a mountain range in the central part of Luzon island in the Philippines, situated between the Cordillera Central, Luzon, Cordillera Central and Sierra Madre (Philippines), Sierra Madre mountain ranges. The mountains s ...
against heavy Japanese resistance and after 100 days of fighting, it took Imugan and the crossroads town of
Santa Fe, Nueva Vizcaya Santa Fe, officially the Municipality of Santa Fe (; ; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 18,276. It is ...
. Four men were awarded the Medal of Honor during its six-week fight up the 27 miles of the Villa Verde Trail:
William R. Shockley William Ralph Shockley (December 4, 1918 – March 31, 1945) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II. Biography He was born December ...
, David M. Gonzales,
Thomas E. Atkins Thomas E. Atkins (February 5, 1921 – September 15, 1999) was a Private in the United States Army who received the Medal of Honor for actions in World War II during a skirmish on 10 March 1945 in the Battle of Luzon. He joined the Army from his ...
, and
Ysmael R. Villegas Staff Sergeant Ysmael Reyes Villegas (March 21, 1924 – March 20, 1945), was a United States Army soldier who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military decoration, for heroism during World War II at the B ...
. It took American troops until the end of June to seize the
Cagayan Valley Cagayan Valley (; ), designated as Region II, is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines. Located in the northeastern section of Luzon, it is composed of five Provinces of the Philippines, Philippine provinces: ...
and its food supplies. On 28 May the 32nd met the 25th Infantry Division near Santa Fe securing
Balete Pass Dalton Pass, also called Balete Pass, is a zigzag road and mountain pass that joins the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Nueva Vizcaya, in central Luzon island of the Philippines. It is part of Cagayan Valley Road segment of Pan-Philippine Highway ( ...
, the gateway to the
Cagayan Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan (; ; ; isnag language, Isnag: ''Provinsia nga Cagayan''; ivatan language, Ivatan: ''Provinsiya nu Cagayan''; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Cag ...
Valley. While elements of the division continued mopping-up activities near Imugan, other units moved to rest and rehabilitation centers. Active elements secured the
Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...
area, wiped out Japanese forces in the
Agno River The Agno River, also known as the Pangasinan River, is a river on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Traversing the provinces of Benguet, Pangasinan, and Tarlac, it is one of the largest river systems in the country, with a drainage ar ...
Valley area, and opened
Highway 11 Route 11, or Highway 11 can refer to routes in the following countries: International * AH11, Asian Highway 11 * European route E11 * European route E011 Argentina * Provincial Route 11 (Buenos Aires), Buenos Aires Provincial Route 11 Austr ...
as a supply route. They captured General
Tomoyuki Yamashita was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Yamashita led Japanese forces during the invasion of Malaya and Battle of Singapore. His conquest of Malaya and Singapore in 70 days earned him the sobriquet "The Tig ...
, who surrendered on 2 September 1945, in Kiangan. "It was a great moment for the 32nd," wrote Maj. Gen.
William H. Gill William Hanson Gill (August 7, 1886 – January 17, 1976) was a highly decorated officer in the United States Army during World War II. Originally a civil engineer, Gill entered the army in 1912 and served with infantry units throughout his care ...
, commanding general of the Red Arrow Division, "a glorious finish to this long bitter struggle."


End of the war

Operations officially ceased on 15 August 1945 when Japan surrendered, although A Company beat off a
banzai charge Banzai charge or Banzai attack () is the term that was used by the Allied forces of World War II to refer to Japanese human wave attacks and swarming staged by infantry units. This term came from the Japanese battle cry , and was shortened to ...
during the morning that killed one soldier and wounded two others, and another 18 hours later in which another soldier died and seven were wounded. On 9 October, the 32nd Division left Luzon for Japan and occupation duty in a convoy of 31 ships. They arrived on 14 October at
Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is the second-largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. , the city had an estimated population of 230,873 in 102,670 households, and a population density of 540 per ...
, Japan on the island of
Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...
. The 32nd stayed in Kyushu until the division was inactivated on 28 February 1946. Among the first to enter combat, and the very last to cease fighting, the 32nd was in combat for 654 days, more than any other United States Army unit during World War II, and eleven of its men were awarded the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
. It was estimated the division had killed over 32,000 Japanese soldiers during the war.


Many firsts

The 32nd Division was the first division to deploy as an entire unit from the United States and the first division to be shipped as a single convoy overseas. Once in the
South West Pacific Area South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the ...
, portions of the 128th Infantry were the first to be airlifted into combat, from Australia to Port Moresby, New Guinea. United States forces first launched amphibious offensive operations against the Japanese during the summer and fall of 1942. These were led by the 1st Marine and the Americal divisions on
Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...
beginning on 7 August, followed by
Carlson's Raiders The Marine Raiders are special operations forces originally established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious light infantry warfare. Despite the original intent for Raiders to serve in a special opera ...
on Makin Island on 17 August. On 16 November the 32nd became the first U.S. forces to launch a ground assault against Japanese forces. They were followed by the 163rd
Regimental Combat Team A regimental combat team (RCT) is a provisional major infantry unit which has seen use by branches of the United States Armed Forces. It is formed by augmenting a regular infantry regiment with smaller combat, combat support and combat servic ...
of the 41st Infantry Division, which arrived at
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
, New Guinea on 27 December, and whose first elements flew over the
Owen Stanley Range The Owen Stanley Range is the south-eastern part of the central mountain-chain in Papua New Guinea. Its highest point is Mount Victoria at , while its most prominent peak is Mount Suckling. History Owen Stanley Range was seen in 1849 by Captai ...
to the Buna Gona front on 30 December. On the Atlantic front, the first units to engage in a ground assault were the 1st Infantry,
3rd Infantry 3rd Division may refer to: Air divisions *3d Air Division, United States * 3d Attack Wing, United States Anti-air divisions * 3rd Flak Division, Nazi Germany Armoured divisions *3rd Armoured Division (Australia) *3rd Armored Division (Fr ...
, 9th Infantry, 1st Armored and the 2nd Armored Divisions in
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
on 8 November. In another first, the four gun sections of Battery A of the 129th Field Artillery became the first howitzers flown into a war, first carried to
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
by a
B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...
bomber. Then one half of Battery A, 129th Field Artillery, a single 105 mm howitzer, was air-lifted in pieces by three
Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for tro ...
aircraft over the
Owen Stanley Range The Owen Stanley Range is the south-eastern part of the central mountain-chain in Papua New Guinea. Its highest point is Mount Victoria at , while its most prominent peak is Mount Suckling. History Owen Stanley Range was seen in 1849 by Captai ...
to Buna, becoming the first U.S. Army artillery flown into combat in World War II. At
Saidor Saidor is a village located in Saidor ward of Rai Coast Rural LLG, Madang Province, on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It is also the administrative centre of the Rai Coast District of Madang Province in Papua New Guinea. The village was the ...
, they became the first U.S. division to make a beach landing in the
New Guinea campaign The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Territory of New Guinea on 23 January and Territory of Papua on ...
. They were the first to employ General MacArthur's "by-pass strategy," leaving some Japanese units alone and attacking behind them to cut them off from their lines of supply. In the battle for Aitape, they were the first division to simultaneously supply 11 battalions in combat in one action completely by airdrop. Later on, in the
Battle of Leyte The Battle of Leyte (; ; ) in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the amphibious invasion of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American forces and Filipino guerrillas under the overall command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fou ...
, they were the first to supply four infantry battalions for two days from artillery liaison "Cub" planes. They were the first to publish an American servicemen's letterpress newspaper (the ''Stalker'') in the Southwest Pacific. Finally, elements of the 32nd Division were among the first American occupation troops to land in Japan.


Division march

Theodore Steinmetz wrote and conducted the words to a march song about the unit's origins and tenacity.


Post-war criticism

In 1949, U.S. Air Force General
George Kenney George Churchill Kenney (6 August 1889 – 9 August 1977) was a United States Army general during World War II. He is best known as the commander of the Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), a position he held between Augus ...
published ''General Kenney Reports'', a personal history of the air war he commanded from 1942 to 1945. In it he praised Australian Generals George Vasey and
George Wootten Major General Sir George Frederick Wootten, (1 May 1893 – 31 March 1970) was a senior Australian Army officer, public servant, right wing political activist and solicitor. He rose to the rank of temporary major general during the Second Wo ...
, commanders of the
7th Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season ep ...
and 9th Divisions, but he also criticized Australian Lieutenant General
Sydney Rowell Lieutenant general (Australia), Lieutenant General Sir Sydney Fairbairn Rowell, (15 December 1894 – 12 April 1975) was an Australian soldier who served as Chief of Army (Australia), Chief of the General Staff from 17 April 1950 to 15 Decembe ...
, who was dismissed by General
Edmund Herring Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Francis Herring, (2 September 1892 – 5 January 1982) was a senior Australian Army officer during the Second World War, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Cou ...
for insubordination. He said Rowell had a "defeatist attitude." Of the U.S. 32nd Division, he said the troops "were green and the officers were not controlling them." He quoted General Herring and Major General Sir
Thomas Blamey Field marshal (Australia), Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey (24 January 1884 – 27 May 1951) was an Australian general of the First World War, First and Second World Wars. He is the only Australian to attain the rank of field marshal. Bl ...
as critical of the 32nd's efforts. Kenney said the 32nd sat in the jungle for 10 days "doing nothing but worrying about the rain and the strange noises at night." In a letter to General
Herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...
in 1959, General Eichelberger responded to criticism about Herring's dismissal of General Rowell and his dismissal of General Harding:


Decorations and citations

At the conclusion of the Buna Campaign in April 1943, the division was sent to Australia for recuperation, replacement, and re-training. On 6 May 1943, the 32nd Division was awarded the
Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed e ...
, a streamer embroidered ''Papua'', for "outstanding performance of duty in action during the period 23 July 1942 to 23 January 1943." The citation read: It was also recognized by the Philippine government for its efforts in the battles for Leyte and Luzon with the
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation The Philippine Presidential Unit citation BadgeThe AFP Adjutant General, ''Awards and Decorations Handbook'', 1997, OTAG, p. 65. is a unit decoration of the Republic of the Philippines. It has been awarded to certain units of the United States ...
, the streamer embroidered, "17 OCTOBER 1944 TO 4 JULY 1945".


Recent history

The division was recreated within the Army National Guard after the end of the Second World War in 1946. In 1954, it comprised the 127th, 128th, and
426th Infantry Regiment 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...
s, 120th, 121st, 126th, and 129th Field Artillery Battalions, 132nd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, 132nd Tank Battalion, and other units, including the 724th Engineer Battalion. On 6 September 1961, with the heightening of the tensions due to the Berlin Crisis, the 32nd Infantry Division was alerted to an impending call-up. The commanding general, Major General
Herbert A. Smith Herbert may refer to: People * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, Northern Territor ...
was notified a few days later that the division was to report on 15 October 1961 to
Fort Lewis Fort Lewis may refer to: * Fort Lewis (Colorado), a former United States Army post (1878–1891) in the U.S. State of Colorado ** Fort Lewis College, a college in the Durango, Colorado, United States ** Fort Lewis Skyhawks, athletic teams of Fort L ...
, Washington, for active duty. This was exactly 21 years after their activation date for World War II, at which time then Lt. Col. Herbert A. Smith had been commander of the 2nd Battalion, 128th Infantry. The unit served until August 1962 at Fort Lewis, Washington, and was assigned to the Strategic Army Command. The division began training as replacements for the 4th Infantry and the 2nd Armored Divisions at Fort Lewis, Washington, and
Fort Hood Fort Cavazos is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. The post is currently named after Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, a native Texan and the US Army’s first Hispanic four-star general. The post is located halfway between Austi ...
, Texas, in case they were deployed overseas as reinforcements for the Seventh Army in Germany. They returned to Wisconsin without being deployed overseas. The 32nd Division (as were all U.S. infantry divisions at the time) was organized in a Pentomic division, composed of five line (rifle) companies, a combat support company, and a headquarters company. From 1940 until 1959, divisions had contained three regiments. This divisional structure was found unwieldy and was eliminated in 1963.


Reorganized as brigade combat team

In 1967, the 32nd Division—by then made up entirely of Wisconsin units—was inactivated and reorganized as the non-divisional 32nd Separate Infantry Brigade. In 1971, the brigade was converted to
mechanized infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with Armoured personnel carrier, armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also armoured corps). As defined by the United States Army, me ...
. In 1997, the 32nd reorganized from a separate to a divisional brigade, reducing in the process the staff of its headquarters from 300 down to 85. After it was converted back to light infantry, Army officials designated the 32nd an "enhanced" brigade, eligible for a higher level of funding and other resources than most National Guard brigades receive. Changing the brigade's shape to fit the profile of a light brigade also meant significant benefits for the unit and for the state, including more than US$6 million a year in additional federal funds to operate units and provide training and logistics support. This also meant an increase in the number of physical assets, such as trucks and scoop loaders, which are available to the state in an emergency. Major changes in the structure of the 32nd Infantry Brigade included: * One new infantry battalion—the 2nd Battalion, 128th Infantry—was formed to fill the brigade's three-battalion infantry complement. * The 173rd Engineer Battalion and the 1st Battalion, 632nd Armor, were inactivated. Similar or related missions were assigned to new, smaller units—the 32nd Engineer Company and Troop E, 105th Cavalry, a light reconnaissance unit. * The 1st Battalion, 120th Field Artillery converted from the 155 mm self-propelled howitzer to the more easily transported 105 mm towed howitzer. * The brigade added an intelligence unit, the 232nd Military Intelligence Company. * New detachments were formed in the 132nd Support Battalion to provide transportation support to the brigade's three infantry battalions. New equipment that replaced
M48 Patton The M48 Patton is an American first-generation main battle tank (MBT) introduced in February 1952, being designated as the 90mm Gun M48, armored, full-tracked, combat vehicle of the medium-gun tank class. It was designed as a replacement for ...
Tanks, M75 and M59 Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs), the M14 rifle and the
M67 recoilless rifle The M67 recoilless rifle is a 90 mm (3.55 inch) anti-tank recoilless rifle made in the United States and later in South Korea. It could also be employed in an anti-personnel role with the use of the M590 antipersonnel round. It was design ...
were M60 Series Tanks, M113 Series APCs, the
M16 rifle The M16 (officially Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of assault rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States Armed Forces, United States military. The original M16 was a 5.56×45mm NATO, 5.56×45mm automatic ...
and the
M47 Dragon The M47 Dragon, known as the FGM-77 during development, is an American Shoulder-launched missile weapon, shoulder-fired, man-portable anti-tank guided missile system. It was phased out of U.S. military service in 2001, in favor of the newer FGM-1 ...
. The 32nd Brigade headquarters moved from
Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...
to Camp Douglas and Wausau, locations more central to the brigade's statewide units. The changing mission of the 32nd Separate Infantry Brigade (Mech.) from mechanized to light infantry also brought many changes for the Maneuver Area Training Equipment Site (MATES) at Fort McCoy. The 32nd is part of the
Wisconsin Army National Guard The Wisconsin Army National Guard has dual state and federal roles, and is jointly funded and maintained by both governments. Its federal mission is to provide trained units to the United States Army in time of war or national emergency. Its sta ...
. MATES is owned and operated by the State of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Army Guard so it is tasked to support the 32nd's equipment needs. MATES was required to bring 32nd equipment not necessary for light infantry, such as M1 tanks and M113 APCs up to Army standards so they can be re-distributed to other units. In February 2009, the 32nd Brigade deployed 3,200 members on a fourteen-month deployment to Iraq, its largest deployment since World War II.


Legacy

Several people who served in the division gained notability during and after their time in the division. In World War I, PFC
Joseph William Guyton Joseph William Guyton (June 10, 1889 – May 24, 1918) was the first American soldier killed on German-held soil during World War I. Private (rank), Private Guyton was from the small town of Evart, Michigan. Life Guyton was born in Evart Townsh ...
(1889–1918), became the first American killed on German-held territory, earning him the French
Croix de guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...
. During World War II, notable members of the division included Captain
Herman Bottcher Herman John Bottcher (born Hermann Johann Friedrich Bottcher; July 13, 1909 – December 31, 1944) was an American soldier born in Germany, who was awarded the rank of captain in two different armies, the International Brigade during the S ...
, recipient of two Distinguished Service Cross Medals, Captain William "Bill" Walter Kouts, and Private
John Rawls John Bordley Rawls (; February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American moral philosophy, moral, legal philosophy, legal and Political philosophy, political philosopher in the Modern liberalism in the United States, modern liberal tradit ...
, recipient of a
Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...
who later became a political philosopher. Additionally, eleven men were awarded the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
while serving with the division, all for action during World War II. They include PFC
Thomas E. Atkins Thomas E. Atkins (February 5, 1921 – September 15, 1999) was a Private in the United States Army who received the Medal of Honor for actions in World War II during a skirmish on 10 March 1945 in the Battle of Luzon. He joined the Army from his ...
, Private
Donald R. Lobaugh Donald Ronald Lobaugh (February 7, 1925 – July 22, 1944) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II. Biography Lobaugh joined the Ar ...
, PFC David M. Gonzales,
Staff Sergeant Staff sergeant is a Military rank, rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administr ...
Ysmael R. Villegas Staff Sergeant Ysmael Reyes Villegas (March 21, 1924 – March 20, 1945), was a United States Army soldier who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military decoration, for heroism during World War II at the B ...
, PFC Dirk J. Vlug, Staff Sergeant
Gerald L. Endl Gerald Leon Endl (August 20, 1915 – July 11, 1944) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II. Biography Born and raised in Fort ...
, Sergeant
Kenneth E. Gruennert Kenneth E. Gruennert (November 19, 1922 – December 24, 1942) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II. Biography Born in Helen ...
,
First Sergeant First sergeant is typically a senior non-commissioned officer rank, used in many countries. Singapore First sergeant is a Specialist (Singapore), specialist in the Singapore Armed Forces. First sergeants are the most senior of the junior spe ...
Elmer J. Burr Elmer J. Burr (May 11, 1908 – December 25, 1942) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II. Biography Burr was born on May 11, ...
, Sergeant Leroy Johnson, PFC William A. McWhorter, and PFC
William R. Shockley William Ralph Shockley (December 4, 1918 – March 31, 1945) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II. Biography He was born December ...
. For its efforts in both World Wars, the division has been honored and memorialized by communities throughout the United States and Philippines for its actions. Some of these memorials include: * The 32nd Division March song, written by Theodore Steinmetz, is still played by marching bands to this day. *
Wisconsin Highway 32 State Trunk Highway 32 (often called Highway 32, STH-32 or WIS 32) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin that runs north–south in the eastern part of the state. It runs from the Illinois border (at Illinois Route 137) north to the ...
(WIS 32), as well as a portion of former
U.S. Route 12 in Michigan US Highway 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Michigan. In Michigan, it runs for between New Buffalo, Michigan, New Buffalo and Detroit as a state trunkline h ...
(now Red Arrow Highway), are named in honor of the 32nd Infantry Division, and all WIS 32 markers carry the Red Arrow insignia. A memorial plaque describing the division is located at southern end of WIS 32 on Sheridan Road in Kenosha County, Wisconsin. Ceremonies were held along the route and included veterans of the Grand Rapids Guard, which had been part of the Thirty-second Division during both world wars. * Lowell High School in Lowell, Michigan, adopted the nickname ''Red Arrows'' in honor of the 32nd Infantry Division shortly after their return. * A memorial to the division was built in San Nicolas, Pangasinan, Philippines. It is inscribed, "Erected by the officers and men of the 32d Infantry Division United States Army in memory of their gallant comrades who were killed along the Villa Verde Trail 30 January 1945 – 28 May 1945". * The Red Arrow Elementary School in Hartford, Michigan, is named for the division * The Red Arrow High School in San Nicolas, Pangasinan, Philippines was named in honor of the division *
Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
built the Red Arrow Park dedicated to the men of the 32nd Red Arrow Division who came from Wisconsin following World War I. When
Interstate 43 Interstate 43 (I-43) is a Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Wisconsin, connecting I-39/I-90 in Beloit with Milwaukee and I-41, U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) and US 141 in Green Bay. State Trunk Highw ...
was built over the site, the park was relocated to a site just north of
Milwaukee City Hall The Milwaukee City Hall is a skyscraper and town hall located in Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was finished in 1895, and was Milwaukee's tallest building until completion of the U.S. Bank Center (Milwaukee), First Wisconsin ...
at E. State Street and N. Water Street. On 11 November 1984, the city dedicated a red granite monument at the park. At its base is inscribed "''Les Terribles''". * Red Arrow Park in
Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Wisconsin, fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 99,986 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. S ...
, is dedicated to the division. * Red Arrow Park in
Manitowoc, Wisconsin Manitowoc ( ) is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2020 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,626. History Purporte ...
, is dedicated to the division. * Red Arrow Park in
Marinette, Wisconsin Marinette is a city in and the county seat of Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the south bank of the Menominee River, at its mouth at Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay, part of Lake Michigan; to the north is Stephe ...
, is dedicated to the division. * A memorial to the division was built in
Arcadia, Wisconsin Arcadia is a city in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Trempealeau River. The population was 3,737 at the 2020 census. Arcadia is a Latino-majority city and the largest city in Trempealeau county. History Arcadia was fo ...
. It bears the inscription: * Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #1527 "The Red Arrow Post" in
Portage, Michigan Portage is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States. The population was 48,891 at the 2020 census. It is the smaller of the two main cities included in the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of ...
is named in their honor. * Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #5003 "Cockle-Lemanski Post" in
Bronson, Michigan Bronson is a city in Branch County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,307 at the 2020 census. Incorporated as a city in 1934, Bronson is mostly surrounded by Bronson Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Histo ...
, is named in part after Benedict P. Lemanski, a private first class in the 32nd Infantry Division who was killed in action on 28 December 1942.


Notable former members

* Ray M. Atcherson, served as a sergeant in the 119th Machine Gun Battalion in World War I. After the war, served as a Wisconsin state legislator. * Warren E. Bow, served as a captain in the 119th Field Artillery in World War I. After the war, he became president of
Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...
. *
Byron Darnton Byron Darnton (November 8, 1897 – October 18, 1942) was an American reporter and war correspondent for ''The New York Times'' in the Pacific theater during World War II. He was killed in 1942 by a bomb dropped from an American B-25 Mitche ...
, served with the 32nd Division in World War I. Later served as a war correspondent for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' in World War II and died in the Pacific *
Frank H. Fowler Frank H. Fowler (April 15, 1861May 4, 1944) was an American educator and Republican politician from La Crosse, Wisconsin. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing La Crosse during the 1921–1922 session. Bi ...
, lieutenant colonel, served on the staff of General Haan in World War I. After the war, served as a Wisconsin state legislator. * Verle Tiefenthaler, served at Fort Lewis during the Berlin Crisis. Later became a
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
pitcher.


References


Citations


Bibliography

* *


Recommended readings

*
The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States
'' U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950 reproduced at the
United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Arm ...
. * * Van Ells, Mark D. (2024)
Red Arrow across the Pacific: The Thirty-Second Infantry Division during World War II
'. Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press. ISBN 978-1-9766-0033-3.


External links







U.S. 2½ Ton 6x6 Trucks of World War II


The 32nd Division in the First World War


Personal story of Donald C. Boyd

Rutgers Oral History Archives, New Brunswick History Department


Grand Valley State University Veteran's Oral History Project—126th Infantry Regiment

Camp Cable monument

Project PRIAM – WWII 32nd Infantry Division MIAs

Red Arrow History
Video produced by
Wisconsin Public Television PBS Wisconsin (formerly Wisconsin Public Television or WPT) is a network of non-commercial educational television stations operated primarily by the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It compri ...

History of the 107th Combat Engineers
{{DEFAULTSORT:032 Divisions of the United States Army National Guard United States Army divisions of World War I United States Army divisions during World War II
Infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
Military units and formations in Michigan Infantry divisions of the United States Army in World War II Military units and formations in Wisconsin Military units and formations established in 1917 Military units and formations disestablished in 1967