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75-661: The Red Arrow Highway name applies to highways named for the 32nd Infantry Division of the United States Army that used a red arrow as its insignia. These highways include: The former route of U.S. Route 12 in Michigan as dedicated in 1952, including segments of the former highway in Berrien and Van Buren counties that still bear the name; Wisconsin Highway 32 across

150-400: A triangular organization, centered on three instead of four infantry regiments. It was left with the 126th Infantry Regiment , 127th Infantry Regiment , 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

225-517: A different rail gauge (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,

300-421: 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

375-472: 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

450-725: 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,

525-802: The 57th Field Artillery Brigade . 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 during the Philippine–American War . 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

600-853: 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 . 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

675-832: The Iron Brigade in the American Civil War , 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 of defense, and

750-521: The Iron Brigade . The nickname originated with the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry 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 ; the division would still be about 3,500 men understrength at

825-673: The Kapa Kapa Trail running parallel to the Kokoda Track . 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 troops between

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900-491: The Louisiana Maneuvers —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 , was conducted 16–27 June and included the 32nd Division as well as the 37th Division from Ohio . From 16–30 August, the maneuvers expanded to include the 34th and 38th Divisions . During September, the largest maneuvers were held with

975-651: The Second Army Maneuvers, The division was pitted against the 33rd Division of the Illinois National Guard in the field near Allegan, Michigan . 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

1050-744: The Seventh Corps of the Second Army , opposing the Fourth , Fifth , and Eighth 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

1125-739: The Southwest Pacific Area , and MacArthur expected the Americans to quickly and easily advance on and capture the Japanese forward base at Buna. The Australian Army units on New Guinea were under increasing pressure from the Japanese forces who had advanced within 32 kilometers (20 mi) of Port Moresby. Anxious to blunt the Japanese attack, and although no white man had crossed using that route since 1917, General Douglas MacArthur issued orders for United States forces to take

1200-653: 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 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 , California. Portions of

1275-464: The 107th was reorganized as an entirely Wisconsin-based unit. 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

1350-424: 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. The division

1425-484: The 32nd Division was activated in July 1917 at Camp MacArthur , Waco , Texas of National Guard 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 Regiments (63rd Infantry Brigade) and the 127th and 128th Infantry Regiments (64th Infantry Brigade), as well as three artillery regiments within

1500-534: 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 units to engage in offensive ground combat operations during 1942. The division

1575-422: 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

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1650-956: 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 and they marched 300 kilometers (190 mi) to the Rhine River. There they occupied the center sector in the Koblenz bridgehead for four months, during which they held 400 square kilometers (150 sq mi) and 63 towns. The division fought in three major offensives, engaging and defeating 23 German divisions. They took 2,153 prisoners and gained 32 kilometers (20 mi), pushing back every German counterattack. During

1725-572: The Army of Occupation in Germany, commanded by Maj. Gen. William Lassiter . The 32nd Division headquarters arrived at the port of Hoboken , New Jersey , 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. In accordance with the National Defense Act of 1920 , the 32nd Division was allotted to the states of Wisconsin and Michigan and assigned to

1800-636: 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 17 miles (27 km) front from the Aspach-le-Bas to the Swiss border. The division's units conducted combat patrols into Germany itself, gaining

1875-500: 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 and in the middle of September, after weeks of fighting, descended the southern slopes to Ioribaiwa Ridge, within 32 kilometers (20 mi) of Port Moresby. At the peak of their effort, the Japanese had 16,000 troops in

1950-785: The Kapa Kapa Trail toward Jaure , where they were to flank the Japanese on the Kokoda Trail . The total distance over the mountains to the Japanese positions was over 130 miles (210 km), 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 , rice and bully beef , 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

2025-634: 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 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

2100-483: The VI Corps in 1921. The division headquarters was reorganized and federally recognized on 24 July 1924 at Sparta, Wisconsin , under Major General Robert Bruce McCoy . After McCoy's death from illness, the headquarters was relocated on 21 June 1926 to Lansing, Michigan , under the command of Major General Guy Wilson. Wilson was succeeded by Major General Irving Fish of Milwaukee, Wisconsin , on 22 December 1938. In

2175-497: The Waco population. Even though Camp MacArthur was built to hold about 45,000 troops, no more than 28,000 ever lived inside the compound. Within the camp was an officer's training school, demobilization facility, and an infantry replacement and training camp, as well as a hospital, administrative offices, and a tent camp. Loretta Johnston, who was a nurse at Camp MacArthur, wrote of the hospital. She described it as "very pleasing to

2250-709: 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 in 1933 and at Fort Knox, Kentucky , in September 1938. The entire division assembled in one place at Camo Custer, in August 1936 for

2325-452: 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 with the object of capturing Port Moresby . 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

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2400-517: 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 division was the front line element of the Third U.S. Army . The Germans were well dug in after four years of trench warfare and had orders to hold the line at all costs. On 14 October at 5:30 am,

2475-474: The division as instructors. A trench system was built outside the camp in which the division practiced the techniques of trench warfare . 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

2550-494: 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 , about 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Alexandria , Louisiana. The unit then spent the next 16 months training in Louisiana. During the summer of 1941, the division moved to Camp Beauregard , Louisiana, as part in the Third and Fourth Army maneuvers—nicknamed

2625-544: 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 , 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 rifles meant for officers and support forces, forcing

2700-725: The division broke through the maze of barbed wire and took the line of trenches forming the Hindenburg Line and moved on to the last German stronghold at Kriemhilde Stellung, where they reached the Meuse River . 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

2775-679: The division headquarters sailed. The unit received its first casualties when the SS Tuscania (1914) was sunk by a German U-boat. Brigadier General William G. Haan led the unit when it arrived 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 (AEF), under General John J. Pershing . The unit's morale

2850-470: The division to arm them with the regular infantry's longer, heavier yet more powerful M1 Garand . They traded in their World War I-era horse-drawn artillery pieces for new 105mm M101 howitzers , 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)

2925-477: 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,

3000-518: 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. 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

3075-498: The division’s subordinate units trained over 100 company-grade officers of the Organized Reserve 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

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3150-439: 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 2,100 yards (1,900 m) 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

3225-662: The enemy. Major General James Parker had re-assumed command on 7 December 1917, and led the unit into Alsace in May 1918, attacking 19 kilometers (12 mi) in seven days. During the Battle of Marne , they captured Fismes . The only American unit in French General Charles Mangin 's famous 10th French Army , it fought between the Moroccans and the Foreign Legion , two of the best divisions in

3300-472: 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 at Hoboken , New Jersey. The infantry was moved first, arriving at Camp Merritt before

3375-523: 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 on which the Australians and Japanese were then fighting. Camp MacArthur Camp MacArthur was located on a 10,699-acre tract of land in northwest Waco, Texas. On March 7, 1919, the camp closed and the land

3450-449: The eye" and a "pleasant place for [the] sick and convalescent soldiers. The Thirty-Second (Red Arrow) division based at Camp MacArthur participated in combat in France in 1918. Between 1917 and 1919, 45,074 soldiers were stationed at Camp MacArthur, nearly doubling the town's population and boosting the area's wartime economy. After the close of the camp, some of its materials were used to build United States-Mexican border stations. After

3525-604: The first American division in World War II to be moved in a single convoy from the United States to the front lines. After the division arrived in Adelaide , 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 30 miles (48 km) from Camp Sandy Creek. Once the unit arrived in Australia, rather than begin combat training,

3600-562: 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 on 14 May 1942, having traveled 9,000 miles (14,000 km) in 23 days. They were

3675-772: 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. General Douglas MacArthur 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

3750-431: 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 maneuvers. During most years, the division's units trained within their respective states; Michigan units at Camp Grayling , and Wisconsin units at Camp McCoy , Camp Williams , or Camp Douglas . For at least one year, in 1937,

3825-576: 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. On Guadalcanal , Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake 's initial thrust to re-take

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3900-412: The same title U.S. Route 12 Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata All set index articles 32nd Infantry Division (United States) The United States 32nd Infantry Division was formed from Army National Guard units from Wisconsin and Michigan and fought primarily during World War I and World War II . With roots as

3975-475: The state of Wisconsin. List of roads or other routes with the same name [REDACTED] This article includes a list of roads, streets, highways, or other routes that are associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red_Arrow_Highway&oldid=932809253 " Categories : Lists of roads sharing

4050-412: The three artillery regiments, and the division's three machine gun battalions were awarded the Croix de guerre 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 by an Allied nation during the war. Following the war's end, the division served in

4125-477: The time of its departure for France. History during World War I 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

4200-520: 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

4275-420: 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 who had a hard time pronouncing the local name. They were charged with making an extremely difficult trek inland over

4350-446: The unit arrived in Brisbane. Less than two months after their arrival in Australia, the unit was moved in July 1942 halfway across Australia, 1,223 miles (1,968 km) northeast to Camp Tamborine, about 50 kilometers (31 mi) south of Brisbane 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 Ships . Each Australian state had

4425-479: The unit were then transported by bus to Pier 7 in San Francisco, where they boarded the U.S. Army ferry USAT  General Frank M. Coxe for Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, which was utilized by the Army as Fort McDowell . The remainder were housed at Fort Ord near Monterey , California, at the Dog Track Pavilion in Emeryville and at the Cow Palace , where the men slept uncomfortably in stadium chairs and in horse stalls. On 22 April 1942, just before

4500-603: 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

4575-446: 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 , 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 , better known as

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4650-588: 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 heard of it and referred to

4725-411: 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

4800-590: Was encompassed into the city of Waco. Shortly after the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, Waco was chosen as a site for a military training camp. 10,700 acres of cotton fields and black land farms were chosen as the site for construction. Camp MacArthur began its $ 5 million construction on July 20, 1917. The cite was named for Lt. Gen Arthur MacArthur who was a Medal of Honor recipient and fought in two American wars. In September 1917, 18,000 troops arrived at Camp MacArthur. Most of those soldiers were from Wisconsin and Michigan, so their arrival boosted

4875-421: 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 . (Vicksburg was killed in a road accident in Southport, Australia on 8 October 1942). A monument to the dog still exists at

4950-417: Was only 340 miles (550 km) from New Guinea . Unknown to the Allies, the Chief of the Imperial Japanese Naval General Staff, Osami Nagano , had proposed an invasion , but this plan was rejected in favor of a decision to occupy Midway Island with the intention of cutting Australia off from United States supply lines, eventually forcing Australia to surrender. General Willoughby continued to believe that

5025-427: Was shipped by train to Fort Dix , 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 had rapidly advanced into

5100-446: Was still engaging German troops east of the Meuse River when the Armistice was finally signed. The division suffered a total of 13,261 casualties, including 2,250 men killed in action 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,

5175-409: 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

5250-440: 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 commander General George Kenney suggested that he could transport the first regiment by air. This had never been attempted before, so Company E, 126th IR,

5325-423: 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

5400-457: Was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, making him the first soldier of the 32nd Division to die in combat during World War II. The Battle of Coral Sea in early May followed by the Allied victory at the Battle of Midway 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 with about 4,400 troops onto

5475-519: Was training at Fort Lewis, Washington . The 41st Division arrived in Melbourne on 6 April 1942. History during World War II 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

5550-492: Was transferred and replaced by Regular Army Major General Edwin F. Harding . After the Attack on Pearl Harbor , 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 , Massachusetts, for transport to Northern Ireland. The 107th Engineer Battalion left Camp Livingston on 2 January 1942, and

5625-481: Was used to test the concept. At dawn on 15 September 1942, the unit was flown 1,000 miles (1,600 km) 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

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