38th Infantry Division (United States)
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The 38th Infantry Division is an Army National Guard division in the United States Army headquartered at Stout Field in Indianapolis, Indiana and presently undergoing transformation. As a division, it saw service in both World War I and World War II. Company D (Ranger), 151st Infantry was one of a small number of National Guard units mobilized for service in the Republic of Vietnam and was one of the most highly decorated units to serve in that conflict. Since September 11, 2001, the 38th Infantry Division has provided headquarters and forces for a variety of operational rotations including Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq), Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), Operation Joint Forge (Bosnia), Operation Joint Guardian (Kosovo), Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa (Djibouti), Multi-National Forces and Observers Mission (Egypt), United States Air Forces Europe (USAFE) Force Protection (England, Germany, Italy, Belgium), and Operation Noble Eagle (Contintental United States) Rotations I through IV. In 2005, the Division Headquarters mobilized in the support of Hurricane Katrina relief operations and exercised command and control of all National Guard forces in the State of Mississippi. In 1996, over 7,000 soldiers from the 38th Infantry Division (from Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan) supported the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.
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[edit] World War I
- Activated: August 1917 (National Guard Division from Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia).
- Overseas: October 1918. (The Division was overseas approximately 6 months, but was skeletonized and its personnel went to other units.)
- Commanders: Maj. Gen. William H. Sage (August 25, 1917), Brig. Gen. Edward M. Lewis (September 19, 1917), Brig. Gen. H. H. Whitney (November 8, 1917), Maj. Gen. William H. Sage (December 12, 1917), Brig. Gen. William Sage (March 15, 1918), Brig. Gen. William V. Judson (April 15, 1918), Brig. Gen. Augustine McIntyre (July 12, 1918), Brig. Gen. F. M. Caldwell (July 18, 1918), Maj. Gen. Robert L. Howze (August 30, 1918), Brig. Gen. F. M. Caldwell (October 18, 1918), Maj. Gen. Robert L. Howze (October 27, 1918).
- Inactivated: June 1919.
[edit] World War II
- Activated: 17 January 1941 (National Guard Division from Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia).
- Overseas: 3 January 1944.
- Campaigns: New Guinea, Southern Philippines, Luzon.
- Distinguished Unit Citations: 1.
- Awards: MH-1 ; DSC-6; DSM-1 ; SS-225; LM9; SM-25 ; BSM-1,283 ; AM66.
- Commanders: Maj. Gen. Robert H. Tyndall (January-April 1941), Maj. Gen. Daniel I. Sultan (April 1941-April 1942), Maj. Gen. Henry L. L. Jones (April 1942-February 1945), Maj. Gen. William C. Chase (February-July 1945), Maj. Gen. Frederick A. Irving (August 1945 to inactivation).
- Returned to U. S.: 30 October 1945.
- Inactivated: 10 November 1945.
[edit] Combat Chronicle
The 38th Infantry Division arrived in Hawaii on 17 January 1944. It received further training and the duty of the defense of Oahu. Elements trained in the Oro Bay area, New Guinea, from July to November; then moved to Leyte in December. Enemy paratroops attempted to capture the Buri, Bayug, and San Pablo strips on 6 December. The 149th Infantry Regiment destroyed organized resistance, 11 December, and defended the strips until relieved, 4 January 1945. The Division landed in the San Narciso area in Southern Zambales Province, Luzon, 29 January 1945, without opposition. The San Marcelino airstrip was secured on the same day and the port facilities at Olongapo were captured on the 30th as well as Grande Island in Subic Bay after an amphibious landing. Driving west of Olongapo the 38th destroyed an intricate maze of enemy fortifications in Zig-Zag Pass. While elements landed at Mariveles on the southern tip of the peninsula, 15 February, other units pushed down the east coast road to Pilar and across the neck of land to Bagac along the route of the March of Death. The Bataan Peninsula was secured on 21 February, although mopping-up activities remained.
Elements moved to Corregidor, 24 February, to clear the enemy from the Rock. Units assaulted and captured Caballo Island, 27 March, Fort Drum on El Fraile Island, 13 April, and Carabao Island, 16 April. The 38th engaged enemy forces in the mountainous terrain between Fort Stotsenburg and Mount Pinatubo, 10 March. Elements pushed north from San Felipe to Palauig Bay and east from Botolan along the Capas Trail cutting the enemy's withdrawal route. The Division moved to the area east of Manila, 1 May, and attacked enemy forces behind the Shimbu Line. By 30 June effective enemy opposition had been broken. The 38th continued mopping up enemy remnants in the Marikina area of eastern Luzon until VJ Day.
[edit] Transformation
The division is currently undergoing transformation, and in its end state will have the following brigades assigned in a Training and Readiness Oversight (TRO) relationship with the following associated units assigned by the Nationa Guard Bureau (NGB):
- 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, organized with units in Ohio (HQs) and Michigan
- 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, organized with all units based in Indiana
- 149th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, organized with units based in Kentucky (HQs) and Alabama
- 278th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (Heavy), organized with all units based in Tennessee
- 38th Combat Aviation Brigade, organized with units based in Indiana (HQs), Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, and Colorado
- 38th Sustainment Brigade, organized with units based in Indiana (HQs)
- 219th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (BfSB), organized wth units based in Indiana (HQs and 2-152 R&S Bn) and Georgia (MI Bn)
- 138th Fires Brigade, organized with units based in Kentucky (HQs) and Indiana
- 63rd Aviation Group, organized with units based in Kentucky (HQs)
- 108th Sustainment Brigade. organized with units based in Illinois (HQs)
[edit] General
- Nickname: Cyclone Division; Avengers of Bataan.
- Shoulder patch: A shield divided vertically into field of red and field of blue; in the center of the shield in white are the letters "C" and "Y" interlocked.
[edit] References
- The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950 reproduced at CMH.
- "Tell Me About the Army National Guard," [1]
