United States Army 32nd Infantry Division (Red Arrow)

U. S. ARMY 32ND INFANTRY DIVISION (RED ARROW) -  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 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 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.  This is today's 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

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 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.

WWI - The division 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.

WWII - 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.  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.