| 42nd Infantry Division (Light) | |
|---|---|
42nd Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia |
|
| Active | 1917 – 1919; 1943 – 1947; 1963 – |
| Country | USA |
| Branch | Army National Guard |
| Type | Division |
| Role | Infantry |
| Garrison/HQ | Glenmore Armory, Troy, New York |
| Nickname | Rainbow (Special Designation)[1] |
| Motto | Never Forget! |
| Engagements | World War I |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
MG Steven N. Wickstrom[2] |
| Notable commanders |
Maj. Gen. W. A. Mann Maj. Gen. Charles T. Menoher Maj. Gen. Charles D. Rhodes Brig. Gen. Douglas MacArthur Maj. Gen. C. A. F. Flagler Maj. Gen. George W. Read Maj. Gen. Harry J. Collins Maj. Gen. Martin H. Foery Maj. Gen. Joseph J. Taluto |
| Insignia | |
| Distinctive Unit Insignia | |
| US infantry divisions (1939–present) | |
|---|---|
| Previous | Next |
| 41st Infantry Division | 43rd Infantry Division |
The 42nd Infantry Division (42ID) ("Rainbow"[1]) is a division of the National Guard and United States Army. The 42nd Infantry Division has served in World War I, World War II and the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). The division is currently headquartered at the Glenmore Armory in Troy, New York with the New York National Guard.
The division presently includes Army National Guard units from fourteen different states, including Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin. As of 2007[update], 67 percent of 42ID soldiers are located in New York and New Jersey.[3]
Contents |
Over the history of the 42ID, it came to be known as the "Rainbow Division". Multiple explanations for this nickname have been provided. Douglas MacArthur, once Chief of Staff of the 42ID, is often credited with the name. When the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, it needed to federalize the state National Guard units to quickly build up an Army. Political concerns soon complicated recruiting, and Secretary of War Newton D. Baker authorized a Division to be organized with the best regiments from 26 different states. Major MacArthur, standing nearby, replied "Fine, that will stretch over the whole country like a rainbow."[4]
The 42nd Division adopted a shoulder patch and unit crests acknowledging the nickname. The original version of the patch symbolized a half arc rainbow and contained thin bands in multiple colors. During the latter part of World War I and post war occupation duty in Germany, Rainbow Division soldiers modified the patch to a quarter arc, removing half the symbol to memorialize the half of the division's soldiers who became casualties (killed or wounded) during the war. They also reduced the number of colors to just red, gold and blue bordered in green, in order to standardize the design and make the patch easier to reproduce.[5][6]
SHOULDER SLEEVE INSIGNIA. Description: The 4th quadrant of a rainbow with three bands of color: red, gold and blue, each 3/8 inch (.95 cm) in width, outer radius 2 inches (5.08 cm); all within a 1/8 inch (.32 cm) Army green border.
Background: The shoulder sleeve insignia was originally authorized by telegram on 29 Oct 1918. It was officially authorized for wear on 27 May 1922. It was reauthorized for wear when the division was reactivated for World War II. On 8 September 1947 it was authorized for the post-World War II 42nd Infantry Division when it was reactivated as a National Guard unit.
The division was activated in August 1917, drawing men from 26 states and the District of Columbia. It was composed of the 83rd Infantry Brigade (165th and 166th Infantry Regiments) and the 84th Infantry Brigade (167th and 168th Infantry Regiments). It went overseas in November 1917. The division took part in four major Operations: the Champagne-Marne, the Aisne-Marne, the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. In total, it saw 264 days of combat. While in France, the division was placed under French control for a time, commanded by various French generals including Henri Gouraud.
The 42nd Division was deactivated after World War I.
When formed and activated for World War II, the 42ID was a unique unit, as it was a reconstitution of the Rainbow Division from World War I. Except for the division headquarters, none of its earlier elements had reformed in the interwar period, so the Army Ground Forces filled its new units with personnel from every state. To emphasize the 42ID lineage from the 42ID of World War I, Maj. Gen. Harry J. Collins activated the unit on 14 July, the eve of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Champagne-Marne campaign in France.[7]
Following training at Camp Gruber OK and the journey to Europe, the three infantry regiments (222nd, 232nd, & 242nd) and a detachment of the 42ID Headquarters arrived in France at Marseille, 8–9 December 1944, and were formed into Task Force (TF) Linden, under the Assistant Division Commander (ADC). TF Linden was task organized to VI Corps under 7th Army. TF Linden entered combat in the vicinity of Strasbourg, relieving elements of the 36ID on 24 December 1944. Defending a 31-mile sector along the Rhine, north and south of Strasbourg, TF Linden repulsed a number of enemy counterattacks, at Hatten and other locations. On 24 and 25 January 1945, in the Bois D’Ohlungen, and the vicinity of Schweighouse-sur-Moder and Neubourg, the 222nd Infantry Regiment repulsed repeated attacks by the German 7th Parachute and 47th VG Divisions. For this action the 222nd Infantry Regiment was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation (2001). After these enemy attacks, TF Linden returned to reserve of the 7th Army and trained with the remainder of the 42ID which had arrived in the meantime.
On 14 February 1945, the 42ID as a whole entered combat, taking up defensive positions near Haguenau in the Hardt Forest. After a month of extensive patrolling and active defense, the 42ID went on the offensive. The 42ID attacked through the Hardt Forest, broke through the Siegfried Line, 15–21 March 1945, cleared Dahn and Busenberg, and mopped up in that general area, while the 3rd Army created and expanded bridgeheads across the Rhine. Moving across the Rhine, 31 March 1945, the 42ID captured Wertheim am Main, 1 April 1945, and Würzburg, 2–6 April 1945, after a fierce battle. Schweinfurt fell next after hand-to-hand engagements, 9–12 April 1945. Fürth, near Nürnberg, put up fanatical resistance, but was taken, 18–19 April 1945, by the 42ID.
On 25 April, the 42ID captured Donauwörth on the Danube, and on 29 April 1945, liberated some 30,000 inmates at Dachau, a Nazi concentration camp along with the 45th Infantry Division. The 42ID campaign ended passing through Munich, 30 April 1945, as it cut across the Austrian border located north of Salzburg.
The 42nd Division ended World War II on occupation duty in Austria but was inactivated by the end of January 1947.[8]
On 13 October 1945 the War Department published a postwar policy statement for the entire Army.[8] After the policy statement was published, the Army Staff prepared a postwar National Guard troop basis, which included twenty-four divisions, including the 42nd Infantry Division. Most soldiers considered the 42nd, initially organized with state troops in 1917, as a Guard formation. During the process New York successfully petitioned the War Department for the 42nd Infantry Division. After the state governors formally notified the National Guard Bureau that they accepted the new troop allotments, the bureau authorized reorganization of the units with 100 percent of their officers and 80 percent of their enlisted personnel. By September 1947 the 42nd Division headquarters, along with all the other new Guard divisional headquarters, had received federal recognition.
In April 1963, the 42nd Division was reorganized under the Reorganization Objective Army Division structure.[9] From 1967 to 1969, the division was briefly part of the Selected Reserve Force, designed to reinforce the active army in Vietnam. In a 1968 reorganization, the division was split between the New York Army National Guard and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.[10] In 1973-74, the division was converted back into an all-New York organization.
The 42d Infantry Division absorbed the units of the 26th Infantry Division and the 50th Armored Division of the Massachusetts and New Jersey Army National Guard, respectively, in post-Cold War restructuring. All three divisions were severely understrength, so the assets of the three were combined into one. The 50th Brigade, created from the assets of the disbanding 50th Armored Division, was initially assigned to the 42d Infantry Division as an armored brigade, but was transformed to an infantry Brigade Combat Team (BCT) in the very first years of the 21st century as part of Army Modularity.
In the 1970s the division headquarters was located at the armory at 125 West 14th Street in Manhattan. It was later relocated to the Glenmore Armory in Troy, New York and remains there to this day. As part of Total Army restructuring, the division was organized under the XVIII Airborne Corps, and was previously teamed with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) for training and readiness purposes.
Since then the onset of the 11 September attacks, the 42ID has been extensively involved in the war on terrorism, in both Homeland Security (HLS) and Expeditionary Operations. Units of the 42ID from the New York Army National Guard provided security at Ground Zero during the rescue and then recovery efforts there. 42ID units from the New Jersey Army National Guard provided security at all the major river crossings into New York City and Newark International Airport in the months following 11 September 2001.
The first major deployed effort of the 42ID was the deployment of elements of the 50th BCT/42ID to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The 2–102nd Armor Battalion deployed as ILO MP's and served with the Joint Detention Operation Group serving in the detention facility. The 2–113th Infantry Battalion deployed to Guantanamo Bay as well and provided security for the Joint Task Force at Camp Delta in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). While there elements of the 2nd Battalion 102nd Armor participated in the first military tribunals held at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility. Elements have also deployed to the Horn of Africa and Djibouti. New Jersey's 3/112 FA and 5/117 Cavalry deployed as an ILO Military Police Company with 89th MP Brigade/759 MP Battalion; served in Sadr City, and eventually attached to the First Cavalry Division. Stationed out of Camp Cuervo (Al Rustimayah) in Baghdad; platoons also conducted operations with USMC in Fallujah as well. Suffered 4 KIA's – on 4 June 2004 – SSgt Carvill, and Spc Duffy, the following day, lost Sgt Dotz and Sgt Timoteo.
The 2/108th Inf deployed to the Iraq Theater of Operation (ITO) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) in 2004. In 2004/2005 the 1/69 Inf served in the ITO (Iraq); eventually assuming responsibility for security on the Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) Road. The 42nd CAB also deployed to the ITO (Iraq) during this period.
In 2004 the Division Headquarters and division troops of the 42nd Infantry Division, the "Rainbow" Division, were mobilized for service in the ITO (Iraq). The 42ID was deployed to the Iraq Theater of Operations (ITO) as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) III, relieving the 1st Infantry Division (1ID). The 42ID Headquarters and Division Troops (DISCOM, 250th Sig Bn) were the first National Guard division to be sent to an active combat area of operations under its own command since the Korean War. The "Rainbow Division" controlled the north-central Iraq area of operations, and was the first National Guard contingent to be in charge of an entire area of operation in the Middle East. Serving as the command and control (C2) of Task Force Liberty, the 42ID took over responsibility for the area known as Multi-National Division North Central (MND-NC) including the provinces of Salah Ah Din, Diyala, At Tamamim (Kirkuk) and As Sulymaniah from the 1st Infantry Division (1ID) on 14 February 2005. The 42ID directed the operations of 1st BCT, 3ID, 3rd BCT, 3ID, the 278th RCT,3rd- 133rd FA 56th BCT (Texas Army National Guard) and the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (Idaho, Oregon, and Montana Army National Guard). Elements of the 42ID manned the checkpoint where Italian SISMI officer Nicola Calipari was shot and killed. Maj. Gen. Joseph J. Taluto, commanding general of the division during its deployment, commented the many contributions of the 42ID led “Task Force Liberty.” Soldiers conducted combat actions and raids, seized weapons caches, destroyed Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), trained Iraqi army forces, and worked on reconstruction to ensure free elections so that the people of Iraq would understand the meaning of freedom. Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (VCSA), Gen. Richard Cody, saluted members of the 42ID "on behalf of a grateful nation" at the unit's homecoming ceremony. The Division's Headquarters and Headquarters Company was awarded the Army Meritorious Unit Commendation for its service in Iraq.[11]
In 2008, two BCTs of the 42ID deployed in support of Global War on Terror (GWOT). The 50th IBCT, headquartered at Ft. Dix, NJ, deployed to the ITO (Iraq) as part of the 2008–2010 rotation of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). The 50th IBCT deployment brought the total number of NJ National Guard Soldiers sent to Iraq and Afghanistan to over 3,200. The 50th IBCT units was mobilized for one year, including stateside training and “boots on the ground” in theater. The 50th IBCT conducted a variety of important missions in Iraq. The 50th IBCT premobilization training began in 2007 and took place in New Jersey, with further OIF specific preparation being conducted at other Army installations out-of-state. Originally slated to deploy to Iraq in 2010, the 50th IBCT deployed earlier to compensate for the changes needed to comply with new Department of Defense (DoD) policies. Earlier in 2007, the DoD had reduced the amount of time units spend overseas in a combat theater, which in turn shifted mobilization schedules and required earlier deployments than anticipated. Elements of the 50th IBCT had deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) previously in 2004.
In 2008 the 27th IBCT, headquartered in Syracuse, NY, was mobilized and deployed to Afghanistan in order to train Afghan National Army (ANA) and Police forces in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Initial personnel from the 27th IBCT deployed in late 2007, with the majority of the approximately 1,700 service members deployed by mid 2008. The 27th IBCT rotation is based on US policy and commitments to Afghanistan and for the development of the Afghan National Security Forces. The need for the 27th IBCT rotation and US force levels in Afghanistan were based on security conditions, and determined based on the recommendations of military commanders in Afghanistan and in consultation with the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
During the Cold War and through the present, the 42ID and its soldiers have been regularly called upon for Homeland Security missions including disaster relief (such as Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Floyd) and emergency preparedness (such as Y2K missions).
First responders to the 11 September 2001 attacks were members of the 42ID, and led much of the military support to the relief and recovery efforts. The 42ID was part of the relief team for the duration of the effort at Ground Zero in New York City. The 42ID has also been actively engaged in missions supporting Operation Noble Eagle. Soldiers of the 42ID have been regularly deployed within the United States to conduct homeland security missions, both in the home states of the 42ID, as well as across the country. These missions have included airport security, critical infrastructure protection, border security, bridge and tunnel security, as well as rail/train station security.
In October 2005 elements of the 42nd ID/50th BDE were activated for Operation Hurricane Katrina relief in the city of New Orleans. The 2–102nd Armor and the 1–114th Infantry were called to active duty and the combined unit shipped to Louisiana to provide security for FEMA. The 50th BDE arrived at Belle Chase Naval Air Station and from there was forward deployed to the New Orleans Convention Center. From there the elements of the 42nd ID sent teams to various parts of the city on various missions of security ranging from roving patrol to security escort for the New Orleans Fire Department and various other relief agencies
42nd Infantry Division exercises Training and Readiness Oversight of the following elements, they cannot be considered organic:[12]
Note: Security and Support (S&S) battalions are used in Homeland Security (HLS) and Drug Interdiction roles. These units are currently not to be deployed outside the United States. S&S battalions are placed under a Combat Aviation Brigade for organizational purposes. The 2d Battalion, 114th Infantry is not in 50th BCT; rather, the 1st Battalion, 114th Infantry is assigned to the 50th BCT. The two battalions merged in the early 1090s.
ID – Infantry Division UEx – Unit of Employment, X NG – National Guard STB- Special Troops Battalion MI – Military Intelligence Bn – Battalion BCT – Brigade Combat Team IBCT – Infantry BCT Inf – Infantry Rgt – Regiment RSTA – Reconnaissance, Surveillance & Target Acquisition FA – Field Artillery FSB – Forward Support Battalion Mtn – Mountain CAB – Combat Aviation Brigade GSAB – General Service Aviation Battalion Atk – Attack Aslt – Assault S&S – Security & Support BDE – Brigade