29th Infantry Division

Nickname: Blue and Gray. . Shoulder Patch: Circular with monad, Korean symbol of eternal life. Half blue and half gray because some units fought for the Union and some for the South. . Slogan: “29th, Let’s Go!” . Song: “Hurrah! 29th, Let’s Go!” by WO Irving L. Smigel. .. History: Organized: Camp (now Ft.) McClellan Ala., July, 1917, from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and D. C. National Guard units. Action: Meuse-Argonne. Training Reactivated: Ft. Meade, Md., Mar. 9, 1942. Maneuvers: Carolinas. Other stations: A. P. Hill Military Reservation; Camp Blanding, Fla. Overseas: Sept., 1942 (ETO). Received intensive amphibious training. . Commanding Generals: Maj. Gen. Milton A. Reckord, Feb., 1941, to Jan., 1942; Maj. Gen. Leonard T. Gerow, Feb., 1942, to July, 1943; Maj. Gen. Charles H. Gerhardt, July, 1943, to present. . Component Units: (As of Sept., 1943): 115th (dates back to Revolutionary War), 116th and 175th Infantry Regiments; 110th, 111th, 224th (L) and 227th (M) FA Battalions. Higher Commands: (combat) First and Ninth Armies. . Awards: The following units of the division received the Distinguished Unit Citation: the 115th Inf. Regt. for action on D-Day at St. Laurent-sur-Mer France: the 116th Inf. Regt. for action on D-Day on northern coast of Normandy, France: the 1st Battalion of the 116th Inf. Regt. for action at Vire, France, on Aug. 7-8, 1944; 1st Battalion of the 175th Inf. Regt. for action on June 17-18 at St. Lo, France: the 121st Eng. Combat Battalion. for action in Normandy on D-Day. . Combat Highlights: The capture of St. Lo, bitter fighting for the fortress of Brest and capture of Meunchen-Gladbach in Germany are highlights. The Blue and Gray Division jumped off D-Day, June 6, 1944, at Omaha Beach and soon captured Isigney (Normandy). Then began the bitter fighting in the hedgerows. The division’s first major action came on July 11 at St. Lo, which fell on the 18th. Vire came next, July 28 and that city fell on the 7th of the following month. Along with the 2nd and 8th Divisions, the 29th advanced on the fortress city of Brest. When the city surrendered Sept. 18, 13,000 Nazi prisoners were taken. Ordered to advance on the Roer river, the 29th attacked northeast of Aachen, Nov. 16, 1944. The Roer was crossed; Siersdorf, Setterich, Durboslar, Bettendorf, Julich Sportplatz and Hasenfeld Gut fell. The Division next launched an attack across the Rhine, Feb., 1945, and in five days took 48 places. Sweeping across the Cologne plain, the division slugged a way into Meunchen-Gladbach. The division assisted in mopping up the Ruhr area and the Klotze Forest.

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