80th Infantry Division — “Blue Ridge Division”

Patch: White-bordered gold shield, three azure mountains on white bar. Slogan: “The 80th Only Moves Forward.” Song: “Blue Ridge Marching Song.”

WWI: Activated Sept. 1917, Camp Lee, VA. Fought at Somme (reserve), St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne.

WWII: Reactivated 15 July 1942, Camp Forrest, TN (Second Army). Trained in Tennessee and California-Arizona maneuver areas; also Camp Phillips, KS. Deployed to ETO June 1944.

Commanders: Maj. Gen. Joseph D. Patch (Jul 1942–Mar 1943); Maj. Gen. Horace L. McBride (Mar 1943–present).

Units (June 1944): 317th, 318th, 319th Infantry Regiments; 313th, 314th, 315th (M) and 905th (L) FA Battalions. Higher command: Third Army.

Awards: Distinguished Unit Citation — 2nd Bn/318th Infantry (Bastogne, 25–28 Dec 1944); 313th FA Bn (Bezaumont, France, 12–21 Sept 1944).

Combat record: Entered combat 8 Aug 1944, breaking an armored counterattack at Avranches. Took Evron, Ste. Suzanne, and Argentan, helping close the Argentan-Falaise Gap and destroy the German Seventh Army. Swept across France, reached the Moselle, established a Third Army bridgehead, then held the Seille. In November, outflanked and helped capture Metz, breached the Maginot Line (Nov. 25), and struck the Saar Basin, reaching German soil by Nov. 28. After 102 straight days of combat, rushed to counter von Rundstedt’s offensive — defended Luxembourg (22 Dec.) and helped relieve Bastogne alongside the 101st. Crossed the Rhine 28 March 1945, then swept through Kaiserslautern, Kassel, Erfurt, Weimar, Jena, Gera, and Nürnberg into Austria, where it accepted the surrender of the German Sixth Army.