Description

THE 42ND “RAINBOW” DIVISION
42nd Infantry Division • World War I & World War II •

28 pages scanned. Instant PDF download.

Document Overview
Published in 1943 by Louis A. Brandenburg and Johnson Printing Company of Tulsa, Oklahoma, this commemorative booklet was issued to acquaint new members of the reactivated 42nd Infantry Division with the spirit of the original Rainbow Division of World War I and to serve as a memento of their service. It traces the Division’s formation from National Guard units of twenty-six states and the District of Columbia, its combat record on the Western Front from the Baccarat Sector to Meuse-Argonne, its casualties and famous members such as Father Duffy and Sgt. Joyce Kilmer, and its reactivation ceremonies at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma, on July 14, 1943, including the official activation memorandum and portraits of its leaders. This copy includes handwritten buddy signatures from Hqs. Co., 3rd Bn., 242nd Infantry, dated November 21, 1943. This is a digital download of a scanned copy of the original booklet.

Campaigns: Baccarat Sector (Feb. 1918), Champagne-Marne (July 1918), Aisne-Marne (July 1918), St. Mihiel (Sept. 1918), Meuse-Argonne (Oct. 1918), Army of Occupation in Germany; reactivation at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma (July 1943)

Commanders: Maj. Gen. William A. Mann, Maj. Gen. Charles T. Menoher, Col. Douglas MacArthur (Chief of Staff), Brig. Gen. Charles P. Summerall (Artillery), Brig. Gen. Harry J. Collins (1943)

Camp newspaper: Rainbow Reveille

Table of Contents
The 42nd Division, 1917–1919: Order of Battle
“It Resembles a Rainbow”: Major Engagements in World War I
The Rainbow
Maj. Gen. Charles T. Menoher
Gen. Douglas MacArthur
Gen. Charles P. Summerall
Photographs: St. Mihiel, St. Nazaire, and Brainville
The Reactivation at Camp Gruber
Rev. Francis P. Duffy
Joyce Kilmer and “Rouge Bouquet”
Photographs: Reactivation Ceremonies
Memorandum: Activation of 42nd Infantry Division, 5 July 1943
Brig. Gen. Harry J. Collins
Scenes of the Reactivation, July 14, 1943
Headquarters, Honorary Chiefs, and Machine Gun Crew
Buddy Signatures

“We are not the new Rainbow Division, we are the Rainbow Division.” — Brig. Gen. Harry J. Collins