005 5th Infantry Division

Nickname: Red Diamond ……. Shoulder Patch: A red diamond ……. Slogan: “It Shall Be Done.” (Regiment slogans: 2nd “Nolo Me Tangere (Don’t Touch Me)”; 10th “Courage and Fidelity”: 11th “Semper Fidelia.”) ……. Source: Regular Army units ……. History: Organized Camp Logan, Tex., Dec. 1, 1917. Overseas May, 1918. Actions: Vosges Mountains, St. Mihiel, and the Meuse ……. Training: , Reactivated: Oct., 1939, Fort Custer home station. First element, 10th Regiment (reinforced) to Iceland, Sept., 1941. Remainder of the Fifth to La. for maneuvers with Second Army. Division reunited in North Iceland for field training. Overseas departure: March, 1942 ……. Commanding Generals: Brig. Gen. Campbell B. Hodges, Oct., 1939 to Sept., 1940; Maj. Gen Joseph M. Cummins, Sept., 1940 to July, 1941; Maj. Gen. Charles M. Bonestell, July, 1941 to Aug., 1941; Maj. Gen. Curtland Parker, Aug., 1941 to June, 1943; Maj. Gen. Stafford L. Irwin, June, 1943 to Apr., 1945; Maj. Gen. Albert E. Brown. Apr., 1945. to present. Component Units (As of March, 1942): 2nd. 10th and 11th Inf. Regiments; 19th, 46th, 50th (L), and 21st (M) FA Battalions. Higher command: First Army (France invasion) ……. Third Army Awards: Distinguished Unit Citation to 3rd Bn,, 2nd Inf., for action 6-9 June, 1944 ……. Combat Highlights: Early in July, 1944, the 5th Inf. Div. launched its first attack on French soil. This action was in the vicinity of Viederville. Continuing a successful attack, the Division rolled on East to St. Lo. In Aug., 1944, smashing drives carried them past Angiers and in September the offensive went beyond Chartres. In Oct., 1944, the Division was transferred from the First to the Third Army. Men of the Fifth were soon bearing down on the Moselle river and by early November, were in position for frontal assault on Metz. Metz fell Nov. 22, 1944. Metz climaxed a 700-mile drive by the Fifth across France, during which crossings were forced on the Main, Seine, Yonne, Marne, Aisne, Meuse and Moselle rivers. Prisoners captured: 7800. In the desperate Nazi breakthrough, Dec., 1944, the Fifth was one of the units selected by General Patton to attack the flank of the Bulge. In Jan., 1945, the Division was fighting around Prieux, France, and during the next two months in and about Eischen and Wolfendange, Luxembourg. Next came fighting in Czechoslovakia, where by the end of the war, the Fifth had reached Winterberg.