1st Infantry Division (United States)

History

The 1st Infantry Division (1ID) is a combined arms division of the United States Army, and is the oldest continuously serving division in the Regular Army. It has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917 during World War I. It was officially nicknamed "The Big Red One" (abbreviated "BRO") after its shoulder patch and is also nicknamed "The Fighting First". The division has also received troop monikers of "The Big Dead One" and "The Bloody First" as puns on the respective officially sanctioned nicknames. It is currently based at Fort Riley, Kansas.

The 1st Infantry Division was first deployed to fight in France in World War I, fought extensively in Africa, Italy, France, and Germany during World War II, and participated extensively during United States' campaigns in the Vietnam War. The 1st Infantry was stationed in what became West Germany from 1945 to 1955, and its units rotated to West Germany throughout the remainder of the Cold War. It subsequently deployed to fight in the Gulf War, the Iraq War, and the War in Afghanistan. 37 members of the "Big Red One" have been awarded the Medal of Honor, making the 1st Infantry one of the U.S. Army's most honored divisions.

Text from Wikipedia: 1st Infantry Division (United States), CC BY-SA 4.0, lightly trimmed.

Wars and campaigns

From Wikidata (CC0).

Key dates

1. 1917
   The first units sailed from New York City and Hoboken, New Jersey, on 14 June 1917.
2. 1918
   With the 15th (Scottish) Division during Aisne-Marne Operation 24 July 1918 in Saizerais (Villers-en-Haye) Sector 24–28 August 1918;with 42nd Division in Meuse-Argonne Operation 13–31 October 1918;with 2nd Division in Meuse-Argonne Operation 1–4 November 1918.
3. 1939
   Shortly after the German invasion of Poland, beginning World War II in Europe, the 1st Infantry Division, under Major General Walter Short, was moved to Fort Benning, Georgia, on 19 November 1939 where it supported the U.S. Army Infantry School as part of American mobilization preparations.
4. 1943
   Company K, 18th Infantry Regiment, for action in combat on 23 March 1943 (War Department General Order No. 60, 1944)
5. 1943
   Cannon Company, 16th Infantry Regiment, for action in combat from 11 to 13 July 1943 (War Department General Order No. 60, 1944)
6. 1944
   Companies G and L, 16th Infantry Regiment, for action in combat from 15 to 17 October 1944 (War Department General Order No. 14, 1945)
7. 1955
   In 1955, the division colors left Germany and were relocated to Fort Riley, Kansas.
8. 1991
   The Division Forward was inactivated on 15 August 1991 and the Big Red One became a two-brigade division with an assigned National Guard "roundout" brigade.
9. 2009
   Died on 4 November 2009. 2nd Battalion 32nd Field Artillery.

Dates and events quoted from the same Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Records that place someone with this unit

A unit history doesn't name everyone who served. These records do:

• Morning reports and unit rosters: access (National Personnel Records Center)
• Search Army morning reports, 1912–1946 (National Archives Catalog)
• Unit and organizational records held in St. Louis

More history

• U.S. Army Center of Military History
• National Park Service
• Wikipedia: 1st Infantry Division (United States)