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28th Infantry Division (United States)

The 28th Infantry Division ("Keystone")[1] is a unit of the Army National Guard and is the oldest division-sized unit in the Department of Defense.[2] Some of the units of the division can trace their lineage to Benjamin Franklin's battalion, The Pennsylvania Associators (1747–1777).[3] The division was officially established in 1879 and was later redesignated as the 28th Division in 1917, after the entry of America into the First World War. It is today part of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Maryland Army National Guard, Ohio Army National Guard, and New Jersey Army National Guard.

28th Infantry Division
The 28th Infantry Division's combat service identification badge
Active1879–1919
1921–present
CountryUnited States
Branch United States Army
TypeLight infantry
Stryker infantry
SizeDivision
Garrison/HQHarrisburg Military Post
Nickname(s)"Keystone" (special designation);[1] "Iron Division"
Motto(s)"Fire and Movement", "Roll On"
EngagementsAmerican Civil War

Spanish–American War
Philippine–American War
World War I

World War II

Persian Gulf War

Kosovo Force (2003)
Global War on Terror

Commanders
Current
commander
MG Michael E. Wegscheider
Notable
commanders
MG John F. Hartranft
MG Omar N. Bradley
MG Norman D. Cota
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia
Flag
Shoulder sleeve insignia (1918–current)

It was originally nicknamed the "Keystone Division,"[4] as it was formed from units of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard; Pennsylvania being known as the "Keystone State." During World War II, it was given the nickname the "Bloody Bucket" division by German forces due to the shape and color of its red keystone insignia.[5] Today the 28th Infantry Division goes by the name given to it by General Pershing during World War I: "Iron Division." The 28th is the first Army National Guard division to field the Stryker infantry fighting vehicle, as part of the Army's reorganization in the first decade of the 2000s.

The 28th is also one of the most decorated infantry divisions in the United States Army.[6]

Creation edit

On 12 March 1879, Governor Henry Hoyt signed General Order Number One appointing Maj. Gen. John F. Hartranft as the first Division commander of the National Guard of Pennsylvania.[7] Pennsylvania was the first state to structure its National Guard units at such a high tactical level in peacetime. From 11 to 18 August 1894,[8] Camp Samuel W. Crawford[9] was the "Division Encampment at Gettysburg".[10]

The division was mustered into federal service for the Spanish–American War in 1898.[11] Pennsylvania initially levied 10,800 men, in ten infantry regiments and four artillery batteries. The entire division was mustered into federal service between 6 May and 22 July, and while 8,900 men had assembled at Mount Gretna for the muster parade on 28 April 1898, there was no difficulty in raising 12,000 men for service in two and a half months. However, only the 4th, 10th, and 16th Regiments, three artillery batteries, and three cavalry troops were deployed, to Puerto Rico. The 10th Regiment was then sent to the Philippines, being ordered home on 30 June 1899.

The division was called up to respond to labor disturbances in 1877 and 1900.

In 1914 the division was designated the 7th Division as part of a broad reorganization of the National Guard.[12] On 29 June 1916, the 7th Division was mustered into federal service at Mount Gretna and deployed to El Paso, Texas, to serve along the Mexican border as the Regular Punitive Expedition entered Mexico.[7][13] Major General Charles M. Clement commanded, directing the First Brigade comprising the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Regiments, the Second Brigade the 10th, 16th, and 18th Regiments, and the Third Brigade the 4th, 6th, and 8th Regiments.[14] There was also a regiment of cavalry and one of artillery, plus two companies of signals troops and medical units. The camp outside El Paso gained the title 'Camp Stewart' after the Adjutant General, Thomas J. Stewart. On 19 September, one brigade was sent home. On 14 November, the 1st Artillery left for home; the 18th Infantry left for Pennsylvania on 18 December, and the remainder of the division between 2–19 January 1917. It appears that most of the division was mustered out of federal service on 23 February 1917 at Philadelphia.

The remnant left on the border included the 8th and 13th Regiments, the newly formed 3rd Artillery and Company C of the Engineers.[14] They were released from active service in March 1917. However, the call-up process for World War I was underway as these units left the border. The 13th Regiment began its return home from Texas on 21 March 1917, but en route were told that their mustering-out orders had been rescinded.

World War I edit

Federalization edit

The division moved to Camp Hancock, Georgia, in April 1917, the same month of the American entry into World War I, and was there when the entire division was federalized on 5 August 1917. From May to 11 October 1917, the division was reorganized into the two-brigade, four-regiment scheme, also known as a square division, and thus became the 28th Division.

The Turner Publishing account says that:[15]

The situation for the division at Camp Hancock was dismal. The men arrived there in summer uniforms, which were not replaced by winter ones until the winter was well along. Adequate blankets were not available until January. Training equipment was woeful. There was but one bayonet for each three men; machine guns made of wood; and there was but one 37-mm gun for the whole division.

 
Doughboys of Company K, 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Division, passing through a town captured by their comrades, Varennes-en-Argonne, Meuse, France, September 26, 1918.

Overseas service edit

By May 1918, after several months of training, the division had arrived in Europe, and began training with the British. On 14 July, ahead of an expected German offensive, the division was moving forward, with most of it committed to the second line of defense south of the Marne River and east of Château-Thierry.[16] As the division took up defensive positions, the Germans commenced their attack, which became the Battle of Chateau-Thierry, with a fierce artillery bombardment. When the German assault collided with the main force of the 28th, the fighting became bitter hand-to-hand combat. The 28th repelled the German forces and decisively defeated their enemy. However, four isolated companies of the 109th and 110th Infantry stationed on the first defensive line suffered heavy losses. After the battle, General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force, visited the battlefield and declared that the 28th soldiers were "Men of Iron" and named the 28th ID as his "Iron Division." The 28th developed a red keystone-shaped shoulder patch, officially adopted on 27 October 1918.[7]

 
A bridge in Fismes, raised in homage to the 28th Division's operations in Champagne.
 
Corporal Bubel, of the 103rd Field Signal Battalion, 28th Division, shaking hands with a German officer on line near Dampvitoux, France, November 12, 1918.

During World War I, the division was involved in the Meuse-Argonne, Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne including the Battle of Fismes and Fismette, Oise-Aisne, and Ypres-Lys (FA) operations. During the war, it took a total of 14,139 casualties (2,165 killed and 11,974 wounded). Two individuals received the Medal of Honor: Sergeant James I. Mestrovitch, Company C, 111th Infantry; and Major Joseph H. Thompson, Headquarters, 110th Infantry.[17] Edwin Martin wrote about the history of the division during World War I can be found in his book The Twenty-Eighth Division: Pennsylvania's Guard in the World War.[18]

Order of battle[19] edit

  • Headquarters, 28th Division
  • 55th Infantry Brigade
    • 109th Infantry Regiment (1st Pennsylvania Infantry and 1,779 men from 13th Pennsylvania Infantry, less band)
    • 110th Infantry Regiment (3rd Pennsylvania Infantry, less band, and 10th Pennsylvania Infantry)
    • 108th Machine Gun Battalion (Machine Gun Troop, 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry, 142 men from Company B and parts of Headquarters Company less band, and Supply Company, 4th Pennsylvania Infantry)
  • 56th Infantry Brigade
    • 111th Infantry Regiment (56 officers and 1,864 men from 18th Pennsylvania Infantry and 1,852 officers and men from 6th Pennsylvania Infantry, less band)
    • 112th Infantry Regiment (54 officers and 1,860 men from 16th Pennsylvania Infantry, and 1,980 officers and men from 8th Pennsylvania Infantry, less band)
    • 109th Machine Gun Battalion (Machine Gun Company, Companies C and D, and parts of Sanitary Detachment and Supply Company, 4th Pennsylvania Infantry)
  • 53rd Field Artillery Brigade[20]
    • 107th Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm) (1st Pennsylvania Field Artillery and 161 men from Troops F and H, 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry)
    • 108th Field Artillery Regiment (155 mm) (2nd Pennsylvania Field Artillery and 441 men from Troops A, C, D and G, I, K, L, and M, 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry)
    • 109th Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm) (3rd Pennsylvania Field Artillery and 159 men from Troops I, K, and L, 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry)
    • 103rd Trench Mortar Battery (detachments of Troops B and M, 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry)
  • 107th Machine Gun Battalion (2nd Battalion and parts of Headquarters and Supply Companies, 4th Pennsylvania Infantry)
  • 103rd Engineer Regiment (1st Pennsylvania Engineers less 1 officer and 16 men, detachments of Headquarters Troop less band, Supply Troop, and Troops B, E, F, I, and M, 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry)
  • 103rd Field Signal Battalion (1st Battalion, Pennsylvania Signal Corps)
  • Headquarters Troop, 28th Division (Pennsylvania Division Headquarters Troop and Troop I, 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry)
  • 103rd Train Headquarters and Military Police (Pennsylvania division headquarters and military police)
    • 103rd Ammunition Train (Pennsylvania ammunition train)
    • 103rd Engineer Train (1 officer and 16 enlisted men from 1st Pennsylvania Engineers)
    • 103rd Supply Train (Pennsylvania supply train)
    • 103rd Sanitary Train (Pennsylvania sanitary train)
      • 109th, 110th, 111th, and 112th Ambulance Companies and Field Hospitals

Interwar period edit

The 28th Division headquarters arrived at the Port of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, aboard the USS Kroonland on 30 April 1919 after twelve months of overseas service and was demobilized on 17 May 1919 at Camp Dix, New Jersey. In accordance with the National Defense Act of 1920, the division was allotted to the state of Pennsylvania and assigned to the III Corps in 1921. The division headquarters was reorganized and federally recognized on 22 December 1921 at Philadelphia. The headquarters was relocated on 12 March 1933 to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The designated mobilization training center for the “Keystone” Division was Camp Bullis, Texas. An honor battalion of Pennsylvania National Guardsmen of the "Iron Division" dedicated the Pennsylvania World War Memorial in Varennes-en-Argonne, France, in 1928.[21] The division, less the 53rd Field Artillery Brigade, conducted summer camp most years at Mount Gretna, Pennsylvania, 1922–34, and at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, Pennsylvania, 1935–39. The 53rd Field Artillery Brigade conducted its training most years at Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, so that its subordinate batteries could conduct live-fire training at the ranges located there. Generally, the division staff conducted command post exercises (CPXs) and staff training concurrent with the camps. The division staff also participated in the Third Corps Area CPX 6–19 July 1930 at Camp George G. Meade, Maryland; in the First Army CPXs in July of 1931 and 1934 held at Camp Dix; and the army-level CPX at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, in August 1936. For the 1935 camp, the division participated in the Third Corps Area phase of the First Army maneuvers at Indiantown Gap. During that maneuver, the 28th Division operated as part of the provisional III Corps. The “Keystone” Division also participated in the First Army maneuvers in 1939 and 1940 held at Plattsburg and Canton, New York, respectively. In both maneuvers, the 28th Division again operated as part of the provisional III Corps. In addition to the summer training, the entire division was called up for flood relief duty in March and April 1936 when Pennsylvania rivers overflowed in one of the worst floods in state history. The division was relieved from the III Corps on 30 December 1940 and assigned to the II Corps.[22]

Commanders edit

  • Major General William G. Price, Jr. (22 December 1921–23 March 1933)
  • Major General Edward C. Shannon (23 March 1933–24 June 1939)
  • Major General Edward Martin (26 June 1939–27 January 1942)

World War II edit

Federalization edit

The division, commanded by Major General Edward Martin, was called into federal service on 17 February 1941 during World War II (although the United States was neutral at this point) at Camp Livingston, Louisiana. In February 1942, the division, now commanded by Major General James Ord, was reorganized; the brigade headquarters were disbanded, and the 111th Infantry Regiment was detached from the 28th and reorganized as a separate regimental combat team, initially used to guard important Eastern Seaboard industrial facilities under the Eastern Defense Command.

Order of battle edit

  • Headquarters, 28th Infantry Division
  • 109th Infantry Regiment
  • 110th Infantry Regiment
  • 112th Infantry Regiment
  • Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 28th Infantry Division Artillery
    • 107th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
    • 108th Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm)
    • 109th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
    • 229th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
  • 103rd Engineer Combat Battalion
  • 103rd Medical Battalion
  • 28th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
  • Headquarters, Special Troops. 28th Infantry Division
    • Headquarters Company, 28th Infantry Division
    • 728th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company
    • 28th Quartermaster Company
    • 28th Signal Company
    • Military Police Platoon
    • Band
  • 28th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment

The division trained in the Carolinas, Virginia, Louisiana, Texas, and Florida, under the command of Major General Omar Nelson Bradley.[23]

Overseas edit

The division, now under Major General Lloyd Brown, left the United States and went overseas on 8 October 1943, arriving in South Wales soon afterwards, where it began training for the invasion of Northern France. On 22 July 1944, the division landed in Normandy, seven weeks after the initial D-Day landings and was almost immediately involved in Operation Cobra.

The 28th Infantry Division pushed east towards the French capital of Paris through the Bocage, its roads littered with abandoned tanks and bloated, stinking corpses of men and animals. In little more than a month after landing at the Normandy beachhead, as part of the Allied invasion of Normandy, the men of the 28th entered Paris and were given the honor of marching down the Champs-Elysées on 29 August 1944 in the hastily arranged Liberation of Paris.

 
Men of the 28th Infantry Division march down the Champs Élysées in Paris, 29 August 1944.

After enjoying a brief respite, absorbing replacements of men and equipment, the division, now commanded by Brigadier General Norman Cota, formerly the Assistant Division Commander (ADC) of the 29th Infantry Division, headed to the German defensive Westwall.

A small night patrol of the 109th Infantry began the division's protracted struggle on the Siegfried Line on the dragon's teeth infested Westwall. The patrol crossed the Our River by bridge from Weiswampach, Luxembourg into Sevenig (Our), Germany, making it the first of the Allied armies to reach German soil.[24] The 28th suffered extremely heavy casualties that autumn in the costly and ill-conceived Battle of Hürtgen Forest (19 September to 16 December 1944); the divisional history conceded "the division accomplished little" in the battle.[25] The campaign was the longest continuous battle the U.S. Army fought in World War II. Finally, a tenuous line along the Or and Sauer Rivers was held at the end of November, only to be abruptly broken by two panzer divisions, three infantry divisions and one parachute division (including the 352nd Infantry Division and the 5th Parachute Division) in an infantry-tank attack on the "Ridge Road" just west of the Our River on 16 December.[26]

The Ardennes Offensive was launched along the entire divisional front by the 5th Panzer Army led by General der Panzertruppe Hasso von Manteuffel.[27] The 28th, which had sustained heavy casualties in the First Army drive to the Roer, fought doggedly in place using all available personnel and threw off the enemy timetable before withdrawing to Neufchâteau on 22 December for reorganization, as its units had been badly mauled.[28]

At the end of November 1944 a German "pocket" of resistance formed in the French Alsace region centered in the city of Colmar. The Colmar Pocket consisted of a strength of eight German divisions and a brigade of Panzer tanks. Combined forces of French and American armies were initially unsuccessful in closing this pocket.[29]

 
Men of the 28th Infantry Division march down a street in Bastogne, Belgium, December 1944. Some of these men lost their weapons during the German advance in this area.

General Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander on the Western Front, called the Colmar Pocket "a sore" on the 6th Army Group's front. The 6th Army Group was commanded by Lieutenant General Jacob Devers. The French First Army commander, Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, and Devers met on 11 January 1945 and agreed it was long since time to drive the Germans back out of France. Two days later, de Lattre and Devers made a request to Eisenhower for reinforcements so their armies could make an offensive on the Colmar Pocket. Eisenhower's aide, Major General Walter Bedell Smith, subsequently told Devers that the 10th Armored Division and the 28th were being placed under his command. Smith also warned Devers that, after three months of intense fighting on the Siegfried Line as well as fighting off the initial thrust of the offensive, the 28th—put back into action in a defensive position along the Meuse River from Givet to Verdun on 2 January 1945—was "capable of only limited offensive action."[30]

Battle plans were soon made and, on 19 January, the 28th went into action on the northwestern section of the pocket in the Kaysersberg Valley supporting the beleaguered 3rd Infantry Division, which had been holding there since late November 1944. Despite the bitterly cold conditions, the Allies prevailed. German intelligence knew nothing about the 10th and 28th presence in their sector until they attacked. The 28th advanced westward and pressed steadily toward the city of Colmar. In less than 10 days they reduced the pocket by half and Adolf Hitler gave the order in the early morning of 29 January for a partial retreat of his troops in the northern sector of the pocket. By 2 February, the 28th had cleared Colmar's surrounding areas and the French 5th Armored Division led the way into the town.[31] On 9 February, the final organized German troops in Alsace were pushed back across the Rhine.

The 109th Infantry Regiment received the French Croix de guerre from Charles de Gaulle.[32]

The division was on the front line for 196 days of combat. Francis J. Clark was awarded the Medal of Honor; and 29 Distinguished Service Crosses ; 1 DSM; 435 Silver Stars; 27 Legion of Merit; SM - 21; Bronze Star Medal 2,312; AM - 100 were awarded.[33] The division returned to the United States on 2 August 1945 and was inactivated there on 13 December 1945.

Casualties edit

  • Total battle casualties: 16,762[34]
  • Killed in action: 2,316[34]
  • Wounded in action: 9,609[34]
  • Missing in action: 884[34]
  • Prisoner of war: 3,953[34]

Assignments in ETO edit

  • 22 October 1943: V Corps, First Army.
  • 14 April 1944: XX Corps, Third Army
  • 24 April 1944: Third Army, but attached to First Army
  • 26 July 1944: XIX Corps
  • 30 July 1944: XIX Corps, First Army
  • 1 August 1944: XIX Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group
  • 28 August 1944: V Corps
  • 19 November 1944: VIII Corps
  • 20 December 1944: VIII Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group.
  • 5 January 1945: VIII Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to Oise Section, Communications Zone, for supply.
  • 6 January 1945: VIII Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group.
  • 8 January 1945: Third Army, 12th Army Group.
  • 9 January 1945: Fifteenth Army, 12th Army Group.
  • 16 January 1945: Fifteenth Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to Seventh Army, 6th Army Group.
  • 20 January 1945: French II Corps.
  • 28 January 1945: XXI Corps.
  • 14 February 1945: Fifteenth Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to Seventh Army, 6th Army Group.
  • 19 February 1945: 12th Army Group.
  • 21 February 1945: V Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group.
  • 16 March 1945: VIII Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group.
  • 22 March 1945: V Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group.
  • 28 March 1945: III Corps.
  • 7 April 1945: First Army, 12th Army Group.
  • 10 April 1945: Fifteenth Army, 12th Army Group.
  • 13 April 1945: XXII Corps.
  • 26 April 1945: XXIII Corps.[33]

Medal of Honor edit

Technical Sergeant Francis J. Clark, U.S. Army, Company K, 109th Infantry Regiment received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Siegfried Line Campaign on 12 September 1944.[35]

Desertion edit

Edward Donald Slovik (18 February 1920 – 31 January 1945) was a private in the 109th Infantry Regiment during World War II and the only American soldier to be executed for cowardice since the American Civil War. Although over 21,000 soldiers were given varying sentences for desertion during World War II, including 49 death sentences, Slovik's was the only death sentence carried out.[36]

Post World War II service edit

After being inactivated as part of the Army on 13 December 1945 at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, the 28th Infantry Division was reorganized on 20 November 1946 and returned to the Pennsylvania Army National Guard at Harrisburg.

The 28th was ordered into active federal service on 5 September 1950 at Harrisburg following the outbreak of the Korean War. The division re-opened the mothballed Camp Atterbury, Indiana and remained there from 13 September 1950 to 23 November 1951. It was sent to Germany to augment NATO forces there. During the Korean War, the 28th was mobilized and deployed to Europe as a part of the NATO command defending Western Europe from the threat of Soviet attack and remained in federal service until 22 May 1954.

On 1 June 1959, the division was reorganized under the Pentomic structures. It consisted from that point of 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, 103rd Armor, 28th Signal Battalion, 28th Aviation Battalion, 1 BG-109 Inf, 1 BG-110 Inf, 1 BG-111 Inf, 2 BG-111 Inf, 1 BG-112 Inf, 1st Battalion, 107th Field Artillery Regiment (1-107 FA), 1-108 FA (Honest John), 1-109 FA, 2-109 FA, 1-166 FA, 1-229 FA, other combat and combat support units, and combat service support units, for strength of 10,408, according to Divisional Strength reports of 5 June 1959.[37]

The division was not mobilized during the Vietnam War, although in 1965 it was selected as one of three divisions in the Army Selective Reserve Force. Nor was it mobilized in force for Operation Desert Storm in 1991; however, the 121st Transportation Company, one of its constituent units, served in Saudi Arabia and volunteers from the division were deployed overseas, some in the Middle East.

In 1996, after the signing of the Dayton Agreement, some units of the divisional artillery were called up to serve as peacekeeping forces in Bosnia; elements of the 28th served in Bosnia as peacekeepers for several years following this. In 2002, the 28th Division took command of the Northern Brigade Task Force (Task Force Eagle), as part of the NATO peacekeeping mission in Bosnia as part of SFOR 12. The leading combat arms units under the 28th while in Bosnia were the 109th Infantry and the 104th Cavalry. The division was the third reserve component division headquarters to take on this role in Bosnia (previously the Army National Guard's 49th and 29th Divisions had commanded Task Force Eagle).[7]

21st century edit

 
Strykers from the 56th SBCT, 28th ID arrive in Lithuania 8 June 2015 to take part in Operation Saber Strike 2015.

In 2003, the 28th Division again led KFOR, the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, as part of KFOR 5A for a 9-month rotation. The 28th was the first reserve component division headquarters to take on this role in Kosovo. Later in 2005, elements of the 28th Division would again return to Kosovo as part of KFOR's KFOR 6B rotation, the first year-long rotation by U.S. troops to the region.

During the Global War on Terror following the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the US, the Keystone Division has provided troops for Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Noble Eagle and several thousand troops for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

D Troop 2/104th CAV[38](RSTA)was activated in January 2003 for two years. The platoon-sized element deployed to Iraq in September 2003 as a UAV platoon with elements from the Maryland National Guard. These were the first National Guard Units to fly the Shadow UAV.[39]

Company A, 28th Signal Battalion deployed to Iraq in February 2004. Elements of the 103rd Armor Regiment and 1st Battalion, 107th Field Artillery were activated for Iraq in January 2004. Elements of 2nd Battalion, 103rd Armor, served as military police. The division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team deployed to Iraq for a year-long rotation in July 2005. Elements of the division would again return in 2006 and revolving deployments to Iraq seem likely in the future.[when?] The 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) was deployed in 2008 to Iraq. The Combat Aviation Brigade, 28th Infantry Division deployed to Iraq in May 2009.

Operation Enduring Freedom, Sept 2009-Nov 2010 Company C, 1/110th Inf attached to TF 2nd BCT 101st (Rakkasans) served as a platoon size force protection for PRTs in Paktika, Gardez, and Khost (FOB Chapman) with support elements in FOB Salerno. On 28 Aug 2010, the platoon under 1LT Dickey repelled a Haqanni-coordinated attack at FOB Chapman.[40][41]

Operation Iraqi Freedom edit

1st Battalion, 107th Cavalry Regiment edit

In September 2001, the 1st Battalion 107th Cavalry Regiment, was transferred from the 37th Brigade, 38th Infantry Division ("Cyclone") (Indiana Army National Guard) to the 2nd Brigade, 28th Infantry Division with its headquarters remaining in Stow, Ohio. In October 2003, B and C Companies, and elements of Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) and Company A, of the 1st Battalion, 107th Cavalry were activated at their home stations and traveled to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Fort Stewart, Georgia, for five months of mobilization training. There they were then attached to the 1st Battalion, 150th Armor (West Virginia Army National Guard), the 1st Battalion, 252nd Armor (North Carolina Army National Guard), and Troop E, 196th Cavalry (North Carolina Army National Guard) respectively, for deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom II with North Carolina's 30th Brigade Combat Team under the 1st Infantry Division. These elements of the 1st Battalion operated in Iraq from February to December 2004, serving in Kirkush, Tuz Khurmatu, Jalawla, and Baghdad. They participated in the Transition of Iraq and Iraqi Governance campaigns and returned home in late December 2004.

The battalion commander LTC Richard T. Curry and CSM Albert Whatmough along with the remaining companies continued their regular training cycle until October 2004, when the remaining companies of the 1–107th Cavalry were activated for service in Operation Iraqi Freedom III. One element of HHC 1–107th CAV was then deployed to Fort Dix, New Jersey for mobilization training and left for Kuwait in January 2005. The companies operated in Baghdad, Iraq and performed detainee operations at Camps Cropper and Victory with a high-profile mission of guarding the deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein while he stood trial. The headquarters moved to Fort McCoy, Wisconsin and arrived in Kuwait in December 2004 and deployed to Mosul, Iraq in late December. This element included LTC Curry and CSM Whatmough who both deployed with the battalion in 2004–2005 to establish Forward Operating Base (FOB) Endurance which later became known as FOB Q-West Base Complex around 19 miles (30 Kilometers) south of Mosul, Iraq. The mission of LTC Curry and his staff was to provide command & control of the base, establish the base defense operations center, provide life support functions, establish base defense security, conduct combat patrols and build the FOB from the ground up into the largest logistical hub operating in northern Iraq by the end of 2005,[citation needed] a mission that was accomplished prior to their departure.

The FOB Endurance/Q-West Base Complex HQ elements of the 1–107th CAV were attached to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and received the Army Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC) for their accomplishments. The HHC/A Convoy Security Company conducted operations throughout Iraq logging in thousands of miles with no fatalities and provided security for convoy elements. Elements of the 1st Battalion, 107th Cavalry served within the 1st Cavalry Division, 4th Infantry Division, and 3rd Infantry Division areas of operations as units of the 18th and 42nd MP Brigades. The final elements returned home from Iraq in January 2006 reuniting the battalion. Both HHC/A detachments received the U.S. Army Meritorious Unit Commendation for their service. In September 2007 the 1–107th Cavalry Regiment was transitioned, reorganized and reformed becoming the 1st Battalion, 145th Armor and transferred as a separate heavy battalion assigned to the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Ohio National Guard. Its sister unit the 2–107th Cavalry Regiment took its place in the 28th Infantry Division in 2008.

2nd Squadron, 107th Cavalry edit

Assigned to the 28th Infantry Division in September 2008, the 2nd Squadron, 107th Cavalry (Reconnaissance, Surveillance, Target Acquisition) during the years 2006–2010 deployed at different times Troops A, B, & C in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom conducting various SECFOR and convoy escort missions.

1st Battalion, 109th Field Artillery edit

In December 2003 the 1st Battalion, 109th Field Artillery Regiment was activated and received Military Police training at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Following a month of training, the soldiers of the 109th were deployed to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. The different batteries were dispersed throughout Iraq serving as MPs. The members of the 109th returned home in February 2005. C Battery saw action in Fallujah during Operation Valiant Resolve in the spring campaign. Members of B Battery also saw combat in the area surrounding Camp Anaconda and Abu Ghraib, a military prison. Another contingent provided security for Ambassador Paul Bremer and other high-ranking State Department officials at Coalition HQ.

2nd Battalion, 103rd Armor edit

In January 2004, B and C Companies of the 2nd Battalion, 103rd Armor Regiment were activated and, with attachments from several other Pennsylvania Army National Guard units, reconfigured as military police companies and trained at Ft. Dix for deployment to Iraq. They were designated as companies of the 89th MP Brigade and left for Iraq in March 2004 within days of each other. Once in Iraq, they were assigned to some of the most sensitive missions of OIF II. Three platoons of Bravo Company (1st, 3rd and Headquarters) were attached to the Iraq Survey Group; while the 2nd and 4th Platoons served in military police operations, including area patrols and traffic control points supporting 1st Marine Division out of Camp Fallujah and eventually relocated to the Green Zone/International Zone as security escorts attached to the U.S.Navy for high-ranking Interim Iraqi government officials. Charlie Company was assigned to the HVD facility at Camp Cropper, with an entire platoon assigned solely to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The units both redeployed in March 2005.

1st Battalion, 103rd Armor edit

In June 2004, the 1st Battalion, 103rd Armor was activated at Fort Bliss, Texas and deployed to Iraq in November in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Task Force was composed of units from the K Troop 104th Cavalry, A Co. 1-111 Infantry, 1-112 Infantry, 1-103rd Armor, 1-109th Infantry, 103rd Engineers, and several Soldiers from the 116th CAV (Idaho NG). This marked the first deployment of a 28th ID combat battalion to a war zone since World War II. The battalion, now designated as a Task Force (Task Force DRAGOON), was stationed at Forward Operating Base Summerall, near Bayji. Attached initially to the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, and then the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, the 800-man TF 1–103rd Armor, commanded by LTC Philip J. Logan, engaged in combat operations for 12 months before redeploying to the United States in November 2005. Thirteen soldiers from TF Dragoon were killed in action during combat operations in Salah Ad Din Province, a heavily Sunni Muslim area in the north part of the "Sunni Triangle." For its outstanding performance during combat operations, TF 1-103rd Armor was awarded the Army Meritorious Unit Citation.

 
Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers from the 28th Infantry Division (attached to I Marine Expeditionary Force) search for Iraqi Resistance members and weapons caches in the Jazeera area of Ramadi, 2 June 2006.

2nd Brigade Combat Team edit

The division's 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (2/28 BCT) was mobilized in January 2005. 2/28 BCT consisted of approximately 4,000 National Guardsmen from over 30 states and was commanded by COL John L. Gronski. Over 2,000 of the soldiers were from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Other states that contributed large units included Vermont, Utah, Michigan, Kentucky, New Jersey and Nebraska. 2/28 BCT conducted its post-mobilization training at Camp Shelby, MS. The soldiers were trained in full spectrum operations and received additional equipment.

In May 2005, 2nd Brigade soldiers trained at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, CA to prepare for their upcoming mission in Iraq due to start in July 2005.

In late June and early July 2005, 2nd Brigade soldiers began deploying to the Al Anbar Governorate and were under the command of the 2nd Marine Division through February 2006 and then were under command of 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Forward through June 2006.

The 2/28 BCT received a 'transfer of authority' for its area of operations (AO) in central Al Anbar Province in July 2005. The area of operations was very large, but 2/28 BCT focused operations along the Euphrates River Valley from Ramadi to Al Habbaniyah, about 22 miles (35 kilometers) to the east. Ramadi was the 2/28 BCT main effort for the following reasons: 1) The capital of Al Anbar province and home to the provincial governor and government center; 2) large urban area with a population of approximately 400,000 Iraqi citizens; 3) Al-Qaeda in Iraq focused on the area. The Ramadi area was known as one of the most violent and dangerous areas in Iraq.

The mission of the 2/28 BCT was to neutralize the insurgency and develop Iraqi Security Forces within the area of operations in order to create stable and secure conditions and allow for self-governance. The BCT conducted counterinsurgency operations to kill or detain insurgents, to locate weapons caches, to detect improvised explosive devices (IEDs), to engage in ongoing dialogue with community and government leaders, to recruit, train and integrate Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police, and to conduct civil affairs projects to improve sewer, water, energy, medical and school facilities.

2/28 BCT operations resulted in: 1) Millions of dollars of humanitarian assistance projects were completed; 2) Over 3,000 insurgents and terrorists were detained or killed; 3) A successful referendum election in October 2005 and a successful general election in December 2005; 4) Approximately 5,000 Iraqi soldiers trained and integrated into all operations, including transitioning area of operations to Iraqi brigades and battalions; 5) Hundreds of tons of explosives, ammunition, and weapons seized from insurgent caches; 6) over 1,000 young men of Ramadi recruited into the Iraqi Police; 7) Coalition force and Iraqi Army outposts established and areas controlled that had formerly been insurgent strongholds; 8) Over 1,100 roadside bombs discovered before they could be used against civilians, Iraqi government officials, or coalition forces and Iraqi soldiers.

2/28 BCT was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation as part of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) for the period of 28 February 2006 until the transition of authority to 1st Armored Division.

2nd Brigade – OIF Composition

56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team edit

 
56th Stryker Brigade soldiers train in Iraq.

The brigade trained at Camp Shelby, Mississippi from 19 September 2008 until November 2008 when it moved to the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) in Fort Polk, Louisiana until December 2008. The brigade continued training at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in December 2008 and moved to Camp Buehring, Kuwait in the United States Central Command area of operations in January 2009 awaiting movement into Iraq. The 56th SBCT, based out of Camp Taji, Iraq, conducted operations in the northern Baghdad Governorate from January to September 2009, before redeploying to Kuwait and returning home at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

56th Stryker Brigade – OIF Composition

Combat Aviation Brigade edit

Soldiers of the Combat Aviation Brigade, 28th Infantry Division began mobilization on 29 January 2009 for Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2009 to 2011. Over 2,000 soldiers from multiple states completed validation training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma before moving to Camp Buehring, Kuwait. Throughout the opening days of May 2009, soldiers flew into multiple Forward Operating Bases across Iraq and Iran with the majority of the brigade based out of Tallil, Al Kut, and Basrah.

Organization edit

 
Structure 28th Infantry Division (click to enlarge)

As a modular division, the 28th Infantry Division consists of a headquarters battalion, one infantry brigade combat team, one Stryker brigade combat team, the Division Artillery, one combat aviation brigade, a sustainment brigade, and an attached maneuver enhancement brigade.[7] The division headquarters exercises training and readiness oversight of the following elements:[42]

Attached units:

Division commanders edit

  • Major General Daniel B. Strickler 1947–1952
  • Major General Cortlandt V.R. Schuyler 1952–1953
  • Major General Donald Prentice Booth 1953–1954
  • Major General Charles C. Curtis (NGUS) 1952–1953
  • Major General Henry K. Fluck 1953–1967
  • Major General Nicholas P. Kafakalas 1967–1977
  • Major General Fletcher C. Booker Jr. 1977–1980
  • Major General Harold J. Lavell 1980–1985
  • Major General Vernon E. James 1985–1989
  • Major General Daniel J. O'Neill 1989–1994
  • Major General Joseph F. Perugino 1994–1996
  • Major General Walter L. Stewart Jr. 1996–1998
  • Major General Walter F. Pudlowski Jr. 1998–2003
  • Major General Wesley E. Craig 2003–2006
  • Brigadier General Jerry G. Beck Jr. 2006–2009
  • Major General Randall Marchi, 2009–2012
  • Major General John L. Gronski 2012–2016
  • Major General Andrew P. Schafer Jr. 2016–2020
  • Major General Mark D. McCormack 2020–2024
  • Major General Michael E. Wegscheider 2024–present[46]

Legacy edit

Shrine edit

 
The 28th Division Shrine at the Pennsylvania Military Museum.

A shrine dedicated to the 28th Infantry Division is located on the grounds of the Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania. This site was formerly the estate of Colonel Theodore Davis Boal. In 1916, Boal formed the Boal Troop, a State College-based, horse-mounted machine gun unit of the 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry, which was accepted as a provisional unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. In April 1917, the Boal Troop was reconfigured as an infantry unit, Company A of the 107th Machine Gun Battalion, and deployed to France for service in World War I.

In 1919, soldiers of the Boal Troop returning from the war erected a monument on the Boal Estate dedicated to their fallen comrades. In the 1920s, other units of the 28th began erecting their own memorials, and began to refer to the area as a "shrine." In 1931, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania purchased the site, and in 1969 the Pennsylvania Military Museum was opened. By 1971, memorials to most of the units of the 28th that served in World War I had been erected, and in 1997 a World War II memorial was dedicated at this site.

Members of the 28th Infantry Division have gathered for a memorial service at the shrine every third Sunday in May since 1919. U.S. Route 322, on which the shrine is located, is named the Pennsylvania 28th Division Highway.

Honors edit

Campaign participation credit edit

Conflict Streamer Year(s)
American Civil War.[47] Peninsula[47] 1862
American Civil War Antietam[47] 1862
American Civil War Fredericksburg[47] 1862
American Civil War Chancellorsville[47] 1863
American Civil War Gettysburg[47] 1863
American Civil War Virginia[47] 1863
American Civil War Wilderness[47] 1864
American Civil War Spotsylvania[47] 1864
American Civil War Cold Harbor[47] 1864
American Civil War Petersburg[47] 1864
War With Spain[48] Manila[48] 1898
Philippine–American War[48] Manila[48] 1899
Philippine–American War Malolos[48] 1899
World War I Champagne-Marne 1918
World War I Aisne-Marne 1918
World War I Oise-Aisne 1918
World War I Meuse-Argonne 1918
World War I Champagne 1918
World War I Lorraine 1918
World War II Central Pacific[47] 1943
World War II Eastern Mandates[47] 1944
World War II Normandy[49] 1944
World War II Western Pacific[47] 1944
World War II Northern France[49] 1944
World War II Rhineland[49] 1944
World War II Ardennes-Alsace[49] 1944
World War II Central Europe[49] 1945
Iraq Iraqi Governance[50] 2004–05
Iraq National Resolution[50] 2005
Iraq Iraqi Sovereignty[51] 2009

Unit decorations edit

Ribbon Award Year Notes
  Presidential Unit Citation (United States) (Army), World War II 1944 Battle of the Bulge[52]
  French Croix de guerre, World War II (with Palm) 1944 Streamer with Palm, embroidered COLMAR.[53]
  Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), World War II 1944–45 Streamer embroidered EUROPEAN THEATER[54]
  Luxembourg Croix de Guerre, World War II 1944–45 Streamer embroidered LUXEMBOURG[55]

Heraldic items edit

Shoulder sleeve insignia edit

  • Description: A red Keystone.
  • Symbolism: The keystone, symbol of the state of Pennsylvania, alludes to the nickname of the division.
  • Background: The shoulder sleeve insignia was approved on 19 October 1918.
  • TIOH Drawing. No. A-1-231

Distinctive unit insignia edit

  • Description: On a gold disk divided per pairle reversed Gules, Argent and Azure, the crest from the National Guard of the State of Pennsylvania.
  • Symbolism:
  1. Purportedly, the device was designed by Benjamin Franklin, who aroused the people of Philadelphia.
  2. The shield on the device is that of William Penn, while the colors of the wreath, red and white, denote the predominantly English origin of the early settlements.
  • Background:
  1. The distinctive unit insignia was originally authorized for the 28th Infantry Division Headquarters; Headquarters Detachment, 28th Division; Headquarters Company, 28th Division; Headquarters Special Troops, 28th Division and Headquarters Detachment Special Troops, 28th Division on 6 February 1929.
  2. It was redesignated for the non-color bearing units of the 28th Infantry Division on 10 July 1968.

28th Infantry Division Song: "Roll On!"
By SGT Emil Raab (circa 1944)

We're the 28th men and we're out to fight again for the good old U.S.A.
We're the guys who know where to strike the blow and you'll know just why after we say:
Roll On, 28th, Roll On, set the pace, Hold the banners high and raise the cry, We're off to victory!
Let the Keystone shine right down the line for all the world to see.
When we meet the foe we'll let them know we're Iron Infantry,
So Roll On, 28th, Roll On!

In popular culture edit

The 28th Infantry Division was portrayed in the 1998 HBO film When Trumpets Fade, a movie about the Battle of Hürtgen Forest.

The 1919 silent film J'accuse, a romantic drama set against the horrors of World War I, includes references to the 28th Division's role in the war.[56]

In the 1968 film The Subject Was Roses the character Timmy, played by Martin Sheen wears his 28th Division uniform throughout the picture.[57]

In the 1974 TV movie The Execution of Private Slovik starring Martin Sheen as Slovik, the 28th Division patch is seen on many characters, including on Sheen's character.

In the opening scenes of the 1978 film Dawn of the Dead, Soldiers are seen wearing red keystones on their uniforms.[58] The Soldier in the movie The Happening is wearing keystone patches on his uniform.[59]

The 28th Infantry Division is mentioned in the miniseries Band of Brothers in episode 5, "Crossroads" at approximately 43 minutes in the movie theater scene.[60]

References to the 28th Infantry Division's World War II experiences appear in the book Company Commander by Charles Brown MacDonald. They appear in Chapter 2 of the print version or at 43:17 of the audio version.[61]

Notable personnel edit

  • Art Carney served with the 28th Division, World War II

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b . United States Army Center of Military History. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 9 June 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  2. ^ "History of the 28th Division". Pennsylvania Army National Guard. 2006. from the original on 7 February 2007. Retrieved 1 March 2007.
  3. ^ Pennsylvania National Guard (published 19 September 2012), "28th Infantry Division Change-of-Command Ceremony", minute 1:10/3:53
  4. ^ "Connecticut Servicemen in the "Bloody Bucket" Division - Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project". Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project - Stories about the people, traditions, innovations, and events that make up Connecticut's rich history. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  5. ^ Weaver, Michael E. (2010). Guard Wars: The 28th Infantry Division in World War II. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-253-35521-8.
  6. ^ "28th ID Change-of-Command Ceremony". PA National Guard. 16 September 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d e . Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  8. ^ "National Guard Orders" (Google News Archive). Gettysburg Compiler. 17 July 1894. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  9. ^ "The News of a Day's Doings: Domestic" (Google News Archive). Baltimore American. 13 August 1894. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
  10. ^ "Signal Corps for Soldiers" (Google News Archives). Gettysburg Compiler. 31 July 1894. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
  11. ^ Turner Publishing, 20–21.
  12. ^ Wilson, Maneuver and Firepower
  13. ^ Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades, 28th Div
  14. ^ a b 28th Infantry (Keystone) Division: Mechanized: 125 Years of Service, Turner Publishing, 26.
  15. ^ 28th Infantry (Keystone) Division: Mechanized: 125 Years of Service, Turner Publishing, 27.
  16. ^ Turner Publishing, 29.
  17. ^ . Medal of Honor. Center of Military History, U.S. Army. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  18. ^ Martin, Edward (1923). The Twenty-Eighth Division: Pennsylvania's Guard in the World War. Norwood, MA: The Plimpton Press.
  19. ^ Composition of National Guard Divisions and Disposition of Former National Guard Units. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1918. pp. 7–13.
  20. ^ File:Activities_and_citations_of_the_53rd_field_artillery_brigade_(IA_activitiescitati00pric).pdf
  21. ^ "Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  22. ^ Clay, Steven (2014) [2010]. U.S. Army Order of Battle 1919–1941, Volume 1, The Arms: Major Commands and Infantry Organizations. Fort Leavenworth: Combat Studies Institute Press. pp. 239–240.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  23. ^ "Lone Sentry: 28th Roll On: The Story of the 28th Infantry Division -- WWII G.I. Stories Booklet". www.lonesentry.com. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  24. ^ MacDonald, Charles B. (1993) [1961]. (PDF). p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  25. ^ Richard Atkinson (2013). The Guns at Last Light. Macmillan. p. 324. ISBN 978-0-8050-6290-8.
  26. ^ Marshall, S.L.A. (2010) [1946]. Bastogne: The Story of the First Eight Days (PDF). United States Army. pp. 4 and 5.
  27. ^ Marshall S.L.A. (1988) [1946]. Bastogne: The Story of the First Eight Days. United States Army. p. 1.
  28. ^ Cole, Hugh M. (1993) [1965]. (PDF). Chapter VIII: United States Army, Center of Military History. pp. 173–211. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  29. ^ Clarke, Jeffrey J. & Smith, Robert Ross (1993). (PDF). Chapter XXIV: United States Army. pp. 433–445. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  30. ^ (PDF). Chapter XXIX. p. 534. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  31. ^ (PDF). pp. 534–560. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  32. ^ Dalessandro, Robert J. (6 February 2013). "Lineage and Honors". Organizational History Program. United States Army. pp. 109th Infantry Regiment. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  33. ^ a b . Paris, France: U.S. Army. 1945. pp. 109–119. Archived from the original on 11 March 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  34. ^ a b c d e Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths, Final Report (Statistical and Accounting Branch Office of the Adjutant General, 1 June 1953)
  35. ^ . U.S. Army. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  36. ^ . Lane Memorial Library, Hampton, NH. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  37. ^ Turner Publishing, 56.
  38. ^ Zapotoczny Jr., Walter S. (30 November 2007). "Shadow Warriors Pennsylvania ARNG Tactical UAS Training Program" (PDF). Army Aviation. pp. 36–41.
  39. ^ "MD, PA First Army Guard Units to Fly Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle". www.defense-aerospace.com. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  40. ^ eye witness B. Pastorini USACE Civ
  41. ^ "Insurgents Attack NATO Base and Camp in Afghanistan". The New York Times. Associated Press. 28 August 2010. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  42. ^ AUSA, Torchbearer Special Report, 7 November 2005; (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  43. ^ "28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade". Pennsylvania National Guard. 19 November 2019.
  44. ^ "Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Combat Aviation Brigade, 28th Infantry Division | Lineage and Honors | U.S. Army Center of Military History".
  45. ^ "55th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade". Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  46. ^ Roles, Doug (9 March 2024). "Iron Division welcomes 40th commanding general". DVIDS. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: 28th Infantry Division. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  47. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Earned only by the 56th Brigade, 28th Infantry Division Units.
  48. ^ a b c d e Earned only by the 2nd Brigade, 28th Infantry Division units.
  49. ^ a b c d e Earned by all units of the 28th Infantry Division Except 56th Infantry Brigade.
  50. ^ a b Earned by units of the 2nd Brigade only.
  51. ^ Earned by the 56th Brigade and 28th Combat Aviation Brigade only.
  52. ^ "1st Battalion - 109th Field Artillery Regiment". GlobalSecurity.Org. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  53. ^ 109th Infantry cited; DA GO 43, 1950.
  54. ^ 28th Quartermaster Company cited; Headquarters, 28th Infantry Division also entitled. GO 11, 28th Infantry Division, 1945.
  55. ^ Headquarters, 28th Infantry Division, 28th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop, 28th Quartermaster Company, 109th Infantry, and 110th Infantry cited; DA GO 43, 1950.
  56. ^ J'accuse 1919 Film Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  57. ^ The Subject Was Roses (1968) Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  58. ^ Dawn of The Dead (1978) Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  59. ^ The Happening, 2008 Retrieved 12 November 2016
  60. ^ Band of Brothers Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  61. ^ MacDonald, Charles Brown (15 June 2016). Company Commander. United States: Blackstone Audio Inc. pp. 43:17–43:21. ISBN 978-1-5047-3891-0.

Bibliography edit

  • American Battle Monuments Commission (1938–1992). American Armies and Battlefields in Europe. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. OCLC 25316157.
  • American Battle Monuments Commission (1944). 28th Division Summary of Operations in the World War. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. OCLC 1022279.
  • Blumenson, Martin (1961). Breakout and Pursuit. United States Army in World War II. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History/Government Printing Office. OCLC 78605078.
  • Clyma, Carleton B., ed. (1945). Connecticut Men, 28th—Bloody Bucket—Division, September 1945. Hartford, Connecticut.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Colbaugh, Jack, ed. (1973). The Bloody Patch: A True Story of the Daring 28th Infantry Division. New York, New York: Vantage Press. ISBN 0-533-00851-4. OCLC 1092266.
  • Cole, Hugh M. (1965). The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge. United States Army in World War II. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History/Government Printing Office. OCLC 78624377.
  • Curry, Cecil B. (1984). Follow Me and Die. The Destruction of an American Division in World War II. New York, New York: Stein & Day Publishing. ISBN 0-8128-2892-5. OCLC 9895460.
  • Ent, Uzal W. (1979). The First Century of the 28th Infantry Division. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0-8117-0620-6. OCLC 5563914.
  • Gabel, Christopher R (1991). The U.S. Army GHQ Maneuvers of 1941. United States Army Center of Military History/Government Printing Office. OCLC 23651527.
  • Gilbert, Eugene (1919). The 28th Division in France. Nancy, France: Berger-Levrault. OCLC 3147481.
  • Historical and Pictorial Review of the 28th Infantry Division in World War II … Normandy; Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes, Central Europe. Atlanta, Georgia: Albert Love Enterprises. 1946. OCLC 1823326.
  • Historical and Pictorial Review of the 28th Infantry Division in World War II … Normandy; Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes, Central Europe (Reprint ed.). Nashville, Tennessee: Battery Press. 1980. ISBN 0-89839-035-4. OCLC 7169903.
  • Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in World War; American Expeditionary Forces; Divisions. Washington, D.C.: Historical Section, Army War College / Government Printing Office. 1931–1988. OCLC 16582087.
  • Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in World War; American Expeditionary Forces; Divisions. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History/Government Printing Office. 1988.
  • McLemore, H; Kahn, E.J. Jr. (1945). Fighting Divisions. Washington, D.C.: Infantry Journal Press. OCLC 1520083.
  • McLemore, H; Kahn, E.J. Jr. (1980). Fighting Divisions. Washington, D.C.: Zenger Publishing Company.
  • The 'Keystone Division.' A Condensed History of the 28th Infantry Division. National Guardsman. June 1948. pp. 13–14.
  • Keystone News, Organization Day, 1953 (1953). Keystone Division's 36th Anniversary. Goppingen, Germany.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • MacDonald, Charles B, Charles B. (1973). The Last Offensive. United States Army in World War II. Washington, District of Columbia: United States Army Center of Military History/Government Printing Office. OCLC 614914511.
  • MacDonald, Charles B. (1963). The Siegfried Line Campaign. United States Army in World War II. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History/Government Printing Office. OCLC 1351714.
  • MacDonald, Charles B. & Mathews, Sydney T (1952). Three Battles: Arnaville, Altuzzo, and Schmidt. United States Army in World War II. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History/Government Printing Office. OCLC 1350067.
  • Martin, Edward, ed. (1924). The Twenty-Eighth Division, Pennsylvania Guard in the World War. Norwood, Mass: Washington Press. OCLC 2886171.
  • Nevitt, Thomas R (October 1948). A Guard Division Trains for M—Day. Washington, D.C.: Army Information Digest. p. 35.
  • Ohe, John K (Summer 1978). The Keystone Division in the Great War. Washington, D.C.: Prologue, The Journal of the National Archives. pp. 82–89.
  • Peterman, I.H. (28 September 1946). "They Took the Nazis' Sunday Punch". Saturday Evening Post. pp. 2 Otf.
  • Pennsylvania in the World War. An Illustrated History of the Twenty-Eighth Division. 2 vols. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: States Publications Society. 1921. OCLC 3878635.
  • Proctor, Henry George (1919). The Iron Division, National Guard of Pennsylvania in the World War; the Authentic and Comprehensive Narrative of the 28th Division in the World's Greatest War. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: John C. Winston Co. OCLC 587848.
  • A short history and illustrated roster of the 109th Field Artillery, Third Penna. Field Artillery, 53rd Artillery Brigade, 28th Division, armies of the United States. Colonel Asher Miner, commanding officer. Headquarters, Home Station, Wilkes-Barre, Penna. 1879-1917. Edward Stern Co. c. 1919. OCLC 5621531.
  • Smith, Herbert E. (1 January 1934). A. E. F. Divisional Insignia- The Twenty-Eighth Division. Washington, D.C.: Recruiting News. p. 3.
  • National Guardsman. SRF. November 1965. pp. 8–16. OCLC 1713900.
  • The States Pass in Review: Pennsylvania, 28th Infantry (Keystone Division). Washington, D.C.: National Guard. January 1991. p. 125.
  • Taylor, Benjamin G. (August 1954). Operation Schmidt. Washington, D.C.: Military Review. pp. 30–39. OCLC 173329860.
  • 28th Infantry Division—Germany, 1953. n.p. 1953.
  • 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania National Guard Summer Encampment, 1956. n.p. 1956. OCLC 23466167.
  • Twenty-Eighth Infantry Division, United States Army, Camp Atterbury, Indiana, "Roll on 28th," Pictorial Review, 1950–1951. Atlanta, Georgia: Albert Love Enterprises. 1951.
  • Twenty-Eighth Infantry Division, United States Army, Europe, Pictorial Review, 1951–1952. Atlanta, Georgia: Albert Love Enterprises. 1952.
  • 28th Roll On: The Story of the 28th Infantry Division. Paris, France: G.I. Stories. 1945.
  • Warner, Frank A. (1919). Journal of Operations, Twenty-Eighth Division A.E.F., August 5,1917 [to] November 2, 1918. n.p. OCLC 4139192.
  • Weaver, Michael E. (2010). Guard Wars: The 28th Infantry Division in World War II. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-35521-8.

Further reading edit

External links edit

  • GlobalSecurity.org 28th Infantry Division
  • 28th Infantry Division Association
  • Reconstructed Roster of the 28th INF DIV by Jim West
  • US Army, 28th Infantry Division Records, 1867-1868 at Dartmouth College Library

28th, infantry, division, united, states, 28th, infantry, division, keystone, unit, army, national, guard, oldest, division, sized, unit, department, defense, some, units, division, trace, their, lineage, benjamin, franklin, battalion, pennsylvania, associator. The 28th Infantry Division Keystone 1 is a unit of the Army National Guard and is the oldest division sized unit in the Department of Defense 2 Some of the units of the division can trace their lineage to Benjamin Franklin s battalion The Pennsylvania Associators 1747 1777 3 The division was officially established in 1879 and was later redesignated as the 28th Division in 1917 after the entry of America into the First World War It is today part of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard Maryland Army National Guard Ohio Army National Guard and New Jersey Army National Guard 28th Infantry DivisionThe 28th Infantry Division s combat service identification badgeActive1879 19191921 presentCountryUnited StatesBranch United States ArmyTypeLight infantry Stryker infantrySizeDivisionGarrison HQHarrisburg Military PostNickname s Keystone special designation 1 Iron Division Motto s Fire and Movement Roll On EngagementsAmerican Civil War Spanish American War Philippine American War World War I Champagne Marne Aisne Marne Oise Aisne Ypres Lys Meuse Argonne World War II Normandy Hurtgen Northern France Rhineland Ardennes Alsace Central Europe Persian Gulf War Operation Desert Storm Kosovo Force 2003 Global War on Terror Iraq War War in Afghanistan Operation Inherent Resolve Iraq 2015 CommandersCurrentcommanderMG Michael E WegscheiderNotablecommandersMG John F HartranftMG Omar N BradleyMG Norman D CotaInsigniaDistinctive unit insigniaFlagShoulder sleeve insignia 1918 current It was originally nicknamed the Keystone Division 4 as it was formed from units of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard Pennsylvania being known as the Keystone State During World War II it was given the nickname the Bloody Bucket division by German forces due to the shape and color of its red keystone insignia 5 Today the 28th Infantry Division goes by the name given to it by General Pershing during World War I Iron Division The 28th is the first Army National Guard division to field the Stryker infantry fighting vehicle as part of the Army s reorganization in the first decade of the 2000s The 28th is also one of the most decorated infantry divisions in the United States Army 6 Contents 1 Creation 2 World War I 2 1 Federalization 2 2 Overseas service 2 3 Order of battle 19 3 Interwar period 3 1 Commanders 4 World War II 4 1 Federalization 4 2 Order of battle 4 3 Overseas 4 4 Casualties 4 5 Assignments in ETO 4 6 Medal of Honor 4 7 Desertion 5 Post World War II service 6 21st century 7 Operation Iraqi Freedom 7 1 1st Battalion 107th Cavalry Regiment 7 2 2nd Squadron 107th Cavalry 7 3 1st Battalion 109th Field Artillery 7 4 2nd Battalion 103rd Armor 7 5 1st Battalion 103rd Armor 7 6 2nd Brigade Combat Team 7 7 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team 7 8 Combat Aviation Brigade 8 Organization 9 Division commanders 10 Legacy 10 1 Shrine 11 Honors 11 1 Campaign participation credit 11 2 Unit decorations 12 Heraldic items 12 1 Shoulder sleeve insignia 12 2 Distinctive unit insignia 13 In popular culture 14 Notable personnel 15 See also 16 References 17 Bibliography 18 Further reading 19 External linksCreation editOn 12 March 1879 Governor Henry Hoyt signed General Order Number One appointing Maj Gen John F Hartranft as the first Division commander of the National Guard of Pennsylvania 7 Pennsylvania was the first state to structure its National Guard units at such a high tactical level in peacetime From 11 to 18 August 1894 8 Camp Samuel W Crawford 9 was the Division Encampment at Gettysburg 10 The division was mustered into federal service for the Spanish American War in 1898 11 Pennsylvania initially levied 10 800 men in ten infantry regiments and four artillery batteries The entire division was mustered into federal service between 6 May and 22 July and while 8 900 men had assembled at Mount Gretna for the muster parade on 28 April 1898 there was no difficulty in raising 12 000 men for service in two and a half months However only the 4th 10th and 16th Regiments three artillery batteries and three cavalry troops were deployed to Puerto Rico The 10th Regiment was then sent to the Philippines being ordered home on 30 June 1899 The division was called up to respond to labor disturbances in 1877 and 1900 In 1914 the division was designated the 7th Division as part of a broad reorganization of the National Guard 12 On 29 June 1916 the 7th Division was mustered into federal service at Mount Gretna and deployed to El Paso Texas to serve along the Mexican border as the Regular Punitive Expedition entered Mexico 7 13 Major General Charles M Clement commanded directing the First Brigade comprising the 1st 2nd and 3rd Regiments the Second Brigade the 10th 16th and 18th Regiments and the Third Brigade the 4th 6th and 8th Regiments 14 There was also a regiment of cavalry and one of artillery plus two companies of signals troops and medical units The camp outside El Paso gained the title Camp Stewart after the Adjutant General Thomas J Stewart On 19 September one brigade was sent home On 14 November the 1st Artillery left for home the 18th Infantry left for Pennsylvania on 18 December and the remainder of the division between 2 19 January 1917 It appears that most of the division was mustered out of federal service on 23 February 1917 at Philadelphia The remnant left on the border included the 8th and 13th Regiments the newly formed 3rd Artillery and Company C of the Engineers 14 They were released from active service in March 1917 However the call up process for World War I was underway as these units left the border The 13th Regiment began its return home from Texas on 21 March 1917 but en route were told that their mustering out orders had been rescinded World War I editFederalization edit The division moved to Camp Hancock Georgia in April 1917 the same month of the American entry into World War I and was there when the entire division was federalized on 5 August 1917 From May to 11 October 1917 the division was reorganized into the two brigade four regiment scheme also known as a square division and thus became the 28th Division The Turner Publishing account says that 15 The situation for the division at Camp Hancock was dismal The men arrived there in summer uniforms which were not replaced by winter ones until the winter was well along Adequate blankets were not available until January Training equipment was woeful There was but one bayonet for each three men machine guns made of wood and there was but one 37 mm gun for the whole division nbsp Doughboys of Company K 110th Infantry Regiment 28th Division passing through a town captured by their comrades Varennes en Argonne Meuse France September 26 1918 Overseas service edit By May 1918 after several months of training the division had arrived in Europe and began training with the British On 14 July ahead of an expected German offensive the division was moving forward with most of it committed to the second line of defense south of the Marne River and east of Chateau Thierry 16 As the division took up defensive positions the Germans commenced their attack which became the Battle of Chateau Thierry with a fierce artillery bombardment When the German assault collided with the main force of the 28th the fighting became bitter hand to hand combat The 28th repelled the German forces and decisively defeated their enemy However four isolated companies of the 109th and 110th Infantry stationed on the first defensive line suffered heavy losses After the battle General John Pershing commander of the American Expeditionary Force visited the battlefield and declared that the 28th soldiers were Men of Iron and named the 28th ID as his Iron Division The 28th developed a red keystone shaped shoulder patch officially adopted on 27 October 1918 7 nbsp A bridge in Fismes raised in homage to the 28th Division s operations in Champagne nbsp Corporal Bubel of the 103rd Field Signal Battalion 28th Division shaking hands with a German officer on line near Dampvitoux France November 12 1918 During World War I the division was involved in the Meuse Argonne Champagne Marne Aisne Marne including the Battle of Fismes and Fismette Oise Aisne and Ypres Lys FA operations During the war it took a total of 14 139 casualties 2 165 killed and 11 974 wounded Two individuals received the Medal of Honor Sergeant James I Mestrovitch Company C 111th Infantry and Major Joseph H Thompson Headquarters 110th Infantry 17 Edwin Martin wrote about the history of the division during World War I can be found in his book The Twenty Eighth Division Pennsylvania s Guard in the World War 18 Order of battle 19 edit Headquarters 28th Division 55th Infantry Brigade 109th Infantry Regiment 1st Pennsylvania Infantry and 1 779 men from 13th Pennsylvania Infantry less band 110th Infantry Regiment 3rd Pennsylvania Infantry less band and 10th Pennsylvania Infantry 108th Machine Gun Battalion Machine Gun Troop 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry 142 men from Company B and parts of Headquarters Company less band and Supply Company 4th Pennsylvania Infantry 56th Infantry Brigade 111th Infantry Regiment 56 officers and 1 864 men from 18th Pennsylvania Infantry and 1 852 officers and men from 6th Pennsylvania Infantry less band 112th Infantry Regiment 54 officers and 1 860 men from 16th Pennsylvania Infantry and 1 980 officers and men from 8th Pennsylvania Infantry less band 109th Machine Gun Battalion Machine Gun Company Companies C and D and parts of Sanitary Detachment and Supply Company 4th Pennsylvania Infantry 53rd Field Artillery Brigade 20 107th Field Artillery Regiment 75 mm 1st Pennsylvania Field Artillery and 161 men from Troops F and H 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry 108th Field Artillery Regiment 155 mm 2nd Pennsylvania Field Artillery and 441 men from Troops A C D and G I K L and M 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry 109th Field Artillery Regiment 75 mm 3rd Pennsylvania Field Artillery and 159 men from Troops I K and L 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry 103rd Trench Mortar Battery detachments of Troops B and M 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry 107th Machine Gun Battalion 2nd Battalion and parts of Headquarters and Supply Companies 4th Pennsylvania Infantry 103rd Engineer Regiment 1st Pennsylvania Engineers less 1 officer and 16 men detachments of Headquarters Troop less band Supply Troop and Troops B E F I and M 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry 103rd Field Signal Battalion 1st Battalion Pennsylvania Signal Corps Headquarters Troop 28th Division Pennsylvania Division Headquarters Troop and Troop I 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry 103rd Train Headquarters and Military Police Pennsylvania division headquarters and military police 103rd Ammunition Train Pennsylvania ammunition train 103rd Engineer Train 1 officer and 16 enlisted men from 1st Pennsylvania Engineers 103rd Supply Train Pennsylvania supply train 103rd Sanitary Train Pennsylvania sanitary train 109th 110th 111th and 112th Ambulance Companies and Field HospitalsInterwar period editThe 28th Division headquarters arrived at the Port of Philadelphia Pennsylvania aboard the USS Kroonland on 30 April 1919 after twelve months of overseas service and was demobilized on 17 May 1919 at Camp Dix New Jersey In accordance with the National Defense Act of 1920 the division was allotted to the state of Pennsylvania and assigned to the III Corps in 1921 The division headquarters was reorganized and federally recognized on 22 December 1921 at Philadelphia The headquarters was relocated on 12 March 1933 to Harrisburg Pennsylvania The designated mobilization training center for the Keystone Division was Camp Bullis Texas An honor battalion of Pennsylvania National Guardsmen of the Iron Division dedicated the Pennsylvania World War Memorial in Varennes en Argonne France in 1928 21 The division less the 53rd Field Artillery Brigade conducted summer camp most years at Mount Gretna Pennsylvania 1922 34 and at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation Pennsylvania 1935 39 The 53rd Field Artillery Brigade conducted its training most years at Tobyhanna Pennsylvania so that its subordinate batteries could conduct live fire training at the ranges located there Generally the division staff conducted command post exercises CPXs and staff training concurrent with the camps The division staff also participated in the Third Corps Area CPX 6 19 July 1930 at Camp George G Meade Maryland in the First Army CPXs in July of 1931 and 1934 held at Camp Dix and the army level CPX at Fort Devens Massachusetts in August 1936 For the 1935 camp the division participated in the Third Corps Area phase of the First Army maneuvers at Indiantown Gap During that maneuver the 28th Division operated as part of the provisional III Corps The Keystone Division also participated in the First Army maneuvers in 1939 and 1940 held at Plattsburg and Canton New York respectively In both maneuvers the 28th Division again operated as part of the provisional III Corps In addition to the summer training the entire division was called up for flood relief duty in March and April 1936 when Pennsylvania rivers overflowed in one of the worst floods in state history The division was relieved from the III Corps on 30 December 1940 and assigned to the II Corps 22 Commanders edit Major General William G Price Jr 22 December 1921 23 March 1933 Major General Edward C Shannon 23 March 1933 24 June 1939 Major General Edward Martin 26 June 1939 27 January 1942 World War II editFederalization edit The division commanded by Major General Edward Martin was called into federal service on 17 February 1941 during World War II although the United States was neutral at this point at Camp Livingston Louisiana In February 1942 the division now commanded by Major General James Ord was reorganized the brigade headquarters were disbanded and the 111th Infantry Regiment was detached from the 28th and reorganized as a separate regimental combat team initially used to guard important Eastern Seaboard industrial facilities under the Eastern Defense Command Order of battle edit Headquarters 28th Infantry Division 109th Infantry Regiment 110th Infantry Regiment 112th Infantry Regiment Headquarters and Headquarters Battery 28th Infantry Division Artillery 107th Field Artillery Battalion 105 mm 108th Field Artillery Battalion 155 mm 109th Field Artillery Battalion 105 mm 229th Field Artillery Battalion 105 mm 103rd Engineer Combat Battalion 103rd Medical Battalion 28th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop Mechanized Headquarters Special Troops 28th Infantry Division Headquarters Company 28th Infantry Division 728th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company 28th Quartermaster Company 28th Signal Company Military Police Platoon Band 28th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment The division trained in the Carolinas Virginia Louisiana Texas and Florida under the command of Major General Omar Nelson Bradley 23 Overseas edit The division now under Major General Lloyd Brown left the United States and went overseas on 8 October 1943 arriving in South Wales soon afterwards where it began training for the invasion of Northern France On 22 July 1944 the division landed in Normandy seven weeks after the initial D Day landings and was almost immediately involved in Operation Cobra The 28th Infantry Division pushed east towards the French capital of Paris through the Bocage its roads littered with abandoned tanks and bloated stinking corpses of men and animals In little more than a month after landing at the Normandy beachhead as part of the Allied invasion of Normandy the men of the 28th entered Paris and were given the honor of marching down the Champs Elysees on 29 August 1944 in the hastily arranged Liberation of Paris nbsp Men of the 28th Infantry Division march down the Champs Elysees in Paris 29 August 1944 After enjoying a brief respite absorbing replacements of men and equipment the division now commanded by Brigadier General Norman Cota formerly the Assistant Division Commander ADC of the 29th Infantry Division headed to the German defensive Westwall A small night patrol of the 109th Infantry began the division s protracted struggle on the Siegfried Line on the dragon s teeth infested Westwall The patrol crossed the Our River by bridge from Weiswampach Luxembourg into Sevenig Our Germany making it the first of the Allied armies to reach German soil 24 The 28th suffered extremely heavy casualties that autumn in the costly and ill conceived Battle of Hurtgen Forest 19 September to 16 December 1944 the divisional history conceded the division accomplished little in the battle 25 The campaign was the longest continuous battle the U S Army fought in World War II Finally a tenuous line along the Or and Sauer Rivers was held at the end of November only to be abruptly broken by two panzer divisions three infantry divisions and one parachute division including the 352nd Infantry Division and the 5th Parachute Division in an infantry tank attack on the Ridge Road just west of the Our River on 16 December 26 The Ardennes Offensive was launched along the entire divisional front by the 5th Panzer Army led by General der Panzertruppe Hasso von Manteuffel 27 The 28th which had sustained heavy casualties in the First Army drive to the Roer fought doggedly in place using all available personnel and threw off the enemy timetable before withdrawing to Neufchateau on 22 December for reorganization as its units had been badly mauled 28 At the end of November 1944 a German pocket of resistance formed in the French Alsace region centered in the city of Colmar The Colmar Pocket consisted of a strength of eight German divisions and a brigade of Panzer tanks Combined forces of French and American armies were initially unsuccessful in closing this pocket 29 nbsp Men of the 28th Infantry Division march down a street in Bastogne Belgium December 1944 Some of these men lost their weapons during the German advance in this area General Dwight D Ike Eisenhower the Supreme Allied Commander on the Western Front called the Colmar Pocket a sore on the 6th Army Group s front The 6th Army Group was commanded by Lieutenant General Jacob Devers The French First Army commander Jean de Lattre de Tassigny and Devers met on 11 January 1945 and agreed it was long since time to drive the Germans back out of France Two days later de Lattre and Devers made a request to Eisenhower for reinforcements so their armies could make an offensive on the Colmar Pocket Eisenhower s aide Major General Walter Bedell Smith subsequently told Devers that the 10th Armored Division and the 28th were being placed under his command Smith also warned Devers that after three months of intense fighting on the Siegfried Line as well as fighting off the initial thrust of the offensive the 28th put back into action in a defensive position along the Meuse River from Givet to Verdun on 2 January 1945 was capable of only limited offensive action 30 Battle plans were soon made and on 19 January the 28th went into action on the northwestern section of the pocket in the Kaysersberg Valley supporting the beleaguered 3rd Infantry Division which had been holding there since late November 1944 Despite the bitterly cold conditions the Allies prevailed German intelligence knew nothing about the 10th and 28th presence in their sector until they attacked The 28th advanced westward and pressed steadily toward the city of Colmar In less than 10 days they reduced the pocket by half and Adolf Hitler gave the order in the early morning of 29 January for a partial retreat of his troops in the northern sector of the pocket By 2 February the 28th had cleared Colmar s surrounding areas and the French 5th Armored Division led the way into the town 31 On 9 February the final organized German troops in Alsace were pushed back across the Rhine The 109th Infantry Regiment received the French Croix de guerre from Charles de Gaulle 32 The division was on the front line for 196 days of combat Francis J Clark was awarded the Medal of Honor and 29 Distinguished Service Crosses 1 DSM 435 Silver Stars 27 Legion of Merit SM 21 Bronze Star Medal 2 312 AM 100 were awarded 33 The division returned to the United States on 2 August 1945 and was inactivated there on 13 December 1945 Casualties edit Total battle casualties 16 762 34 Killed in action 2 316 34 Wounded in action 9 609 34 Missing in action 884 34 Prisoner of war 3 953 34 Assignments in ETO edit 22 October 1943 V Corps First Army 14 April 1944 XX Corps Third Army 24 April 1944 Third Army but attached to First Army 26 July 1944 XIX Corps 30 July 1944 XIX Corps First Army 1 August 1944 XIX Corps First Army 12th Army Group 28 August 1944 V Corps 19 November 1944 VIII Corps 20 December 1944 VIII Corps Third Army 12th Army Group 5 January 1945 VIII Corps Third Army 12th Army Group but attached to Oise Section Communications Zone for supply 6 January 1945 VIII Corps Third Army 12th Army Group 8 January 1945 Third Army 12th Army Group 9 January 1945 Fifteenth Army 12th Army Group 16 January 1945 Fifteenth Army 12th Army Group but attached to Seventh Army 6th Army Group 20 January 1945 French II Corps 28 January 1945 XXI Corps 14 February 1945 Fifteenth Army 12th Army Group but attached to Seventh Army 6th Army Group 19 February 1945 12th Army Group 21 February 1945 V Corps First Army 12th Army Group 16 March 1945 VIII Corps Third Army 12th Army Group 22 March 1945 V Corps First Army 12th Army Group 28 March 1945 III Corps 7 April 1945 First Army 12th Army Group 10 April 1945 Fifteenth Army 12th Army Group 13 April 1945 XXII Corps 26 April 1945 XXIII Corps 33 Medal of Honor edit Technical Sergeant Francis J Clark U S Army Company K 109th Infantry Regiment received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Siegfried Line Campaign on 12 September 1944 35 Desertion edit Edward Donald Slovik 18 February 1920 31 January 1945 was a private in the 109th Infantry Regiment during World War II and the only American soldier to be executed for cowardice since the American Civil War Although over 21 000 soldiers were given varying sentences for desertion during World War II including 49 death sentences Slovik s was the only death sentence carried out 36 Post World War II service editAfter being inactivated as part of the Army on 13 December 1945 at Camp Shelby Mississippi the 28th Infantry Division was reorganized on 20 November 1946 and returned to the Pennsylvania Army National Guard at Harrisburg The 28th was ordered into active federal service on 5 September 1950 at Harrisburg following the outbreak of the Korean War The division re opened the mothballed Camp Atterbury Indiana and remained there from 13 September 1950 to 23 November 1951 It was sent to Germany to augment NATO forces there During the Korean War the 28th was mobilized and deployed to Europe as a part of the NATO command defending Western Europe from the threat of Soviet attack and remained in federal service until 22 May 1954 On 1 June 1959 the division was reorganized under the Pentomic structures It consisted from that point of 1st Reconnaissance Squadron 103rd Armor 28th Signal Battalion 28th Aviation Battalion 1 BG 109 Inf 1 BG 110 Inf 1 BG 111 Inf 2 BG 111 Inf 1 BG 112 Inf 1st Battalion 107th Field Artillery Regiment 1 107 FA 1 108 FA Honest John 1 109 FA 2 109 FA 1 166 FA 1 229 FA other combat and combat support units and combat service support units for strength of 10 408 according to Divisional Strength reports of 5 June 1959 37 The division was not mobilized during the Vietnam War although in 1965 it was selected as one of three divisions in the Army Selective Reserve Force Nor was it mobilized in force for Operation Desert Storm in 1991 however the 121st Transportation Company one of its constituent units served in Saudi Arabia and volunteers from the division were deployed overseas some in the Middle East In 1996 after the signing of the Dayton Agreement some units of the divisional artillery were called up to serve as peacekeeping forces in Bosnia elements of the 28th served in Bosnia as peacekeepers for several years following this In 2002 the 28th Division took command of the Northern Brigade Task Force Task Force Eagle as part of the NATO peacekeeping mission in Bosnia as part of SFOR 12 The leading combat arms units under the 28th while in Bosnia were the 109th Infantry and the 104th Cavalry The division was the third reserve component division headquarters to take on this role in Bosnia previously the Army National Guard s 49th and 29th Divisions had commanded Task Force Eagle 7 21st century edit nbsp Strykers from the 56th SBCT 28th ID arrive in Lithuania 8 June 2015 to take part in Operation Saber Strike 2015 In 2003 the 28th Division again led KFOR the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo as part of KFOR 5A for a 9 month rotation The 28th was the first reserve component division headquarters to take on this role in Kosovo Later in 2005 elements of the 28th Division would again return to Kosovo as part of KFOR s KFOR 6B rotation the first year long rotation by U S troops to the region During the Global War on Terror following the September 11th 2001 attacks on the US the Keystone Division has provided troops for Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Noble Eagle and several thousand troops for Operation Iraqi Freedom D Troop 2 104th CAV 38 RSTA was activated in January 2003 for two years The platoon sized element deployed to Iraq in September 2003 as a UAV platoon with elements from the Maryland National Guard These were the first National Guard Units to fly the Shadow UAV 39 Company A 28th Signal Battalion deployed to Iraq in February 2004 Elements of the 103rd Armor Regiment and 1st Battalion 107th Field Artillery were activated for Iraq in January 2004 Elements of 2nd Battalion 103rd Armor served as military police The division s 2nd Brigade Combat Team deployed to Iraq for a year long rotation in July 2005 Elements of the division would again return in 2006 and revolving deployments to Iraq seem likely in the future when The 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team SBCT was deployed in 2008 to Iraq The Combat Aviation Brigade 28th Infantry Division deployed to Iraq in May 2009 Operation Enduring Freedom Sept 2009 Nov 2010 Company C 1 110th Inf attached to TF 2nd BCT 101st Rakkasans served as a platoon size force protection for PRTs in Paktika Gardez and Khost FOB Chapman with support elements in FOB Salerno On 28 Aug 2010 the platoon under 1LT Dickey repelled a Haqanni coordinated attack at FOB Chapman 40 41 Operation Iraqi Freedom editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed December 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message 1st Battalion 107th Cavalry Regiment edit In September 2001 the 1st Battalion 107th Cavalry Regiment was transferred from the 37th Brigade 38th Infantry Division Cyclone Indiana Army National Guard to the 2nd Brigade 28th Infantry Division with its headquarters remaining in Stow Ohio In October 2003 B and C Companies and elements of Headquarters and Headquarters Company HHC and Company A of the 1st Battalion 107th Cavalry were activated at their home stations and traveled to Fort Bragg North Carolina and Fort Stewart Georgia for five months of mobilization training There they were then attached to the 1st Battalion 150th Armor West Virginia Army National Guard the 1st Battalion 252nd Armor North Carolina Army National Guard and Troop E 196th Cavalry North Carolina Army National Guard respectively for deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom II with North Carolina s 30th Brigade Combat Team under the 1st Infantry Division These elements of the 1st Battalion operated in Iraq from February to December 2004 serving in Kirkush Tuz Khurmatu Jalawla and Baghdad They participated in the Transition of Iraq and Iraqi Governance campaigns and returned home in late December 2004 The battalion commander LTC Richard T Curry and CSM Albert Whatmough along with the remaining companies continued their regular training cycle until October 2004 when the remaining companies of the 1 107th Cavalry were activated for service in Operation Iraqi Freedom III One element of HHC 1 107th CAV was then deployed to Fort Dix New Jersey for mobilization training and left for Kuwait in January 2005 The companies operated in Baghdad Iraq and performed detainee operations at Camps Cropper and Victory with a high profile mission of guarding the deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein while he stood trial The headquarters moved to Fort McCoy Wisconsin and arrived in Kuwait in December 2004 and deployed to Mosul Iraq in late December This element included LTC Curry and CSM Whatmough who both deployed with the battalion in 2004 2005 to establish Forward Operating Base FOB Endurance which later became known as FOB Q West Base Complex around 19 miles 30 Kilometers south of Mosul Iraq The mission of LTC Curry and his staff was to provide command amp control of the base establish the base defense operations center provide life support functions establish base defense security conduct combat patrols and build the FOB from the ground up into the largest logistical hub operating in northern Iraq by the end of 2005 citation needed a mission that was accomplished prior to their departure The FOB Endurance Q West Base Complex HQ elements of the 1 107th CAV were attached to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and received the Army Meritorious Unit Commendation MUC for their accomplishments The HHC A Convoy Security Company conducted operations throughout Iraq logging in thousands of miles with no fatalities and provided security for convoy elements Elements of the 1st Battalion 107th Cavalry served within the 1st Cavalry Division 4th Infantry Division and 3rd Infantry Division areas of operations as units of the 18th and 42nd MP Brigades The final elements returned home from Iraq in January 2006 reuniting the battalion Both HHC A detachments received the U S Army Meritorious Unit Commendation for their service In September 2007 the 1 107th Cavalry Regiment was transitioned reorganized and reformed becoming the 1st Battalion 145th Armor and transferred as a separate heavy battalion assigned to the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Ohio National Guard Its sister unit the 2 107th Cavalry Regiment took its place in the 28th Infantry Division in 2008 2nd Squadron 107th Cavalry edit Assigned to the 28th Infantry Division in September 2008 the 2nd Squadron 107th Cavalry Reconnaissance Surveillance Target Acquisition during the years 2006 2010 deployed at different times Troops A B amp C in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom conducting various SECFOR and convoy escort missions 1st Battalion 109th Field Artillery edit In December 2003 the 1st Battalion 109th Field Artillery Regiment was activated and received Military Police training at Fort Dix New Jersey Following a month of training the soldiers of the 109th were deployed to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom The different batteries were dispersed throughout Iraq serving as MPs The members of the 109th returned home in February 2005 C Battery saw action in Fallujah during Operation Valiant Resolve in the spring campaign Members of B Battery also saw combat in the area surrounding Camp Anaconda and Abu Ghraib a military prison Another contingent provided security for Ambassador Paul Bremer and other high ranking State Department officials at Coalition HQ 2nd Battalion 103rd Armor edit In January 2004 B and C Companies of the 2nd Battalion 103rd Armor Regiment were activated and with attachments from several other Pennsylvania Army National Guard units reconfigured as military police companies and trained at Ft Dix for deployment to Iraq They were designated as companies of the 89th MP Brigade and left for Iraq in March 2004 within days of each other Once in Iraq they were assigned to some of the most sensitive missions of OIF II Three platoons of Bravo Company 1st 3rd and Headquarters were attached to the Iraq Survey Group while the 2nd and 4th Platoons served in military police operations including area patrols and traffic control points supporting 1st Marine Division out of Camp Fallujah and eventually relocated to the Green Zone International Zone as security escorts attached to the U S Navy for high ranking Interim Iraqi government officials Charlie Company was assigned to the HVD facility at Camp Cropper with an entire platoon assigned solely to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein The units both redeployed in March 2005 1st Battalion 103rd Armor editIn June 2004 the 1st Battalion 103rd Armor was activated at Fort Bliss Texas and deployed to Iraq in November in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom The Task Force was composed of units from the K Troop 104th Cavalry A Co 1 111 Infantry 1 112 Infantry 1 103rd Armor 1 109th Infantry 103rd Engineers and several Soldiers from the 116th CAV Idaho NG This marked the first deployment of a 28th ID combat battalion to a war zone since World War II The battalion now designated as a Task Force Task Force DRAGOON was stationed at Forward Operating Base Summerall near Bayji Attached initially to the 2nd Brigade 1st Infantry Division and then the 1st Brigade 3rd Infantry Division the 800 man TF 1 103rd Armor commanded by LTC Philip J Logan engaged in combat operations for 12 months before redeploying to the United States in November 2005 Thirteen soldiers from TF Dragoon were killed in action during combat operations in Salah Ad Din Province a heavily Sunni Muslim area in the north part of the Sunni Triangle For its outstanding performance during combat operations TF 1 103rd Armor was awarded the Army Meritorious Unit Citation nbsp Iraqi and U S Soldiers from the 28th Infantry Division attached to I Marine Expeditionary Force search for Iraqi Resistance members and weapons caches in the Jazeera area of Ramadi 2 June 2006 2nd Brigade Combat Team edit The division s 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team 2 28 BCT was mobilized in January 2005 2 28 BCT consisted of approximately 4 000 National Guardsmen from over 30 states and was commanded by COL John L Gronski Over 2 000 of the soldiers were from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard Other states that contributed large units included Vermont Utah Michigan Kentucky New Jersey and Nebraska 2 28 BCT conducted its post mobilization training at Camp Shelby MS The soldiers were trained in full spectrum operations and received additional equipment In May 2005 2nd Brigade soldiers trained at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin CA to prepare for their upcoming mission in Iraq due to start in July 2005 In late June and early July 2005 2nd Brigade soldiers began deploying to the Al Anbar Governorate and were under the command of the 2nd Marine Division through February 2006 and then were under command of 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Forward through June 2006 The 2 28 BCT received a transfer of authority for its area of operations AO in central Al Anbar Province in July 2005 The area of operations was very large but 2 28 BCT focused operations along the Euphrates River Valley from Ramadi to Al Habbaniyah about 22 miles 35 kilometers to the east Ramadi was the 2 28 BCT main effort for the following reasons 1 The capital of Al Anbar province and home to the provincial governor and government center 2 large urban area with a population of approximately 400 000 Iraqi citizens 3 Al Qaeda in Iraq focused on the area The Ramadi area was known as one of the most violent and dangerous areas in Iraq The mission of the 2 28 BCT was to neutralize the insurgency and develop Iraqi Security Forces within the area of operations in order to create stable and secure conditions and allow for self governance The BCT conducted counterinsurgency operations to kill or detain insurgents to locate weapons caches to detect improvised explosive devices IEDs to engage in ongoing dialogue with community and government leaders to recruit train and integrate Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police and to conduct civil affairs projects to improve sewer water energy medical and school facilities 2 28 BCT operations resulted in 1 Millions of dollars of humanitarian assistance projects were completed 2 Over 3 000 insurgents and terrorists were detained or killed 3 A successful referendum election in October 2005 and a successful general election in December 2005 4 Approximately 5 000 Iraqi soldiers trained and integrated into all operations including transitioning area of operations to Iraqi brigades and battalions 5 Hundreds of tons of explosives ammunition and weapons seized from insurgent caches 6 over 1 000 young men of Ramadi recruited into the Iraqi Police 7 Coalition force and Iraqi Army outposts established and areas controlled that had formerly been insurgent strongholds 8 Over 1 100 roadside bombs discovered before they could be used against civilians Iraqi government officials or coalition forces and Iraqi soldiers 2 28 BCT was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation as part of the I Marine Expeditionary Force Forward for the period of 28 February 2006 until the transition of authority to 1st Armored Division 2nd Brigade OIF Composition Headquarters Company 2nd Brigade 28th Infantry Division 109th Infantry Regiment PA NG detached to MAW Al Asad 110th Infantry Regiment PA NG 1st Battalion 172nd Armor VT NG A Company 3rd Battalion 172nd Infantry MTN VT NG C Company 1 103rd Armor PA NG A Company 3 103rd Armor PA NG B Troop 1 104th Cavalry Regiment PA NG A Troop 167th Cavalry Regiment NE NG 222nd Field Artillery Regiment UT NG 876th Engineer Battalion PA NG 228th Forward Support Battalion PA NG B Company 1 125 Infantry MI NG A Company 138th Signal Battalion IN NG D Company 1 149 Infantry KY NG 231st Military Intelligence Company KY NG 1st Platoon 28th Military Police Company PA NG 2 69th Armor 3rd Infantry Division Fort Benning GA 2005 2006 1st Battalion 506th Infantry 101st Airborne Division Air Assault Ft Campbell KY 2006 118th ASOS NC ANG 1 5 Marines 2005 3 7 Marines 2005 2006 3 8 Marines 2006 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team edit nbsp 56th Stryker Brigade soldiers train in Iraq The brigade trained at Camp Shelby Mississippi from 19 September 2008 until November 2008 when it moved to the Joint Readiness Training Center JRTC in Fort Polk Louisiana until December 2008 The brigade continued training at Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst in December 2008 and moved to Camp Buehring Kuwait in the United States Central Command area of operations in January 2009 awaiting movement into Iraq The 56th SBCT based out of Camp Taji Iraq conducted operations in the northern Baghdad Governorate from January to September 2009 before redeploying to Kuwait and returning home at Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst 56th Stryker Brigade OIF Composition Headquarters and Headquarters Company 56th Brigade Combat Team Stryker 1st Battalion 111th Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion 112th Infantry Regiment 2nd Battalion 112th Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion 108th Field Artillery Regiment Battery B 1st Battalion 109th Filed Artillery Regiment 328th Brigade Support Battalion 2d Squadron RSTA 104th Cavalry Regiment 856th Engineer Company 656th Signal Company 556th Military Intelligence Company Company D Anti Tank 112th Infantry Regiment Combat Aviation Brigade edit Soldiers of the Combat Aviation Brigade 28th Infantry Division began mobilization on 29 January 2009 for Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2009 to 2011 Over 2 000 soldiers from multiple states completed validation training at Fort Sill Oklahoma before moving to Camp Buehring Kuwait Throughout the opening days of May 2009 soldiers flew into multiple Forward Operating Bases across Iraq and Iran with the majority of the brigade based out of Tallil Al Kut and Basrah Organization edit nbsp Structure 28th Infantry Division click to enlarge As a modular division the 28th Infantry Division consists of a headquarters battalion one infantry brigade combat team one Stryker brigade combat team the Division Artillery one combat aviation brigade a sustainment brigade and an attached maneuver enhancement brigade 7 The division headquarters exercises training and readiness oversight of the following elements 42 nbsp 28th Infantry Division in Harrisburg Pennsylvania nbsp Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion in Harrisburg Pennsylvania nbsp 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Washington Pennsylvania Headquarters and Headquarters Company in Washington Pennsylvania nbsp 1st Squadron 104th Cavalry Regiment RSTA in Philadelphia Pennsylvania nbsp 1st Battalion 109th Infantry Regiment in Scranton Pennsylvania nbsp 1st Battalion 110th Infantry Regiment in Mount Pleasant Pennsylvania nbsp 1st Battalion 175th Infantry Regiment in Dundalk Maryland MD NG nbsp 1st Battalion 107th Field Artillery Regiment in New Castle Pennsylvania 876th Brigade Engineer Battalion in Johnstown Pennsylvania 128th Brigade Support Battalion in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania nbsp 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team at Horsham Air Guard Station in Horsham Pennsylvania Headquarters and Headquarters Company at Horsham Air Guard Station nbsp 2nd Squadron 104th Cavalry Regiment RSTA in Reading Pennsylvania nbsp 1st Battalion 111th Infantry Regiment in Plymouth Meeting Pennsylvania nbsp 1st Battalion 112th Infantry Regiment in Cambridge Springs Pennsylvania nbsp 2nd Battalion 112th Infantry Regiment in Lewistown Pennsylvania nbsp 1st Battalion 108th Field Artillery Regiment in Carlisle Pennsylvania nbsp 103rd Brigade Engineer Battalion in Philadelphia Pennsylvania 328th Brigade Support Battalion in Elizabethtown Pennsylvania nbsp 28th Infantry Division Artillery PA NG Headquarters and Headquarters Battery nbsp 28th Combat Aviation Brigade at Muir Army Airfield at Fort Indiantown Gap Pennsylvania 43 44 Headquarters and Headquarters Company at Muir Army Airfield at Fort Indiantown Gap Pennsylvania nbsp 2nd Battalion General Support 104th Aviation Regiment at Muir Army Airfield at Fort Indiantown Gap Pennsylvania nbsp 1st Battalion Assault 150th Aviation Regiment at Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst New Jersey NJ NG nbsp 1st Battalion Security and Support 224th Aviation Regiment at Weide Army Airfield in Edgewood Maryland MD NG nbsp 628th Aviation Support Battalion at Muir Army Airfield at Fort Indiantown Gap Pennsylvania nbsp 28th Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade in Springfield Ohio OH NG Headquarters and Headquarters Company in Springfield Ohio 371st Special Troops Battalion in Newark Ohio 112th Transportation Battalion in North Canton Ohio Attached units nbsp 55th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade in Scranton Pennsylvania 45 1st Battalion 109th Field Artillery Regiment M109A6 Paladin in Wilkes Barre Pennsylvania 165th Military Police Battalion in Annville Pennsylvania 337th Engineer Battalion at Fort Indiantown Gap PennsylvaniaDivision commanders editMajor General John F Hartranft 1879 1889 Major General George R Snowden 1889 1900 Major General Charles Miller 1900 1906 Major General John P S Gobin 1906 1907 Major General John A Wiley 1907 1909 Major General Wendell P Bowman 1909 1910 Major General Charles B Dougherty 1910 1915 Major General Charles M Clement 1915 1917 Major General Charles H Muir 1917 1918 Major General William H Hay 1918 1919 Major General Charles H Muir 1919 1920 Major General William G Price Jr 1920 1933 Major General Edward C Shannon 1933 1939 Major General Edward Martin 1939 1942 Major General James Garesche Ord 1942 1942 Major General Omar N Bradley 1942 1943 Major General Lloyd D Brown 1943 1944 Brigadier General James E Wharton 13 August 1944 Major General Norman D Cota 1944 1945 Major General Edward J Stackpole 1946 1947 Major General Daniel B Strickler 1947 1952 Major General Cortlandt V R Schuyler 1952 1953 Major General Donald Prentice Booth 1953 1954 Major General Charles C Curtis NGUS 1952 1953 Major General Henry K Fluck 1953 1967 Major General Nicholas P Kafakalas 1967 1977 Major General Fletcher C Booker Jr 1977 1980 Major General Harold J Lavell 1980 1985 Major General Vernon E James 1985 1989 Major General Daniel J O Neill 1989 1994 Major General Joseph F Perugino 1994 1996 Major General Walter L Stewart Jr 1996 1998 Major General Walter F Pudlowski Jr 1998 2003 Major General Wesley E Craig 2003 2006 Brigadier General Jerry G Beck Jr 2006 2009 Major General Randall Marchi 2009 2012 Major General John L Gronski 2012 2016 Major General Andrew P Schafer Jr 2016 2020 Major General Mark D McCormack 2020 2024 Major General Michael E Wegscheider 2024 present 46 Legacy editShrine edit nbsp The 28th Division Shrine at the Pennsylvania Military Museum A shrine dedicated to the 28th Infantry Division is located on the grounds of the Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg Pennsylvania This site was formerly the estate of Colonel Theodore Davis Boal In 1916 Boal formed the Boal Troop a State College based horse mounted machine gun unit of the 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry which was accepted as a provisional unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard In April 1917 the Boal Troop was reconfigured as an infantry unit Company A of the 107th Machine Gun Battalion and deployed to France for service in World War I In 1919 soldiers of the Boal Troop returning from the war erected a monument on the Boal Estate dedicated to their fallen comrades In the 1920s other units of the 28th began erecting their own memorials and began to refer to the area as a shrine In 1931 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania purchased the site and in 1969 the Pennsylvania Military Museum was opened By 1971 memorials to most of the units of the 28th that served in World War I had been erected and in 1997 a World War II memorial was dedicated at this site Members of the 28th Infantry Division have gathered for a memorial service at the shrine every third Sunday in May since 1919 U S Route 322 on which the shrine is located is named the Pennsylvania 28th Division Highway Honors editCampaign participation credit edit Conflict Streamer Year s American Civil War 47 Peninsula 47 1862 American Civil War Antietam 47 1862 American Civil War Fredericksburg 47 1862 American Civil War Chancellorsville 47 1863 American Civil War Gettysburg 47 1863 American Civil War Virginia 47 1863 American Civil War Wilderness 47 1864 American Civil War Spotsylvania 47 1864 American Civil War Cold Harbor 47 1864 American Civil War Petersburg 47 1864 War With Spain 48 Manila 48 1898 Philippine American War 48 Manila 48 1899 Philippine American War Malolos 48 1899 World War I Champagne Marne 1918 World War I Aisne Marne 1918 World War I Oise Aisne 1918 World War I Meuse Argonne 1918 World War I Champagne 1918 World War I Lorraine 1918 World War II Central Pacific 47 1943 World War II Eastern Mandates 47 1944 World War II Normandy 49 1944 World War II Western Pacific 47 1944 World War II Northern France 49 1944 World War II Rhineland 49 1944 World War II Ardennes Alsace 49 1944 World War II Central Europe 49 1945 Iraq Iraqi Governance 50 2004 05 Iraq National Resolution 50 2005 Iraq Iraqi Sovereignty 51 2009 Unit decorations edit Ribbon Award Year Notes nbsp Presidential Unit Citation United States Army World War II 1944 Battle of the Bulge 52 nbsp French Croix de guerre World War II with Palm 1944 Streamer with Palm embroidered COLMAR 53 nbsp Meritorious Unit Commendation Army World War II 1944 45 Streamer embroidered EUROPEAN THEATER 54 nbsp Luxembourg Croix de Guerre World War II 1944 45 Streamer embroidered LUXEMBOURG 55 Heraldic items editShoulder sleeve insignia edit Description A red Keystone Symbolism The keystone symbol of the state of Pennsylvania alludes to the nickname of the division Background The shoulder sleeve insignia was approved on 19 October 1918 TIOH Drawing No A 1 231 Distinctive unit insignia edit Description On a gold disk divided per pairle reversed Gules Argent and Azure the crest from the National Guard of the State of Pennsylvania Symbolism Purportedly the device was designed by Benjamin Franklin who aroused the people of Philadelphia The shield on the device is that of William Penn while the colors of the wreath red and white denote the predominantly English origin of the early settlements Background The distinctive unit insignia was originally authorized for the 28th Infantry Division Headquarters Headquarters Detachment 28th Division Headquarters Company 28th Division Headquarters Special Troops 28th Division and Headquarters Detachment Special Troops 28th Division on 6 February 1929 It was redesignated for the non color bearing units of the 28th Infantry Division on 10 July 1968 28th Infantry Division Song Roll On By SGT Emil Raab circa 1944 We re the 28th men and we re out to fight again for the good old U S A We re the guys who know where to strike the blow and you ll know just why after we say Roll On 28th Roll On set the pace Hold the banners high and raise the cry We re off to victory Let the Keystone shine right down the line for all the world to see When we meet the foe we ll let them know we re Iron Infantry So Roll On 28th Roll On In popular culture editThe 28th Infantry Division was portrayed in the 1998 HBO film When Trumpets Fade a movie about the Battle of Hurtgen Forest The 1919 silent film J accuse a romantic drama set against the horrors of World War I includes references to the 28th Division s role in the war 56 In the 1968 film The Subject Was Roses the character Timmy played by Martin Sheen wears his 28th Division uniform throughout the picture 57 In the 1974 TV movie The Execution of Private Slovik starring Martin Sheen as Slovik the 28th Division patch is seen on many characters including on Sheen s character In the opening scenes of the 1978 film Dawn of the Dead Soldiers are seen wearing red keystones on their uniforms 58 The Soldier in the movie The Happening is wearing keystone patches on his uniform 59 The 28th Infantry Division is mentioned in the miniseries Band of Brothers in episode 5 Crossroads at approximately 43 minutes in the movie theater scene 60 References to the 28th Infantry Division s World War II experiences appear in the book Company Commander by Charles Brown MacDonald They appear in Chapter 2 of the print version or at 43 17 of the audio version 61 Notable personnel editHervey Allen served with the 28th Division in World War I Art Carney served with the 28th Division World War IISee also edit nbsp Pennsylvania portal Fort Indiantown Gap Pennsylvania National Guard Library resources about 28th Infantry Division United States Resources in your library Resources in other librariesReferences edit a b Special Unit Designations United States Army Center of Military History 21 April 2010 Archived from the original on 9 June 2010 Retrieved 7 March 2017 History of the 28th Division Pennsylvania Army National Guard 2006 Archived from the original on 7 February 2007 Retrieved 1 March 2007 Pennsylvania National Guard published 19 September 2012 28th Infantry Division Change of Command Ceremony minute 1 10 3 53 Connecticut Servicemen in the Bloody Bucket Division Connecticut History a CTHumanities Project Connecticut History a CTHumanities Project Stories about the people traditions innovations and events that make up Connecticut s rich history 19 August 2021 Retrieved 14 October 2022 Weaver Michael E 2010 Guard Wars The 28th Infantry Division in World War II Bloomington IN Indiana University Press p 173 ISBN 978 0 253 35521 8 28th ID Change of Command Ceremony PA National Guard 16 September 2012 Retrieved 15 October 2013 a b c d e 28th Infantry Division Archived from the original on 22 October 2013 Retrieved 16 October 2013 National Guard Orders Google News Archive Gettysburg Compiler 17 July 1894 Retrieved 17 March 2011 The News of a Day s Doings Domestic Google News Archive Baltimore American 13 August 1894 Retrieved 22 January 2011 Signal Corps for Soldiers Google News Archives Gettysburg Compiler 31 July 1894 Retrieved 22 January 2011 Turner Publishing 20 21 Wilson Maneuver and Firepower Armies Corps Divisions and Separate Brigades 28th Div a b 28th Infantry Keystone Division Mechanized 125 Years of Service Turner Publishing 26 28th Infantry Keystone Division Mechanized 125 Years of Service Turner Publishing 27 Turner Publishing 29 Recipients World War I Medal of Honor Center of Military History U S Army Archived from the original on 21 September 2017 Retrieved 15 December 2016 Martin Edward 1923 The Twenty Eighth Division Pennsylvania s Guard in the World War Norwood MA The Plimpton Press Composition of National Guard Divisions and Disposition of Former National Guard Units Washington D C U S Government Printing Office 1918 pp 7 13 File Activities and citations of the 53rd field artillery brigade IA activitiescitati00pric pdf Gettysburg Times Google News Archive Search news google com Retrieved 10 April 2018 Clay Steven 2014 2010 U S Army Order of Battle 1919 1941 Volume 1 The Arms Major Commands and Infantry Organizations Fort Leavenworth Combat Studies Institute Press pp 239 240 nbsp This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Lone Sentry 28th Roll On The Story of the 28th Infantry Division WWII G I Stories Booklet www lonesentry com Retrieved 10 April 2018 MacDonald Charles B 1993 1961 The Siegfried Line Campaign PDF p 3 Archived from the original PDF on 24 March 2022 Retrieved 12 October 2013 Richard Atkinson 2013 The Guns at Last Light Macmillan p 324 ISBN 978 0 8050 6290 8 Marshall S L A 2010 1946 Bastogne The Story of the First Eight Days PDF United States Army pp 4 and 5 Marshall S L A 1988 1946 Bastogne The Story of the First Eight Days United States Army p 1 Cole Hugh M 1993 1965 The Ardennes The Battle of the Bulge PDF Chapter VIII United States Army Center of Military History pp 173 211 Archived from the original PDF on 24 September 2015 Retrieved 12 October 2013 Clarke Jeffrey J amp Smith Robert Ross 1993 Riviera to the Rhine PDF Chapter XXIV United States Army pp 433 445 Archived from the original PDF on 27 March 2019 Retrieved 13 October 2013 Riviera to the Rhine PDF Chapter XXIX p 534 Archived from the original PDF on 27 March 2019 Retrieved 13 October 2013 Riviera to the Rhine PDF pp 534 560 Archived from the original PDF on 27 March 2019 Retrieved 13 October 2013 Dalessandro Robert J 6 February 2013 Lineage and Honors Organizational History Program United States Army pp 109th Infantry Regiment Retrieved 13 October 2013 a b Order of Battle of the United States Army European Theater of Operations Paris France U S Army 1945 pp 109 119 Archived from the original on 11 March 2008 Retrieved 12 October 2013 a b c d e Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths Final Report Statistical and Accounting Branch Office of the Adjutant General 1 June 1953 Medal of Honor Recipients World War II U S Army Archived from the original on 10 June 2016 Retrieved 12 October 2013 History of the 109th Infantry Regiment Lane Memorial Library Hampton NH Archived from the original on 14 October 2013 Retrieved 12 October 2013 Turner Publishing 56 Zapotoczny Jr Walter S 30 November 2007 Shadow Warriors Pennsylvania ARNG Tactical UAS Training Program PDF Army Aviation pp 36 41 MD PA First Army Guard Units to Fly Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle www defense aerospace com Retrieved 10 April 2018 eye witness B Pastorini USACE Civ Insurgents Attack NATO Base and Camp in Afghanistan The New York Times Associated Press 28 August 2010 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 9 April 2019 AUSA Torchbearer Special Report 7 November 2005 Army National Guard Division and Brigade Combat Team Designations PDF Archived from the original PDF on 12 November 2011 Retrieved 2 October 2012 28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade Pennsylvania National Guard 19 November 2019 Headquarters and Headquarters Company Combat Aviation Brigade 28th Infantry Division Lineage and Honors U S Army Center of Military History 55th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade Pennsylvania Army National Guard Retrieved 22 March 2024 Roles Doug 9 March 2024 Iron Division welcomes 40th commanding general DVIDS Harrisburg Pennsylvania 28th Infantry Division Retrieved 11 March 2024 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Earned only by the 56th Brigade 28th Infantry Division Units a b c d e Earned only by the 2nd Brigade 28th Infantry Division units a b c d e Earned by all units of the 28th Infantry Division Except 56th Infantry Brigade a b Earned by units of the 2nd Brigade only Earned by the 56th Brigade and 28th Combat Aviation Brigade only 1st Battalion 109th Field Artillery Regiment GlobalSecurity Org Retrieved 22 September 2013 109th Infantry cited DA GO 43 1950 28th Quartermaster Company cited Headquarters 28th Infantry Division also entitled GO 11 28th Infantry Division 1945 Headquarters 28th Infantry Division 28th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop 28th Quartermaster Company 109th Infantry and 110th Infantry cited DA GO 43 1950 J accuse 1919 Film Retrieved 10 February 2011 The Subject Was Roses 1968 Retrieved 11 March 2018 Dawn of The Dead 1978 Retrieved 12 November 2016 The Happening 2008 Retrieved 12 November 2016 Band of Brothers Retrieved 12 November 2016 MacDonald Charles Brown 15 June 2016 Company Commander United States Blackstone Audio Inc pp 43 17 43 21 ISBN 978 1 5047 3891 0 Bibliography editAmerican Battle Monuments Commission 1938 1992 American Armies and Battlefields in Europe Washington D C Government Printing Office OCLC 25316157 American Battle Monuments Commission 1944 28th Division Summary of Operations in the World War Washington D C Government Printing Office OCLC 1022279 Blumenson Martin 1961 Breakout and Pursuit United States Army in World War II Washington D C United States Army Center of Military History Government Printing Office OCLC 78605078 Clyma Carleton B ed 1945 Connecticut Men 28th Bloody Bucket Division September 1945 Hartford Connecticut a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Colbaugh Jack ed 1973 The Bloody Patch A True Story of the Daring 28th Infantry Division New York New York Vantage Press ISBN 0 533 00851 4 OCLC 1092266 Cole Hugh M 1965 The Ardennes Battle of the Bulge United States Army in World War II Washington D C United States Army Center of Military History Government Printing Office OCLC 78624377 Curry Cecil B 1984 Follow Me and Die The Destruction of an American Division in World War II New York New York Stein amp Day Publishing ISBN 0 8128 2892 5 OCLC 9895460 Ent Uzal W 1979 The First Century of the 28th Infantry Division Harrisburg Pennsylvania Stackpole Books ISBN 0 8117 0620 6 OCLC 5563914 Gabel Christopher R 1991 The U S Army GHQ Maneuvers of 1941 United States Army Center of Military History Government Printing Office OCLC 23651527 Gilbert Eugene 1919 The 28th Division in France Nancy France Berger Levrault OCLC 3147481 Historical and Pictorial Review of the 28th Infantry Division in World War II Normandy Northern France Rhineland Ardennes Central Europe Atlanta Georgia Albert Love Enterprises 1946 OCLC 1823326 Historical and Pictorial Review of the 28th Infantry Division in World War II Normandy Northern France Rhineland Ardennes Central Europe Reprint ed Nashville Tennessee Battery Press 1980 ISBN 0 89839 035 4 OCLC 7169903 Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in World War American Expeditionary Forces Divisions Washington D C Historical Section Army War College Government Printing Office 1931 1988 OCLC 16582087 Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in World War American Expeditionary Forces Divisions Washington D C United States Army Center of Military History Government Printing Office 1988 McLemore H Kahn E J Jr 1945 Fighting Divisions Washington D C Infantry Journal Press OCLC 1520083 McLemore H Kahn E J Jr 1980 Fighting Divisions Washington D C Zenger Publishing Company The Keystone Division A Condensed History of the 28th Infantry Division National Guardsman June 1948 pp 13 14 Keystone News Organization Day 1953 1953 Keystone Division s 36th Anniversary Goppingen Germany a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link CS1 maint numeric names authors list link MacDonald Charles B Charles B 1973 The Last Offensive United States Army in World War II Washington District of Columbia United States Army Center of Military History Government Printing Office OCLC 614914511 MacDonald Charles B 1963 The Siegfried Line Campaign United States Army in World War II Washington D C United States Army Center of Military History Government Printing Office OCLC 1351714 MacDonald Charles B amp Mathews Sydney T 1952 Three Battles Arnaville Altuzzo and Schmidt United States Army in World War II Washington D C United States Army Center of Military History Government Printing Office OCLC 1350067 Martin Edward ed 1924 The Twenty Eighth Division Pennsylvania Guard in the World War Norwood Mass Washington Press OCLC 2886171 Nevitt Thomas R October 1948 A Guard Division Trains for M Day Washington D C Army Information Digest p 35 Ohe John K Summer 1978 The Keystone Division in the Great War Washington D C Prologue The Journal of the National Archives pp 82 89 Peterman I H 28 September 1946 They Took the Nazis Sunday Punch Saturday Evening Post pp 2 Otf Pennsylvania in the World War An Illustrated History of the Twenty Eighth Division 2 vols Pittsburgh Pennsylvania States Publications Society 1921 OCLC 3878635 Proctor Henry George 1919 The Iron Division National Guard of Pennsylvania in the World War the Authentic and Comprehensive Narrative of the 28th Division in the World s Greatest War Philadelphia Pennsylvania John C Winston Co OCLC 587848 A short history and illustrated roster of the 109th Field Artillery Third Penna Field Artillery 53rd Artillery Brigade 28th Division armies of the United States Colonel Asher Miner commanding officer Headquarters Home Station Wilkes Barre Penna 1879 1917 Edward Stern Co c 1919 OCLC 5621531 Smith Herbert E 1 January 1934 A E F Divisional Insignia The Twenty Eighth Division Washington D C Recruiting News p 3 National Guardsman SRF November 1965 pp 8 16 OCLC 1713900 The States Pass in Review Pennsylvania 28th Infantry Keystone Division Washington D C National Guard January 1991 p 125 Taylor Benjamin G August 1954 Operation Schmidt Washington D C Military Review pp 30 39 OCLC 173329860 28th Infantry Division Germany 1953 n p 1953 28th Infantry Division Pennsylvania National Guard Summer Encampment 1956 n p 1956 OCLC 23466167 Twenty Eighth Infantry Division United States Army Camp Atterbury Indiana Roll on 28th Pictorial Review 1950 1951 Atlanta Georgia Albert Love Enterprises 1951 Twenty Eighth Infantry Division United States Army Europe Pictorial Review 1951 1952 Atlanta Georgia Albert Love Enterprises 1952 28th Roll On The Story of the 28th Infantry Division Paris France G I Stories 1945 Warner Frank A 1919 Journal of Operations Twenty Eighth Division A E F August 5 1917 to November 2 1918 n p OCLC 4139192 Weaver Michael E 2010 Guard Wars The 28th Infantry Division in World War II Indiana University Press ISBN 978 0 253 35521 8 Further reading editTriplet William S 2000 Ferrell Robert H ed A Youth in the Meuse Argonne Columbia Mo University of Missouri Press pp 244 ISBN 0 8262 1290 5 LCCN 00029921 OCLC 43707198 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to 28th Infantry Division United States GlobalSecurity org 28th Infantry Division 28th Infantry Division Association Reconstructed Roster of the 28th INF DIV by Jim West US Army 28th Infantry Division Records 1867 1868 at Dartmouth College Library Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 28th Infantry Division United States amp oldid 1220623998, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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