7th Infantry Division Unit History (LoneSentry.com)

[Webmaster Note: The following division information is reproduced from the public domain publication, The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950. Portions of the information may be out of date. Only minor formatting changes and typographical corrections have been made.]

World War I

Activated: 6 December 1917.
Overseas: July 1917.
Campaigns: Did not participate as a division.
Casualties: Total 1,709 (KIA - 204; WIA - 1,505).
Commanders: Brig. Gen. C. H. Barth (1 January 1918), Brig. Gen. Tiemann N. Horn (17 February 1918), Brig. Gen. C. H. Barth (25 February 1918), Brig. Gen. Tiemann N. Horn (7 June 1918), Brig. Gen. C. H. Barth (21 June 1918), Brig. Gen. Lutz Wahl (24 October 1918), Maj. Gen. Edward Wittenmyer (28 October 1918).
Inactivated: 22 September 1921.

World War II

Activated: 1 July 1940.
Overseas: 24 April 1943.
Campaigns: Aleutian Islands, Leyte, Eastern Mandates, Ryukyus.
Days of combat: 208.
Distinguished Unit Citations: 9.
Awards: MH-3; DSC-26; DSM-1; SS-982; LM-33; SM-50; BSM-3,853; AM-178.
Commanders: Maj. Gen. Joseph W. Stillwell (1 July 1940-August 1941), Maj. Gen. C. H. White (August 1941-Octdber 1942), Maj. Gen. A. E. Brown (22 October 1942-21 April 1943), Maj. Gen. Eugene M. Landrum (May 1943-June 1943), Brig. Gen. A. V. Arnold (July 1943-September 1943), Maj. Gen. C. H. Corlett (6 September 1943-19 February 1944), Maj. Gen. A. V. Arnold (19 February 1944-8 September 1945), Brig. Gen. J. L. Ready (8 September 1945-January 1946), Brig. Gen. L. J. Stewart (January 1946-March 1946), Maj. Gen. Andrew D. Bruce (March 1946-October 1947), Brig. Gen. Harlan N. Hartness (October 1947-1 May 1948), Maj. Gen. William F. Dean (1 September 1948-).

Combat Chronicle

Elements of the 7th Infantry Division first saw combat in the amphibious assault on Attu, western-most Japanese entrenchment in the Aleutian chain. Elements landed, 11 May 1943, and fought a bitter battle over freezing tundra against fanatically resisting Japanese, finally defeating the Japanese at Chichagof Harbor. In August 1943 elements of the Division took part in the assault on Kiska, only to find the island deserted by the Japanese. With the Aleutians secured, the Division moved to Hawaii, where it trained in amphibious landing technique and in jungle warfare. On 31 January 1944 the Division landed on islands in the Kwajalein Atoll in conjunction with the 4th Marine Division, and in a week of heavy fighting, wrested them from the Japanese. Elements took part in the capture of Engebi in the Eniwetok Atoll, 18 February 1944. The Division then moved to Oahu, T. H., remaining there until mid-September when it sailed to join the assault on the Philippines. On 20 October 1944, the Division made an assault landing at Dulag, Leyte, and after heavy fighting secured airstrips at Dulag, San Pablo, and Buri. The troops moved north to take Dagami, 29 October, and then shifted to the west coast of Leyte, 26 November, and attacked north toward Ormoc, securing Valencia, 25 December. An amphibious landing by the 77th Infantry Division effected the capture of Ormoc, 11 December 1944, and the 7th joined in its occupation. Mopping up operations continued until early February 1945. Next D-day for the Division was 1 April 1945, when it made an assault landing on Okinawa. It drove from the west to the east coast on the first day and engaged in a savage 51-day battle in the hills of southern Okinawa.

General

Shoulder patch: Red circular patch bearing black hour glass which is formed by inverted "7" and superimposed "7".
Association: Seventh Infantry Division Association.
Publications: History of the 7th Infantry Division: by Capt. Edmund Love and unit members; The Infantry Journal, Washington, D.C.