25th Infantry Division (United States)
After spending almost a year training, it fought in the Allied counteroffensive during the Guadalcanal Campaign from December 1942, helping to end organized Japanese resistance on that island by early February 1943.The division returned to combat in the January 1945 invasion of Luzon, reducing Japanese resistance on the island until late June, after which it was pulled out of the line for training.When the Korean War began in June 1950, the division was deployed to South Korea, where it fought in the defense of and the breakout from the Pusan Perimeter in mid-1950, with elements advancing as far as the Amnok River in November.After the Japanese air attack on Schofield Barracks on 7 December 1941, the 25th Infantry Division moved to beach positions for the defense of Honolulu and Ewa Point.First elements landed near the Tenaru River, 17 December 1942, and entered combat, 10 January 1943, participating in the seizure of Kokumbona and the reduction of the Mount Austen Pocket in some of the bitterest fighting of the Pacific campaign.The threat of large enemy attacks caused a temporary withdrawal, but division elements under XIV Corps control relieved the 147th Infantry and took over the advance on Cape Esperance.Moving through the rice paddies, the 25th occupied Umingan, Lupao, and San Jose and destroyed a great part of the Japanese armor on Luzon.The division, then under the command of Major General William B. Kean, successfully completed its first mission by blocking the approaches to the port city Pusan.The Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) entered the war on the side of North Korea, making their first attacks in late October.The division was forced to carry out a systematic withdrawal and ordered to take up defensive positions on the south bank of the Chongchon River on 30 November 1950.Eventually, these lines failed and Eighth Army suffering heavy casualties, ordered a complete withdrawal to the Imjin River, near the 38th Parallel.With leaders of four nations now at the negotiating tables in the summer of 1951, Division activity slowed to patrol and defensive actions to maintain the line of resistance.23 days later, when ceasefire negotiations at Panmunjom stalled, a heavy PVA assault hit the Nevada Complex, the division held its ground; the brunt of the attack was absorbed by the attached Turkish Brigade and the 14th Infantry Regiment.By successfully defending Seoul from continued attack from May to July 1953, the division earned its second Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.[citation needed] The division's 14th Infantry Regiment had three recipients of the Medal of Honor, Donn F. Porter, Ernest E. West and Bryant E. Womack.Finally, the 27th Infantry Regiment had five recipients, John W. Collier, Reginald B. Desiderio, Benito Martinez, Lewis L. Millett and Jerome A. Sudut.Now reorganized, the 25th Infantry Division trained for the next eight years throughout the Pacific Theater and continued to improve its combat capabilities with troop deployment varying in size from squads, who participated in training missions with Fijian forces, to exercises as large as Team Spirit, where more than 5,000 divisional troops and 1,700 pieces of equipment were airlifted to South Korea for this annual exercise.The four primary characteristics of this new light infantry division were to be: mission flexibility, rapid deployment and combat readiness at 100 percent strength with a Pacific Basin orientation.With the loss of large quantities of heavy equipment, the 25th Infantry Division earned the designation "light" — the reorganization was completed by 1 October 1986.Company A's platoon was separated from the other Wolfhounds following that battle to accompany General H. Norman Schwarzkopf into Iraq 1 March 1991 to provide security at the truce signing.As a major ground reserve force for the U.S. Pacific Command, the "Tropic Lightning" Division routinely deploys from Schofield Barracks to participate in exercises in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia and the Big Island of Hawaii.Serving with the Multi-National Division-Baghdad, the brigade was responsible for the rural areas northwest and west of Baghdad with the 1st Battalion operating near Abu Ghuraib.1st Battalion, 21st Infantry, working closely with their Iraqi counterparts, eliminated terrorist cells and uncovered and destroyed multiple weapons caches.On 18 December 2011 the Division Headquarters completed its retrograde, training and security mission and redeployed back to Schofield Barracks Hawaii.As part of Regional Command- East, 3rd BCT assumed responsibility for security and stability operations for Nangarhar, Kunar and Nuristan provinces located along the border with Pakistan.The Pathfinders conducted air assault missions with the 2nd Afghan National Civil Order Patrol SWAT to cut off the export of drugs into the area and keep the weapons from coming into the province.[38] Subsequently, in June 2022 the two 25th ID patch wearing units, 1st and 4th BCTs, which were under operational control of USARAK, reflagged to 1st and 2nd Brigade Combat Teams, 11th Abn Division, respectively.He is shown in full infantry uniform (bearing his surname), looking at a deceased comrade's boots, weapon, and helmet, set up as a field cross.
Shoulder sleeve insigniaUnited States ArmyJungle warfareI CorpsSchofield BarracksWahiawaSpecial DesignationWorld War IIPacific WarPearl HarborGuadalcanalNew GeorgiaLuzon (1945)Korean WarPusan PerimeterVietnam WarTet OffensiveGlobal War on TerrorismIraq WarWar in AfghanistanOperation Freedom's SentinelSyrian Civil WarOperation Inherent ResolveMarcus S. EvansJ. Lawton CollinsWilliam B. KeanSamuel Tankersley WilliamsJonathan O. SeamanFrederick C. WeyandJames T. HillWilliam E. WardRobert L. CaslenDistinctive unit insigniaCombat service identification badgeAsia-PacificFort ShermanAttack on Pearl HarborGuadalcanal CampaignNew Georgia CampaignNew ZealandNew Caledoniainvasion of Luzonoccupation of JapanAmnok River38th parallelarmisticeSouth VietnamOperation AttleboroOperation Cedar FallsOperation Junction CityBattle of SaigonCambodian Incursionlight infantryArmy of the United StatesHawaiian DivisionRegular ArmyHeadquarters and Headquarters Company35th Infantry RegimentsHawaii National Guard24th Infantry Division"triangular" division100th Infantry BattalionWashington National Guard161st Infantry Regiment41st Infantry DivisionJapanese air attackHonoluluHenderson FieldTenaru RiverKokumbonaMount Austen PocketXIV Corps147th InfantryCape EsperanceAmerical DivisionVella LavellaBairoko HarborArundel IslandKolombangaraVila AirportSan FabianPhilippinesLuzon Central PlainBinalonanUminganSan JoseCaraballo Mountains32nd Infantry DivisionBattle of Villa Verde TrailDigdigPutlanKapintalanBalete PassCagayan ValleyTarlacUnited States Army Pacific27th Infantry Regiment35th Infantry Regiment8th Field Artillery Battalion105 mm155 mmNorth KoreanKorean People's ArmySouth KoreaUnited NationsEighth United States ArmyRepublic of Korea Presidential Unit Citationbreakout from the Pusan perimeterbegan a general offensive northward7th Infantry DivisionInchon beachheadIX Corpsinto North KoreaPyongyangRepublic of Korea Army1st Infantry Division1st Cavalry Divisioncaptured the cityPeople's Volunteer ArmySecond Phase OffensiveChongchon Rivercomplete withdrawalImjin Rivernew offensiveInchonKimpo Air Base