The Daily Alaska empire., 1935-07-11
Third Dipision, United States Army, Remarkable Record m World Wm, Celebrates Organisation Day Monday; Chilkoot Soldiers Pat of Dipision

The Third Divfsion.e United States Army-the "West's Own"-will cele- brate Organization Day on next Monday, July 15. in memory of it's fo1nding and its brilliant history. The Seventh Infantry, part of which is stationed at Chilkoot Bar racks, and soon to visit Juneau, is part of the Third Division and the history of this Army Division is particularly interesting to this sec tion of Alaska.
 July Is is chosen for the obsery- ance because on this date. in 1918, the division fought for sthe first time as a unit, met the selected shock troops of the enemy and stopped them. Astride the Surmelin Creek, and along the banks of the Marne, the 3rd Division fought with such brilliance, tenacity and courage that it won for itself the name, Rock of the Marne'
 Original Composition
 The Division was organized in Novemer, 1917, at Camp Green, North Carolina, from troops of the Regular Army and by transfers from other units. The original composition was as follows:
 5th Infantry Brigade-4th In- fantry, 7th Infantry and 9th Ma chine Gun Battalion.
 9th Infantry Brigade 30th h. fantry, 38th Infantry, and 9th Ma chine Gun Battalion.
 3rd Field Artillery Brigade-10th Field Artillery, 18th Field Artillery, 76th Field Artillery and the 3rd Trench Mortar Battalion. .r err
 Divisional Troops-7th Machine Gun Battalion, 9th Engineers, 5th Signal Battalion, and the Head quarters Troops.
 sTrains-3rd Train Headquarters and Military Police; 3rd sAmmuni- tion Train; 3rd Supply Train; 9th Engineers Train and 3rd Sanitary Train. F4 T
 Most of these basic units still remain as elements of the 3rd Di- vision, stationed throughout the West, but the machine gun bat talions disappeared with the redis- tribution of this weapon to provide one company of machine guns to each rifle battalion @nsta
 First Overseas
 The first unit of the division to go overseas was the 9th Engineers (now stationed at Fort Lawton and Fort Lewis, Washo, which was designated for early duty in France. It arrived in France December 20, 1917. A detachment of the regi- n1ent serving With the British oc- cupied active sectors and took part in the operation known as the Somne Defensive Division Headquarters arrived in France on April 4, 1918, and the last unit on May 12. 1918.
 For training purposes the di- vision stless the artillery and en- gineers) was sent to the Chateau Villain area, the artillery ping. to Coetquidan for the. same purpose. The artillery rejoined the division July 6, 1918, and was present with it in the Marne Defensive and the Aisne Marne Offensive, remaining with the Division until September T, 1918, when it was detached for participation in the St, Mihiel Of- fensive with isthe' 4th Corps. The artillery brigade rejoined the divi- sion September IS, 1918, and from this time until the Armistice serv- ed as division artillery with the 3rd or some other division.
 Goes Into Line ri
 In June, 1918, the entire division went into line in the Chateau Thierry sector Operating under the 38th Army Corps (French} 1t took an active part in the Aisne De- fensive June 1 to June 5. On June Is the 7th Infantry was detached and placed at the disposal of the 2nd Division in Belleau Woods, where it relieved the 5th and 9th Marines (4th Brigade). It was withdrawn from the fine on the night of June 23-24 and rejoined the Division. i'.. In the Champagne -Marne De- fensive, July Is to Is, holding the south bank of the Marne River for twelve kilometers east from Cha teau-Thierry, the Division earned for itself the highest commenda- tion for gallantry in an action which marked the turning point of the war;. 4 M Its entire front was subjected to an intense artillery bombardment. Then came the infantry attack, its greatest strength being between Fossoy and Mouline. The 9th Bri- gade (3Oth and 38th Infantry de- lending the right flank, effectually frustrated the enemy's contemplat- ed advance through the valley of the Surmelin River to the south Holding the extreme right, in the