26th Infantry Division ( United States ) The 26th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army . As a major formation of the Massachusetts Army National Guard , it was based in Boston , Massachusetts for most of its history . Today , the division ' s heritage is carried on by the 26th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade . Formed in July 18 , 1917 and activated August 22 , 1917 at Camp Edwards , MA , consisting of units from the New England area , the division ' s commander selected the nickname " Yankee Division " to highlight the division ' s geographic makeup . Sent to Europe in World War I as part of the American Expeditionary Force , the division saw extensive combat in France . Sent to Europe once again for World War II , the division again fought through France , advancing into Germany and liberating the Gusen concentration camp before the end of the war . Following the end of World War II , the division remained as an active command in the National Guard , gradually expanding its command to contain units from other divisions which had been consolidated . However , the division was never called up to support any major contengencies or see major combat , and was eventually deactivated in 1993 , reorganized as a brigade under the 29th Infantry Division . History . World War I . The 26th Infantry Division was first constituted on 18 July 1917 as the 26th Division . It was formally activated on 22 August of that year in Boston , Massachusetts . The division commanded two brigades comprising national guard units from Massachusetts , Connecticut , Rhode Island , New Hampshire , Vermont , and Maine . The 51st Infantry Brigade contained the 101st Infantry Regiment and the 102nd Infantry Regiment , while the 52nd Infantry Brigade contained the 103rd Infantry Regiment and the 104th Infantry Regiment . Shortly thereafter , division commander Major General C . R . Edwards called a press conference to determine a nickname for the newly formed division . Edwards decided to settle on the suggestion of " Yankee Division " since all of the subordinate units of the division were from New England . Shortly thereafter , the division approved a shoulder sleeve insignia with a " YD " monogram to reflect this . On 21 September 1917 , the division arrived at St Nazaire , France . It was second division of the American Expeditionary Force to arrive into the theater at the time , and the first division wholly organized in the United States , joining the 1st Infantry Division . Two additional divisions completed the first wave of American troop deployment , with the 2nd Division formed in France and the 42nd Division arriving at St . Nazaire on 29 October . The division immediately moved to Neufchâteau for training , as most of the division ' s soldiers were raw recruits , new to military service . Because of this , much of the division ' s force was trained by the experienced French forces . It trained extensively with the other three US divisions , organized as the U . S . I Corps in January 1918 , before being moved into a quiet sector of the trenches . The 26th Infantry Division remained in a relatively quiet region of the lines along the Chemin des Dames for several months before it relieved the 1st Division near St . Mihiel on 3 April . In late April , German infantry conducted a raid on positions of the 26th Division , one of the first attacks on Americans during the war . At 0400 on 20 April , German field artillery bombarded the 102nd Infantry ' s positions near Seicheprey before German " stoßtruppen " moved against the village . The artillery box barrage , continuing 36 hours , isolated American units . The Germans overwhelmed a machine gun company and two infantry companies of the 102nd and temporarily breached the trenches before elements of the division rallied and recaptured the village . The Germans withdrew before the division could counterattack but inflicted 634 casualties , including 80 killed , 424 wounded , and 130 captured , while losing over 600 men , including 150 killed of their own . Similar raids struck the 101st infantry at Flirey on 27 May , and the 103rd Infantry at Xivray - et - Marvoisin on 16 June , but were repulsed . The 26th Division was relieved by the 82nd Division on 28 June , moved by train to Meaux , and entered the line again northwest of Chateau Thierry , relieving the U . S . 2nd Division on 5 July . As the size of the American Expeditionary Force grew , the division was placed under command of I U . S . Corps in July . When the Aisne - Marne campaign began shortly thereafter , the division , under I U . S . Corps was placed under command of the French Sixth Army protecting its east flank . When the offensive began , the division advanced up the spine of the Marne salient for several weeks , pushing through Belleau Wood , moving 10 miles from 18 to 25 July . On 12 August it was pulled from the lines near Toul to prepare for the next offensive . The division was then a part of the offensive at St . Mihiel , during the Battle of Saint - Mihiel . The division then moved in position for the last major offensive of the war , at Meuse - Argonne . This campaign was the last of the war , as an armistice was sighed shortly thereafter . During World War I the division spent 210 days in combat , and suffered 1 , 587 killed in action and 12 , 077 wounded in action . The division returned to the United States and was demobilized on 3 May 1919 at Camp Devens , Massachusetts . In the years following World War I , the division remained in the National Guard , seeing periodic reorganizations but no major deployments except for weekend training . In 1921 , the 102nd Infantry Regiment was replaced in the guard by the 182nd Infantry Regiment . In 1923 , the 103rd Infantry Regiment was replaced with the 181st Infantry Regiment . In 1941 , the 101st Infantry Regiment was replaced with the 164th Infantry Regiment briefly ; one year later it was relieved from the division , along with the 182nd Infantry Regiment , in order to form the Americal Division . World War II . As a part of Army - wide reorganization , the division ' s brigade headquarters were disbanded in favor of regimental commands . The division was instead based around three regiments ; the 101st Infantry Regiment , the 104th Infantry Regiment , and the 328th Infantry Regiment . Also assigned to the division were the 101st , 102nd , 180th , and 263rd Field Artillery Battalions , the 39th Signal Company , the 726th Ordnance Company , the 26th Quartermaster Company , the 26th Reconnaissance Troop , the 101st Engineer Combat Battalion , and the 114th Medical Battalion . Major General Willard S . Paul took command of the division , which he would lead through the rest of the war . Before deploying overseas to the ETO , the 26th ID trained at Camp Campbell , Kentucky . Europe . The division was assigned to III Corps of the Ninth United States Army , Twelfth United States Army Group . It was shipped from the United States directly to France , and was never sent to Britain . The 26th Infantry Division landed in France at Cherbourg and Utah Beach on 7 September 1944 , but did not enter combat as a division until a month later . Elements were on patrol duty along the coast from Carteret to Siouville from 13 to 30 September . The 328th Infantry saw action with the 80th Infantry Division from 5 to 15 October . The division was then reassigned to XII Corps of the Third United States Army . On 7 October , the 26th relieved the 4th Armored Division in the Salonnes - Moncourt - Canal du Rhine au Marne sector , and maintained defensive positions . The division launched a limited objective attack on 22 October , in the Moncourt woods . On 8 November , the division went on the offensive , took Dieuze on 20 November , advanced across the Saar River to Saar Union , and captured it on 2 December , after house - to - house fighting . Reaching Maginot fortifications on 5 December , it regrouped , entering Saareguemines on 8 December . Around this time it was reassigned to III Corps . Rest at Metz was interrupted by the Battle of the Bulge . The division moved north to Luxembourg from 19 to 21 December , to take part in the battle of the Ardennes break - through . It attacked at Rambrouch and Grosbous on 22 December , beat off strong German counterattacks , captured Arsdorf on Christmas Day after heavy fighting , attacked toward the Wiltz River , but was forced to withdraw in the face of determined German resistance . After regrouping on 5 – 8 January 1945 , it attacked again , crossing the Wiltz River on 20 January . The division continued its advance , taking Grumelscheid on 21 January , and crossed the Clerf River on 24 January . The division was reassigned to XX Corps . The division immediately shifted to the east bank of the Saar , and maintained defensive positions in the Saarlautern area from 29 January until 6 March 1945 . The division ' s drive to the Rhine River jumped off on 13 March 1945 , and carried the division through Merzig from 17 March , to the Rhine by 21 March , and across the Rhine at Oppenheim on 25 – 26 March . The division was then reassigned to XII Corps . It took part in the house - to - house reduction of Hanau on 28 March , broke out of the Main River bridgehead , drove through Fulda on 1 April , and helped reduce Meiningen on 5 April . Moving southeast into Austria , the division assisted in the capture of Linz , 5 May . It had changed the direction of its advance , and was moving northeast into Czechoslovakia , across the Vlatava River , when the cease - fire order was received . One day later , the division overran the Gusen concentration camp in conjunction with the 11th Armored Division , liberating it from German forces . There , it discovered that the Germans had used forced labor to carve out an elaborate tunnel system with underground aircraft production facilities . SS officers at the camp allegedly planned to demolish the tunnels with the prisoners inside , but the movement of the 26th Infantry and 11th Armored divisions prevented this . Post - war . During World War II , the 26th Infantry Division spent 199 days in combat . During that time , it suffered 1 , 678 killed in action , 7 , 379 wounded in action , 740 missing in action , 159 prisoners of war , and 6 , 895 non - battle casualties , for a total of 16 , 851 casualties during the conflict . Soldiers of the division received two Medals of Honor , and won 38 Distinguished Service Crosses , seven Legions of Merit , 927 Silver Star Medal s , 42 Soldier ' s Medal s , 5 , 331 Bronze Star Medal s , and 98 Air Medal s . The division returned to the United States and inactivated at Camp Myles Standish , Massachusetts on 21 December 1945 . Cold War . The division was reactivated on 11 April 1947 in Boston . It remained as the major command of the Massachusetts Army National Guard , but its command took control of units from other states following consolidation of the Army National Guard . The division remained as an active reserve component of the Army National Guard , but it was not selected for any deployments to cold war contengencies . In 1956 the division received its distinctive unit insignia . In 1963 , the division was reorganized under the Reorganization Objective Army Division plan . Its regimental commands were inactivated in favor of brigades . The 101st Infantry Regiment became the 1st Brigade , 26th Infantry Division , headquartered in Dorchester , Massachusetts . The 104th Infantry Regiment became the 3rd Brigade , 26th Infantry Division , headquartered in Springfield , Massachusetts . The division was organized as a light infantry division , and in 1967 the 43rd Infantry Division of the Connecticut Army National Guard was consolidated into the 43rd Brigade , 26th Division , and put under the command of the 26th Infantry Division . On 1 April 1988 , the division was relocated to Camp Edwards , Massachusetts . The division headquarters was consolidated with 1st Brigade , 26th Infantry Division . In its place , the 86th Infantry Brigade was assigned to the division as a round - out unit . Inactivation . Following the end of the Cold War , the Army began a process of downsizing its forces . The Army reactivated the 29th Infantry Division and began reorganizing its forces and further consolidating them . As a result , the Army decided to downsize the 26th Infantry Division into a brigade , and put it under the command of the 29th Infantry Division . On 1 September 1993 , the division was inactivated , and the 26th Infantry Brigade designated in its place , based in Springfield . The 3rd and 43rd brigades , 26th Infantry Division were inactivated , and the 86th Infantry Brigade was put under the command of the 42nd Infantry Division . On 1 October 1995 , the division was formally designated the 26th Brigade , 29th Infantry Division . In 2004 , the 26th Brigade transitioned into the 26th ( Yankee ) Infantry Brigade Combat Team . Honors . The division received six campaign streamer s in World War I and four campaign streamers in World War II , for a total of 10 campaign streamers in its operational lifetime . Legacy . The beltway around the city of Boston , Massachusetts Route 128 , is nicknamed the " Yankee Division Highway " in honor of the 26th Infantry Division . For its contribution in liberating the Gusen concentration camp , the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum continually flies the division ' s colors at its entrance and for high - profile memorial ceremonies , honoring it as one of 35 US divisions to have assisted in the liberation of German concentration camps . Notable members of the division include Walter Krueger , Edward Lawrence Logan , and Sergeant Stubby , a dog that served with the Division in combat in World War I . Additionally , two members of the division received the Medal of Honor in World War II , Ruben Rivers , and Alfred L . Wilson .