William G . Haan William George Haan ( October 4 , 1863 - October 26 , 1924 ) was a general in World War I . He graduated from West Point in 1889 , from the Army War College in 1905 , and was commissioned in the Artillery . He served in Cuba and the Philippines , and in 1903 went to Panama at the request of Theodore Roosevelt . He was Acting Chief of Staff of the Pacific Division during the Army ' s relief work following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake . Early military service . He was born in Crown Point , Indiana , and after graduating from West Point , was promoted to First Lieutenant in August 1896 . In 1898 - 1901 he served as Captain of Volunteers , in both Cuba and the Philippines . He was made a Captain of the Regular Army in February 1901 , and was mustered out of the Volunteer service the next month . From 1903 – 06 he served as a member of the General Staff and went to Panama for Theodore Roosevelt . As Acting Chief of Staff of the Pacific Division , he assisted with relief work after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake . For the next several years , he was responsible for several coastal defense positions . In April 1907 , he became a Major and in December 1911 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel . He again served on the General Staff from 1912 – 14 , and in July 1916 was promoted to a Colonel in the Coast Artillery . 32nd Division Commander during World War I . In April 1917 , he was given the temporary rank of Brigadier General and assigned to command the 57th Field Artillery Brigade of the 32nd Infantry Division at Camp MacArthur , Texas . Troop E commanded by Captain John S . Coney was formed in Kenosha on May 10 , 1917 , and the Division was officially formed on May 29 , 1917 . On August 26 , 1917 , Major General James Parker assumed command . General Parker had previously been awarded the Medal of Honor during the Philippine - American War . Only two months later , the 32nd Division was activated in July 1917 at Camp MacArthur , Waco , Texas of National Guard units from Wisconsin and Michigan . In December 1917 , Haan was promoted again to the temporary rank of Major General and commander of the Division . Division leadership was switched several times between Parker and Haan before the unit arrived in France in February 1918 under Haan ' s leadership , becoming the sixth U . S . division to join the Allied Expeditionary Force . In July , it entered the line with the French 6th Army . 32nd Division combat in France and Germany . The Division ' s men were the first American soldiers to enter cross the German border , piercing the famed and until this time invincible German Hindenburg Line of defense . Major General James Parker reassumed command on December 7 , 1917 , leading the unit into Alsace in May 1918 , attacking in seven days . Origin of the 32nd Division nickname . During the Battle of Marne , the 32nd Division captured Fismes , and during August their successful capture of Juvigny earned it the nickname " Le Terribles " . A French general , impressed by their accomplishment , commented that they " " shot through every line the Germans put before it . " The division was nicknamed " Les Terribles " , honoring them for their unrelenting and successful attacks against the Germans . The division ' s shoulder patch , a line shot through with a red arrow , signifies its tenacity during World War I . It was the only American unit in General Charles Mangin s famous 10th French Army , it fought in the Oise - Aisne offensive . The Division fought continuously for 20 days during the Meuse - Argonne Offensive and penetrated the last German defensive stronghold , the Kriemhilde Stellung , crossing the Meuse River . Up to this point much of the war had been a stalemate , fought from static trench lines over the same few kilometers of terrain . Their next objective was to flank the Germans at Metz . The division was the front line element of the Third U . S . Army . Members of the Division marched to the Rhine River . They were the first Allied Army Unit to pierce the famed German Hindenburg Line of defense . There they occupied the center sector in the Colbenz bridgehead for four months , during which they held 400 square kilometers and 63 towns . From May through November 1918 , they were given only 10 days of rest . The Division fought in three major offensives , engaging and defeating 23 German divisions . They took 2 , 153 prisoners and gained , pushing back every German counterattack . Their success was remarkable . In November , following the armistice , Hann became commander of VII Corps for occupation duty . A few days later he was promoted to permanent Brigadier General . In April 1919 he returned to the US with 32nd Division , and after its inactivation again , assigned to the General Staff . Casualties and decorations . The 32nd Division was still engaging German troops east of the Meuse River when the Armistice was finally signed . The division suffered a total of 13 , 261 casualties , including 2 , 250 men killed in action and 11 , 011 wounded , placing it third in the number of battle deaths among U . S . Army divisions . The American , French , and Belgian governments decorated more than 800 officers and enlisted men for their gallantry in combat . All four division infantry regiments , the three artillery regiments , and the division ' s three machine gun battalions were awarded the Croix de guerre by the Republic of France . The flag and standard of every unit in the division was authorized four American battle streamers . Division deactivation and reorganization . Following the war ' s end , the division served in the Army of Occupation in Germany , commanded by Maj . Gen . William Lassiter . The division was inactivated on April 5 , 1919 . On July 24 , 1924 , the 32nd Division was reorganized again , composed of National Guard units from Wisconsin and Michigan . Its headquarters was home stationed at Lansing , Michigan . Final years and retirement . In July 1920 , Haan was promoted to Major General and named Director of the War Plans Division . He retired in May 1922 and was for a time associated with the Milwaukee Journal . He died at Washington , D . C . , on October 26 , 1924 . He was buried in Section 4 of Arlington National Cemetery . The , launched March 1945 , was named in his honor .