41st Infantry Division ( United States ) The 41st Infantry Division was composed of National Guard units from Idaho , Montana , Oregon , North Dakota and Washington ( U . S . state ) that saw active service in World War I and World War II . It was one of the first to engage in offensive ground combat operations during the last months of 1942 . In 1965 it was reorganized as the 41st Infantry Brigade . The Brigade has seen combat in the Iraq war in 2003 and is on alert at this moment for deployment in 2014 . World War I . The 41st was first activated for Army service in 1 April 1917 primarily from Guard units of the Northwestern United States and trained at Camp Green , North Carolina . It consisted of the 81st Infantry Brigade ( 161st and 162nd Infantry Regiments ) and the 82nd Infantry Brigade ( 163rd and 164th Infantry Regiments ) . On 26 November 1917 the first elements of the division embarked for Europe as part of the American Expeditionary Force ( AEF ) . Men of the 41st were aboard the " SS Tuscania " when it was torpedoed by a German U - boat and sunk off the coast of Northern Ireland . In France , the 41st Division received a major disappointment . It was designated a replacement division and did not go to combat as a unit . The majority of its infantry personnel went to the 1st , 2nd , 32nd and 42nd Infantry Divisions where they served throughout the war . The 147th Artillery Regiment ( United States ) was attached to the 32nd Division and saw action at the Third Battle of the Aisne , the Meuse - Argonne and other areas . The 146th and 148th of the 66th Field Artillery Brigade were attached as corps artillery units and participated in the battles of Château - Thierry , Aisne - Marne , St Mihiel and Meuse - Argonne . World War II . Preparation . In 1921 , the 41st Division was allocated to Pacific Northwest states . Its units returned to National Guard status but retained divisional organisation . Each state was instructed to form divisional units . Major General George A . White was appointed to command of the division in 1929 and eventually led it into World War II . As the international situation worsened in the 1930s , the intensity and urgency of training in the 41st increased . In 1937 , the 41st paired with the 3rd Division for Corps manoeuvres at Fort Lewis . In these manoeuvres , a " Blue Army " drawn from the 41st Division attempted a combat crossing of the Nisqually River , which was defended by a " Red Army " under the command of Brigadier General George Marshall , then the commander of the 5th Infantry Brigade at Vancouver Barracks . The 41st Division ' s mission was accomplished by a night crossing of the river . The 41st Division ' s annual summer camp at Fort Lewis in June and July 1940 was extended from two weeks to three , and on 16 September 1940 with President Franklin D . Roosevelt ' s signing of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 , the 41st Division was inducted into Federal service for one year . By this time , a National Guard recruiting campaign had raised the strength of the division to 14 , 000 – still well short of its war establishment strength of 18 , 500 . The difference was made up by 7 , 000 selective service men , the first of whom arrived in February 1941 . The division was initially accommodated in a tented camp known as Camp Murray until the construction of new permanent accommodation nearby Fort Lewis could be completed . Delayed by strike action at sawmills in Washington and Oregon and by maritime workers , the project fell behind schedule , and the entire division was not accommodated in the new barracks until April 1941 . The 41st Division was grouped with the 3rd Division as part of IX Corps . In May 1941 , the two divisions moved to the Hunter Liggett Military Reservation where June war games pitted them against Major General Joseph Stilwell ' s 7th Division and the 40th Division . Large scale manoeuvres continued in August on the Olympic Peninsula , with IX Corps defending Tacoma , Washington until the two divisions from California could arrive to assist . General White died on 23 November 1941 and was replaced by Brigadier General Horace H . Fuller , the former commander of the 3rd Division Artillery . Promoted to Major General on 15 December 1941 , he would remain commander until June 1944 . Following the attack on Pearl Harbor , the 41st Infantry Division was deployed to defend the coastline of Washington and Oregon against a possible Japanese landing . The 218th Field Artillery was at sea " en route " to the Philippines ; it was turned back to San Francisco and eventually rejoined the division . The 41st Division was officially renamed the 41st Infantry Division on 2 August 1941 . In January and February 1942 , it was reorganised as a " triangular " division , losing the 161st Infantry , which eventually joined the 25th Infantry Division , and other units . Deployed overseas . In February 1942 , the 41st Infantry Division was alerted for overseas movement . It handed over its coastal defence responsibilities to the 3rd Infantry Division and concentrated at Fort Lewis . First to depart was the 162nd Infantry , 641st Tank Destroyer Battalion , and 41st Reconnaissance Troop , which entrained later that month for Fort Dix . This group departed the Brooklyn Navy Yard on 3 March 1942 and sailed for the Pacific via the Panama Canal , reaching Melbourne on 9 April . They were among the first U . S . military units to be engaged in offensive ground combat operations . ( The others were the 32nd who preceded them into combat on New Guinea , the Americal and the 1st Marine on Guadalcanal , Carlson ' s Raiders on Makin Island , and the 9th , 3rd Infantry and the 2nd Armored Divisions who fought in North Africa . ) A second group consisting of Division Headquarters , the 163rd Infantry , 41st Signal Company , 116th Engineer Battalion , 167th Field Artillery Battalion , 116th Medical Battalion , and 116th Quartermaster Battalion embarked from San Francisco on 19 March in a convoy that included the liner RMS " Queen Elizabeth " . This convoy reached Australia before the first , on 6 April . Because Melbourne could not accommodate the " Queen Elizabeth " , it unloaded at Sydney and the troops and cargo were moved to Melbourne by rail and smaller Dutch ships . That month the remainder of the division , including the 186th Infantry and 146th , 205th and 218th Field Artillery battalions entrained at Fort Lewis for San Francisco , from whence they sailed for Australia , arriving on 13 May . As each contingent arrived it moved to a camp near Seymour , Victoria , where training was conducted at the nearby Australian Army base at Puckapunyal . In July the division moved by rail to Rockhampton , Queensland . The division had arrived in Australia with a reputation as " the top ranking National Guard division and one of the three top divisions in the whole Army " , a reason for its early shipment . However , the 41st Infantry Division had never conducted manoeuvres with live ammunition and many men had not even fired their own weapons . A training inspection found : Major General Robert L . Eichelberger , whose I Corps headquarters arrived in Rockhampton in August , ordered the division to commence training in jungle warfare . Each infantry battalion in turn was sent down to Toorbul , Queensland for training in amphibious warfare by the Australian Army . Sanananda . In December , General Douglas MacArthur decided to commit more American troops to the Battle of Buna - Gona . The 163rd Regimental Combat Team , under the command of Colonel Jens A . Doe , was alerted on 14 December 1942 . It arrived at Port Moresby on 27 December . The first elements , which included the 1st Battalion and regimental headquarters , flew over the Owen Stanley Range to Popondetta and Dobodura on 30 December , where they came under the command of Lieutenant General Edmund Herring ' s Advanced New Guinea Force . The 163rd Regimental Combat Team was attached to Major General George Alan Vasey ' s 7th Division and Doe assumed command of the Sanananda Front from Brigadier Ivan Dougherty on 3 January 1943 . The front line consisted of a raised road with Japanese positions on relatively dry ground astride it , surrounded by jungle swamp . Roadblocks had been established behind the Japanese positions but they had not been budged ; both sides resupplied their positions through the swamp . Vasey ' s plan was for the Americans to fix the Japanese in position while he attacked with Brigadier George Wootten ' s 18th Infantry Brigade , supported by M3 Stuart light tanks of the 2 / 6th Armoured Regiment and 25 pounder s of the 2 / 1st Field Regiment . Attack on Buna - Gona . Doe , " eager to come to close grips with the Japanese " , requested permission to launch an attack against the enemy Perimeters Q and R between his two roadblocks . Herring and Vasey thought that he was underestimating the enemy , but Vasey gave permission for the attack , provided that it would not jeopardise the main plan . The attack went ahead on the afternoon of 8 January 1943 but both attacking companies of the 1st Battalion , 163rd Infantry encountered heavy fire and were thrown back . First Lieutenant Harold R . Fisk became the first officer of the division to be killed in action . His body could not be immediately recovered . He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star . The roadblock position he had attacked from was named Fisk in his honour . The first part of Vasey ' s plan involved the blocking of the Killerton Trail to prevent the Japanese from using it as an escape route , and to provide a jumping off point for a later advance by the 18th Infantry Brigade . The 2nd Battalion , 163rd Infantry , under Major Walter R . Rankin , set set out early on 9 January 1943 . Company G , covering the flank of the advance , was strongly engaged by Japanese heavy machine gun , mortar , and rifle fire . The remainder of the battalion established themselves astride the trail in a new position which was named Rankin after the battalion commander . The attack had cost four dead and six wounded . More casualties would be taken holding the position over the next few day . On 10 January , a patrol from the 163rd Infantry discovered that the Japanese had unaccountably evacuated Perimeter Q . This was occupied at once by Company A , which sent out tree snipers and patrols to harass the enemy and feel out the contour of the Perimeter R , which was now open to attack from all sides . The Japanese had left behind a considerable quantity of material , including a water - cooled . 50 calibre machine gun . The Japanese had evidently been very hungry and there was evidence of cannibalism . With the roadblock established , the 18th Infantry Brigade launched the main attack against Perimeter P on 12 January . Vasey ' s plan of attack was based on the assumption that the Japanese defenders had no antitank guns . This proved to be incorrect , and three Stuart tanks were hit by fire from a concealed 37mm anti - tank gun . Although the 2 / 9th and 2 / 12th Infantry Battalions killed some Japanese and gained some ground , the Japanese position remained intact . The attack had cost 18th Infantry Brigade 34 killed , 66 wounded and 51 missing . The Australian commanders were now demoralised . Wootten reported that to continue the attack under the existing conditions could only lead to heavy casualties . Vasey directed him to continue aggressive patrolling . They had completely misread the situation . On 14 January , a patrol from the 163rd Infantry captured a very sick Japanese soldier . Taken to 7th Division headquarters for interrogation , the man revealed that the Japanese commander , Lieutenant Colonel Tsukamoto Hatsuo , had ordered all able bodied men to evacuate Perimeter P , leaving the sick and wounded to hold it to the last . Vasey ordered an immediate attack . Supported by a troop of the 2 / 1st Field Regiment and their own mortars , Rankin ' s 2nd Battalion reduced the three small enemy perimeters to the south of their position and advanced to meet the Australians on the Killerton Track . By early afternoon the Australians and Americans had also joined hands on the Sanananda Road as well . Some 152 Japanese were killed and six captured . On 15 January , a platoon of A Company managed to get inside Perimeter R undetected . The rest of the company followed , taking the Japanese defenders by surprise . Company C joined in the attack from the Fisk while Company B attacked from the west . Bunker after bunker fell to small groups attacking with rifles , grenades and submachine guns but the Japanese resistance was desperate and the entire position was not taken until the next day . The Australians carried out a wide envelopment , reaching the sea on 16 January , but the 163rd Infantry remained confronted by Perimeters S , T , and U , although these were not immediately located . A first attack succeeded in establishing a new position called AD . On 19 January an attack supported by 250 25 pounder and 750 M1 Mortar rounds faltered after a Japanese mortar round killed Company I ' s commander , Captain Duncan V . Dupree and its First Sergeant , James W . Boland . In his situation report , under " American troops " , Vasey wrote " Heb . 13 : 8 " ( " Jesus Christ , the same yesterday , today and for ever . " ) But the next day , Companies A and K managed to fight their way into Perimeter T . This softened resistance from Perimeter S , and Companies B and C were then able to capture it . Some 525 Japanese dead were counted after the attack . Finally , on 22 January , Companies I and L were able to capture Perimeter U , counting another 69 Japanese dead . In just three weeks of fighting in January 1943 , the 163rd Infantry lost 85 killed , 16 other deaths , 238 wounded and 584 sick , a total of 923 casualties . Salamaua . The 162nd Infantry , commanded by Colonel A . R . MacKechnie , ended its long period of waiting and got its baptism of fire in early 1943 . The fight , which resulted in the fall of Salamaua and Lae , lasted for 76 days after the initial landing . The Presidential unit citation awarded the 1st Battalion , 162nd Infantry Regiment , reads " for outstanding performance of duty against the enemy near Salamaua , New Guinea . On 29 and 30 June 1943 , this battalion landed at Nassau Bay in one of the first amphibious operations by American forces in the Southwest Pacific Area , on a beach held by the enemy , and during a severe storm which destroyed 90 percent of the landing craft able to reach the beach . Moving inland through deep swamps , crossing swift rivers , cutting its way through dense jungle , over steep ridges , carrying by hand all weapons , ammunition , and food , assisted by only a limited number of natives , this battalion was in contact with the enemy for 76 consecutive days without rest or relief . All operations after the initial landing were far inland . Living conditions were most severe because of constant rain , mud , absence of any shelter , tenacious enemy , and mountainous terrain . The supply of rations , ammunition and equipment was meager . For five weeks all personnel lived on rations dropped by airplane , for days at a time on half rations . Malaria and battle casualties greatly depleted their ranks , but at no time was there a let - up in morale or in determination to destroy the enemy . Each officer and enlisted man was called upon to give his utmost of courage and stamina . The battalion killed 584 Japanese during this period , while suffering casualties of 11 officers and 176 enlisted men . Cutting the Japanese supply line near Mubo , exerting constant pressure on his flank , the valiant and sustained efforts of this battalion were in large part instrumental in breaking enemy resistance and forcing his withdrawal from Salamaua on 12 September 1943 . General Orders 91 . " Hollandia . The 41st Infantry Division returned to Australia for rest , reinforcements , and re - equipping . By April 1944 , they had assembled an armada of a hundred ships carrying 25 , 000 men and tons of equipment for an attack on the Humboldt Bay area of New Guinea to secure Japanese - held airfields . A massive naval bombardment was followed by air strikes to soften the area for the amphibious landing . The 162nd Infantry moved north to overrun its objective , Hollandia Town , while the 186th Infantry moved west to capture two airdromes . On the second day , a low - flying enemy bomber made a direct hit on a Japanese ammunition dump . The subsequent explosions ignited a two - day firestorm that consumed all American ammunition and rations landed in that beach area , and caused 24 deaths and over 100 injuries . Rationing became necessary . Soft sand bogged tanks , and LVTs became mired along swampy roads . The terrain was favorable for the Japanese defensive , but most of their troops had moved to Wewak , where they expected the next Allied thrust . As a result , casualties were light . High - ranking Army and Navy officers who had witnessed the landing described it as the perfect amphibious assault . " Aitape . While the 162nd Infantry and 186th Infantry were making the landings in Humboldt Bay , the 163rd Regimental Combat Team , backbone of a task force of 22 , 500 men under the command of General Doe , was making a simultaneous landing at Aitape . The mission of this force was to rapidly seize the airdromes in the Aitape - Tadji area and to prepare these airfields quickly to accommodate one fighter group . The naval bombardment was so well executed that the enemy fled inland . The advance was so rapid that engineer units pronounced the captured airstrip ready for use two days after the landing . Some enemy resistance was encountered by patrols , but was pushed back effectively . On 3 May the 163rd was relieved by the 32nd Division . Wakde Island . Occupation of Wakde was to be a shore - to - shore operation . It was too small an island to permit a major landing force . Following a naval bombardment on 17 May , the 163rd Infantry landed four companies ( A , B , C and F ) , seized the beachhead and began the push inland assisted by four Sherman medium tanks . The companies executed a successful flanking maneuver which left the important airfield in the middle of the island in Allied control after only two days of fighting . The campaign was unique for its brevity and conclusiveness , and marked the first time that terrain and conditions permitted the full use of tanks . Biak . The 41st Division ' s bloodiest engagement was on the island of Biak , off New Guinea ' s coast . It marked the first time the division had fought as a whole , and resulted in the defeat of over ten thousand well - entrenched and well - led Japanese forces . The campaign extended from May through August 1944 , and the 41st earned a new title , " The Jungleers . " The first tank battle of the Pacific Theater occurred on Biak , when Japanese Type 95 Ha Go tanks attempted to attack the beachhead . They were destroyed by US Army M4 Sherman tanks . Casualties on Biak were 435 Americans KIA and 2 , 360 WIA . The Japanese lost an estimated 6 , 125 KIA , with 460 POWs , and 360 Formosan POWs . After finally securing the island , American troops developed southern Biak into a large airbase and staging area . Biak contained three aerodromes ; Mokmer , Borokoe and Sorido . The capture of Mokmer Drome was particularly challenging due to the proximity of cliffs of coral that provided very strategic cover for Japanese heavy guns . Because the 41st failed to repeat the swift progress made in prior landngs , General Fuller was relieved as commander of Hurricane Task Force . Continuous heavy fighting , intense heat and scarcity of water had tired the task force troops to a critical degree . General Eichelberger and General Doe were to prove able successors , but it took until 20 August to officially terminate a campaign that had begun with beach landings on 27 May 1944 . Palawan . The 186th Regimental Combat Team shormed ashore on 28 February 1945 in the first action in the Philippine Islands . The airfields were found to be unserviceable to the pre - landing bombardments , and the town of Puerto Princesa was mostly destroyed . However , in three years of campaigning , this was the first semblance of civilization . American casualties wre 12 killed and 56 wounded . Japanese losses were 890 dead and 20 POWs . The operation terminated on 20 June 1945 . http : / / en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Invasion _ of _ Palawan Zamboanga . Zamboanga , and the Sulu Archipelago . The massive assault began with naval and air bombardments along the beach defenses east of Zamboanga City , forcing the enemy to evacuate these excellent defensive positions . The 162nd and 163rd Infantry Regiments made their landings , and the enemy fled into the hills in disorder . A series of counterattacks faced the Jungleers , but they prevailed despite well - established hill positions , which were overrun by 24 March . By the end of March , the 186th Infantry had rejoined the Division and relieved elements of the 163rd , who proceeded to the island of Jolo , followed by more island - hopping to Tawi - Tawi . The conquest of the entire Sulu chain of islands left just mopping up to be done . The Southern Philippines had been freed from Japanese oppression . Occupation of Japan . After the fall of the Philippines , the division began training for the attack on Japan itself , but surrender came first . The division did move to Japan where it occupied the island of Honshū for a few months . The 41st Infantry Division was inactivated at Kure - Hiro , Japan on 31 December 1945 . Post war . The 41st Infantry Division was reformed in Oregon in 1946 . In 1965 it was reorganised as the 41st Infantry Brigade . The 41st Infantry Division was inactivated in 1968 . The 41st Infantry Division holds annual reunions for its World War II veterans . In 2008 the reunion was held in Washington , D . C . The veterans had the opportunity to visit Arlington National Cemetery and hold a special wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier . Many of the veterans also had the opportunity to visit the World War II memorial for the first time . Several were accompanied by family ( including spouses , children , grandchildren , and in a couple of cases , great grandchildren ) . The Jungeleer is the publication of the 41st Infantry and is available to all former members of this Division . References . < div class = " references - small " >