79th Infantry Division ( United States ) The 79th Infantry Division ( " Cross of Lorraine " ) was a unit of the United States Army in World War I and World War II . World War I . Combat chronicle . The division was first activated on August 1917 and after a year of training the division sailed overseas July 1918 . The 79th Infantry Division saw extensive combat in the Meuse - Argonne area where it earned the name of " Cross of Lorraine " for their defense of France . The division was inactivated June 1919 and returned to the United States . Throughout its entire World War I campaign , the division suffered some 6 , 874 casualties with 1 , 151 killed and 5 , 723 wounded . World War II . Combat chronicle . Division was activated at the Camp Pickett , Virginia on June 15 , 1942 . Division participated in the area of Tennessee maneuveurs , after which the 79th moved to Camp Laguna near Yuma , Arizona , where he trained in the desert . Division was then ordered to Camp Phillips , Kansas for training in the winter conditions . At the beginning of the April 1944 , Division reported to the Port of Embarkation at Camp Myles Standish , Massachusetts . Division arrived to Liverpool on April 17 and began training in amphibious operations . After training in the United Kingdom from 17 April 1944 , the 79th Infantry Division landed on Utah Beach , Normandy , 12 – 14 June and entered combat 19 June 1944 , with an attack on the high ground west and northwest of Valognes and high ground south of Cherbourg . The division took Fort du Roule after a heavy engagement and entered Cherbourg , 25 June . It held a defensive line at the Ollonde River until 2 July 1944 and then returned to the offensive , taking La Haye du Puits in house - to - house fighting , 8 July . On 26 July , the 79th attacked across the Ay River , took Lessay , crossed the Sarthe River and entered Le Mans , 8 August , meeting only light resistance . The advance continued across the Seine , 19 August . Heavy German counterattacks were repelled , 22 – 27 August , and the division reached the Therain River , 31 August . Moving swiftly to the Franco - Belgian frontier near St . Amand ( east of Lille ) , the division was then moved to XV Corps in eastern France , where it encountered heavy resistance in taking Charmes in street fighting , 12 September . The 79th cut across the Moselle and Meurthe Rivers , 13 – 23 September , cleared the Forêt de Parroy in a severe engagement , 28 September – 9 October , and attacked to gain high ground east of Emberménil , 14 – 23 October , when it was relieved , 24 October . After rest and training at Lunéville , the division returned to combat with an attack from the MignevineMontiguy area , 13 November 1944 , which carried it across the Vezouse and Moder Rivers , 18 November – 10 December , through Haguenau in spite of determined enemy resistance , and into the Siegfried Line , 17 – 20 December . The division held a defensive line along the Lauter River , at Wissembourg from 20 December 1944 until 2 January 1945 , when it withdrew to Maginot Line defenses . The German attempt to establish a bridgehead west of the Rhine at Gambsheim resulted in furious fighting . The 79th beat off German attacks at Hatten and Rittershoffen in an 11 - day battle before withdrawing to new defensive positions south of Haguenau on the Moder River , 19 January 1945 . The division remained on the defensive along the Moder until 6 February 1945 . During February and March 1945 , the division mopped up German resistance , returned to offensive combat , 24 March 1945 , crossed the Rhine , drove across the Rhine - Herne Canal , 7 April , secured the north bank of the Ruhr and took part in clearing the Ruhr Pocket until 13 April . The division then went on occupation duty , in the Dortmund , Sudetenland , and Bavarian areas successively , until its return to the United States and inactivation . Throughout its 248 days of the World War II campaign , the division suffered 15 , 203 total casualties , with 10 , 971 wounded and 14 , 875 non - battle injuries . Three soldiers from this division were awarded the Medal of Honor . The division took 35 , 466 prisoners of war . Modern Day . The 79th Infantry Division is currently operating as the 79th Sustainment Support Command ( SSC ) headquartered at Joint Forces Training Base ( JFTB ) Los Alamitos , California . The 79th SSC was officially activated on December 1 , 2009 with the mission of providing trained , ready , cohesive , well - led sustainment units for world - wide deployment to meet the U . S . Army ’ s rotational and contingency mission requirements in support of the National Military Strategy . The 79th SSC is the higher headquarters of over 20 , 000 U . S . Army Reserve Sustainment Soldiers organized into over 200 units dispersed throughout the Western United States . Major subordinate commands of the 79th SSC include the 4th Sustainment Command ( Expeditionary ) ( ESC ) in San Antonio , Texas , the 311th ESC in Los Angeles , California , the 364th ESC in Marysville , Washington , and the 451st ESC in Wichita , Kansas . As the Operational Command Posts of a Theater Sustainment Command – the ESCs plan , coordinate synchronize , monitor , and control operational - level sustainment operations for Army Service Component Commands , Joint Task Forces and Joint Forces Commands throughout the world .