44th Infantry Division ( United States ) The 44th Infantry Division was a formation of the United States Army National Guard from October 1920 to November 1945 , when it was inactivated after Federal Service during World War II . A second 44th Infantry Division existed in the Illinois Army National Guard from 1946 until October 1954 , when that division was disbanded after federal service during the Korean War . Formation . Originally named the 44th Division , it was constituted on 19 October 1920 as a National Guard Division , as a result of the National Defense Act of 1920 ' s major expansion of the National Guard . As originally conceived , the division was to consist of National Guard units from the States of Delaware , New Jersey and New York . However , units from the State of Delaware were never assigned to the division . The 57th Infantry Brigade from the New Jersey Army National Guard ( NJARNG ) and the 87th Infantry Brigade of the New York Army National Guard ( NYARNG ) were incorporated almost immediately and growth continued piecemeal , as subordinate units were organized , until 1940 . The shoulder sleeve insignia ( unit patch ) of the 44th Division was approved by the Secretary of War on 5 October 1921 . The division was formally organized and federally recognized on 26 March 1924 . World War II . The 44th Division participated in the First Army Maneuvers in Upstate New York from 7 – 24 August 1940 , prior to being inducted into federal service for twelve months of training on 16 September 1940 . Posted at Fort Dix , New Jersey during 1940 – 1941 , the division ' s training culminated in the Carolina Maneuvers , September – December 1941 . The division was en route to New Jersey on 7 December 1941 , returning to Fort Dix when news was heard of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . A regimental combat team , based on the 113th Infantry , was immediately detached from the division and attached to the Eastern Defense Command to provide ground forces for the defense of the East Coast from New York to Philadelphia . Shortly afterwords , the remainder of the division moved to Camp Claiborne , LA , where the 44th Division was reorganized and redesignated , the 44th Infantry Division on 16 February 1942 . > The division was then sent to Fort Lewis Washington , where it participated in defense of the West Coast for the remainder of 1942 . In February 1943 , the 44th Infantry Division , much reduced through the loss of personnel and units entered a period of rebuilding and training . After completing the " D - Series " , division - level training , the 44th was sent to participate in the multi - division Fourth Army # 6 Louisiana Maneuvers , 7 February - 3 April 1944 . The division then moved to Camp Phillips , KS for its final pre - deployment preparations . The division moved by railroad to Camp Miles Standish , Massachusetts , arriving on 24 – 27 August 1944 ; Commanders . Combat chronicle . The 44th Infantry Division landed in France via Cherbourg , 15 September 1944 , and trained for a month before entering combat , 18 October 1944 , when it relieved the 79th Division in the vicinity of Foret de Parroy , east of Lunéville , France , to take part in the Seventh Army drive to secure several passes in the Vosges Mountains . Within 6 days , the division was hit by a heavy German counterattack , 25 – 26 October . The attack was repulsed and the 44th continued its active defense . On 13 November 1944 , it jumped off in an attack northeast , forcing a passage through the Vosges Mountains east of Leintrey to Dossenheim , took Avricourt , 17 November , and pushed on to liberate Strasbourg , along with the 2d French Armored Division . After regrouping , the division returned to the attack , taking Ratzwiller and entering the Ensemble de Bitche in the Maginot Line . Fort Simserhof fell 19 December . Displacing to defensive positions east of Sarreguemines , 21 – 23 December , the 44th threw back three attempted crossings by the enemy of the Blies River . An aggressive defense of the Sarreguemines area was continued throughout February 1945 and most of March . Moving across the Rhine at Worms , 26 March , in the wake of the 3d Division , the 44th relieved the 3d , 26 – 27 March , and crossed the Neckar River to attack and capture Mannheim , 28 – 29 March . Shifting to the west bank of the Main , the division crossed that river at Gross - Auheim in early April , and engaged in a 3 - week training period . Attacking 18 April , after the 10th Armored Division , the 44th took Ehingen , 23 April , crossed the Danube , and attacking southeast , took Füssen , Berg , and Wertach , in a drive on Imst . On 2 May , a group of V - 2 rocket scientists surrendered to the 44th . Pursuing the disintegrating enemy through Fern Pass and into the Inn River valley , the 44th set up its CP at Imst , Austria , on 4 May . After a short period of occupation duty , the division returned to the United States in July 1945 for retraining prior to redeployment , but the end of the Pacific war resulted in inactivation in November 1945 at Camp Chaffee , AK . < / ref > Postwar . The 44th Infantry Division was reactivated in the Illinois Army National Guard in 1946 , and inducted into federal service in early 1952 during the Korean War . It was disbanded after its release from federal service on 10 October 1954 .