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- Because of significant
common heritage in the past (Indian War, Revolutionary War and Civil
War), residents of Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia became the
structure of the 80th Division.
- The 80th Division
was organized in August 1917 at Camp Lee, Virginia. The units were made
up mostly of men from the above three states.
- The 317th Infantry
included men from the Piedmont and Western Virginia areas; the 318th
Infantry was made up mostly of men from the Shenandoah Valley and Tidewater
areas; the 313th Machine Gun Battalion were mostly men from the Erie
area. These units comprised the 159th Brigade.
- The 318th Infantry
were nicknamed * squirrels* , while training with the British in the
Artois/Picardy section of France: 1st Battalion were RED squirrels;
2nd Battalion were GRAY squirrels; 3rd Battalion were called FLYING
squirrels. The insignia of the 318th was a square; the machine gun unit
colored their square red and blue.
- The 319th Infantry
included men from Allegheny County and from that area north to Erie,
and some from Eastern Ohio. The 320th Infantry were mostly men from
Pittsburgh; the 315th Machine Gun Battalion were men from Pittsburgh
and Erie. These units combined to create th e
160th Brigade.
- The 313th , 314th
and 315th Field Artillery units were comprised of men almost exclusively
from the State of West Virginia, and were the 155th Field Artillery
Brigade.
- Serving with the
Division were the 314th Machine Gun Battalion, men from the Tidewater
area, as well as the 305th Engineers, men from an area east and north
of Pittsburgh; the 305th Trains (Ammunition, Motor Supply and Sanitary)
were men from Western PA, WV and VA. The engineers were more often than
not sent out ahead. During the rest period from October 14th through
the Armistice, they finally were outfitted with U.S. Springfield and
Browning automatic rifles. They had two weeks to train before the third
and final push began in the Meuse Argonne. It was also during this period
that an attack formation was reorganized to allow for more maneuverability.
- Prior to the reorganization,
a platoon consisted of four sections; two auto rifle and rifle, rifle
grenadiers and bombers or hand grenadiers. The change identified 49
men in a platoon, divided in two identical half-platoons consisting
of three squads each (rifle, auto rifle and grenadier), with eight men
to a squad. A combat unit was a half-platoon, self contained of infantrymen
and clearly more maneuverable, easier to control and with a greater
ability to adapt to changing conditions a battlefield presented. The
change was believed to be Army-wide.
- The 155th Field
Artillery Regiment was in combat from the start of the Meuse Argonne,
continuously with the 80th Division, but served also with the 90th Division
into Germany, until after the Armistice. Altogether, the 155th served
with five different divisions.
- During the Meuse
Argonne campaign, the 80th Division was the only one that saw action
during each phase of the offensive (three times).
- The 80th Division
* Always Moved Forward* , which became the motto, and always achieved
the Division, Corps, and Army objectives.
- The 80th Division
was the third most active Division in the A.E.F. They ranked #1 of all
National Army Divisions; and were third overall behind the First Regular
Army Division and Second Regular Army Division. Initial rumors in 1919
had the 80th Division ranked second overall in the U. S. Army, but the
final analysis ranked them third, behind the regular Army* s 1st and
2nd Divisions. They were ranked first in the National Army Division.
(This researcher believes that a deceptive item in General Pershing*
s report of January 1919, in which he gave the 2nd Division credit for
an objective which the 80th Division had clearly met, resulted in a
denigration of the 80th status). The ranking was challenged by Captain
Charles Rossire of the 319th Infantry in September 1920 when he read
Pershing* s report. Major James Montague, 2nd Battalion Commander of
the 319th, and Captain R. P. Keegell, H Company of the 319th, supported
Captain Rossire with documentation. The final report was not changed,
but a copy of the challenge was placed in the Historical Plans Division,
General Staff, for future reference.
- Men of the 80th
Division received 619 Awards and Decorations.
- Initially, service
personnel were only authorized to wear one bronze star (and Battle Clasp
on the Victory Medal) for the Meuse Argonne campaigns, but while enroute
to the states after the War in May 1919, they were also authorized to
wear the clasp and bronze star for St. Mihiel. Their campaign streamers
were authorized for Picardy 1918, Somme Offensive, 1918, Lorraine and
Meuse Argonne.
- Citing G.O. #75,
G.H.Q., A.E.F., dated 2 May 1919, men of the 80th were credited with
the Somme Offensive, 03 July - 18 August; St. Mihiel Offensive (in Corps
reserve) 10-16 September; and Meuse Argonne Offensive 26 September -06
November. It is not known how many of these men who served in all three
areas actually were advised of the G.O. The History and Heraldry, published
in 1960, does not give credit to all of the units that served in these
three areas.
- On their return
trip to the U.S. in May 1919, men who had sailed for France on May 26,
1918, were advised that, having completed twelve months overseas, they
were entitled to two 6-month overseas chevrons.
- Prior to the issuance
of the order of 21 May 1919, General Pershing made the determination
as to whom and how a particular battle clasp could be worn; in some
cases going against the rules of the battle clasps and Victory Medal.
We have located a document that indicates that all men who served from
June 1918 -June 1919 were entitled to wear four battle clasps and four
bronze stars, representing Defensive Sector (Artois), Somme Offensive,
St. Mihiel and Meuse Argonne.
- The 80th Division
was demobilized in June 1919.
- The 80th was reconstituted
24 June 1921, allotted to the organized reserves, organized 1 September
1922 at Richmond, VA The 80th was ordered to active service 15 July
1942 at Camp Forrest, Tennessee, and sent to Europe in June 1944, landing
at Utah Beach in July 1944.
- In April 1943,
the 320th Infantry was removed from the 80th Division and assigned to
the 35th Infantry Division. (The U.S. Army was undergoing a triangulation
- reduction to three infantries per division). In November 1945, the
320th was relieved from assignment to the 35th Division. During WW II,
the 320th Infantry, even though assigned to the 35th, fought alongside
units of the 80th in many areas.
- In Europe, the
80th troops joined Patton* s Third Army and drove across France (through
much of the same area as the 80th Division had seen service during WW
I.)
- The Division was
again demobilized in 1945 and was deactivated January 1946 at Camp Kilmer,
NJ.
- The 80th was re-designated
the 80th Airborne Division in July 1946, and activated December 1946
at Richmond, VA
- The 80th was re-designated
Organized Reserve Corp in 1948 and Army Reserve in 1952, then reorganized
and re-designated 80th Infantry Division in May 1952
- The 320th Infantry
Regiment was allotted to the Regular Army in 1954; withdrawn from the
Regular Army and re-designated 320th Regiment (Advanced Individual Training)
February 1959 and assigned to the 80th Division.
- The 80th Division
was re-designated and reorganized March 1959 as the 80th Division (Training).
- Today* s 80th
Division IT (Institutional Training) is essentially a non-combat unit,
providing training and support to other divisions. As an Institutional
Training Division, the 80th took command and control of 10 Army Reserve
Forces Schools in October 1995. In September 1996 the Division reorganized
into seven brigades. Four are chartered to give formal classroom and
"hands on" training in Combat Support, Combat Services Support,
Professional Development and Medical Services and one each will train
Initial Entry soldiers and Initial Entry Military Police soldiers. One
brigade will furnish Training Support to all the
others.
- The 424th Transportation
Company (80th Division IT) was activated 17 November 1990, during Desert
Storm, and deployed to Saudi Arabia 5 January 1991. They returned to
the States 29-30 June, 1991. This unit was awarded a Meritorious Unit
Commendation, for operating under adverse conditions in a combat zone,
logging 850,000 accident-free road miles, with some units advancing
to the Euphrates River. The unit served in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and
Iraq.
- The 3rd Battalion,
318th Regiment, 4th Brigade was activated 23 January 1991 and reported
to Ft. Eustis to train recalled reserve units. Due to the short duration
of the war, reserve units were not called and the 3rd Battalion was
released from active duty.
- The lineage of
the 159th Brigade (317th and 318th Infantries and 313th M.G. Battalion)
and the 160th Brigade (319th and 320th Infantries and 315th M.G. Battalion),
as known during WW I as part of the 80th Division, lives on as the Second
Brigade and Third Brigade, respectively, of the 101st Airborne (Screaming
Eagles), since 1964.
- Honors from former
units that served with the 80th Division have remained with the Division.
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