WORLD WAR II 1941 - 1945
     The 24th and 25th Divisions were the first divisions to see combat in World War II.  The 24th sustained minor casualties when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and is credited with shooting down 5 enemy aircraft. The division was then charged with the defense of northern Oahu, where it built an elaborate system of coastal defenses.  In May 1943 the Taromen were alerted for movement to Australia and by September of that year, they were deployed to Camp Caves, near Rockhampton on the eastern coast of Australia. The 24th was part of the assault forces that landed on Dutch New Guinea, where it fought and captured the important Hollandia airfield.  After occupation duty in the Hollandia area, the division was chosen to make the initial assault on Leyte.  This was the beginning of the liberation of the Philippines.  General MacArthur's triumphant return to the Philippines was photographed on Red Beach taken by the Victory Division.  From there the division moved to Luzon and eventually formed an element of the assault forces in the Southern Philippines.  During its campaign in the Philippines the division's nickname, "Victory Division", was ascribed.  The Taro Leaf Division earned five campaign battle stars, the most for any division in the Pacific Theater and was decorated by the Philippine government.  It was “First to Fight” and was still fighting on Mindanao more than a month after the Japanese formal surrender in August 1945.  The 24th left Mindanao on 15 October 1945 for occupation duty in Japan.  Just four years and eight months later the Victory Division would again be "First to Fight" in Korea.

World War II Campaign Credits
Pearl Harbor - 7 DEC 1941
Central Pacific
New Guinea (with arrowhead)
Leyte (with arrowhead)
Luzon
Southern Philippines (with arrowhead)

KOREA 1950 - 1954
     When the North Koreans attacked South Korea in June 1950, elements of the 24th Infantry Division known as “Task Force Smith” were the first to arrive in Korea.  This task force was comprised of the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, and 130 infantrymen augmented by antitank teams. They also had B and C Companies, 75 millimeter recoilless rifle platoons from D and M companies, two platoons from Heavy Mortar Company, the 1st Battalion’s Headquarters Co., and A Battery of the 52nd Field Artillery Battalion.  Their orders read simply: "When reaching Taejon, move north . . . stop them where you find them."  Their mission was to fight a delaying action, a most unpopular assignment, but an extremely vital one.  This small task force fought against a well trained, superbly equipped and highly motivated enemy.  The odds were overwhelming!  The delay permitted the United Nations to build up its forces near Pusan, and the division was awarded the Presidential Citation (Army) for its actions. Over the next nineteen months the division fought in eight campaigns and was twice decorated with the U.S. Presidential Unit Citation and twice with the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation. In February 1952 the "Victory Division" returned to Japan where it served as part of the Far East reserve.  In July 1953 the division went back to Korea to restore order in prisoner of war camps and took charge of “Operation Big Switch”, the repatriation of war prisoners.  The division finished its move back to a line position in the east central sector on 1 March 1954 where it relieved the 45th Infantry Division.  It remained there until its move to the Kaesong Corridor in the western sector where it relieved the 1st Marine Division and manned the tense and hostile DMZ until mid 1957.  

Korean War Campaign Credits
UN Defensive
UN Offensive
CCF Intervention
First UN Counteroffensive
CCF Spring Counteroffensive
UN Summer-Fall Offensive
Second Korean Winter
Korea, Summer 1953

KOREA DMZ 1954 - 1957

        In October of 1953, the Division took up semi-permanent encampments throughout the country and continued training and   the Division got a new commanding officer, Major General Carter Magruder. Training continued for most of the division and the 34^th Infantry effected another prisoner transfer in January 1954 without incident. In Feburary the Division received orders to move to a line position held by the 45^th Infantry Division, a National Guard Division which was slated to return to the United States. On March 1, 1954 the Victory Division completed its move to the east central sector. Although in a reserve position, but close to the demarcation-line, its role was in preparation for manning the cease-fire line to watch for any breeches from the North. The U.S. 40^th Infantry Division was on the immediate right, and Chinese Communist divisions were directly in front across the line. The Division again changed command and Major General Paul Harkins, who commanded the departing 45^th Infantry Division, was now in charge.
          In March 1955 the Division moved to the western line sector and relieved the 1st Marine Division. It took the "Front-line" position that would last until the Division left Korea in 1957. The Victory Division was now the only U.S. Division with direct face-to-face contact with enemy forces. As part of I Corps, which was headquartered in Uijongbu, the Division had units located above and just below the Imjin River at the 38th Parallel.  Munsan-ni was the rail center, the area of Paju-ri was home for the reserve infantry regiment when not on position above the Imjin, and Pubwon-ni was a major crossroad both north and south, and east and west.  Within the Division area were Libby Bridge (named for 24th Division Medal of Honor recipient Sergeant George Libby) and Freedom Bridge (the crossing point for repatriated POWs returning home from long captivity).  The 7th Infantry Division was in reserve to the Division’s right with its Division Artillery within the 24th’s area.  Main supply routes were established, civilian control lines were manned and traffic control points were set up by the 24th MP Co.  All foot and vehicle traffic was checked through these points whether movement was within the Division area or to and from it. The 24th Recon Co. relieved the 1st Marine Provisional DMZ Police and became the Army’s first DMZ Police Co.  Taromen maintained 24 hour surveillance over the DMZ from various outposts, including OP Cherry Herring, OP Mazie, OP Martini and OP Nina and with combat patrols inside the fences. Adjacent area patrols were daily occurrences, including joint patrols with British, Greek, Turkish and Australian allied forces. Building and maintaining trenches and bunkers was ongoing.
          Living conditions were spartan at best.  We lived in squad tents that leaked during heavy rains, were bug infested, and often caught fire in the winter as pot belly stove pipes overheated to red hot.  During the rainy season your tents often slid down hill sides causing retaining walls to be built.  Water was rationed and you got a shower once a week if you were lucky.  During the winter months you could heat a pan of water to wash with because of the tent stoves, but in the summer the water wasn't heated making shaving uncomfortable.  Electricity was at the mercy of your compound generators.  You were on duty or detail seven days a week.  There were no days off and if you did have free time there was no place to go.  There were no clubs or other places to go in the villages as they were off limits to U.S. military personnel, and talking to Korean nationals was forbidden outside of your compounds.  Sometimes you got beer rations and the mess tent became a party place.  Latrines were outhouses well removed from living quarters, and during the summer months we were glad they were.  In the winter the wooden holes would be freezing cold and in the summer they stunk and were almost always loaded with flies and other bugs.  You frequently gagged.  If you just had to urinate there were ceramic tubes about 5 inches in diameter stuck in the ground to use and they were fully exposed to the elements and the rest of the world to see.  You quickly learned not to be embarrassed as you did your thing with Korean ladies walking by on the roadsides outside the compound fence.  
          The Division remained on a high alert status often scrambling in full combat gear and assuming defensive positions as the wail of the alert sirens and squawk boxes sounded in the strategically scattered compounds.  During this period a light observation aircraft and a helicopter were shot down over the DMZ killing the crews, land mines killed personnel on patrols, shots were fired from the north side of the MDL as harassment,  and Navy patrol aircraft were attacked in the Yellow Sea and Sea of Japan.  Infiltrators from the north were captured along the DMZ and turned over to R.O.K. authorities for interrogation. The sounds of gunfire, blaring horns, rumbling armor and other eerie sounds, as well as night flares, lights, and loud speaker propaganda and music were also common during the dark hours of night and early morning as a harassment. Units constantly trained to maintain their combat skills.  Each man realized he was part of the Trip-wire defense system. The times were tense, but the will was strong and Taromen remained alert, ready and motivated. The Victory Division troops knew that if the North Korean and Chinese Communist forces broke the Armistice and crossed the DMZ, they again would be "First to Fight".
          On 15 October 1957 at Tonggu, the Division ended its defensive role in Korea and was replaced by the 1st Cavalry Division. The Division returned to Japan and was inactivated in December 1957 and reactivated in Germany replacing the 11th Airborne Division.  No one could predict that U.S. Forces would remain in the defense of the R.O.K. until the turn of the Century and the beginning of a new Millennium.  The 24th Infantry Division and the 7th "Bayonet" Infantry Division were the first Army units to "Stand the Line" during the longest Armistice and containment operation in our military history.  The 2nd Infantry Division continues this duty today.
         The Korean War NEVER ENDED in spite of what our government and the UN would have you believe.  The two Koreas are technically still at a state-of-war.  There is an armistice, but no surrender, peace treaty, or reunification that truly ended the war.  An armistice is merely a temporary halt to hostilities to allow negotiation, and the negotiations are ongoing.   The peace is fragile and fraught with tension and this continues to this day.  As of 1999 there were more than 40,000 breaches to the armistice by North Korean forces and at least 1,200 deaths to U.S. forces as a result of their service in Korea.

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     BERLIN 1961
     When The East Germans erected the infamous Berlin Wall in August of 1961, the volatility of this Berlin flash point increased. The Division’s 1^st Battalion of the 19^th Infantry Regiment was the leading element sent to Check Point Charley to bolster other allied forces there.  A genuine crisis situation persisted at the check point as Soviet and American tanks faced off. Other Victory Division units quickly followed to this area.  At this time the U.S. Military started calling up reserve units.  The peacekeeping efforts and the deterrent strength of the 24^th Division and other NATO units prevented the break out of another war just 16 short years after the end of World War II, and only 8 years after the "cease-fire" agreement in Korea.  The Victory Division became know as "The Shield of Bavaria".  The division remained in Germany until 1969 when it redeployed to Fort Riley, Kansas, as part of the REFORGER (Return of Forces to Germany) program.  As the Army withdrew from Vietnam and reduced its forces, the "Victory Division" was inactivated in April 1970 at Fort Riley.

EL SALVADOR 1985
On 28 February 1985, Delta Company, 24th Aviation “Redhawks” Battalion deployed from Savannah, GA to Soto Cano, Honduras for 179 days to assist the Government of El Salvador in eliminating the MFLN guerrillas.  A detachment from Delta Company was assigned directly to El Salvador to provide aviation support to the Special Forces advisors and to the DAO. Many “Redhawk” personnel rotated through this detachment.  These "Redhawk" aircrew members flew many missions in their efforts to destroy the MFLN guerrillas. Their missions proved very effective and they were a contributor to the success of the overall operation. 

The company departed Honduras and El Salvador on 1 July 1985.  Delta Company was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, and the Superior Unit Award for its service to Joint Task Force Bravo.  The unit was also authorized to wear the 24th Infantry Division Taro Leaf shoulder patch on their right sleeve.

The 24^th Infantry Division (Mech), the heavy element of the XVIII Airborne Corp,  wears three Bronze Battle Star on its Southwest Asia Service Medal denoting participation in all three major campaigns; Defense of Saudi Arabia 2 Aug 90 - 16 Jan 91, Liberation and Defense of Kuwait 17 Jan 91 - 11 Apr 91, and Southwest Asia Cease-fire 12 Apr 91 - 30 Nov 95.  The Division spearheaded the Allied Coalition Forces’ attack into Iraq.  In 100 hours the mechanized division’s 370 kilometer lightning fast attack deep into, through, and encircling, enemy positions severed the enemy’s lines of communications through the Euphrates River Valley and shut down his escape routes. The 24^th (Mech) drove faster, farther, and with more firepower than General George S. Patton’s entire 3^rd Army stormed across France. The Division’s attack has been called, "The Greatest Cavalry Charge in History".

Gulf War Campaign Credits
Defense of Saudi Arabia
Liberation and Defense of Kuwait
Southwest Asia Cease-fire

KUWAIT (OPERATION VIGILANT WARRIOR) 1994
     In 1994 over 60,000 Iraqi Republican Guard troops, with their tanks and armored vehicles, were massing near Nasiriyah, Iraq, less than 100 miles from the Kuwaiti border.  As the Iraqis moved east, displaying the same aggressiveness that preceded the invasion of Kuwait four years earlier, the 24th Infantry Division was sent in response to Saddam Hussein's "saber rattling" and posturing of a significant Iraqi military force along the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border.  Operation Vigilant Warrior was launched.
     The President’s order of an immediate response was met within days.  The new USCENTAF Commander, Lt Gen John Jumper and most of his key staff had deployed to Riyadh, where he took command of JTF-SWA.  This Operation also involved the "plus up" of USCENTAF air assets to more than 170 aircraft and 6,500 personnel. Iraq soon recalled its troops and the crisis passed, but the US decided to retain some 120 aircraft and 5,000 personnel in-theatre in case Hussein repeated his bluff. As an additional measure, USCENTAF also agreed to bed down A-10 aircraft in Kuwait itself for the first time.
     The 24th ID(M) was a valuable deterrent during VIGILANT WARRIOR from October to December 1994 when it arrived and began to train vigorously and visibly to demonstrate US presence and resolve to Iraq.
     U.S. and Coalition forces employed in support of Operation VIGILANT WARRIOR are:
     (U.S. Forces) 2 brigades of the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Marine and Army maritime prepositioned forces, Over 200 additional combat aircraft, USCINCCENT, USCENTCOM HQ element, Component Ccs and Staffs deployed in theater Patriot Air Defense personnel and over 20 naval combatants that included coalition forces.
     (Coalition Forces) 4 Kuwait Brigades, 1 United Arab Emirates Mechanized Infantry Battalion and 1 U.K. Infantry Battalion.

24TH INTEGRATED INFANTRY DIVISION (MECH.) INACTIVATED
    FORT RILEY, KS (01 AUGUST 2006)
    August 1, 2006 the great Victory Division was inactivated. This is a very sad day for the Warfighters that wore the Green Taro Leaf. You might put the historic division to bed, but its deeds forever remain in our hearts and heads. You can put away its Flag, but you can’t put away its accomplishments. You can dishonor the great division by retaining a lesser qualified division among the elite 10, but you can’t lower the heads of Victory’s men. The Victory Division’s foes will long remember the day our Nation sent us into the fray to right their wrongs and change the day, and our Countrymen will forever beam with pride as a 24th Division Vet stands at their side.  God Bless our fallen, and “Thanks” to those who served. We will forever be, “The Victory Division,” and we will always be, ”First to Fight!”

  

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