38th Inf Division

Genuine WWII shoulder badge of the 38th Infantry Division. 

The 38th Infantry Division is one of eighteen active divisions of the US Army. It is stationed in Indianapolis, Indiana and includes Army National Guard units from Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Delaware, Michigan and Tennessee.

The unit appeared in 1917, taking the nickname Cyclone Division after Camp Shelby where it trained was struck by a tornado. This reference is found on the division's badge which combines an intertwined C and a Y. Deployed in France during the last days of the Great War, its various units were dispersed among other divisions to make up for losses. At the end of the war, she was demobilized before being reconstituted on March 16, 1923 in the National Guard.

It came under federal control on January 17, 1941 as the United States prepared to participate in World War II. She returned to train at Camp Shelby and was deployed to the Pacific front in January 1944 in New Guinea where she experienced her first combat while completing her training. In December, she was deployed to Leyte in the Philippines to participate in the conquest of the island. On January 29, 1945, the 38th Division took part in the landings in the province of Zambales on the island of Luzon. Subsequently, she participated in the Battle of Bataan and conquered Corregidor and Manila Bay. Due to these actions, she received the nickname "Avengers of Bataan". She was quickly demobilized after the war.