77th Inf Division

Genuine WWII shoulder badge of the 77th Infantry Division.

During the Second World War, she was reactivated on March 25, 1942 and landed in Hawaii on March 31, 1944 to complete her training in the jungle and in amphibious operations. On July 21, 1944, she participated in the landing on Guam as part of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. It managed to advance towards the north and seize Mount Tenjo before joining up with the 3rd Marine Division coming from the north. It then took the locality of Barrigada on August 4 and all Japanese resistance ceased on August 8. The unit must then be put to rest in New Caledonia but it is finally diverted to the island of Leyte in the Philippines to participate in its reconquest, from November 23, 1944. It is then sent to the island of Mindanao , landing at Ipil. It advances along the east coast until taking Ormoc on December 10 then continues north and participates in the elimination of pockets of Japanese resistance throughout the months of January and February 1945. At the end of March , she was mobilized to take part in the Battle of Okinawa. During her journey, she suffered losses from suicide bombers. On April 16, 1945, she landed on Ie-jima, a secondary island in the Okinawa archipelago and conquered its airfield. On April 25, she was sent to the main island of Okinawa to relieve the 96th Infantry Division. She progressed slowly across the island in the face of fierce Japanese resistance which lasted until the month of June. She then returned to the Philippines and prepared for Operation Downfall, the invasion of Japan. Finally, he capitulated on September 2, making this plan useless. The unit ultimately participated in the occupation of Japan until March 15, 1946, the date of its demobilization.