5th Infantry Division

Genuine WWII shoulder sleeve insignia of the 5th Infantry Division, white border pattern.

The 5th Infantry Division was activated on October 2, 1939 under the command of Brigadier General Campbell Hodges. After the United States entered World War II, it was sent to Iceland in 1942, under the command of Major General Cortlandt Parker to relieve British troops manning this vital link on the Atlantic convoy routes.

Commanded by Major General Stafford L. Irwin, the 5th Infantry Division landed on Utah Beach on July 9, 1944. 3 days after the initial landings of the D-Day landings. Successful attacks took them through Vidouville and Angers, then in August they crossed the Seine at Fontainebleau, then crossed the Marne to capture Reims in late August.

The division then prepared for the assault on Metz. By mid-September a bridgehead had been established and secured across the Moselle River south of Metz. Initial attempts to seize Metz in September and October failed, but a renewed push was made in November and Metz fell after a heavy 10-day battle. By early December the division had crossed the German border and reached the Saar. When the Germans began their Ardennes Offensive on 16 December, the 5th Infantry was thrown against the southern flank of the Ardennes two days later where they remained in contact with the enemy until late January 1945.

After the collapse and victory in the Battle of the Bulge, the 5th Division returned to Germany and broke through the Siegfried Line and crossed the Rhine in March and at Frankfurt am Main by the end of the month.

In April, the 5th Infantry Division fought in the Ruhr Pocket and was in Czechoslovakia by VE Day.